Hat Shaper's     FELTING DICTIONARY

Here are some terms you may find if you are researching feltmaking:

ALNAGER/AULNAGER
is an official who examined the quality of the wool and stamped them with the town's approval.
BACKWASHER
was employed to clean the wool in the worsted factories
BALER
bales wool in the mills
BASIL WORKER
works with sheep skins
BEATER
cleaned and thickened the fabric by treading it underwater with fuller's earth.
BEAVER
a person who made felt used in hat making.
BEST STUFF: 19th century term for rabbit fur, backs, sides mixed together
BLOCKCUTTER/BLOCKER
made the wooden hat blocks used to form hats upon
BLOWER
a person who operated a "blowing machine" to separate fibers
BLOWFEEDER
fed the wool fibers into the blowing machine
BOWLMINDER
was in charge of the vats used for washing the raw wool
BURELER
made borel, a coarse woollen cloth
CALENDERER/CALENDERMAN/CALENDER WORKER
operated a machine which pressed the fiber between two rollers
CAPER
made caps
CAPPER/CAPMAKER
made caps worn by the common worker
CARDROOMER
someone who worked in the carding rooms
CARDER
a person who cards/ carded the wool
CARDMAKER
makes the cards use for combing wool
CARDNAILER/NAILORA
fixed the teeth on the carding machines
CATHRINETTE
French for women working in the hat industries
CEMMER
a person who combed the wool out by hand mostly before weaving/yarn
CHAPELER
made and sold hats
CLOTH LAPPER
took the cloth from the carder to the next machine
COLOURATOR/COLORATORA
a dye worker
COLOUR MAN
the person in charge of mixing the dyes
COMBER/COMBERE
a wool comber
CONEY CATCHER
rabbit catcher
DEXTER
a person who dyed fabric
DOUBLER
operated a machine that twisted the fibers
DRAPER
mainly a dealer in woolen and linen cloth
DRAPERY PAINTER
painted on cloth and clothing
DRAW BOY
sat atop looms and lifted heavy warps
DUBBERE
a cloth dubber, raised the felt of the nap
ENGINE TENTER
operated the machine that stretched the fabric while it was drying
EWE HERD
shepherd
FEAR-NOTHING MAKER
a weaver that made a special kind of woolen cloth. That was used for purposed other than clothing. 
FELLMONGER
removed hair from the hides of animals
FELTER
worked in the hatting industry
FETTLER
cleaned the machinery in woollen mills
FULLER
cloth worker who shrinks, beats and further processes fiber, waulker
FURRIER
a person who sold the furs
HOOKER
operates a machine that lays fabric in uniform folds
ERSEY COMBER
worked in woollen factory
KEMPSTER
wool comber
KNOCKER-UP
man paid to wake workers up when they lived on the premises
LOTTER
bought odd lots of wool and sold them
MOCADO WEAVER
wove woollen cloth called mock velvet
OVERLOOKER
overseer of the mill
OWLER
sheep and wool smuggler
PANNIFEX
someone who worked in the cloth trade
PELTERER
one who skinned animals
PLANKER
one who planked or kneaded the body of the hat during felting process
RAISING CARD: small wired instrument to raise nap on felt
RIDDLER
wool stapler
SCRIBBLER
worked in a scribbing mill where wool was roughly carded
SHEARER
sheared the fleece off of the sheep
SHEEPMAN
sheep herder/shepherd
SHEPSTER
sheep shearer
STENTERER
operated the cloth finishing machines
STRIPPER
removed rubbish from the carding machines
TAR BOY
applied tar on places where the sheep had been knicked during shearing
TEASER
a person who "opens up" matted wool so it can be carded
TENTERER
a person who stretched fabric while it was drying
TINCTOR
also known as a dyer
TOZER
employed to tease the wool
ULNAGER
examined the quality of wool goods to be sold
WALKER/WAULKMILLER
cloth worker/fuller
WATTLER HURDEL MAKER
made special wattle fences for holding sheep
WILLEYER
threw handfulls of wool onto machines that separated fibers and broke up matts, shakes out dirt in preparation for carding
WOOLCOMBER
separates the fiber and readys them for the next process
WOOL DRIVER
the one who brought the wool to the market
WOOL FACTOR
was the one who priced the wool or furs, a merchant agent
WOOLEN BILLY PIECER
pieced together the broken yarns
WOOLMAN/WOOLSORTER/WOOLSTAPLER
graded the wool
WOOLSTED MAN
a seller of woollen cloth from worsted mills
WOOLWINDER
wound up balls of wool
WORSTED MANURFACTURER
one who made the worsted

This section lists the names of people who make felt hats and the order in which the hats are produced

shepherd
shearer
alnager
wool sorter
wool baler
wool carder
partiers
forcers
thicksters
dressers
walkers
dyers
blockers
batelliers
shearers (shaves the hats)
finishers
pressers
edgers
liners
bandmakers