doff

To doff is to remove a completed length of carded fiber or yarn from a revolving cylinder or spindle. In textile mills, the term describes the moment a worker strips off a full bobbin, roving frame, or card sliver that has reached capacity. The doff is the actual bundle of material removed: a finished length ready for the next stage of processing.

On a carding engine, carded fibers are laid onto a large rotating drum called a cylinder. As the cylinder turns, the fibers wrap around it in a thin, parallel sheet. Once a sufficient length has accumulated, a worker doffs it by rolling or peeling the fleece away from the drum in a continuous web. The doff is then either coiled or wound onto a spool for delivery to the drawing frame or roving frame. Similar work happens on spinning frames: when a bobbin or cop of yarn reaches its target weight or length, a worker doffs the full package and replaces it with an empty one.

In mills running multiple cards or spindles in parallel, doffing was historically a specialized job performed by young workers or doff hands, especially in nineteenth and early twentieth century U.S. and British mills. The pace of doffing directly affected mill output, since a full bobbin left on a spinning frame blocked production until removed. Speed and timing mattered: pull too roughly and fibers broke or twisted; pull too slowly and the spinner fell behind quota.

The word likely comes from the same root as doff meaning to remove clothing or a hat, a physical action of pulling something away. In textile dialect, doffing remained specific to fiber removal from machinery, never applied to hand spinning or weaving. The practice declined as mills automated: modern cards and spindles often have automatic doff systems that remove finished packages mechanically. However, the term persists in mill vocabulary and technical descriptions of older equipment.