More or less elaborate methods of combining yarns are occasionally adopted, but the reader is advised to consult the above-mentioned work on Cordage and similar literature for detailed information.

When the yarn leaves the spinning frame, or the twisting frame, it is made up according to requirements, and the general operations which follow spinning and twisting are,—­reeling, cop-winding, roll or spool winding, mill warping or link warping.  The type or class of yarn, the purpose for which the yarn is to be used, or the equipment of the manufacturer, determines which of these methods should be used previous to despatching the yarn.

Reeling.  Reeling is a comparatively simple operation, consisting solely of winding the yarns from the spinning or twisting bobbins on to a wide swift or reel of a suitable width and of a fixed diameter, or rather circumference.  Indeed, the circumference of the reel was fixed by an Act of Convention of Estates, dating as far back as 1665 and as under: 

“That no linen yarn be exported under the pain of confiscation, half to the King and half to the attacher.”

“That linen yarn be sold by weight and that no reel be shorter than ten quarters.”

The same size of reel has been adopted for all jute yarns.  All such yarns which are to be dyed, bleached, or otherwise treated must be reeled in order that the liquor may easily penetrate the threads which are obviously in a loose state.  There are systems of dyeing and bleaching yarns in cop, roll or beam form, but these are not employed much in the jute industry.  Large quantities of jute yarns intended for export are reeled, partly because bundles form suitable bales for transport, and partly because of the varied operations and sizes of apparatus which obtain in foreign countries.

YARN TABLE FOR JUTE YARNS

90 inches, or 2-1/2 yards = 1 thread, or
the circumference of the reel
120 threads or 300 yards = 1 cut (or lea)
2 cuts or 600 yards = 1 heer
12 cuts or 3,600 yards = 1 standard hank
48 cuts or 14,400 yards = 1 spyndle

Since jute yarns are comparatively thick, it is only the very finest yarns which contain 12 cuts per hank.  The bulk of the yarn is made up into 6-cut hanks.  If the yarn should be extra thick, even 6 cuts are too many to be combined, and one finds groups of 4 cuts, 3 cuts, 2 cuts, and even 1 cut.  A convenient name for any group less than 12 cuts is a “mill-hank,” because the number used is simply one of convenience to enable the mill-hank to be satisfactorily placed on the swift in the winding frame.

The reeling operation is useful in that it enables one to measure the length of the yarn; indeed, the operation of reeling, or forming the yarn into cuts and hanks, has always been used as the method of designating the count, grist or number of the yarn.  We have already seen that the count of jute yarn is determined by the weight in lbs. of one spyndle (14,400 yds.).