Fancy Yarns: Their Manufacture and Application

Fancy yarns Their manufacture and application R H Gong and R M Wright Cambridge England Published by Woodhead Publis...

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Fancy yarns Their manufacture and application R H Gong and R M Wright

Cambridge England

Published by Woodhead Publishing Limited in association with The Textile Institute Woodhead Publishing Ltd Abington Hall, Abington Cambridge CB1 6AH, England www.woodhead-publishing.com Published in North America by CRC Press LLC 2000 Corporate Blvd, NW Boca Raton FL 33431, USA First published 2002, Woodhead Publishing Ltd and CRC Press LLC © 2002, Woodhead Publishing Ltd The authors have asserted their moral rights. This book contains information obtained from authentic and highly regarded sources. Reprinted material is quoted with permission, and sources are indicated. Reasonable efforts have been made to publish reliable data and information, but the authors and the publishers cannot assume responsibility for the validity of all materials. Neither the authors nor the publishers, nor anyone else associated with this publication, shall be liable for any loss, damage or liability directly or indirectly caused or alleged to be caused by this book. Neither this book nor any part may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, microfilming and recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. The consent of Woodhead Publishing and CRC Press does not extend to copying for general distribution, for promotion, for creating new works, or for resale. Specific permission must be obtained in writing from Woodhead Publishing or CRC Press for such copying. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation, without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. Woodhead Publishing ISBN 1 85573 577 6 CRC Press ISBN 0-8493-1550-6 CRC Press order number: WP1550 Typeset by SNP Best-set Typesetter Ltd., Hong Kong Printed by TJ International, Padstow, Cornwall, England

Contents

Foreword Preface Acknowledgements Comments and credits for the colour plates

vii ix xiii xv

1

Introduction and background

1

1.1 1.2 1.3

Definition Purpose and scope Methodology

2 3 3

2

Historical development

5

3

The size of the market for fancy yarns

9

3.1 3.2 3.3

Introduction Starting the successive scenario technique The method of the successive scenario technique

9 12 15

4

Manufacturing attitudes and the applications of fancy yarns

22

4.1 4.2

Manufacturing attitudes and equipment Applications for fancy yarns

22 23

5

Introduction to fancy yarn structures, and analysis of fancy yarns

29

5.1 5.2

Introduction Analysing yarns

29 30

6

Structures and formation of fancy yarns

33

6.1 6.2

Marl yarn Spiral or corkscrew yarn

33 34 iii

iv

Contents

6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 6.8 6.9 6.10 6.11 6.12 6.13 6.14 6.15 6.16 6.17 6.18 6.19 6.20 6.21

Gimp yarn Diamond yarn Eccentric yarn Bouclé yarn Loop yarn Snarl yarn Mock chenille yarn Knop yarn Stripe yarn Cloud or grandrelle yarn Slub yarn Nepp yarn and fleck yarn Button yarn Fasciated yarn Tape yarn Chainette yarn Chenille yarn Cover yarn Metallic yarn

35 36 37 38 40 43 44 45 46 47 47 50 51 53 53 55 55 59 59

7

Manufacturing techniques

60

7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4

Overview of production processes Yarn production systems Yarn and fabric trials Future developments

60 62 87 90

8

The design and application of fancy yarns

92

8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 8.7 8.8 8.9 8.10 8.11 8.12 8.13

Introduction The design implications of fancy yarns The use – or not – of luxury fibres Intellectual property in design Uses for fancy yarns New yarns, new fibres, new ideas The retail potential of fancy yarns Retailing Apparel fabrics Furnishing fabrics Designing the yarns The design of fancy yarns using computers Designing fabrics using fancy yarns and fancy doubled yarns

92 92 94 95 97 99 100 100 102 108 110 113 116

Contents

v

9

The marketing of fancy yarns

126

9.1 9.2

The market size and form The markets available and marketing techniques employed Historical evidence for the status of fancy yarns The challenge of marketing Management and marketing issues as they affect the fashion and fabrics industries

126 127 130 131

Conclusion

144

References Bibliography Index

145 146 149

9.3 9.4 9.5

10

133

Foreword

Since I am an established supporter and advocate of the value to the industry of creative textile design, I welcome the opportunity to endorse the motives for publishing this textbook. Further, it is as a friend that I make a generalised criticism of the failure of many textiles and fashion courses seriously to introduce students to the design possibilities inherent in fancy doubled yarns. Readers of this volume will gain an appreciation of the long history of manipulating and combining threads to achieve fancy effects in textiles. They will also have some understanding of the many ingenious machines devised in the past to exploit these effects. Noticing the recent impact on High Street fashion of the once exclusive chenille yarns, and wondering how this exotic was transformed into a commodity, they may find the answer here. Better still, they may be inspired to identify other effect yarns from the past which would be welcome in the contemporary fashion scene, and apply modern means to their economical production. It is my hope that the knowledge painstakingly composed within this book may stimulate a dialogue between designers of textiles and spinners of yarns, which will be fruitful to each of them and to their customers. Peter Craig Byrom OBE, B A, C Text., F T I Senior Fellow R C A, F R S A Authors’ note: This book would not have been written if we had not been made aware that students and professionals in the field of fancy yarns have no general work of reference to which they can refer. This first became clear during a project supported by Peter Byrom during the late 1990s, and it was for this reason, and because of his considerable experience in the textile industry, that we have asked him to write a Foreword to this book. In a working lifetime in the textile industry, from 1952 to date, Peter Byrom’s manufacturing experience has included the production and marketing of cotton yarns, bulked continuous filaments, fancy woollens, worsteds vii

viii

Foreword

and silks. During his membership of the Council of the Textile Institute, he served as Chairman of the Activities Committee. He was awarded the O B E in 1987 for services to the Royal College of Art. Throughout his career in the industry, he worked as consultant, governor and moderator with very many textile design colleges and universities, and within the design initiatives of the Royal Society of Arts. The graduates of these colleges have been major contributors to the success of the manufacturing and merchanting companies with whom Peter has worked, and as a pioneer of ‘design-led marketing’ in the 1960s, he was instrumental in creating a design studio employing over 60 textile and fashion graduates, which achieved a Queen’s Award for the export of textile design. This combination of interest and experience, we felt, made him the obvious choice to introduce our work to those who might be expected to receive the greatest benefit from it. Hugh Gong and Rachel Wright

Preface

In recent years, there has been a very marked increase in the interest in and applications of fancy yarns and fancy doubled yarns, and these yarns now have considerable commercial significance. This is the case even though they form a relatively small volume of the overall textile fibre output of the world. This volume is estimated to be about 1% by weight of the mill consumption statistics, and in 1998 the value of the European market was estimated to be around £500M. The motto of the Textile Institute ‘All human life hangs by a thread’ (Omnia sunt pendentia filo hominum tenui) demonstrates that organisation’s appreciation of the universal and interdisciplinary nature of the textile world. But Shakespeare’s remark that ‘the web of life is of a mingled yarn’ is of more direct relevance to our concerns, since fancy yarns and fancy doubled yarns are essentially ‘mingled’ as a result of their physical characteristics. This book will discuss the ‘mingling’ of the many varieties, their modes of manufacture, and the design and marketing implications that result from their use. An increase in the general appreciation of the design and marketing opportunities opening to the fancy yarns sector has also become apparent recently. This increase has been driven mainly by the prominent design houses. The trend has had a variable application in place, time, and market sector, and there are a number of reasons for this variability. There is a prejudice frequently expressed by some spinners that fancy yarns of any description are troublesome and difficult to manufacture, and that they divert time and attention from other matters. There is also the point that the combination of budgetary and time pressures on the many university and college departments offering courses for textile students, together make it difficult to give any considerable allotment of study or workshop periods. In addition, lecturers and instructors in universities and technical colleges have, until now, been commonly of the age to be most strongly influenced by the prejudices that see fancy yarns as time-consuming and irrelevant. We feel that this is resulting in an undesirable restriction in the range of information available to students and spinners. Therefore, this book attempts to ix

x

Preface

address these prejudices, and to mitigate the restriction of information. We are aware that these pressures on time and money make it more difficult to assemble a library, or a hand-selected dictionary of fancy and fancy doubled yarns for every student. The production of this basic textbook covering the topic should reduce considerably the burden on lecturers and students alike. The many illustrations – of machines, yarns, fashion and fabrics – are intended to offer an elementary introduction to the manufacturing techniques now in common use and to the varying application of fancy and fancy doubled yarns. Our objective in developing this book is to create a work of reference that will offer support to both the student and the worker in the textile industry. Although this offers a broad topic in itself, it seemed that the discussion of the manufacturing techniques without some discussion also of the applications of the product would tell only half of the story, in particular when we consider that fancy yarns and fancy doubled yarns make their greatest contribution in the essentially ephemeral matters of fashion and style. We therefore seek to offer as well, a general overview of the market for fancy doubled yarns and novelty yarns as it is seen today. This book falls naturally into four sections: the first, comprising Chapters 1 to 4, deals with the background and historical development of fancy yarns, together with an introduction to their applications. In this section we discuss the basic matters relating to our definition of a ‘fancy yarn’, give a brief overview of the historical progress of fancy yarns from the earliest archaeological records to the present day, and conclude with a discussion of their place in the present textile industry and markets. The second section, Chapters 5 and 6, concerns fancy yarn structures. The variety of structural effects that are to be found in fancy yarns available today is described. It is illustrated with yarn diagrams and pictures of yarns in order to aid the student in identifying the basic yarn structures and types. The third section comprises a single chapter, Chapter 7, dealing with the manufacturing techniques employed in the creation of the structural effects covered in the previous section. Again, diagrams are included to demonstrate the particular methods outlined in the text. In the final section, Chapters 8 and 9, we attempt to offer an insight into the many issues to be confronted in the industrial creation of fancy yarns for commercial customers. These include the effect of external developments on management and marketing techniques and concerns, the effect of the particular market level targeted and the influence of the catwalk on High Street fashion. Throughout this work, it should be recalled that we are discussing a product that, far from being a ‘commodity’, instead offers the designer an opportunity to create some truly unique fabrics and garments. It seems clear to us that the marketing dimension – especially in terms of the future –

Preface

xi

merits as much attention as that granted to the discussions of the mechanisms that already have been, or that may be, devised to produce those yarns. However, the yarn structures, and the machine parameters and their characteristics, and the properties of the yarns they produce, will be described before we consider these matters, which are less closely related to the technical reality of creating a useable yarn.

Acknowledgements

A work such as this, which essentially aims to bring together the available knowledge of a particular subject in a single place, necessarily involves the authors in discussions with a large number of people. It would be impossible to mention all of them, but some in particular deserve to be publicly thanked. To those named below, and to the many others who helped us, each in their own way, our grateful thanks: Peter Byrom, OBE – without whose encouragement we should never have attempted the project, and who has written the Foreword. Rodney Brook and Mick Cresswell, of Spectrum Yarns Ltd, Slaithwaite – for offering advice and assistance on a number of occasions, and for permission to use some of their yarns in illustrations. Edwina Ehrman, of the Museum of London – for her enthusiastic support of our research into the historical background of fancy yarns and for providing a number of useful contacts. Tracy Finch, of Paul James Knitwear Ltd, Leics. – for an introduction to commercial knitting and for permitting our use of garments and fabrics as illustrations. Toby Gaddum, of HT Gaddum and Co. Ltd, yarn agents in Macclesfield – for sharing his wide knowledge of the current market in the United Kingdom and for providing us with many additional contacts. Clive Mapp, of Du Pont UK Ltd, Gloucs. – for a fascinating introduction to modern airjet texturing. Peter Moroz, Ivor Warren and Les Downes of the Department of Textiles, UMIST – for their assistance in undertaking the yarn and fabric trials. Stephen Thornber, of JT Thornber Ltd, Clitheroe, Lancs. – for many enlightening conversations, and for permitting us to use images of some of the fabrics of his mill to illustrate our work. Ann Wilson, of Wilson Estella, London – for the loan of fabrics and garments, and for her insight into textile design, both as it is taught and as it occurs in commercial applications. xiii

xiv

Acknowledgements

Dr Daniel Yu, of the Department of Textiles, UMIST – for his invaluable assistance in the photography of yarns and fabrics to illustrate this work.

Comments and credits for the colour plates

The colour plates can be found between pages 80 and 81.

Plate 1

Yarn samples and historical applications

Detail of blue and pink silk brocade sack-back dress, showing floss silk embellishment. Courtesy of the Museum of London. Detail of Tudor glove, showing metallic thread embroidery and embroidery with hair. Courtesy of the Museum of London. Details of various yarns, shown to allow comparison of the historical details with modern chenille yarns and metallic yarns. Yarns from the collection of the authors and other yarns courtesy of Linton Tweeds Ltd. Yarn A – curly ‘chenille’ yarn made on the tricot system, creating a ‘knitdeknit’ effect in the pile. Yarn B – sparse chenille produced on the chenille machine, showing the direction of the nap. Yarn C – Plain chenille, also made using the chenille machine, using a two colour pile. Yarn D – Chenille-type yarn made on the tricot system, including a slit film in the pile and then doubling with a filament yarn to create a rounded yarn with a scalloped effect. Yarn E – Metallic tape yarn, showing the addition of a plain filament yarn for support. Clearly it could also be dyed to produce different overall colour effects. Yarn F – Metallic snarl yarn, showing that the metallic thread has been doubled with another to support it and create the form of the yarn. Yarn G – Metallic complex bouclé, which shows two space-dyed yarns and a metallic slit film fed together to create the effect. With thanks to: The Museum of London, London Wall, London, EC2Y 5HN. Linton Tweeds Ltd, Shaddon Mills, Shaddon Gate, Carlisle, CA2 5UA. xv

xvi

Comments and credits for the colour plates

Plate 2

Furnishings

Picture of interior, courtesy of Romo Fabrics Ltd. Picture of throws, courtesy of Romo Fabrics Ltd. Details of fabrics provided by James Thornber Ltd. Fabric A – golden chenille fed in as weft in a jacquard pattern, creating an alternation of both colour and of surface sensation. Fabric B – cream fabric including slub yarn in the weft. Again, the fabric has a jacquard pattern, so that the surface alternation of the design is supplemented and enhanced by the effect of the slub yarn. With thanks to: Romo Fabrics Ltd, Lowmoor Road, Kirkby in Ashfield, Nottingham, NG17 7DE (www.romofabrics.com). James Thornber Ltd, Holmes Mill, Greenacre Street, Clitheroe, Lancs., BB7 1EB.

Plate 3

Woven apparel fabrics

Detail of fabrics provided courtesy of Linton Tweeds Ltd. Detail of fabrics from the authors’ collections. Jacket shown courtesy of Linton Tweeds Ltd. Dress from the collection of R M Wright. With thanks to: Linton Tweeds Ltd, Shaddon Mills, Shaddon Gate, Carlisle, CA2 5UA.

Plate 4

Knitted apparel fabrics

Detail of intarsia knit cardigan supplied by Wilson Estella, London. Detail of garments supplied by Paul James Knitwear Ltd. Detail of fabric from the authors’ collections (navy slub). Detail of fabrics supplied by Paul James Knitwear Ltd. With thanks to: Wilson Estella, 28–30 Coronet Street, London, N1 6HD. Paul James Knitwear Ltd, 13 Hill Street, Barwell, near Hinkley, Leics., LE9 8BJ.

1 Introduction and background

The vast majority of the yarns produced commercially today are plain yarns – that is, they exhibit an evenness of colour and texture, and a uniformity of structure throughout the yarn. Such yarns may be compared with plain coloured cylinders or rods of regular diameter. Attaining a perfect regularity of colour and structure has been the aim of much of the technical research and innovation in textiles for many hundreds of years. However, at some point in the past, a fabric designer realised that what seemed to be an imperfection in the yarn could, in some cases, create a pleasing effect in the fabric. As a result, research has also been undertaken to devise new ways of manufacturing yarns with these ‘planned imperfections’, or of making fabrics which demonstrate the textural variety that seems to be so appealing. These yarns are described as ‘fancy yarns’ or ‘novelty yarns’, or, in the case of a specific family of yarns created by extensions and elaborations of the doubling system, as ‘fancy doubled yarns’. In the past few centuries, fancy effects have been produced in fabrics by a variety of means, only one of which has involved the inclusion of fancy doubled yarns or other novelty yarns. Although fancy effect yarns had been available before that time, it was in a relatively restricted range and, more importantly, in very limited quantities. The first developments lay in the creation of fancy doubled yarns – that is to say, the finished fancy yarns were created by assembling two or more other yarns using a doubling process. Simple doubling frames may still be used to create some of these effects, although clearly, as the possibilities of this process began to be understood, more complex effects began to be imagined and more complex doubling frames were designed to make them possible. This relatively unassuming beginning was followed by the development of a wide range of other fancy yarns, created by a variety of methods which bear only the vaguest relation to the doubling process as it is most generally understood. For the purposes of this publication, we shall employ the definition of a ‘fancy yarn’ which is given in the next section. It is clear that as still more technical advances are made, the resulting innovations in yarn production 1

2

Fancy yarns

may, in due course, supersede some of the production methods described later in this volume. However, it is our hope and belief that the broad outline and basis of this work will remain valid.

