sliver, in yarn production, loose, soft, untwisted ropelike strand of textile fibre having a roughly uniform thickness. It is produced by the carding process, which separates raw fibres to prepare them for spinning.
The carded fibres may be combed to remove any short fibres and make the remaining sliver fibres lie parallel. Several slivers may be combined and elongated by the drawing process, which further straightens the fibres and reduces the thickness of the strand. Thickness may be further reduced by roving, a process that also imparts a slight twist to the sliver.