Heather Ordover on "CraftLit" was ranting - okay talking - about using expressions such as "begging the question" correctly. Well language does change, and sometimes in ways we don't always like. HOWEVER....
I really have difficulty with companies, vendors, and others in the INDUSTRY using technical terms incorrectly. I'm speaking of fiber here.
For instance, in some places, the word "wool" can be used as a synonym for "yarn" as in 'This "wool" 100% acrylic', or 'Does this "wool" contain some nylon?'. Wool is a fiber which comes from a sheep. Yarn is a product which is produced by "spinning" fiber of various sorts into long strings which can them be used for knitting/crocheting, crafts, and other things. When yarn shops and manufacturers blur this distinction, I think something is irretrivable lost.
Another example, the use of "ply" to indicate the thickness of yarn. Ten lashes with a wet two or three ply YARN for Australia and other places in the world where this is common. Ply should be IMHO reserved for the number of individually spun "singles" which are combined to form the finished product. There are other ways to indicate the thickness of a yarn, but I do not know of any other term for the number of individually spun "singles" combined to make the finished product.
Worsted as a weight of yarn also drives me crazy, especially now that I know that it is a specific fiber preparation. I was always bothered by the use of this term, and the use of DK (for doubleknit) as a yarn size.
We have "lace-weight", fingering, sport, bulky and chunky, which have specific meanings. We should exchange "sweater" or "jumper"* for worsted as a description of weight, and leave the term "worsted" to refer SOLELY to its use as a fiber preparation, not weight. DK doesn't bother me quite so much, as you most often hear the term DK, and don't think about what it means, but again, any weight, or thickness, of yarn and be used to "double-knit" so why use the term as a thickness of yarn as well as a specific type of knitting.
*I like the English/Australian/wherever term "jumper" better than "sweater", however, sweater is so common that I doubt we can really change it at this late date.
I am just getting into spinning, and I have been so confused about various fiber preparations. I'm just learning to tell the differnce between "roving" and "top", carded and combed. And my confusion was totally compounded by the incorrect use of these terms by salespeople or others who should know better. I ended up making a chart and I refer to it constantly, so when I do find it used incorrectly, I can mentally make the correction and realize what the person is talking about.
Fiber addicts: Use terms correctly, please. And maybe if we all protest and jump up and down and correct salespeople and complain and whine, we can eventually get rid of the improper use of these terms and keep their specific meanings. This will help our art/craft immensely, removing one source of confusion for newcomers and making what we are trying to do much clearer.