1.1

Definition

‘Fancy yarns’ are those in which some deliberate decorative discontinuity or interruption is introduced, of either colour or form, or of both colour and form. This discontinuity is incorporated with the intention of producing an enhanced aesthetic effect. In discussing fancy effects in fabric, we must also include the metallic yarns and yarns that have a metallic appearance, and therefore in the discussion of fancy yarn structures we have included a short section about these yarns, although by the strict terms of the definition, metallic yarns may not be ‘fancy’ since they may not demonstrate any visible discontinuity of either colour or form. This definition therefore excludes from our consideration those yarns whose appearance and characteristics are designed for inclusion in technical textiles. Most fancy yarns are produced by specialist fancy spinners, using machines modified or developed for the purpose. Others are produced from ‘fancy slivers’, which are used as minor components in yarns made by spinners using normal equipment. Still others are made exclusively from continuous filament, using adaptations or extensions of the airjet texturing process. Finally, it is also possible to produce an appearance that resembles some of the effects produced by incorporating slub yarns in a woven fabric, without the expense in materials incurred by the use of the yarns themselves. The skilled programming of a jacquard-controlled weaving machine makes it possible to mimic the appearance of a slub in the weft using ordinary straight yarns. Here, of course, the expense spared in purchasing slubbed yarns has been spent on the purchase of an advanced weaving machine and its programming. A fancy yarn is almost invariably complex in construction, with the natural result that the application of these more time-consuming or complex manufacturing processes makes the yarn more expensive than a plain yarn would be. It may contain many different components, filament or staple, natural or synthetic. The most luxurious yarns involve the ‘noble’ fibres such as cashmere, mohair, angora, or other more expensive natural fibres such as linen or silk. In some cases, however, an effect may best be obtained by the use of a synthetic – for example, the gleam of a metallic thread has no natural fibre counterpart, and slit films can also be used to remarkable effect. The constructional complexities are most often introduced by employing a complex drafting and delivery system that provides for a choice of several

Introduction and background

3

different paths for the feedstock to take from the creel on which the component yarns are arranged to the spinning head where they are combined to create the fancy yarn. These ‘effect’ components may involve sliver or roving, or yarn, or sometimes may even include continuous filaments. The most versatile fancy yarn producing spinning machines will allow both for the drafting of a sliver or roving, and at the same time for the undrafted and possibly overfed delivery of yarn and filament feedstocks. The components are then entrapped to a greater or lesser extent by the core yarns and, in most cases, these complex yarns are then in the final instance bound by a fine yarn or filament binder. It should already be clear that fancy yarns present their own particular challenges where design and production are concerned; these matters will be discussed in more detail in later chapters.

1.2

Purpose and scope

We intend to discuss the manufacture, design, and marketing of the fancy yarns that are sold commercially in order to add decorative elements in the design of an item of apparel or household furnishing. Generally, but not invariably, these fancy yarns feature the discontinuity or interruption of a mechanical effect, such as an irregular variation in the cross section or the contour of a yarn. They may also feature, or may feature instead, variations in colour or colour effects. We will make no attempt to discuss the complex yarns intended for use in technical textiles where the structural complexity is developed for the sake of performance, perhaps involving a particular combination of component fibres, but where the form of the yarn is plain. Nor will we attempt to cover the myriad yarns and combinations of yarns created in textile art, since it is rare for these combinations to be developed or produced in such quantities as to become true commercial products. Furthermore, since computer-controlled machinery is now almost ubiquitous, and the contribution of computers to many aspects of production, planning and control is certainly taken for granted, it does not seem unreasonable to include a section that discusses briefly the development of computer applications as they seem relevant to the textile industry. Nor is it irrelevant to speculate on the range of possibilities that are as yet unexplored.

1.3

Methodology

In assembling this work, which is intended to provide an introduction to fancy yarns and fancy doubled yarns in commercial textile manufacture, we have made use of a wide variety of sources. Technical literature, information from spinning machinery manufacturers, papers and patent applica-

4

Fancy yarns

tions have contributed to the technical background and assisted us in defining the spinning techniques employed and the equipment devised to deliver those techniques. For general matters relating to fashion, marketing and management, we have taken our inspiration from the Financial Times, its ‘Management’ and ‘Marketing’ occasional series, and its monthly magazine ‘How To Spend It’, as well as from a variety of other fashion, design and management publications. Alexis de Tocqueville’s ‘Democracy in America’ and ‘The Goal’ by Eliyahu M. Goldratt and Jeff Cox provided food for thought, as did ‘The Tablet’, ‘International Textiles’, ‘Textile Progress’, and various issues of the RSA Journal, the Journal of the Institute of Materials, and the Journal of the Textile Institute. For our information on the historical development of textiles and in particular fancy yarns, we are indebted to respondents at the Whitworth Gallery, The Museum of London, The Victoria and Albert Museum and the Musée de Costume in Paris. In addition, a variety of websites and Internet communities indicated areas of concern and offered some pointers for research. Last, but by no means least, we have had considerable willing and cheerful assistance from respondents in the many companies interested in fancy yarns, either because they make them, use them, or use fabrics that include them. Some of the yarns illustrating the section on fancy yarn structures were provided by Spectrum Yarns Ltd, while others are taken from the authors’ own collections and from the collection of Mr Peter Byrom, OBE, who has taken great interest in this project, and who selected them from the ranges of Ferguson’s of Stockport in 1952, to illustrate and illuminate his own detailed notes on this subject. These yarns were selected for their relative simplicity because they illustrate clearly the yarn structures that are discussed in this text. Many more modern yarns, benefiting as they do from the broader capabilities of modern electronic control systems, combine two or more structures to create a more complex and unusual overall appearance, and therefore do not demonstrate a single effect sufficiently unambiguously for our purpose.

2 Historical development

For the greater part of the very long history of the textile industry, its various technological advances have been primarily concentrated on producing plain round yarns ever more perfectly and speedily. The extensive range of decorative elements available for the majority of that period has been offered by the introduction of colour, and by woven, knitted or applied patterns, rather than by the yarn itself. Thus, the technological advances seen in earlier times related to the creation of fabrics, and then to the application of pattern in those fabrics (by printing, painting, embroidery, appliqué, beadwork or other means) or they related to dyeing and pigmentation. The fancy yarn may have had its beginnings in the work of those early weavers who would occasionally combine the threads they used in different ways as they were weaving, to produce a wide variety of colourful and textural effects. In the following paragraphs, we shall attempt to offer an impression of the enormous range of developments in textile techniques that, in due course, led to the invention of fancy yarns and then to the development of a variety of commercial equipment for the production of fancy yarns and fancy doubled yarns. Archaeologists have been able to push our horizon of knowledge to some considerable distance, thanks to some fortunate accidents of environment that have led to the preservation of textile materials, which are otherwise rarely discovered within the archaeological record. The earliest surviving textile fragment, of linen, discovered at C¸ayönü in south-east Turkey, has been radio-carbon dated to around 7000 bc.1 It does not include any evidence of a fancy yarn, but of course the absence of physical evidence is not proof of the absence of the techniques: all it proves is that we have yet to discover any surviving examples – a very different matter. In fact, even that statement is too strong, since during the investigation of burials in Chinese Turkestan, near Cherchen and Loulan that was reported in ‘The Mummies of Ürümchi’ by Elizabeth Wayland Barber2 a very fine overspun yarn (that is, a very highly twisted yarn) was found, which has been dated to around 1000 bc. Along with this very tightly twisted overspun yarn, evidence was 5

6

Fancy yarns

found of a fabric that included, in a manner which made it clear that this was intentional, a yarn so thick and so lightly twisted that by modern standards it would class as a roving rather than as a completed yarn. We can deduce, therefore, that these early artisans were able to envisage the textural variations that would result from a variation in yarn thickness, and were able to make the yarns that they spun either thicker or thinner than normal, to suit the textures and patterns that they had in mind. It is somewhat easier to find evidence for metallic yarns. These were most often made of thin strips of metal – in most cases, silver-gilt or silver – wrapped around a core of silk or linen, or in some cases they might be fine threads or wires produced by wire-drawers. By the eighteenth century, there seem to have been four basic types of thread whose definitions were so universally accepted that it was clear they were of no recent date: •

•

•

•

the plain (filé) thread, which consisted of fine strips wrapped around a core to produce a round yarn of even diameter and therefore of consistent lustre; the frost (frisé) thread, which was similar to the plain except that one end of the core was more tightly twisted than the other, resulting in a more crinkled appearance, which reflected the light unevenly; the plate, which omitted the core, and used the metal strip laid flat against the surface, producing a high level of reflectance and therefore a very bright appearance; and the clincon, which consisted of a strip of plate twisted around a frost thread – this would tend to produce a thread that alternated a flat area and a crinkled area, and could be seen as an early metallic fancy doubled yarn.

In addition, the ‘plate’, being based upon a drawn metal wire, was capable of many variations. It could be passed through rollers to flatten it and broaden it to varying degrees, or even to apply some texture to the surface. Many of the metallic threads available to embroiderers today are based upon manipulations of ‘plate’ threads, although in most cases they are no longer made with real metals, but with metallic-coloured laminated films. There is evidence of these metallic ‘yarns’ or ‘threads’ very early on: they were well known in Roman times, for instance, and there is considerable use of metallic yarns of this type in fabrics for ceremonial and ritual garments throughout much of history, not only in Europe, but indeed throughout the world. The makers of military dress uniforms and ecclesiastical garments have been considerable users of metallic thread from very early times right to the present day. Not for nothing do heralds, even now, include two metals, argent (silver) and or (gold) in their palette. In most cases, especially in these earlier times, the yarns would have been used to provide a rich border to a garment, and often the design would be embroidered,

Historical development

7

rather than woven or knitted. Gradually, however, the yarns were included within the structure of the fabric itself, instead of simply being applied after the garment had been made. ‘Cloth of Gold’ is not a saga-writer’s invention, but a reality. The Elizabethans, and their contemporaries throughout Europe, made considerable use of fine gold and silver threads in embroidery and lace making. A colour illustration is included on Plate 1 (opposite p 80), which shows Tudor metallic thread embroidery embellishing a glove. Some of the other embroidery is done using hair – evidence that the use of unexpected materials as embellishment is not confined to recent times. It is accompanied by illustrations of modern yarns that include a ‘metallic’ element, or at least an element which aims to produce the same effect. The early metallic threads found an extension to their use when, in the eighteenth century, they began to be included in the designs of silks for apparel, and the classification described earlier became widespread. Then, also in the eighteenth century, a material described as ‘floss silk’ became widely used in ornamentation; it consists of bundles of silk filaments tied across the main strand of silk, an effect that, to modern eyes, is distantly reminiscent of a chenille. This form of ornamentation is shown in the other detailed colour picture on Plate 1, and is accompanied by a range of modern chenille and chenille-type yarns that demonstrate the similarity in structure and morphology, although, equally, it becomes clear that, in most cases, the modern effect is both smaller and more densely packed. Indeed, the chenille in fact may be the earliest true ‘fancy doubled yarn’ to have been developed. It is mentioned (although as a thread for embroidery) in ‘Art of the Embroiderer’, published in 1770 by Charles Germain de Saint-Aubin,3 who held the title of Designer to the King (Louis XV). In fact, Saint-Aubin’s text on chenille appears to be ambiguous, since it suggests that there may have been a method for ‘spinning’ a chenille yarn, although Saint-Aubin also notes that the alternative method does not produce a yarn of the high quality of the chenille made using the intermediate weaving process. This is particularly surprising since, until very recently, the only known method for producing this archetypal fancy yarn was by weaving a fabric that was then slit along the warp, following which each section was twisted to produce the characteristic ‘furry’ look of the chenille yarn so that it appears round, rather than flat or tape-like; as opposed to the process developed in the 1970s, which combines the component yarns by doubling the core yarns in such a way as to entrap the effect yarns. Thus Saint-Aubin implies the existence of a spinning process for chenille 200 years before the first patent now known! In the past, many unusual materials were used in embroidery and other applied embellishment, even when they were rarely found woven or knitted into fabrics. The metallic yarns we have already mentioned, along with floss

8

Fancy yarns

silk and chenille, but other items have included hair, leather and straw. Even in prehistoric times, there is evidence of clothing that had been decorated using beads made of bone and antler. It was not until the late nineteenth century that the range of fancy doubled yarns available today began to be developed, and with it, an increasing profusion of machinery intended to create specific effects. This, in turn, meant that the quantities that could be produced were increased, making it possible to use the yarns to create fabrics, rather than simply to embellish them. As electronic process control became increasingly prevalent, and much more importantly, increasingly flexible, reliable and useful, it became far easier to produce variable and varying effects which, at the same time, attained a consistent level of quality. This becomes still more important when we realise how difficult it is to detect faults in a fancy yarn, and particularly in a fabric incorporating fancy yarns, by eye, since it is intended to be uneven. Because the unevenness of structure can be expressed in the appearance of unevenness of colour, how can we reliably identify any faults of colour and structure? We also now have available to us an almost limitless selection of yarns, which can combine structural effects with cross-dyed or other processing effects. The range and variety available to yarn designers, and through them, to fabric designers, have become immense. Indeed, that scope continues to increase as those responsible for the equipment become yet more inventive, combining widely differing production methods to create a stable yarn after a single passage of the machine, and thus producing previously unimaginable effects. The advent of precise electronic control has also meant that it has become possible to reduce, and even to eliminate, some of the earlier problems that were experienced with some yarns created using variable input speeds. In particular, considerable thought and effort has been devoted to reducing what was previously considered to be an unavoidable failing in certain slub yarns, that is the appearance of a weak point following the slub, which is, after all, simply a thick place in the yarn. As we follow the development of mechanically-produced fancy yarns, it is often extremely tempting to speculate on the possible design inspiration for some of those yarns – one can imagine, for example, that the slub was first developed in an attempt to produce a ‘linen-look’ using cotton yarns; but who devised the first fabric that could be cut warpwise to produce a chenille, and why? This aspect of textile history, however, fascinating as it is, does not truly fall within the scope of the present volume, in which we must concentrate on the here-and-now, and on the range of production methods that are available to us today.

3 The size of the market for fancy yarns

3.1

Introduction

In considering the market for fancy yarns, we need to remember that these goods are not commodity items, and nor will they ever be. Their purpose is to add colour or texture, or both; in other words, to create some variation in the aesthetic appearance of the fabric or garment. Therefore, the size and value of the worldwide market for fancy yarns is subject to fluctuations of fashion and of season, and is extremely difficult to determine at any one time. In size and value, the market for fancy yarns is also likely to appear to be negligible when compared with other textile markets, although given that fancy yarns are more expensive than plain yarns, the value of that market will be disproportionately high in relation to its size. Large volumes of textile materials are required for geotextile and other industrial uses, which include activities ranging from teabags, cigarette filters and sanitary materials to tyre cords, road linings and conveyor belts. The extensive use of these materials and others makes the combined industrial volumes sufficiently large to rival the worldwide apparel volumes. As stated, the small size of the market for fancy yarns is to some extent counterbalanced by the relatively high values for the yarns, but the variations in the type and detail of data recorded make it extraordinarily difficult to gain a true picture of the market for fancy yarns throughout the world. We do not consider it necessary to attempt the Herculean task of providing an accurate snapshot of the world market for fancy yarns at the time of writing. Such information is of little direct use to the student of yarn structures and applications, especially since the data available do not extend to such details as the yarn structures concerned and their methods of manufacture. Further, since the market size is heavily subject to the fluctuations of fashion, any figures so derived would be of little benefit to the industry as a whole. We do, however, contend that it is of some value to offer a description of a method by which it might be possible to use the published data available to attain some estimate of the global market size and of its 9

10

Fancy yarns

financial values. The method we describe here is referred to as ‘the successive scenario technique’. The advantage that this method offers is that it makes it possible to conduct research in market sectors where complete data are unavailable. The method is ‘seeded’, or initialised, by developing a possible ‘scenario’ that can subsequently be offered for discussion with informed respondents. This then generates a further scenario that can, in turn, be offered for comment to other respondents. In this way, the model of the market sector can be refined until it reflects the situation more or less confidently. This method was chosen because one of us [RMW] has a detailed knowledge of the workings of this method relating to studies of the markets for chemicals for textile finishing,4 and for cosmetics and toiletries.5 This technique was later used to study the European markets for fancy doubled yarns,6 and discussions of their prospects with some 80% of the UK producers of these yarns gave a final estimated production volume in the UK of about 4200 tonnes in 1998. Unlike the present situation, in both of the ‘chemicals’ cases the range and trajectory of the application groups was such that a very large proportion of the total population were concerned with contributing to the volumes and values. Even more importantly, a high proportion of the participating companies could, at a cost, be approached. In the present case, the producers are geographically highly dispersed and form a relatively small proportion of the total population, which would make research of the global market a very expensive proceeding, to be undertaken in detail only where some benefit could be expected from the knowledge gained. The degree of confidence with which the results of the successive scenario technique can be presented or used as the basis for business decisions is related to the proportion of possible producers actually approached. In our present case we have a large degree of uncertainty, which means that estimates for the production of fancy yarns of anything between 0.1 per cent and 5 per cent of the total yarn production can be proposed and logically defended. As the degree of uncertainty increases, so too does the importance of contacting a large number of respondents. In turn, therefore, this is reflected in the significant cost that would be involved in approaching even a small proportion of the hundreds of spinners throughout the world who may or may not manufacture fancy yarns of various types. First enquiries designed to establish a spinner’s estimate of the total volumes of fancy yarns used in a country or Continent or market area, are likely to receive a response of ‘about 1 per cent’. Perhaps this is simply a reflection of the underlying dismissal of fancy yarns as ‘a slow, expensive nuisance’ which was mentioned in the introduction to Bellwood’s 1977 article on the subject in Textile Industries.7 In fact, the figure for the UK in 1998, as it was determined after many iterations of the successive scenario technique, turned out to be closer to 2 per cent.


