Thrumming (textiles)
Thrumming is a technique in which small pieces of wool or yarn are pulled through fabric to create a wooly layer. The term thrum originally referred specifically to worthless pieces of warp thread which remained after weaving a piece of fabric using a loom, though its meaning has since broadened to include any small pieces of wool or thread which are used in a similar way.
Applications
Thrum caps
A thrum cap consisted of a canvas base in the shape of an inverted flower pot, with woolen thrums pushed through to create a shaggy exterior. Such caps were worn by sailors in the Tudor period, and were commonly dyed blue or brown. They continued to be in use into the seventeenth century.Stuffed mittens
Stuffed mittens are thrummed with tufts of fleece to create a warm, fluffy interior which gradually felts with use. The same technique may also be applied to line winter caps and other knitted articles.The writer Robin Orm Hansen published a pattern for stuffed mittens in her 1983 pattern book Fox and Geese and Fences. According to Hansen, the technique was largely unknown at the time, being limited to Newfoundland and Labrador and a single family in Maine. It has since become more widely known and practiced.