11

The successive scenario technique starts by developing an initial quantitative scenario using the published general economic or demographic information available for the target countries. This is done by extrapolating from the collected data for some product groups of some countries in order to provide ‘notional’ data for other countries, the data for which are not known. In an elaboration of the method, these theoretically derived figures are modified by a factor which combines the theoretically derived figures with the relative standards of living in the countries under consideration. The factor used is the ratio of the published gross domestic products using a known country’s statistics as the reference basis. This process yields a pattern that can be checked and rechecked with individual, knowledgeable respondents who, for one reason or another, are especially familiar with a particular country, group of countries, or product group. Even with small market sectors, it is possible to identify the gross application groups, such as hand knitting and heavy gauge machine knitting for acrylic fibre, and upholstery for cotton fibre end uses. The method will generally give a useful first approximation even when the market sectors considered are of recent date and therefore immature. It will certainly provide an approximation that is good enough to justify a conversation with an informed respondent. It is this point which is of such crucial importance. The development of the first scenario is only the first stage of the process – it needs to be modified and re-modified until the scenario presented is felt to reflect the actual situation. Obviously, it will quickly become apparent that there is no single ‘typical’ market, so that, in the present case, excessively high figures will be obtained if the Italian or Turkish production of fancy yarns are taken as the basis for extrapolation. The greatest advantage of the successive scenario technique is that it provides a means of crystallising the latent knowledge of the industry that the respondents have acquired. The collected and published data do not include the details of yarn production in which we are interested, while at the other end of the scale, the precise details of an individual mill’s production would offer too great a level of detail. We need to find a way of deriving the intermediate stage, which in effect concerns the production volume of individual countries. The first, extrapolated scenario takes no account of local variations, and is therefore usually so grotesquely inaccurate that even the most diffident respondent will feel encouraged to offer suggested alterations. As the model is refined, it gradually reaches a point at which it reflects the market situation as a whole. Clearly, for this method to succeed, it is necessary to speak to respondents who are in a sufficiently senior position to have some inkling of the world outside their doors. That fact accepted, however, it is often the case that even these people do not realise how much they know, but feel themselves to be limited by their personal horizons.

12

Fancy yarns

The greatest danger presented by the technique is one of infinite circularity of argument and of finishing up with the number first thought of, and so the necessity for constant checking and rechecking cannot be emphasised too strongly. In the market for fancy yarns, one form of cross checking would be to work in reverse; that is, starting from the mill production. In this case, the production per week is estimated and the total market figure extrapolated therefrom. In either case, the details of the figures are unlikely to be entirely accurate. It would be impossible, for example, to be at all certain of the derived figure for chenille production in any one country, although that derived figure is very likely to offer a reasonable approximation, at least for the major application groups. The gross outline of the situation (that is to say, the relative proportions of the production in different countries) is likely to be plausible, however. Absolute precision at this stage is neither sought nor claimed. The aim is simply to gain some impression of the relative volumes of the markets being considered, at a specific time.

3.2

Starting the successive scenario technique

In the original study6 it seemed a reasonable first assumption, based on the examples of fancy yarns found in retail outlets, that the production of fancy yarns within Europe would be related to the consumption of wool and cotton. Initially, therefore, the overall consumption of wool and cotton fibre was combined with the population figures to give an average per capita consumption. To put this figure in context, and allowing for the production of cellulosics and synthetics, the per capita consumption for all fibres has now risen as high 7.5 kilos in 1999 and 8.5 kilos in 2000. It is worth bearing in mind at this point that the fibre consumption figure has risen, even as the world population has risen, so the total world production of textile materials must rise to keep pace. For the last two decades of the twentieth century, the consumption of wool and cotton together varied between five and three kilos per capita, and seemed to be in decline. This will be a reflection of a complex matrix of influences, but among them we can be sure that the increasing use of synthetic fibres has played a part, as has increasing poverty in some parts of the world, and increasing affluence in others. More detailed enquiries, beyond the scope of this volume, illustrate the background to this point: the proportions, for individual markets, vary from that 0.1 per cent mentioned earlier to 2 per cent of the mill consumption values. In order to develop the initial scenario it is necessary to make an estimate of the proportion of the total market that is occupied by the target market. In this case, as a first approximation we can choose to accept the estimate first offered at the beginning of the study in 1998, that fancy yarns form 1 per cent of the total textile production. In offering an outline of this


13

Table 3.1 World fibre consumption, 2001. Fibre Wool

Mill consumption data (million tonnes) 1.3

Cotton

19.2

Synthetic

28.3

Cellulosic

2.7

Total

51.5

Source: Derived from data made public by CIRFS, 2001.

method, we are not making any attempt to develop the model and complete the process to create an accurate assignment of the production figures to the different countries, since we wish simply to offer an estimate of the proportion of the total world textile production that relates to fancy yarns, and a means of evolving further results. It is then possible to cross-check the estimate to ensure, for example, that the estimated total for fancy yarn production does not exceed the production of a particular fibre. Table 3.1 shows the unmodified mill consumption data for 2001, which gives a total all-fibre mill consumption of 51 400 000 tonnes. If we accept the initial estimate of one per cent, the production of fancy yarns will therefore be around 514 000 tonnes. Since at the end of this chapter we will be comparing the estimates that are made in the course of the discussion, we shall refer to this estimate, of approximately half a million tonnes, as Estimate 1. We can expand these figures to show possible levels of production for the various synthetic fibre types. Making the allowance for the historical record, which shows that the changes (in volumes of fibre, filament or staple) have always been very slow, we can derive the approximate figures as shown in Table 3.2. We clearly wish to make our revised second estimate credible, and we know that by no means all of the world fibre production can include fancy yarns. In particular, of the common divisions into Apparel, Household and Industrial, we know that Industrial uses will not involve fancy yarns. We have an estimate of 32% of the total volume to be assigned to Industrial applications4, with 55% applied to the Apparel sector and 13% dedicated to Household uses. Thus, we can calculate that the Industrial uses involve 16 300 000 tonnes, which leaves us with some 34 700 000 tonnes in the candidate group for the use of fancy yarns. The Industrial sector uses a disproportionate amount of synthetic fibres, leaving rather less than the 55% that might be expected from Table 3.1 to be used in Apparel and

14

Fancy yarns Table 3.2 Estimated world fibre production figures, 2001. Fibre

Production (million tonnes)

Polyester

13.0

Polyamide

8.5

Polyacrylic

4.5

Others

2.0

Cellulosics Cotton

2.5 19.0

Wool

1.5

Total

51.0

Household materials. Perhaps around 30% of that figure will be the ‘synthetic’ fibres, which we can divide in two, for convenience assigning 50% to remain as continuous filament and the other 50% to be cut into staple. Of the candidate group of 34 700 000 tonnes, we can estimate that only 15 to 20% will in fact have the potential to involve fancy yarns. This gives us a possible market of between 5 200 000 tonnes and 6 900 000 tonnes. We can attempt to make this more precise by eliminating from our calculations some considerable portion of the Household textiles, since blankets, carpets and sheeting will certainly not include fancy yarns either. Thus, rather than 34 700 000 tonnes, we have perhaps 21 700 000 tonnes of textile production offering possible likely markets for fancy yarns. Again applying our estimate of 15 to 20% offering more likelihood than the rest, we now have between 3 and 4 million tonnes as our suggested upper and lower boundaries. We maintain our estimate that only a fraction of the potential market will actually involve fancy yarns, and one percent of that potential market is, taking the upper limit, 40 000 tonnes (this in the future will be referred to as Estimate 2). Obviously, this is significantly less than our initial estimate of half a million tonnes (that is, the figure of 514 000 tonnes mentioned previously) but equally, it offers us a clear lower boundary against which we can check our estimates. In Estimate 1 and Estimate 2, therefore, we have derived what we expect will prove to be the upper and lower limits of the potential production of fancy yarns. Already it is clear that only slightly differing premises and lines of reasoning will, at this stage, produce radically different results. Far from discouraging further research, we should now be encouraged to investigate further. In this work we will not be following the final necessary procedure that involves discussions with respondents, although we will show later in the chapter the type of alteration we can expect to make based on such discussions.


15

Perhaps another line of reasoning will offer us an estimate closer to one or other of the boundaries. So, if Estimate 2 seems a very small figure in comparison with the total, we should remember that a significant portion of the total textile production is destined for industrial use, and that none of this will involve fancy yarns. We must therefore exclude all the industrial textile materials, for example tyre cords, cigarette filters and conveyor belts, and much of the household textile production, which includes carpets, blankets, sheeting and so on. We are seeking, in fact, that portion of the market which is engaged in producing textile materials for apparel and household furnishing. We estimated earlier that between 15 and 20% of the apparel and household sectors might offer some scope for the use of fancy yarns. If we choose 17.5%, as offering an intermediate value, we reach the conclusion that the potential application of fancy yarns lies in 8 995 thousand tonnes of the market. Since fancy yarns are included for their aesthetic qualities and for the sense of ‘difference’ they convey, it immediately becomes clear that only a small portion of that percentage will actually make use of them. Fancy yarns, we should emphasize, are used primarily in the ultra-high value and high margin sectors of the market, even though some specific structures now appear at the mid-market level. In fact, the use of fancy yarns lies in the subsection of the apparel and household market we have sought to define, since there are further exclusions to bear in mind – sheer fabrics, jersey knits, and fabrics woven for printing all (usually) exclude fancy yarns. If, again, we choose to accept the suggestion that that small percentage is one per cent, then we have an estimate of approximately 90 000 tonnes, which we shall call Estimate 3.

3.3

The method of the successive scenario technique

Starting from the assumption that the estimates of fibre consumption and production are valid, we can make the initial estimate for the fancy yarn production of a reference country. To avoid the complication of real quantities, we shall refer to this initial estimate as x tonnes. Approximations of the possible sizes of these markets can be derived demographically. First we multiply by the target country’s population relative to the reference country. Then we do the same with the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to account for the relative purchasing power. We need make no assumptions in the first instance, and no further data need be used. Our adjustment factor is therefore given by Equation 3.1. Population of GDP of Target Target Country Country per capita f = ¥ Population of GDP of Reference Reference Country Country per capita

[3.1]

16

Fancy yarns

In Equation 3.1, the ratio of the per capita GDP expresses the following relationship, shown as a fraction in Equation 3.2, which represents the relative standards of living of the target country and the reference country: Purchasing Power Parity of Target Country Purchasing Power Parity of Reference Country

[3.2]

The factor f, which is the result of Equation 3.1, when applied to x, gives an answer in terms of the units of the figure x, that is, in tonnes. The reference country will always have f equal to 1. The first ‘scenario’ is therefore xf(target country) for each target country or group of countries. These results, R, which can be described as the ‘extrapolated production figures’, can then be listed and discussed with suitable respondents who can comment on the likely accuracy of the figures and suggest changes to be made to them. Equation 3.3 offers a reminder of the derivation of R. R = xf(target country)

[3.3]

To offer an example, we show in Table 3.3 a possible result of applying this technique to some of the available figures for 2001, using the United Kingdom as the reference country. Williamson’s 1998 study6 of the European market for fancy yarns provides us with a reasonably accurate starting figure of 4200 tonnes produced in the United Kingdom, since it was obtained after having spoken to a large proportion of the United Kingdom’s spinners of fancy yarns then operating. We should emphasize here that no modifications based on general market knowledge have been made to the figures shown in Table 3.3. Nevertheless, we shall base our next estimate of worldwide fancy yarn production on this Table, and say that Estimate 4 is of 68 000 tonnes. The Table includes only a selection of the countries active in the textile industry throughout the world, so the same factor applied to all countries could give an initial estimate that might very well be much higher. However, closer examination of the production patterns in some of these countries may reveal that their production of fancy yarns is, in fact, negligible, which would reduce the estimated overall production figure significantly. The overriding point to be borne in mind is that the estimate is only an estimate, intended to offer the respondents a figure with which they may agree or disagree, depending on the knowledge available to them. After discussions with a number of respondents, changes can be incorporated to create a new list R2, and the process can then be repeated with different respondents to refine the model. The second scenario will be modified by the impressions and assessments of the market collected from the respondents, and quantified in some way. As an immediate example, it is generally agreed that activity in the fancy yarn sector is proportionately much higher in Italy than in any other European country. When we begin


17

Table 3.3 Extrapolated production figures for fancy yarn production in various countries, 2001. Country

Purchasing power parity ($)

Population in 2001 (thousands)

Factor relating target to UK ’f ’

Derived and unmodified figures for fancy yarn production* (tonnes)

Australia

22 200

19 521.9

0.333

1 386

Belgium

23 900

10 255.6

0.188

798

France

23 300

58 882.3

1.054

4 410

Germany

22 700

81 981.9

1.429

6 006

Greece

13 900

10 965.7

0.117

504

Hungary

7 800

10 054.7

0.060

252

India

1 800

1 040 281.0

1.438

6 048

Indonesia

2 800

217 613.5

0.468

1 974

Italy

21 400

57 989.9

0.953

3 990

Netherlands

23 100

16 074.1

0.285

1 218

New Zealand

17 400

3 852.7

0.051

210

7 200

38 622.9

0.214

882

Poland Portugal

15 300

10 008.8

0.178

504

Romania

3 900

22 287.4

0.067

294

Slovakia

8 500

5 428.6

0.035

168

Spain

17 300

40 117.1

0.533

2 226

Turkey

6 200

68 634.8

0.327

1 386

Ukraine

2 200

50 222.4

0.085

336

United Kingdom

21 800

59 730.3

1

4 200

United States

33 900

284 620.4

7.410

31 122

Total extrapolated production figure

67 914

* Based on GDP and Population figures, 2001, and calculated based on the factor relating the target and reference countries, as explained in the text.

to develop the scenario for comment, therefore, we can include that information, and any other such information relating to production in other countries as well. Again, a possible result of such discussions and modifications is shown in Table 3.4. At this stage, of course, having contacted only one small set of respondents, the derived and modified figures remain extremely inaccurate. We emphasize, therefore, that these figures serve only as a basis for discussion with a further group of respondents, and so this inaccuracy is not a flaw at this early stage in the enquiry. Indeed, this

18

Fancy yarns

Table 3.4 Modified derived figures for fancy yarn production in various countries, 2001 – second scenario. Country

Alterations to figures in Table 3.3, as suggested by respondents

Derived and modified figures for fancy yarn production* (tonnes)

Australia

0

1 386

Belgium

+100

898

France

-3 407

1 003

Germany

-4 805

1 201

Greece

0

504

Hungary

0

252

+1 556

7 604

India Indonesia Italy Netherlands New Zealand

0

1 974

+15 112

19 102

0

1 218

0

210

+2 075

2 957

Portugal

0

504

Romania

0

294

Poland

Slovakia

0

168

Spain

0

2 226

Turkey

+4 150

5 536

Ukraine

+2 594

2 930

United Kingdom United States Total extrapolated production figure

0

4 200

-12 449

18 673 72 840

* Based on GDP and population figures, 2001, calculated based on the factor relating the target and reference countries, and modified following discussions with respondents. Some of the figures remain unchanged because respondents for those areas had yet to be consulted.

implausibility is likely to prove an advantage to the researcher by stimulating comment and discussion – even controversy. Those who have a more intimate knowledge of the production in a particular country will be provoked by the infeasibility of some of these results into making suggestions that allow further refinement of the model. As it stands, however, we may derive our Estimate 5 from this table and set it at 73 000 tonnes. In order to gain an accurate picture of the production of fancy yarns throughout the world, it would be necessary to repeat this cycle of discus-


19

Table 3.5 Fancy yarn production in Europe, 1998.6 Country Germany Italy France

Fancy yarn production (tonnes) 1 350 20 000 900

Spain

2 250

Turkey

9 800

Greece

1 000*

Portugal

650*

Denmark

450*

Sweden

650*

Norway UK Total

400* 4 200 41 650

Note: those results marked with an asterisk (*) have not been examined and, lacking further evidence, the extrapolated figure has been rounded and included without comment.

sion and modification a number of times, in each case consulting suitable respondents in all the target countries. Time-consuming and expensive as this would certainly be, to our knowledge no-one has endeavoured thus far to produce such an analysis. As another example, applying this technique to the European market we can obtain the figures shown in Table 3.5.This study was performed in 19986. The consumption of acrylic staple fibre was used as the basis for the synthetic portion of the results shown here because, for some time, acrylic yarns have formed the synthetic substitute for wool in the market for handknitting yarns and for general knitwear, and fancy yarns do appear extensively in that market. However, as manmade fibres of all types continue to be developed and more variations appear, if the study should be repeated in the future it will be necessary to reassess this choice, and perhaps to choose some other fibre as the basis for development. If at this point we pause for a moment and compare the Estimates 1–5 that we have made at various stages in this discussion (collated in Table 3.6 for the convenience of the reader), we will begin to gain some appreciation of the true complexity of the market we have been considering. We recall that Estimate 1 was that the market for fancy yarns was one per cent of the world fibre production. This was the figure suggested by correspondents at the start of the study in 1998, although in the case of the European market

20

Fancy yarns Table 3.6 Collation of the estimates made of the market for fancy yarns during the course of this chapter. Estimate 1

500 000 tonnes worldwide

Estimate 2


Estimate 3


Estimate 4


Estimate 5


Estimate 6

42 000 tonnes in Europe alone

Estimate 7


it produced an estimate that was shown by later information to be far too low. However, when the same assessment – based upon the respondents’ complete lack of confidence in the market – is applied to the world fibre production, it gives a very high estimate, which none of our other, logicallyderived figures can approach. Our second estimate was based on a reduction of the proportion of the fibre production considered, to allow for the variety of industrial and household applications which certainly do not involve fancy yarns. This offers a very much smaller market – only 40 000 tonnes – but when we come to Estimate 6 in Table 3.6, which is based on the study undertaken in 1998,6 we find that the market in Europe alone was assessed to be higher than that and so, once more, we are forced to reconsider. We might choose, therefore, to estimate that the worldwide market for fancy yarns could be approximately 80 000 tonnes (Estimate 7 in Table 3.6). Without several iterations of the successive scenario technique, and a large number of geographically widely-separated informants, we will not be able to confirm this estimate, but it should be abundantly clear that the entire question is a complex one, not easily addressed. In the Williamson study,6 the estimate of one per cent was shown offer a European market size of only 20 000 tonnes, which later information suggested was only half of the true figure. The assessment in this chapter shows a different picture entirely, since it seems that the market figure worldwide may be as small as one fifth of one per cent (0.2%). Two points are worth considering in this connection. Firstly, in this chapter we have been concerned with demonstrating the method and discussing its application, rather than with applying it in fact. The 1998 study suffices to show that surprises may await the unwary researcher trying to apply the method carefully. Secondly, we are aware that the markets worldwide vary according to a number of factors, among them culture, individual and commercial prac-


21

tices, and historical sensibility. Only discussions with respondents can bring to light the differences that result from these factors. It may be the case, for example, that the majority of fancy yarns are in fact destined for use in Europe rather than in Asia or the Americas. Perhaps this is because in Europe the matrix of cultural and historical sensibilities favours this means of introducing texture and variety into a garment above some other means (woven patterns or applied motifs, for example) that may be preferred elsewhere. In this chapter, several of the possible market patterns have been explored. All have support from the results of similar examinations of other markets in the various market areas; all have some rational justification; all show various aspects of atypical behaviour. None can be proven to be correct. In this market area of fancy yarns, the atypical behaviour subsists in major misunderstandings of the volumes and values on the part of all respondents. The common and dismissive attitude expressed in the introduction to Bellwood’s article in 19777 has perversely led to a gross over-estimation of the volumes, whilst produces as a whole, assigning a ‘safe’, very low, estimate of the market proportion, have as grossly underestimated the values of the influence of the use of fancy yarns for the customers. Whatever the background, the small percentage of total fibre production that, with present knowledge, we can estimate to involve fancy yarns should not be taken to imply that the market is a negligible one. As we have commented, fancy yarns appear mainly in high-margin and high-value items, so even the relatively small volumes are still a matter for interest. The impetus for fabric and garment designers provided by the novelties at present available, and the challenges presented to designers of spinning equipment by the search for still more novelties, both contribute much more to the industry as a whole than might at first be guessed from the volumes involved. The opportunities for designers and manufacturers could be immense: only 0.2% by volume quite possibly, but about 1.5% of the total revenues, maybe influencing 15% of the fabrics and conceptually perhaps as much as 25% of the garment designs. As we shall learn later, although the primary use of fancy yarns lies in the textural and colour variety they impart, sometimes they provide the inspiration for some fabric designs or production methods created using only plain yarns.

4 Manufacturing attitudes and the applications of fancy yarns

4.1

Manufacturing attitudes and equipment

Since 1978, over 16 000 papers have been published that involve some references to ‘spinning’ or to ‘spinning systems’. Of these, fewer than 200 have been concerned with ‘fancy’, ‘effect’ or ‘novelty’ yarns and their production. This is only slightly above 1% of the total and would be regarded by most observers as being almost insignificant. Indeed, in an editor’s comment that prefaced an article on the subject by L. Bellwood in 1977 in Textile Industries,7 it was noted that ‘many mills discarded novelty twisting as a slow, expensive nuisance years ago’. Clearly, this suggests that, in the late 1970s at least, a most discouraging state of affairs existed in the fancy spinning sector. However, times change, and the situation then described offers us little explanation for the great profusion of fancy yarns now available, even if it does provide a perfectly reasonable background for the general ambivalence of attitude expressed in certain sectors of the industry concerning fancy yarns and especially fancy doubled yarns. It is, however, also worth noting that for those who continued to offer fancy yarns there have been several peaks in demand in the period covered by that analysis. Admittedly these peaks have been fuelled by developing technologies rather than by a return to popularity of familiar effects. However, we should recall, when we consider this point, that the newly developed technologies involved do not necessarily create entirely new and previously impossible effects. Instead, they may simply make a particular effect very much easier and cheaper to produce at a consistent level of quality. It should be remembered, furthermore, that the production of commodity items, such as plain yarns, rarely offers high or sustainable profits, at least in those geographical areas experiencing high overheads and wage costs. Both of these considerations offer excellent reasons for any spinner to maintain some fancy twisting capability in good order, and therefore to be able to produce the rarer, and thus higher-margin, fancy yarns or fancy doubled yarns. Even as recently as the 1990s, many old spinning frames were still being used to produce fancy yarns. This was not necessarily for what may seem to be the obvious reason, which is that new equipment would be too expen22


23

sive for a company unwilling to make investments in plant and machinery. In niche markets such as this, depending on the specific focus of the company and its customers, the newest machinery is not always required, and an older spinning frame may be just as effective as a new one in producing the more traditional qualities and structures. It has also this advantage that, as the machinery is not a recent and high-cost addition to the equipment, those responsible for planning may not feel that these machines must be run at top speed all the time. One of the most important attributes of a good plant manager must be that of being able to identify the best time to invest in new equipment. We should recall here that it is not always the case that running a machine at its highest possible speed is the best way to guarantee efficiency. On the contrary, any production line can only produce goods efficiently in cost terms at the speed of its slowest machine. Attempting to run all processes independently at their individual fastest possible speeds, without reference to each other, simply results in vast amounts of work-in-progress, and therefore in considerable capital tied up in unsaleable (because unfinished) stock. Thus, it often proves useful that less complex effects and slower processes may be run to good effect on well maintained, but elderly, spinning frames. In addition, such a system allows the continuing production of the standard fancy yarns while new, speedier, and more flexible machinery is installed and the workforce trained in its operation. This, in turn, ensures that in so far as it proves feasible to do so, it is possible to minimise the effect upon the customer of the upheaval involved in installing new equipment in the spinning mill. At the same time, this point should not be over-emphasised, because the older machines are very much slower, less precisely controllable, and far less versatile than the new ones, besides being expensive to maintain, in skilled manpower if nothing else. However, continued production of the basic fancy yarns (primarily bouclés) on the older machines allows the newer, more flexible machines to be used for the more complex, highermargin yarns, where the better control these machines provide can be used to provide significant advantages. It is clear, of course, that a company wishing to focus on short runs, rapid delivery and the most up-to-the-minute and fashionable effects, will be better served by having the most modern and flexible equipment.

4.2

Applications for fancy yarns

4.2.1 Yarns for weaving It is most often the case that the fancy yarns that are intended from the beginning to be used in weaving are produced using the conventional

24

Fancy yarns

route, which is based upon adjustments and extensions to the ordinary ringframe. These yarns are usually ‘balanced’ yarns, that is to say that the twist inserted by the spinning process is sufficient to hold the yarn together, but conversely it is not sufficient to dominate the behaviour of the yarn. Handloom weaving The market for yarns for handloom weaving is small and is likely to remain small. It seems fair to assume this to be true, in spite of the increasing popularity of all handicrafts, up to and including the production of apparel or furnishings from fabric spun and woven in the home. There are relatively few handloom weavers in Western Europe – only about 250 serious handloom weavers were found in the UK during research in 1991, and there is no reason to believe that the pattern would differ in the rest of Europe or the USA. Of these, by no means all will work full-time at the loom. However, handlooms are still used extensively in the developing world, so the size of the market will probably not decrease. Obviously, handlooms do not produce the length of fabric per hour that can be produced on an industrial loom: this, after all, is the basic reason for the increasing industrialisation of production throughout history, so the volumes involved will remain small. Fancy yarns are indeed used in this area, but they are most frequently used in the field of textile art. This does not, as a rule, lead to repeat business, and will rarely use even so small a quantity as a single kilogram of any one yarn, be it a fancy yarn or a plain one. We are speaking here of the situation in the ‘developed world’ – in the ‘developing world’, handloom weaving on large shuttle looms still forms part of the mix of techniques in general commercial use. However, the handloom, at first sight, seems likely to decrease in overall commercial importance as the number of recently equipped mills continues to grow. There is one factor which may alter this situation, and that is related to the changing nature of the work of aid agencies in the developing world. Where once they concentrated on feeding the hungry and providing the infrastructure enabling food to reach them, there is now considerable emphasis on providing advice and support to villages and individuals as they attempt to become self-sufficient. There is therefore a growing number of small, village-based co-operative ventures, and since using basic handlooms will enable these businesses to begin their operations with a minimum of expenditure and therefore a minimum of outstanding debt, it is plausible that the number of handlooms in operation will in fact increase. This change in emphasis certainly offers the chance of attaining a degree of self-sufficiency. However, it would not do so, had it not been for a cor-


25

responding increase in ‘ethical consumerism’ in the developed world, which ensures the goods so produced will not only reach the market but (crucially) they will have a market to reach. Based on these relatively new factors, it may, therefore, be reasonable to project that there will be a small and gradual, but continual, growth in this market. Not only does the expansion of interest in handicrafts in the more affluent countries of the developed world show no sign of reversing, it is increasingly the case that handloom weavers in the developing world are producing fabrics of consistently higher quality and more appealing design than in the past. Their products are now finding a greater number of willing buyers in the developed world and the influence of such customers will continue to grow. These weavers may, perhaps, find themselves using more fancy yarns and fancy doubled yarns in the future; indeed, it is possible that their customers will encourage them to do so. Several instances of joint ventures or partnerships between companies in developed and developing countries already exist, and are proving successful; this seems likely to prove more and more to be a model of business worthy of emulation. However, when we look at the production of apparel, for instance, these joint ventures still tend to be more concerned with assembling garments or with applying embellishments such as beadwork or embroidery than with the production of the base fabric. Powerloom weaving In the weaving of fancy yarns, the best performance in terms of low end and pick breakage rates is offered by the rapier loom. This arrangement allows the weft insertion to be made directly from the cone or cheese, and it also ensures that the weft thread is supported throughout its insertion. The development of a variety of weft accumulators and storage systems has made it possible to reduce the variations in tension and in yarn travel which result from high-speed weft insertion by allowing the yarn to be taken from the cone or cheese at a constant speed. This speed is independent of the rate of travel of the rapier, and it is carefully chosen to ensure that it does not stress the yarn, either by stretching it or by submitting it to sudden increases in tension. Notwithstanding the considerably improved performance resulting from these developments, some adjustments may still be needed to the loom timing or to the setting of the shed in order to make quite sure that the weaving can continue without undue interruptions. However, other forms of power looms are still used in some weaving sheds, including both projectile looms and powered shuttle looms. Hand-operated flying shuttle looms may still occasionally be used for sampling purposes, and appear as a matter of course in small workshops in some parts of the developing world.

26

Fancy yarns

It is the established wisdom that fancy yarns are too weak to be used in the warp of a fabric, which can be subject both to great tension, and to rapid changes of position as the shed is formed. However, some weaving mills are able to do so successfully, producing fancy coloured and textured checks as well as stripes. This success, where it occurs, seems to be due largely to their willingness to experiment and test carefully before committing a fabric to production under any particular loom set-up or timing régime. It will also be the result of cautious (and often very ingenious) handling of the warp at all times. In particular, it is necessary to exercise great care in the beaming and tensioning of the warp. It is likely, too, that some adjustments need to be made in terms of the expected production rate, in order to reduce the number of end breaks experienced. Even so, not every fancy yarn will be able to withstand the tensions put upon it by use in the warp. Further experimentation and innovation is often required to ensure trouble free weaving – or the more realisable manifestation of that ideal situation, in which end breaks are kept within an acceptable range. Almost certainly it has been the consideration of these compromises that has discouraged the wider use of fancy yarns in woven fabrics. However, as the perceived value of the fabric is likely to be higher, as well as the production costs, it may be the case that the two factors balance each other. This is, of course, a matter for each weaver to calculate for his own operation and his own customers.

4.2.2 Yarns for knitting Fancy doubled yarns produced using the hollow spindle method are often used for knitting, and indeed one of the major markets for these yarns in the past has been in domestic hand knitting. Where powered knitting machines are concerned, the demands of production rates, and the unfortunate limitations of the early electronic control systems, had for many years restricted the yarns used in these machines to plain ring spun types. It is still the case that, where fancy yarns are used, they may often be knitted on hand-operated flatbed machines, where the operator can be sensitive to sticking places and other difficulties – and that therefore production using such yarns has moved from Europe and other high-wage countries to favoured manufacturing partners in countries with lower wages. However, as the electronic control of knitting machines improves, it is becoming much more reasonable to use fancy yarns to a greater extent in producing machine-knitted goods, as the increasing prevalence of a variety of these yarns in High Street fashion demonstrates. This, in turn, favours the return to Europe of some of the manufacturing for European High Street fashion to manufacturers who are able to respond more rapidly if an item becomes particularly popular and needs to be quickly manufactured and delivered.


27

Hand knitting Hand knitting, at least as it concerns the domestic hand-knitter, has shown a significant downturn during recent decades. In part, this is because hand knitting is no longer taught, either formally at school or informally at home; in part it may be because there are increasingly so many calls on the potential knitter’s time that only the truly enthusiastic are able to continue. There was also a change in fashion, and for a considerable period the hand-made item did not have as great an appeal as once it had had. This too has changed, and like needlework in the 1980s, knitting has recently experienced a renaissance, and with it, a growth in popularity as it has become known to be a favoured hobby among celebrities. Even though the reduction in this market sector was so sudden and so drastic, the slide is unlikely to continue. Like the other needlecrafts and embellishment techniques, hand knitting appears, disappears, and reappears in couture and fashion design in a cycle. While this cycle is not, perhaps, entirely regular or predictable in time or duration, it does still seem to be reliable in its repetition. It has already been suggested by several respondents that, as life becomes more technically managed and oriented, fashion in clothing and home furnishing is likely to become less so because we will seek to take refuge from our technologically-driven work in the ‘homeliness’ of the hand-made. Craft retailers have commented that there have been similar reductions in the general interest in hand knitting before. The more enterprising of these have, in some cases, started to provide hand knitting classes in their regions; in most areas these classes have proved to have a marked and welcome effect upon sales. This should remind us also that there is more than one way to increase the market share of an outlet or a company. It is a point worth bearing in mind, too, that the skilled, enthusiastic hand knitter is likely to prefer to use interesting yarns and patterns, restricting their use of the cheaper acrylic plain yarns for children’s sweaters. Thus, although the volumes may not increase significantly, the values very probably will.

Circular knitting Circular knitting is used mainly for the production of single or double jersey fabrics at high speed, and at present it seems unlikely, therefore, that any great use of fancy yarns will be found in this area of production. The additional friction resulting from the introduction of a fancy yarn in a system already fraught with tensions and strains might well prove disastrous. However, the technique of circular knitting has resulted in the creation of the ‘chainette’ yarn, which is a fine tubular yarn, usually knitted using either a filament or a fine cotton yarn on a small ring of tiny needles. It finds

28

Fancy yarns

a variety of uses in embroidered and knitted-in embellishment, and in woven fabrics produced by some of the more adventurous weaving mills, while some of the slightly coarser chainette yarns have been used to knit entire garments. Flatbed knitting The modern, computer-controlled flatbed knitting machine is capable of producing a huge variety of structures, and careful programming will allow it to cope with yarns that vary considerably in thickness. However, the tensions produced by any knitting process are very great, increasing exponentially across the width of the fabric. In a plain yarn which (in theory at least) does not have weak places, these tensions should be easy to absorb. In a yarn such as a button yarn, however, which almost unavoidably includes periodic weak places, and more especially includes such radical variations in yarn profile as to significantly increase the chances of the yarn catching on one of the needles, these tensions will fluctuate uncontrollably and at some point the yarn is likely to snag and possibly even break. Increasing computer control of fancy yarn production may allow this problem to be at least partially solved; certainly, the reduction of weak places is high upon the agenda at most spinning machinery manufacturers. The improved control that is always being sought will gradually make the yarns more consistent in strength, and new structures may one day be devised that make these intriguing yarns more suitable for a variety of manufacturing processes. Warp knitting The great speed and very fine gauge of most warp knitting machines has hitherto meant that fancy yarns are not used on these machines. The fabrics produced are, in any case, not those that would benefit from the addition of yarn effects – their virtues lie for the most part in their consistency of appearance and strength. However, it seems that techniques are being developed whereby fancy yarns (‘tape yarns’ or ‘feather yarns’) may be produced on these machines, using filament or plain yarn feedstocks.

5 Introduction to fancy yarn structures, and analysis of fancy yarns

5.1

Introduction

The variety of fancy yarn effects is unlimited, but there are a few general categories which offer some possibilities for classification. The basic structure of a fancy doubled yarn is that it consists of ‘core’ threads, an ‘effect material’, and in the more complex cases, a ‘binder’ which, as the name suggests, ensures that the entire structure holds together. Other forms of fancy effect may be based on colour effects or on variations in the details of the spinning process. In particular, adaptations of the spinning systems used may be developed to create specific effects. For example, one crucial modification to the spinning system lies in the introduction of an individual, variable-speed drive for each feed roller. This then allows changes in roller speed, and thus in the draft, and thus in the build-up of the effect, or the reduction of the effect, at certain points on the yarn. The colour effects may be introduced as early as the carding stage, if the aim is to create a more subtle, blended colour effect. In other cases this may occur as late as the final dyeing process which is applied to the completed yarn. This, in turn, results in ‘cross-dyed’ effects, which take advantage of the possibility of combining different feedstocks with different dyeing properties. It is even possible to introduce colour by printing onto comber rovings destined to produce yarns for suitings. Many of the effects described may be produced using modified ring spindle systems and hollow spindle systems, or by using the combined system. Where the wrap spinning system or the combined system is used, only one passage of the machine may be required. In the case of the modified ring system, however, two passages of the machine will be needed. Further details concerning the mechanisms and machinery involved will be provided in Chapter 7. Additional fibre effects may be created by the introduction of additional fibre material to the basic fibre prior to, or during, spinning or by varying the feed speed of the fibre material during spinning. These fibre effects can create fairly heavy yarns, and as such they are most often used in knitwear. 29

30

Fancy yarns

However, there is a now a growing market for fancy yarns in furnishing fabrics, some of which also have uses for rather heavy yarns. Another, more traditional, market lies in fabrics for ultra-high fashion ladieswear (for example, the famous Chanel suit) where a simple cut is used, and where the visual effect, rather than longevity and durability, is the essential characteristic. The fabrics produced for this latter market are often widely sett, and thus unsuitable for a closely-fitted or tailored style. Yarn effects are produced by plying singles yarns with different count, twist, colour, fibre type, length, etc. The potential variation of these effects is infinite, and therefore only the most widely known categories will be introduced here.The definitions and figures in Chapter 6 have been grouped logically rather than alphabetically, in the hope of demonstrating the relationships between the structures.As the emphasis here is on structural fancy yarns, rather than on the different fibres involved, no detailed consideration of fibre choice has been attempted: suffice it to say that most of the fibres available for plain yarns have been used in fancy yarns at one time or another, and that a careful choice of these components may materially enhance the effect produced. It will become clear that, although there are many types of fancy or novelty yarn, the effects produced share considerable superficial similarities. This is in spite of the wide range of end uses and methods of production and the variety of structures. Far from being a wasteful duplication of effort, this ensures that, when a designer has a particular result in mind, there are almost always several ways to achieve that effect. This in turn means that the choices of feedstock and production method can be altered to produce the desired effect, while at the same time retaining some control over the costs involved. In the diagrams in Chapter 6, the yarn structures have necessarily been simplified, in order to make it possible for the diagrams to show the important elements of the structure. In particular, in many cases one of the yarns will be shown as a straight bar, partly because the yarns often give that appearance, and partly because the yarn that is shown as a bar, although it is a necessary element of the yarn, is not the most characteristic element of it. In this way it is hoped that the diagrams will provide ‘shortcuts to recognition’ for the yarns being described.

5.2

Analysing yarns

In developing an understanding of yarn structures and types, there is no substitute for handling yarns and analysing their structure and form, however briefly. It is likely to prove a valuable exercise to create a ‘private collection’ of interesting yarns, and the effect they have on fabric appearances. Clearly, the majority of textile testing and analysis falls outside the

Introduction to fancy yarn structures

31

scope of this work, and it is not necessary knowledge for the development of a familiarity with fancy yarns. However, some analysis which is possible without much equipment or expense remains worthwhile as a means of gaining empirical knowledge of yarn structures and properties. It is also possible to speculate on the properties of particular yarns, or on the properties that may be useful, although they are as yet undeveloped.

5.2.1 Yarn structures In order to gain the background knowledge necessary to recreate a yarn convincingly, or simply in order to gain a better understanding of yarn structures in general, it is often rewarding to undertake the analysis of a series of yarns. Much of this analysis does not involve expensive machinery, and indeed, for a first approximation, a simple list of the more easily discovered features is likely to be sufficient. Such a list might well begin with the following items: • • • • •

Count Fibre or fibres used Basic structure (for example, is the yarn a slub, bouclé, spiral . . . ?) Number of component threads Purpose of each component thread.

In the structure of a classical ‘fancy doubled’ yarn, the purpose of each thread within a yarn is usually easy to determine. For example, binders are usually very fine, are frequently monofilaments, and are wrapped around all the other yarns; they will therefore be the first to be unwrapped from the structure. Core yarns are heavier and there are usually two core yarns of identical structure; any other components will form part of the effect. It is then possible to investigate the yarn components in greater detail. For example, it is possible to study the percentage of ‘overfeeding’ employed in a bouclé or other yarn of that type, or the relationships between the component threads in count and twist level. Thereafter, the use of different fibres in different components for differing purposes can be considered, and indeed, any other matters exciting our curiosity or attracting our attention. While it would not be true to say that such an analysis would allow the creation of an exact copy, it would certainly permit an approximation to be made. This, too, can be seen as an exercise to verify the accuracy of the observations made on the yarn. To produce an exact copy would require the same equipment and identical feedstocks to those used in the original. In particular, the precise nature and characteristics of a fibre effect will be heavily influenced by the relationship between the fibre length and the front drafting zone.

32

Fancy yarns

In fact, it is generally the case that yarns will be adapted slightly for differing purposes. For example, a bouclé may be produced using differing proportions of wool or acrylic fibres, or some other synthetic yarn may be substituted, depending upon the ultimate purpose of the yarn and on the cost parameters that apply.

5.2.2 Yarn properties There is much research yet to be done to discover the physical properties of the different types of yarn, depending on the machinery used to make them. Such research would make it possible to develop and extend the most effective ways of processing these yarns. It might also make it possible to produce a register of yarn structures and components, and of the parameters affecting them, which in turn might itself reduce the extent of the duplication of effort at present involved in assessing yarns. No systematic, exhaustive and generally applicable work has been undertaken in this area since the possible areas of interest and concern vary according to the precise nature of the equipment available within a company and on the priorities of that company’s clients. This in turn makes it impossible to suit all companies with a single product. However, it would be possible for a company to build up an internal database, which could be designed to include the information most useful to that company. In particular, the properties that might be of interest to users of fancy yarns include: • •

Strength Wear resistance (that is, resistance to wear during use, and the effects of that wear on the yarn strength, colour, or other physical properties; and the differential changes on certain yarn components as a result of wear) • Flexibility • Comfort (for example, would a garment made using this particular fabric or yarn require a lining, and would it be possible to be comfortable in a chair upholstered using a fabric which includes this yarn?) • Stretch properties • Suitability for a particular manufacturing or dyeing process Other properties that are less generally a cause for concern might be included, depending upon the priorities of a company and its clients, and each database could thus be tailored to the actual requirements of the company. The next chapter (Chapter 6) offers diagrams of yarn structures and pictures of yarns, which it is hoped will assist in developing some familiarity with the wide variety of fancy yarns now available.

6 Structures and formation of fancy yarns

As we have suggested, fancy yarns fall into categories, depending upon the basic morphology of the yarns. Marls, spirals and gimps may be produced on ordinary doubling frames or by the ring spinning system. Gimp yarns require a binder and are therefore produced in two stages on the ring spinning system. In most cases, these yarns are used to create subtle textural or colour effects – in particular, spirals and gimps offer the opportunity to create the finer textural yarns, which can be of particular use in woven fabrics or fine summer knitwear. Snarl, loop and bouclé yarns are all used both in woven and knitted fabrics. In the coarser counts, they can be used to produce strongly textured knitwear using simple constructions, while in the finer counts, they may produce elusive colour and texture effects in woven or knitted fabrics. They may be produced using modified ring spindle systems, hollow spindle systems, or the combined system machines – in one step only where the wrap spinning system is used, or in two stages on the modified ring spindles. Chenille, cover, and laminated yarns most frequently appear to be of even diameter, the effect being achieved by the surface of the yarn. This surface may offer the ‘velvety’ look of the chenille, or the sparkle of the metallic yarns that are most often made using the ‘cover’ or ‘laminated’ structures.

6.1

Marl yarn

The simplest of the fancy effects, a marl yarn is one in which two yarns of the same count and twist, but of different colours, are folded together to form a balanced yarn (see Fig. 6.1). They are, therefore, essentially plain folded yarns with the additional characteristic that the yarns folded together are of a different colour or texture. As such, they barely count as ‘fancy yarns’ at all, except in that they result in a subtle, but noticeable, modification to the appearance of the finished fabric. These yarns are used to good effect in discreet pinstripes for men’s suitings or to produce a subtly 33

34

Fancy yarns

6.1 Marl yarn structure.

6.2 Marl yarn.

and irregularly patterned knitted fabric using a relatively simple fabric construction. They may be used also to provide a Lurex® or other metallic yarn with strong support, while at the same time creating a more subtle effect. The yarn picture in Fig. 6.2 shows clearly the alternation of the colours that is the primary effect of a marl yarn, as well as demonstrating the plain structure, which is that of an ordinary folded yarn. In some cases, a similar but less even effect can be gained in a knitted fabric by feeding two yarns at the same time. This eliminates the doubling process, thus reducing production costs. The effect produced is not as stable as that of the marl yarn, but ‘multi-ending’, as it is known, can also be useful to knitters when fancy effects are not sought. It can assist in reducing the technical problems related to uneven stretch and recovery properties that may exist after package dyeing any yarn.

6.2

Spiral or corkscrew yarn

A spiral or corkscrew yarn is a plied yarn that displays a characteristic smooth spiralling of one component around the other. Figure 6.3 shows the basic structure, which is straightforward, and except in the differing lengths of the two yarns involved, very similar to the structure of a marl yarn. Indeed, just like the marl yarn shown in Fig. 6.1, it can be produced relatively simply on a doubling frame or under the ring spinning system. It is more textural in appearance than a marl, and the finer counts may also appear in some of the laces used in lingerie. It may be formed by one of several methods: 1

If equal lengths of S and Z twist yarns are combined with twist (either S or Z), the component to which twist is added will contract in length while the other will extend and spiral around the outside of the yarn thus formed. This produces an unbalanced-twist spiral yarn.


35

6.3 Spiral yarn structure.

6.4 Spiral yarns.

2

3

One or other of the two yarn components may be delivered at a greater rate. The shorter length forms the base, while the greater length of its companion (or in the case of more complex yarns, companions) follows a spiral around it. If equal lengths of two yarns, one coarser than the other, are folded together with a twist that opposes the thick yarn twist, the thicker yarn will appear to spiral around the thinner yarn.

Figure 6.4 offers examples of two very different spiral yarns. The top yarn seems to be relatively heavy and shows that two different types of thread were used to make it – the first is tightly twisted, fine and lustrous while the second is less compact, and by contrast appears almost fluffy. The other, a fine viscose spiral yarn, is one in which the two component yarns are of much more similar count and structure. These yarns would be used to give very different effects in a fabric. In particular, the heavier yarn would offer the opportunity to impart very subtle flecks of shine to a dull surface. The finer yarn, on the other hand, would allow the designer to take advantage of the uneven reflectance to reduce the ‘flat’ effect of a very shiny fabric, imparting visual and tactile textures at the same time.

6.3

Gimp yarn

A gimp is a compound yarn consisting of a twisted core with an effect yarn wrapped around it so as to produce wavy projections on its surface. This

36

Fancy yarns

6.5 Gimp yarn structure.

6.6 Gimp yarns.

structure is shown in Fig. 6.5. Since a binder is needed to ensure the stability of the structure, the yarn is produced in two stages. Two yarns of widely differing count are plied together, thick around thin, and then reverse bound. Reverse binding removes most of the twist inserted during the first process. It is this removal of twist that creates the wavy profiles, since it makes the effect yarns longer than the actual length of the completed yarn. The gimp yarns shown in Fig. 6.6 differ from each other in count, material and lustre, just as did the examples of spiral yarns shown in Fig. 6.4. It is clear, too, that the structure is different; the heavier of the two gimps pictured here demonstrates very clearly the fact that an additional yarn has been added to the structure that we saw for the spiral yarns. The textural properties of a gimp are clearly greater than those of a spiral, as well as being different. The finer of these two gimps shows that the effect is less regular, and even perhaps less well-defined.

6.4

Diamond yarn

A diamond yarn is made by folding a thick single yarn or roving with a fine yarn or filament of contrasting colour using S-twist, and cabling it with a similar fine yarn using Z-twist. Multi-fold or ‘cabled’ yarns may be produced by extending and varying this technique, to produce a wide range of effects. Clearly, a true diamond yarn would show some compression effect upon the thick yarn from the thin ones, an effect which in the interests of clarity


37

6.7 Diamond yarn structure.

6.8 Diamond yarn.

has been omitted from Fig. 6.7, although the yarn picture in Fig. 6.8 does show this effect to some degree. The yarn picture in Fig. 6.8 shows a light roving contrasting with two darkcoloured fine filaments. This makes the contrast in thickness of the two yarn types very evident, which in turn highlights the importance of using a variety of forms of contrast in yarn design. Again, like the marl yarn, this technique produces a yarn that introduces small flecks of colour into the fabric, so that the final overall effect is of heathered or clouded colour. In this case, however, the colour effect is supported by the textural effect introduced by the contrasting weights of the feed yarns used to create the final yarn. This is a yarn that can be very useful to designers seeking to create subtle effects of colour and texture, especially in relatively simple fabric structures. At the same time, it is possible to create a yarn with an exaggerated textural effect, simply by selecting the base yarn and the two cabling yarns in such a way as to ensure a more extreme variation between them.

6.5

Eccentric yarn

An eccentric yarn, as shown in the yarn picture in Fig. 6.9, is an undulating gimp yarn, often produced by binding an irregular yarn, for example a stripe, slub or knop yarn, in the direction opposite to the initial stage, creating graduated half-circular loops along the compound yarn. It produces

6.9 Eccentric yarn.

38

Fancy yarns

6.10 Heavyweight eccentric yarn.

an uneven but relatively controllable texture, and in fact many of the more exotic yarns used in woven fabrics for ladieswear are of this type. Because it can be produced using one of several different irregular yarns to create the effect, and because the basic morphology is very similar to that of a gimp yarn, no diagram of the structure has been included, since at its most straightforward it would look just like Fig. 6.5. The example shown in Fig. 6.9 is of an eccentric yarn that was made using a relatively low effect overfeed ratio, using a knop yarn as the effect yarn, to create a subtly textured effect. Such a yarn could be included in summer-weight ladies’ suitings or even in knitwear. This is a fairly fine yarn, resulting in a light effect, with a strong contrast between the weight of the effect at different points in the yarn. In Fig. 6.10, on the other hand, the whole effect is more strongly textured, but at the same time it does not show the strong contrast in yarn diameter at different points in the yarn that is seen in Fig. 6.9.

6.6

Bouclé yarn

Figure 6.11 shows the basic structure underlying a bouclé yarn. This is a compound yarn comprising a twisted core with an effect yarn (or roving) combined with it so as to produce wavy projections on its surface. To simplify the diagram, the core has been shown as a single bar, rather than as two yarns being intertwined with the effect yarn, as would be the case in reality. Bouclé yarns belong to the group that also includes gimp yarns and loop yarns. The effect is achieved by the differential delivery of the effect component as compared with the core yarns. The effect component wraps around the core yarns either tightly or loosely according to the amount of

6.11 Bouclé yarn structure.


39

6.12 Simple bouclé yarn.

excess delivery and the level of the doubling twist inserted. These wraps are then partially untwisted by the final plying operation, to form curves that are bound by the binder yarn. The effect is similar to a gimp, but more pronounced, with the effect yarn more loosely wrapped around the core. The ground yarns are fed in through grooves in the top front roller, while the effect yarns are fed by the front roller nip. The overfed yarn (the effect) must be fed through the shortest distance. If irregular bouclé effects are desired, the effect yarn can be brought together with the ground yarn at a point between the front roller nip and the yarn balloon guide (or hollow spindle inlet). This joining point can be a pin, or a rod, or some other yarn-guiding device. The closer the joining point to the front roller nip, the more regular the effect. This is because, as the joining point becomes closer to the front roller nip, the spinning triangle becomes smaller and more stable. This, in turn, means that there is less variation in the yarn. When these yarns are created using a hollow spindle machine, the bouclé effect can be created in a single operation as the effect fibres or yarn and the ground yarn are bound by the binder without twist. The other way in which the bouclé effect differs from the gimp is that gimps always employ yarns as the feed, while bouclé yarns may be made using either yarn or sliver feedstock. Unless the yarns used are very heavy, the yarn effect creates a lighter, crisper feel than the fibre effect. The yarn shown in Fig. 6.12 shows a fibre effect bouclé, where the effect is fine and small to present a textured effect that is not overpowering. This type of bouclé yarn would be used to create a ‘woolly’, fleecy fabric, such as is frequently used to make or decorate autumn and winter knitwear. The drafting and feed arrangements of the machines most often used to manufacture these yarns also make it possible to create colour blends by drafting differently colour slivers to create the effect. This effect is shown in the bouclé fabric picture in Fig. 6.13. The heavy bouclé yarn used to create this fabric was made using two different colours of fibre feedstock, so the textural effect is enhanced by a colour effect. The second yarn picture, Fig. 6.14, shows the effect on the yarn of introducing a second feed of a contrasting colour. In this case, in fact, the second effect is a variegated material, which produces again a different effect. This will produce, of course, not simply the textural effect, but in addition it will introduce new colours within the fabric, without requiring that an additional, entirely new yarn be introduced for each colour.

40

Fancy yarns

6.13 Knitted bouclé fabric.

6.14 Variegated bouclé yarn.

6.15 Heavy bouclé yarn.

In Fig. 6.15, we show what is essentially the opposite end of the scale – a very heavy, chunky fibre effect, which is made using a sliver comprising a variety of colours. This usually results in a heavily textured fabric surface, with the appearance of a single colour, since the fibres in the sliver are too fine to be seen as having contrasting colours. The use of an intimate blend of colour or fibre, or both, is by no means uncommon in fancy yarns since, above all, the components are chosen for their contribution to the overall effect desired.

6.7

Loop yarn

A loop yarn consists of a core with an effect yarn wrapped around it and overfed so as to produce almost circular projections on its surface.


41

Figure 6.16 shows the structure of a loop yarn, in this case somewhat simplified by showing the core as two straight bars. In reality of course, the core, which for a loop yarn always consists of two yarns, is twisted, and partially entraps the effect. As a general rule, four yarns are involved, of which two form the core or ‘ground’ yarns. The effect yarn or yarns are usually overfed by 200% or more, and it is important that these be of the correct type and quality: an even, low twist, elastic and pliable yarn is required. Mohair fibre makes particularly suitable yarns and is therefore often used for this purpose. The effect yarn or fibre is not completely entrapped by the ground threads and therefore a binder is needed. The size of the loops may be influenced by the amount of overfeed, the groove space on the drafting rollers, the spinning tension, or the twist level of the effect yarn. Loop yarns may also be made using slivers instead of yarns for the effect. A loop yarn may be used in one of two very different ways. It may be knitted or woven into a fabric and then brushed or ‘teazled’ to create a smooth surface: this is one of the primary uses for the mohair loop yarn, which is used to make travel rugs. It can also, of course, be left unbrushed, which provides a very textured fabric surface. In both cases it can be very light and warm because of the air trapped within the structure. The loop yarn shown in Fig. 6.17 is a fine fibre effect, showing the result of using an ordinary acrylic sliver of appropriate staple, which will create small neat loops, but at the same time, many fibres are not entrapped in the yarn because the feed is not in yarn form. This creates a woolly surface and somewhat blurs the effect of the loops. The yarn shown in Fig. 6.18 was made using viscose for both the core and the effect. The effect yarn is neither particularly stiff nor particularly springy, and this makes the loops inconsistent both in size and in formation.

6.16 Loop yarn structure.

6.17 Fine loop yarn.

42

Fancy yarns

6.18 Viscose loop yarn.

6.19 Mohair loop yarn.

6.20 Brushed loop yarn.

Rather than creating neat circles, they fall lengthwise along the yarn to form ellipses. This would certainly create an interesting texture in the fabric, but it does not have the appearance of a classical loop yarn. The yarn in Fig. 6.19, which shows mohair loops on a worsted base, has neat loops, not identical in size or spacing, but certainly consistent in their approximate sizes, and with the loops neatly separate in appearance. This demonstrates clearly the benefit of using mohair in loop yarn formation, when it is desired to create an effect which requires distinct loops rather than simply an exaggerated bouclé. As the loops are clearly isolated by lengths that appear simply to be plain yarn, the fabric will not have the blurred effect of a bouclé or of the much closer loops that are shown in Fig. 6.17; instead, the loops are likely to show clearly on the fabric surfaces. The yarn in Fig. 6.20 shows the effect of brushing a mohair loop yarn – a fluffy, but smooth-feeling yarn. The result here is a fabric that presents the sensation of having a surface that is removed from the actual base fabric. This is because the base fabric is simply the fabric produced by the core yarns, while the surface that is touched is the surface of the brushed and


43

disentangled loops, which often feels rather detached from the true surface. This effect, too, blurs and softens any pattern in the fabric, and it can provide a useful textural contrast with other garments in an outfit.

6.8

Snarl yarn

Like the loop yarn, the snarl yarn is based around a twisted core, although, again for the sake of simplicity, the core has been shown in Fig. 6.21 as two parallel bars. A snarl yarn is one which displays ‘snarls’ or ‘twists’ projecting from the core. It is made by a similar method to the loop yarn, but uses as the effect a lively, high twist yarn and a somewhat greater degree of overfeed. The size and frequency of the snarls may be controlled by careful control of the precise details of overfeed and spinning tension, and by the level of twist in the effect yarn. The snarl yarn may be used to produce the effect of a sparse and shaggy fur, if used in the entire fabric. It may also produce an effect somewhat akin to short fringing, which is particularly effective when it appears in only some sections of a garment. The snarl yarn shown in Fig. 6.22 is made using a combination of a white worsted yarn to create the effect, while the core yarns and the binder are of black cotton. In a fabric, this would contribute to a flecked and shaggy

6.21 Snarl yarn structure.

6.22 Worsted snarl yarn.

44

Fancy yarns

6.23 Acetate snarl yarn.

6.24 Metallic snarl yarn.

appearance, but in the yarn form we see here it has the added advantage of making the structure of the yarn much clearer and easier to see. The acetate snarl yarn shown in Fig. 6.23 is a very different matter. It is a considerably finer yarn than the worsted, and the snarls are so long that they have become partially entrapped by the binder during the final binding process. This creates the effect of a slub associated with each snarl. Indeed, some of the snarls have been so entangled in the core yarn that, in effect, the appearance in the fabric would be of sparse snarls interspersed with fine slubs. In Fig. 6.24 (also seen on Plate 1, example F), the yarn is a combination of a structural and a material fancy yarn, in that a snarl yarn has been made using a metallic component in the effect yarn. This offers the opportunity to make the metallic effect subtle rather than overwhelming, while at the same time improving the comfort of garments made involving these yarns. In the case of the yarn in Fig. 6.24, the garment is likely to glint subtly in the light, rather than present an all-over shine.

6.9

Mock chenille yarn

A mock chenille does not at all resemble a true chenille yarn (Fig. 6.19) in its appearance as a yarn, but when it is woven into a fabric it will give an effect very similar to that of a chenille. It will, however, seem much harsher in handle because it does not involve cutting the loops of the effect yarns and so it lacks the ‘velvety’ feel. It is in fact a doubled corkscrew or gimp yarn, and it is made by doubling together two or more unbalanced


45

corkscrew or gimp yarns in the reverse direction with sufficient twist to form a balanced structure.

6.10

Knop yarn

A knop yarn is one that contains prominent bunches of one or more of its component threads, arranged at regular or irregular intervals along its length, as shown in very simplified form in Fig. 6.25. It is usually made by using an apparatus that has two pairs of rollers, each capable of being operated independently. This makes it possible to deliver the foundation threads intermittently, while the knopping threads that create the effect are delivered continuously. The knopping threads join the foundation threads below the knopping bars. The insertion of twist gathers the knopping threads into a bunch or knop. The vertical movement of the knopping bars determines whether the knop is small and compact or spread out along some length of the yarn. The apparatus is shown in Fig. 7.4. Figure 6.26 shows two simple knop yarns in widely differing counts. Both demonstrate the somewhat slub-like effect of the yarn, but in both examples it is clear that a knop is made of coiled yarn, rather than being a fibrous mass like a slub. The yarn shown in Fig. 6.27 is in fact a short section of a two-coloured knop yarn, and has been included because it shows the fine reverse binding thread, which may be included to secure the knops. This binding may also be used to produce an additional spiral between the knops. Superfine, long knop yarns (Fig. 6.28) are used often to produce a ‘lost and found’ pinstripe in fine suitings, where sometimes the knop will be

6.25 Knop yarn structure.

6.26 Knop yarns.

46

Fancy yarns

6.27 Knop yarn showing binding thread.

6.28 Very fine long knop yarn.

coloured differently from the rest of the yarn, producing an occasional flash of colour in an otherwise plain fabric. It is more usual, however, for the yarn to be somewhat heavier, this certainly being easier to make. In this second case, the yarn is used to introduce an effect similar in outward appearance to that of a slub, except that the effect is created of yarn rather than from fibre and is consequently somewhat stiffer and harder in feel.

6.11

Stripe yarn

A stripe yarn contains alternating elongated knops. It can be made by two methods: 1 2

As a knop with a moving knopping bar to spread the surplus thread. By alternate fast and slow delivery of one or more of its component threads and a constant rate of delivery of the base threads. The threads join below a stationary bar to form the intermittent stripes.

The stripe yarn shown in Fig. 6.29 alternates dark and light threads, creating a marl in the lengths of yarn between the knops, and distinctive dark knops interspersed with lighter ones. Note that the change in dimension of the knop relative to the marl sections is much less than it is in the plain

6.29 Stripe yarn.


47

6.30 Striped suiting yarns.

knops shown in Fig. 6.26. These yarns, too, would be suitable for creating a ‘lost and found’ pinstripe effect in a relatively fine fabric. The example in Fig. 6.30, which is of yarns intended for inclusion in a worsted suiting fabric, shows clearly that with a suitable choice of feedstock it is possible to create the subtle effects already described as being among the uses of the stripe yarn based on the knop structure. It also shows that, in some cases, the coloured knop or stripe can be of almost the same dimensions as the base yarn, and therefore that it need not offer the additional friction of a thick place in further processing.

6.12

Cloud or grandrelle yarn

The cloud or grandrelle yarn is made using the same apparatus used to create knop yarns. The two threads of different colours used to create the yarn are manipulated in such a manner that each thread alternately forms the base and cover to ‘cloud’ the opposing thread. It is made by alternate fast and slow deliveries from two pairs of rollers. Because the yarns alternate in forming the base yarn, no dedicated core yarn is required. The structure is shown in Fig. 6.31. The ‘changeover point’ may be sudden, in which case one colour is replaced by the other in a short distance, or it may take place gradually, producing a blended colour appearance.

6.31 Cloud yarn structure.

6.13

Slub yarn

A slub yarn is one in which slubs have been deliberately created to produce the desired discontinuity of effect. Slubs are thick places in the yarn. They can take the form of a very gradual change, with only a slight thickening of the yarn at its thickest point. Alternatively, the slub may be three or four

48

Fancy yarns

6.32 Fine ground slub yarn.

times the thickness of the base yarn, and that thickness may be achieved within a very short length of yarn. Since the structure is simply one of a gradually thickening and then tapering cylinder, a diagram has not been produced. The yarn pictures should give a clear enough impression of the structure of the yarn itself (see, for example, Fig. 6.32). The slub effect can be produced by a variety of means, each offering its own benefits and challenges. The finer slubs can be used simply to introduce a subtle but pleasing variation in the surface appearance of a plain fabric, and are used often for this purpose in both upholstery and apparel fabrics. On the other hand, the heavier slub effects produce stronger variations in the fabric surface, and can become a design element in their own right. The yarns are used both in knitted and woven fabrics, although it is worth recalling that, until very recently, most of the methods for producing slub yarns carried the penalty that the thick place in the yarn was followed immediately by a thin place, rather than by a simple return to the basic yarn count being spun. This, in turn, creates a weak place in the yarn, and slub yarns have needed very careful balancing of feed and delivery speeds in order to avoid the production of yarns too weak for processing. A variety of methods are available for producing slub yarns, and the resulting yarns may be divided into the following classes: •

•

•

Slub yarns produced at the spinning frame are known as spun slubs. They can be produced by blending fibres of different dimensions, as for example woollen slubbing with worsted top sliver – the imperfect fibre control during drafting produces randomly distributed slubs of varying size. Plucked or inserted slub yarns are composed of two foundation threads and periodic short lengths of straight-fibred materials that have been plucked from a twistless roving by roller action. This method tends to give a neater, cleaner appearance than is achieved in producing spun slubs. An alternative method is to modify the spinning frame such that the intermittent acceleration of the rollers causes varying degrees of draft to be applied. Such a slub is shown in Fig. 6.32: in this case it is a relatively fine yarn with a fine and fairly long slub. This method might also be used to produce a slubbed roving from which a yarn could be spun using constant draft; of course the yarn created in this way would have very long slubs that become apparent only gradually.

Structures and formation of fancy yarns •

•

49

A further method would lie in the injection of additional material into the drafting zone. The setting must be varied over a very long repeat to avoid patterning the material. This method allows the production of ‘flake’ (very long slub) yarns. Finally, recent developments in open end spinning have made it possible to create rotor spun slub yarns.

As the third method suggests, slub yarns can be produced during drafting on the ringframe. One way of achieving this is to vary the speeds of the rollers to cause irregular fibre flow and thus an irregular yarn. This produces ‘ground slubs’, which are slubs that have the same fibre composition as the yarn. A ground slub yarn is shown in Fig. 6.32. It can be seen that this is formed of a single structure; no additional yarn or process has been involved in creating the yarn. Such a yarn, while having the distinct merit of simplicity, being easy to understand and straightforward to set up, can prove to be problematic in use, since the slubs take up very little twist and become weak spots in the yarn. ‘Spun slubs’, as described above, can be created by mixing fibres of different properties, in particular fibres having different staple lengths. The differing behaviour of these fibres during drafting then produces the irregular slub effects. Again, the final spinning process is simple and easy to set up, but in this case it is at the expense of being required to produce a sliver or roving that blends these differing yarns. It is possible to create an effect similar to the spun slub, but far more exaggerated, by the injection method, which is described above for the production of ‘flake’ or ‘flammé’ yarns. These are particularly long, heavy slubs. The effect fibre rovings can be injected into the front drafting zone to produce slubs that have a different fibre composition to that of the ground yarn. Slubs can also be produced by adjusting the card settings so that the fibre stock is ‘rolled’ to form nepps or slubs. This is simply the opposite of the normal carding action. It is possible to produce slubs by varying either the cylinder-doffer setting or the doffer speed. However, this technique is rarely employed because it is very difficult, and therefore time consuming, to alter the speed of these large cylinders. A better yarn can be produced by using fibres that have good cohesion between them. A flake yarn can be produced at the condenser of a woollen card by introducing random lengths of effect slivers (flakes) into the condenser calender rollers or on the condenser doffer. These slivers are prepared separately on another card. The flakes should not be too thick compared with the ground yarn; otherwise it will be difficult to spin and wind the yarn. The yarn shown in Fig. 6.33 is, in effect, a combination yarn. The overriding visual effect is that of a slub yarn, but an additional binding process

50

Fancy yarns

6.33 Bound slub yarn.

has been applied, which produces the effect of a spiral slub. This also demonstrates the usual appearance of a slub yarn that has been produced using a hollow spindle machine, rather than on a ringframe.

6.14

Nepp yarn and fleck yarn

The basic method for nepp and fleck yarns is the same in either case: the differences lie in the degree to which the additional material (shown in Fig. 6.34) is affected by the carding process and in the choice of fibre used in the additional material. The effect is produced by adding balls (clumps) of effect fibres to the feed or at a later stage during carding, for example, at the last worker-cylinder contact point. These balls of effect fibres may vary in type, staple length and colour. They may also be a mixture of various types. The settings of the card following the introduction of the nepps will have to be wider than normal to ensure that the nepps are not carded out. These nepps or nubs will then appear randomly along the yarn. Structurally,

6.34 Acrylic flecks and nepps.


51

6.35 Fleck yarn.

these yarns are plain in appearance – in this case it is the colour effect that makes them ‘fancy’. A fleck yarn is shown in Fig. 6.35. When more than one type of effect fibre is used, it is essential that the fibres be thoroughly mixed before being introduced to the card. This mixing action tends to result in harder nubs, which will then tend to maintain their integrity to a greater degree, resulting in a spotted, rather than streaked effect. The proportion of effect fibres to the base fibre needs to be determined (from the size and amount of the effects planned), to enable the appropriate quantity of effect fibres to be added to the card in order to create the desired effect, given the production rate of the card. The nubs in the card web will disrupt the action of the condenser and the drafting arrangement in spinning. Some nubs may be lost during processing, and so the initial addition of material must make allowance for that possibility as well.

6.14.1 Nepp yarn These are made on the woollen system. They show strongly contrasting spots on the surface of the yarn, which are made by dropping in small balls of wool at the latter part of the carding process. The nepps may also be incorporated in the blend, with the carding machine set to ensure that these small lumps are not carded out.

6.14.2 Fleck yarn This yarn presents a mixed appearance, combining spotted and short streaky effects, due to the introduction of a minority of fibres of different colour and/or lustre; it looks similar to the nepp yarn, but some of the nubs will have been slightly opened out during carding, which creates the streaky effect.

6.15

Button yarn

The ‘button’ is an intermittent effect, created by a sudden pause in the progress of the core yarns that allows a build-up of the effect material, usually in this case a sliver or roving, since most button yarns are created

52

Fancy yarns

6.36 Button yarn.

6.37 Fine button yarn.

by fibre feedstocks. Since fibre effects are relatively straightforward to show in photographs, a diagram has not been included for this yarn. While in yarn form it can offer a truly dramatic effect, it is less than straightforward to process into fabric, and consequently in practice it is usually found in its more discreet manifestations. The exception to this is, of course, in hand knitting yarns, since it can be expected that a hand knitter will be able to devote time and care to achieve a successful result. The button yarn shown in Fig. 6.36 was made using a hollow spindle machine, with two slivers fed together, and a relatively small ‘button’. It will create a strongly textured fabric, whose overriding colour is a blend of the two colours used in the sliver effect materials and the colours used for the core and binder yarns. The button yarn shown in Fig. 6.37 again shows two colours used to make the yarn. In this case, the sliver shows a longer average staple length than in those used to make the yarn in Fig. 6.36, resulting in a ‘fluffier’ yarn. In addition it appears that the darker feed material is in fact a yarn. Since it is not desirable to control too precisely the appearance of intermittent effects, lest the eventual fabric be subject to patterning (which is described in Chapter 7), it is a matter of chance that in this case the darker material

6.38 Dramatic button yarn using yarn feedstock.


53

has come to the fore as the button is created. In Fig. 6.38, on the other hand, the feed material used is a highly coloured and extremely shiny viscose yarn, while the core and binder yarns are dark in colour and dull in surface. A fabric made using this yarn would appear to have a plain and dull background, with prominent, highly coloured spots decorating its surface.

6.16

Fasciated yarn

A fasciated yarn is a staple fibre yarn that, by virtue of the method used in its manufacture, consists of a core of parallel fibres bound together by wrapper fibres. The name derives from the ‘fasces’, bundles of rods bound together with an axe in the middle, which in ancient Rome were the symbol of a magistrate’s power. Yarns made under the airjet spinning method are of this structure, although they hardly class as ‘fancy’ in themselves. The yarns produced under the hollow spindle method are also frequently described as fasciated, since the binder is applied to an essentially twistless core of parallel fibres.

6.39 Fasciated yarn.

The yarn shown in Fig. 6.39 is a fasciated yarn made using the hollow spindle process. It is possible to see the fibres that have escaped and the dark binding thread that contrasts with one of the two slivers used as feedstock in making the yarn.

6.17

Tape yarn

‘Tape’ yarns may be made by a variety of processes; braiding, warp knitting and weft knitting being among them. In recent years, these materials have become better known, especially in fashion knitwear. It is also possible to use narrow woven ribbons, or narrow tapes of non-woven material, or slit film, in the same way. With a wealth of possible structures available, it has not been feasible to do more than simply assemble a series of yarn pictures to offer a glimpse of the variety that is already being produced. In Fig. 6.40, (also shown on Plate 1, example E) the tape yarn is made using a combination of a filament support and a metallic embellishment, and this produces a broken and speckled appearance. Not soft enough to

54

Fancy yarns

6.40 Metallic tricot tape yarn.

6.41 Non-woven inserts in tricot tape yarn.

6.42 Combination yarn.

be comfortable next to the skin, this yarn could only be used in a fabric intended to be lined, or as surface embellishment on an unlined item. In Fig. 6.41, a relatively plain tricot tape or cord has been decorated using short lengths of a nonwoven material. It is clear that this additional material has been incorporated into the structure for a sufficient distance to ensure that it will not be able to work its way out of the yarn. This yarn would produce a sparsely shaggy ‘fur-like’ appearance in fabric form. The yarn shown in Fig. 6.42 is, in effect, a combination, showing what can be produced by combining several yarns together. It consists of an intermittent chainette combined with a viscose spiral yarn, and is bound by a plain cotton yarn, to create a variety of surfaces in a single length. Although the fact is not demonstrated in the small section shown here, the viscose spiral is knopped, adding yet another variation to the yarn.


6.18

55

Chainette yarn

‘Chainette’ yarns are made by a miniature circular weft knitting process, often using a filament yarn and a ring of between 6 and 20 needles. They have been seen in small quantities for many years, and are being used extensively in fashion knitwear. The yarn picture in Fig. 6.43 shows one of the heavy, rounded chainette yarns. It was made using few needles, but with a relatively heavy feed; in this case, a heavy and lustrous continuous filament yarn was used. The second yarn picture, Fig. 6.44, shows a chainette being used to create a tape or ribbon yarn – a finer filament yarn was used than in the first case, and it was knitted on a greater number of needles, to produce a larger tube, which was then ironed to give the flat, tape-like effect. These knitted tape yarns can be used to good effect in knitted garments, although care needs to be taken to ensure that the stitches of the yarn are not snagged by the needles knitting the garment.

6.43 Heavy round chainette yarn.

6.44 Ribbon chainette yarn.

6.19

Chenille yarn

Figure 6.45 shows the basic structure of a chenille yarn. It consists of a cut pile which may be made of a variety of fibres helically disposed around the

6.45 Chenille yarn structure.

56

Fancy yarns

6.46 Chenille yarn.

two axial threads that secure it. Chenille yarns are traditionally used in the manufacture of furnishing fabrics and trimmings, fashion knitwear, and as decorative threads in many types of broad and narrow fabrics. There are several ways of making them. Figure 6.46 (also shown on Plate 1, Example C) shows a basic chenille yarn that has alternated two colours in the pile, to produce a striped yarn. This in turn will produce a speckled fabric, or at least one with the appearance of broken colour. The original tufted weft yarn was made by weaving a fabric on a loom (known as a weft loom) in which the warp threads are arranged in small groups of 2 to 6 ends, which interlace in a gauze or cross-weaving manner, the groups being a definite distance apart to suit the length of pile desired. The weft was inserted in the normal way, each pick representing a potential tuft. The woven piece was cut into warp-wise strips that were then used as weft yarn in the production of chenille fabrics. This was a timeconsuming method of production, no longer used to any great extent. It is described in greater detail in Chapter 7. The newer yarn which is used in knitted and woven fabrics is the product of a chenille machine. The pile yarn is introduced between and at right angles to a pair of axial threads at the point at which these axial threads engage as they are twisted together. The pile yarn is then cut, and the yarn is twisted on the ordinary ring system to produce the familiar round and ‘furry’ yarn. In order to reduce subsequent shedding of the tufts (a fault to which these yarns are susceptible), a thermoplastic yarn is often incorporated, and the application of heat at the appropriate point in the process (before the yarn is wound onto a package) enables the yarn to be ‘set’. This process is described in more detail in Chapter 7, the section on manufacturing techniques. A chenille yarn has a very definite ‘nap’ – just like the velvet fabric that in some ways it resembles. This becomes clearer when, instead of the dense pile to which we are accustomed, we see a chenille that has a sparse and strongly differentiated pile, as in Fig. 6.47 (also shown on Plate 1, Example B). In this picture we can see very clearly the orientation of the effect yarns in relation to each other and to the core. It is also possible for a yarn resembling chenille to be produced by electrostatically flocking an axial yarn prepared with an adhesive. Such a yarn is not of very high quality, nor is it particularly durable. This, too, is briefly described in Chapter 7 on manufacturing techniques. It is also possible to


57

6.47 Sparse chenille yarn showing nap.

6.48 Airjet textured ‘chenille-type’ yarn.

6.49 Feather yarn.

create a yarn bearing some resemblance to a chenille using the airjet texturing process. Clearly, the structure is not the same but, as it is used for the same applications, it can fairly be included in this section (Fig. 6.48). The chenille process, and a variant of warp knitting that produces a similar effect, are being used to produce very shaggy and lofty pile yarns, and ‘feather’ yarns which show the effect in one direction only. A feather yarn is shown in Fig. 6.49: in this case, the pile is relatively short, but the looped structure at the core of the yarn can be clearly seen in the picture. In Fig. 6.50 (also shown on Plate 1, Example A) , a yarn is shown that has a curly pile instead of the familiar straight pile. This will produce a fabric having an elastic handle, since it will be possible to compress it quite considerably. It is also possible to use a combination of feeds in creating a chenille yarn, as demonstrated by the yarn shown in Fig. 6.51. The basic material in

58

Fancy yarns

6.50 Curly chenille yarn.

6.51 Tricot chenille yarn.

6.52 Chenille spiral yarn.

the yarn is synthetic filament, but extra sparkle and shine has been added by including a slit film with a mirrored surface. The yarn has then been twisted with an additional plain filament to ensure that it becomes rounded, in this case producing a scalloped appearance rather than the simple velvety cord that we expect of a chenille yarn. It has a relatively long pile and would be better used as an accent, rather than to form an entire garment or fabric. It is shown in colour on Plate 1, Example D. Chenille yarns may also be made intermittently to produce a discontinuous effect, or combined with other yarns to produce a broken colour effect that benefits from the subtle variations imparted by the pile of the chenille. In Fig. 6.52, for example, a chenille yarn has been combined with a plain


59

yarn to create a textured spiral yarn that will produce a variation in texture and colour throughout the fabric in which it is used.

6.20

Cover yarn

A cover yarn is one in which a yarn at the core is completely covered by the fibre or yarn wrapped around it. It is familiar to embroiderers, because most metallic embroidery threads take the form of a filament core with a metallic thread or flat ribbon wrapped around it (as indeed has been the case for several thousands of years – the Romans used gold threads made in this way) but the method is most commonly used to cover elastomeric yarns, which would otherwise be extremely uncomfortable to wear.

6.21

Metallic yarn

Many metallic yarns are formed of slit laminated films, wrapped around a core, or lightly bound with a fine filament binder. Chenille, cover, and laminated yarns are usually of even diameter, the effect being achieved by the surface of the yarn. This may be formed of cores, wrapped with slit film yarns, or by the projecting fibres familiar in the chenille yarn that has enjoyed a significant renaissance in recent years. Occasionally, the slit film threads may be used flat, which heightens their effect, although they usually require the support of a filament to increase their strength. Flat slit films may also be used as components in other fancy yarns. An example of this is shown in the picture of a complex bouclé yarn, Fig. 6.53, which involves a variegated cotton yarn and a flat film as the effects, using a filament to bind the two effect yarns onto the core yarns. This is shown more clearly on Plate 1, Example G.

6.53 Complex bouclé yarn showing use of metallic film.

7 Manufacturing techniques

7.1

Overview of production processes

Since the first days of the Industrial Revolution in the mid 1700s, it has always been the case that every technological development has, in and of itself, created a new commercial application. That is to say, a market has been discovered where no market existed before. This is perhaps hardly astonishing, since it is rare for anyone to be able to conceive of a product or service that is entirely without parallel in their own experience. It does, however, demonstrate the importance of technological development for the continuing growth of companies and of their market shares. It might even be true to say that in these cases, the technology drives the market. In the last quarter of the twentieth century, this pattern (that is, the pattern of a new technique creating a new market) was made manifest three times in the field of fancy yarns. These new markets – or new market sectors – have been opened up following the development of the hollow spindle spinning system, the chenille manufacturing system, and the miniturisation of the circular knitting process to create the chainette yarn. It is therefore reasonable to expect it to continue to do so: new mechanisms will be developed, resulting in new costs, new effects, and new markets. There are, at present, four main methods being used for the production of fancy yarns that involve structural effects: hollow spindle, ring twisting, the ‘combined system’ and the chenille system. Of these, the ring spindle, hollow spindle and combined system installations produce superficially similar yarns and yarn types, although the structures, and therefore the properties, do in fact differ. The chenille machine, on the other hand, although less versatile than these in that it can only produce a single structure, is unique in that it can produce a chenille yarn rapidly, consistently, and at a lower cost than previously was feasible. In 1976, the Lezzeni Company in Italy developed a new manufacturing route that combined the hollow spindle system and the ring spindle system, and since that time many other manufacturers have followed suit. In the 60


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ensuing period there have also been very considerable advances in the electronic control of spinning systems, as there have been in the electronic control of other manufacturing processes. However, there have been no major developments in the actual spinning processes themselves. The chenille manufacturing system is also relatively recent, at least from the point of view of an industry as old as the textile industry, since it too is a development of the past two or three decades. The ‘combined system’, as its name suggests, is a technique using a machine that combines two spinning points, one after the other, in a single passage of the machine. One of the most common combinations is that which combines a hollow spindle with immediate passage of a ring spindle in the reverse twist direction. This produces a somewhat softer yarn, as the binding twists of the hollow spindle are slightly opened out. At the same time, it requires only a single passage of the machine to produce even the most complex effects. This point is becoming a matter of considerable importance in these days of shrinking margins and shorter manufacturers’ lead-times. More recently still, developments in warp and weft knitting have introduced machines that are capable of producing yarn-like products using these methods; for example, the ‘chainette’ type yarns, the ‘tape’ yarns and the ‘feather’ yarns. These yarns are appearing at many levels of the market, in a range of applications, although their primary use thus far has been in knitted apparel. Strictly speaking, these are not spinning techniques at all, and the materials they produce cannot be produced using classical spinning methods, but they do manufacture materials that can be used as yarns. Airjet texturising is being used increasingly for apparel, although much of the production in the recent past was more strongly associated with yarns for automotive and contract furnishing. Viewed purely as a manufacturing technique, airjet texturising has several advantages. The speed of production of which it is capable far outstrips that of conventional systems, and the continuous filament feed produces yarns stronger than those produced using staple fibres, although the entanglement of the filaments in fact weakens the structure in comparison with the material that is fed into the texturising machinery. Furthermore, as development work progresses under the impetus provided by the combination of practical curiosity and potential profits, the technique continues to become more versatile and the resultant yarns more wearable. Already, advances in processing technology have made it possible to produce airjet texturised yarns that have sufficient elasticity to be both useful and comfortable in apparel fabrics. These yarns are used now both in knitting and in weaving. However, the limitation of the technique is that it can only be used to process continuous filament feedstocks.

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Fancy yarns

7.2

Yarn production systems

7.2.1 The ring spindle system Ring spinning, in spite of the encroachment of a variety of new spinning methods in recent years, is still regarded as the ‘standard’ spinning method, and it remains the benchmark against which all other yarn production processes are measured. The main advantages of the system lie in the high degree of fibre control available at all stages of the process, and in the wide range of counts it can produce. The basic operation of the ring spindle system is shown in Figures 7.1 and 7.2. Figure 7.1 shows the roller drafting system that is used almost universally in ring spinning machines. The feed slivers pass through three pairs of rollers. The two rollers of each pair are pressed together, and the surface speed of the rollers is increased from each pair to the next. The fibres that have been gripped by a faster-moving pair of rollers are drawn past the fibres gripped by the preceding, more slowly-moving pair of rollers. Consequently, the length of the sliver is increased by a factor equal to the ratio of the surface speeds of the two pairs of rollers. This ratio of surface speed is called the mechanical draft. If we ignore any shrinkage of the fibre strand after drafting, the mechanical draft is the same as the actual draft, which is defined as the ratio of the linear density of the feed to that of the delivery. Clearly, the danger here lies in the risk that inappropriate choice of the distance between two pairs of rollers in comparison with the fibre staple length

7.1 Roller drafting.


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7.2 Ring spindle.

will result in either broken fibres or in imperfect fibre control. This is one of the primary reasons for the historical specialisation of many spinning mills in the fibre type treated. The space between any two adjacent pairs of rollers is called a drafting zone. The distance between the nip lines (the notional lines on which the upper and lower rollers of each pair touch each other and ‘nip’ the sliver) of two adjacent pairs of rollers is called the roller setting. The first pair of rollers that the feed slivers pass through are called the back rollers or feed rollers and the last pair are called front rollers or delivery rollers. Drafting aprons may be included to improve the fibre control within the system. These are covers, which pass over one set of rollers and a pair of smaller ones close to the next set of main rollers, providing support and control of the fibres as they pass from one nip to the next. The drafted fibre strand is then twisted by the ring spindle, as illustrated in Fig. 7.2.

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Fancy yarns

The yarn leaving the front rollers is threaded through a yarn guide (the lappet), which is located directly above the spindle axis. The yarn then passes under the C-shaped traveller and onto a bobbin. The bobbin is mounted on the spindle and rotates with it. When the bobbin rotates, the tension of the yarn pulls the traveller around the ring. The twist inserted in the yarn can be determined from the spindle speed and the yarn delivery speed by using the following formula: t=

Ns 1 Vd pDp

[7.1]

where t = the turns of twist per unit length of yarn (turns/metre); Ns = the spindle speed (turns/minute); Vd = the yarn delivery speed (metres/minute) Dp = the yarn package diameter. It is common practice to ignore the second part of the above equation and to simplify the calculation as follows: t=

Ns Vd

[7.2]

The small error introduced by this simplification proves to be of little practical significance. During yarn production, the ring rail on which the ring and traveller are mounted (see Fig. 7.2) moves up and down in order to spread the yarn along the length of the bobbin. This ensures that a proper package can be built. The movement of the ring rail appears to be complicated in practice, but the aim is straightforward: to build a package that is stable, easy to unwind and contains the maximum amount of yarn possible. As the yarn is wound onto the bobbin during production, the bobbin diameter and the height of the package increase steadily. In the production of a normal yarn, the attenuation of the fibre strand should be achieved with the minimum variation in its linear density. This results in the maximum yarn evenness. Since fibres of different lengths will tend to move differently during drafting, this is not necessarily easy to accomplish. The differing behaviour of fibres that differ in length will cause unevenness in the yarn. Indeed, it was for this reason that the drafting aprons in the front drafting zone were developed, in order to improve the fibre control and therefore to minimise this variation in normal, ‘plain’ yarn production. During the production of fancy yarns such as slub yarns, these drafting aprons can be removed, and the resulting uneven movement of the fibres can be exploited to create deliberately-introduced random variations in the yarn. This effect may be enhanced by mixing fibres of different


65

lengths to exaggerate these variations in yarn thickness. For example, woollen slubbing can be mixed with worsted top sliver, to create a yarn in which the imperfect fibre control during drafting produces randomly distributed slubs (thick places) of varying dimensions. An alternative method is to modify the spinning frame in such a way that the intermittent acceleration of the drafting rollers causes constantly varying degrees of draft to be applied. This method might also be used on the flyer frame to produce a slubbed roving from which a yarn could be spun using constant draft, although it should be borne in mind that the slubs thus produced would be greatly lengthened in the resultant yarn. Further modifications to the drafting system have been developed that make possible the use of differing yarn paths to the spinning head. Each of these can be separately controlled, and each is provided with drafting aprons for better fibre control in order to allow the differential drafting of several slivers or rovings during feeding. Drafting systems of varying complexity have been developed, together with a variety of different methods for controlling the drives (stepper motors, differential clutches and so on). Another popular method is to use an extra feeding device to inject (that is, to feed intermittently) additional material into the drafting zone. This allows the production of flake or flammé yarns (elongated slubs). Producing fancy yarns on the ring system Fancy yarns that involve yarn effects contain one or more ground yarns, one or more effect yarns and, in most cases, a binder yarn. These fancy yarns are produced in two or more separate stages, not counting the production of the individual yarns that are combined to make up the final fancy yarn. (Obviously, these individual yarns need to be produced separately before they can be combined to create the fancy yarn.) The ground yarns and the effect yarns are then twisted together to create the fancy effect. For some fancy doubled yarns, such as marl and spiral yarns, that are structurally relatively straightforward, the additional process of binding is not required. For most other effects such as bouclé, loop and snarl yarns, it is essential to stabilise the yarn by fixing the effect into place with the ground yarns using a binder yarn. This binder is added in a further twisting process. If this stage is not performed, the effect is free to move up and down the core yarns, to snag on machinery during the subsequent processes, or even to unravel itself. Figure 7.3 shows a typical feeding arrangement when the fancy yarn to be produced is a loop yarn. Two ground yarns must always be used when creating a loop yarn. These two ground yarns are fed by the back feed rollers while the effect yarn is fed by the front feed rollers. As the ground yarns and the effect yarn are fed at different speeds, the ground yarns are

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Fancy yarns

7.3 Feed system for loop yarn formation.

made to pass through the grooves cut in the top front roller, instead of being nipped as they would be if the grooves were not in place. This allows the ground yarns and the effect yarn to converge in the twisting zone after they have emerged from the front rollers. The two ground yarns, kept separated by the two grooves, form a triangle between the front rollers and the twisting point at which they come together. This triangle provides the essential space in which the overfed effect can form the loops. In order to maintain good control of the yarn, the effect yarn (which is overfed, and therefore not under tension between the feed roller and the twisting zone) is fed by the rollers that are closest to the twisting zone; in other words, the front rollers. It is also important that the effect yarn should be fed in such a way that the ground yarns are placed one on each side of it. The yarn effect is critically dependent on a combination of factors: the overfeed ratio (that is, the ratio of the effect yarn speed to the ground yarn speed), the twist, the groove spacing, and the properties of the component yarns. In order to produce good loop effects, the effect yarn should be stable


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(that is, it should display low twist-liveliness) and elastic. The loop size can be altered by changing the size of the spinning triangle and the overfeed ratio. The spinning triangle can be changed by altering the spinning tension, the twist level (this is the most economical method) and the top roller groove space. If the twist level of the loop yarn being produced is used to control the size of the loops, it will at the same time affect the slip resistance of the loops. For example, by increasing the twist level, the yarn twisting torque is increased and this causes the twisting point to move towards the front drafting rollers, which in turn reduces the spinning triangle. Because of the higher twist, the loops will have a greater resistance to slippage. However, the yarn will become harder, although it is possible to rectify this later during the binding process. The feed system for snarl yarn production is the same as it is for producing loop yarns. Indeed, the main difference between the loop yarn and the snarl yarn lies in the properties of the effect yarn. To create a snarl yarn, the effect yarn should have a relatively high level of twist, which will facilitate the formation of the snarl effect. The overfeed ratio is also higher (250% as compared to around 200%). The feed system described for the loop yarn may also be used for other yarn effects where only one ground yarn is needed. Again, the effect yarn is fed by the front rollers while the ground yarn is fed by the back rollers and passes through a groove in the top front roller. If the effect yarn is considerably thicker than the ground yarns (which may be fine filament yarns, for example), a smooth top roller may be used instead of the grooved roller. In this case, the top roller is lifted by the thicker effect yarn and cannot exert any nip pressure on the ground yarns. In producing some effects, such as the gimp yarn, the initial twisting process only lays the foundation for the desired effect, and therefore a reverse twisting is required to make the effect visible. For most other effects (loops, snarls or bouclés), the effect yarn or yarns may appear to be twisted in by the ground yarns, but this is not in fact the case. On the contrary, the strands are simply twisted around each other. To prevent the effects sliding along the yarn length during subsequent processing, it is necessary to bind the effects to the ground yarn or yarns by twisting-in one or more binder yarns, using an additional twisting process. In addition, in order to ensure that the effects are made stable enough for subsequent handling, the initial twist level is usually high. This produces a hard, lean and twist-lively yarn. The final twisting is always in the opposite direction to the initial twisting and this is used to set the fancy yarn twist to the correct level to achieve the desired yarn character (which may be, for example, a soft, open look). Around 80 to 85% of fancy yarns require this final twisting process, which adjusts the appearance and structure of the completed yarn while binding all the components together. The twist level for final twisting depends on

68

Fancy yarns

the yarn count and the desired yarn character (for example, increasing the binding twist will improve the slipfastness of the effect). It is normally between 20% and 40% of the initial twist. As the binder must wrap around the yarn, it needs to be overfed. The amount of this overfeed depends on the yarn count and the effect being produced. A greater amount of overfeed is needed for thicker yarns and for yarns with more pronounced effects. It is usually around 4–11%. The binder yarn should generally be as inconspicuous as possible and it is usually less than 50% of the total ground yarn thickness. A fine, ‘colourless’ filament may often be used as the binder in order to reduce its visual impact on the completed yarn. The choice of the binder colour can materially affect the saleability of a yarn for a particular purpose. For the production of knop yarns (shown in Fig. 7.4), the ground yarn needs to be fed intermittently. The effect yarn and the ground yarns converge below the control bar. The knop effect is formed when the ground yarns stop while the effect yarn continues to be fed, forming a prominent ‘bunch’ on the yarn surface. To achieve a neat knop, the control bar remains stationary so that the effect yarn is given as little play as possible. During

7.4 Feed system for knop yarn formation.


69

the formation of the knop, the control bar can be moved up and down to spread the knop over a desired length of the yarn. This produces an elongated knop, which creates an effect often referred to as a ‘stripe’ yarn. These stripes may be fixed by using a high twist level or may be left ‘floating’ by using a low twist level. In the latter case, the stripes will then move up and down the yarn during subsequent processing. Two effect yarns of different colours may be used to wrap around each other alternately. In this case, no ground yarn is used since each yarn in turn takes the place of the ground yarn. The knops of one yarn hide the colour of the other yarn alternately, which produces an effect not dissimilar to space dyeing. The ring spinning system is still the most flexible yarn production system in terms of both raw material handling and the range of yarn counts produced. Its main drawback lies in the lengthy and costly processes involved in production by this route. When produced using the ring spinning route, most fancy yarns require several twisting processes. The loop yarn, for example, requires a minimum of four component yarns (two ground yarns, one effect yarn and one binder yarn). Each component yarn has to be spun separately. The ground yarns and the effect yarn are then twisted together and this process is followed by the final twisting process required for binding. Thus, even if we do not include the production of the component yarns, two separate stages are involved. Since it is by no means unknown for two fancy yarns to be twisted together to produce other, still more complex effects, the number of twisting processes involved can increase at an alarming rate. In recent years, alternative techniques for making fancy yarns in a single-stage process have emerged and become more popular. The most widely used of these new techniques is the hollow spindle system.

7.2.2 The hollow spindle system The hollow spindle principle of spinning was first developed by George Mitov at the Institute of Clothing and Textiles in Bulgaria.8 The process he devised replaced twist in a yarn by wrapping a filament binder around the materials being used. This resulted in a fasciated yarn structure, in which most of the elements lie parallel to one another while the binder imparts the necessary cohesion. This system is suitable for making plain as well as fancy yarns. Its primary selling point for the manufacture of fancy yarns is that most can be made using a single passage of the machine, while, as discussed earlier, a minimum of two passages would be needed for a similar yarn made using the ring system. It should be remembered, however, that although the yarns are superficially similar, and may appear to be structurally similar as well, fancy yarns made using the hollow spindle system are quite different in structure from those made using the conventional ring

70

Fancy yarns

spinning system, and are likely to differ also in details of appearance and of behaviour during processing. This is demonstrated by the yarn and fabric trials described later in this chapter. Hollow spindle fancy yarns are used mainly in knitted garments or fabrics, although the plain yarns have found many other applications, in carpets and in medical textiles among others. In producing hollow spindle yarns, whether plain or fancy, fewer preparatory processes are required than for ring spinning, for example. In particular, it is no longer necessary to produce a roving as an intermediate process between the sliver and the yarn. This results in lower pre-production costs. Because the binder is usually a filament, the speed of production of that element of the final yarn is much faster than is the case for spun yarns, and consequently the total cost is lower. In the production of fancy yarns, the hollow spindle technique is used to add the binder immediately the effect is produced, instead of using a second, separate operation. However, it should be recalled that because there is no twist holding the elements of the fancy yarn together, it has no cohesion beyond that imparted by the binder. If the binder breaks, the yarn falls into its separate components more readily and dramatically than does a fancy yarn produced by ring spinning. Furthermore, a filament binder will typically offer relatively little warning of weakness – it is unlikely to show any thin places, for example. Figure 7.5 shows an example of the hollow spindle system. In this particular example, there are four independent feeding devices, three for effect fibres and one for the core yarns. The effect fibres are fed in the form of staple roving or sliver. After that, they are drafted using roller drafting systems that are similar to those used on ringframes. The effect fibres are combined with the core yarns and then passed through the rotating hollow spindle. A bobbin bearing the binder (usually a filament yarn) is mounted on the hollow spindle and rotates with it. The binder is pulled into the hollow spindle from the top. The rotation of the hollow spindle wraps the binder around the staple strand and the core yarns. The binder then holds the effect and the core yarns in place. To avoid the possibility of the drafted staple strand disintegrating before it is wrapped by the binder, the spindle usually generates false twist in the staple strand. The staple strand does not therefore pass directly through the hollow spindle. It is first wrapped around a twist regulator, which is usually located at the bottom of the spindle. A very wide range of fancy effects can be produced using the hollow spindle system. Many of these effects can be controlled by controlling the speeds of each of the different feeding devices (core and effect). It is also possible to use the hollow spindle system to create fancy yarns that include yarns in their effect. Still more effects can be produced by controlling the final yarn delivery speed. Because the effect fibres do not have real twist,


71

7.5 Hollow spindle system.

hollow spindle yarns differ from ring yarns in both their appearance and their performance characteristics. The former tend to be bulkier and have lower wear resistance.

7.2.3 Combined systems The combined systems were first developed in order to unite the benefits of the ring and hollow spindle systems in a single machine, since it is felt that a yarn with twist has a more stable and reliable structure than one that has a fasciated structure. Thereafter, it was realised that two hollow spindles could also be mounted in series, and that this would offer a different variety of resultant yarns, and a different range of benefits. This is shown in Fig. 7.6, which depicts two hollow spindles, arranged one above the other to wrap the

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Fancy yarns

7.6 Two-spindle wrap system.

staple strand with two binders which are applied in opposite directions. This technique is used to produce special effect yarns that have a more stable structure, a result of the fact that the effect fibres are trapped by two binders instead of one.


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7.7 Combination of ring and hollow spindles.

Figure 7.7 shows the original combined system in which the hollow spindle and ring spindle were combined in a single machine. In this case, the wrapped yarn is being given some true twist by the ring spindle located immediately beneath the hollow spindle. It was felt that the speed of assembly offered by the hollow spindle, enhanced by the true twist inserted by the ring spindle, would be able to create yarns that would be less expensive than true ring spun yarns while still retaining some of the characteristics. In considering these mechanisms, we should bear in mind that, although only one passage of the machine is required, that single passage can take place no faster than the speed of the slowest process. Furthermore, the machines are complex and time-consuming to set up, as one might expect,

74

Fancy yarns

since the materials necessary for two machine passages under the ring system must be assembled at one time.

7.2.4 The doubling system The doubling system is based essentially on the ring spindle. The general arrangement is to provide two or more yarns that can be fed independently at controlled speeds, which may include uniform, fluctuating or intermittent feeds as required. This permits the production of spiral or marl type yarns very simply, but it obviously demands that the feedstock should be in yarn form. The method allows the production of some of the simpler fancy yarn structures by ordinary spinners who do not specialise in fancy yarn production. Indeed, these yarns can be created by anyone who has access to a doubling frame, and since many weavers and knitters also maintain their own, this enables them, too, to create fancy yarns. In skilled hands, the doubling frame can produce some interesting effects, in particular when it is used to combine two existing fancy yarns to create another. In garment and fabric knitting, it is possible to produce a marl-like, or heathered effect, by simply feeding two yarns into the knitting machine at the same time. However, although this method does have the advantage of reducing yarn variability, ‘multi-ending’, as it is termed, does not ensure so stable an effect as that which can be created by first using a doubling frame to produce a doubled yarn and then knitting with that doubled yarn. It is also possible to produce spiral effects using an ordinary doubling system.This can be achieved by combining two yarns of very different thickness and of opposite twist. If the doubling twist is in the same direction as that of the thicker single yarn twist, the thicker yarn contracts while the thinner yarn expands, resulting in the thinner yarn spiralling around the thicker. If on the other hand the doubling twist is in the opposite direction to that of the thicker single yarn twist, the thicker yarn expands while the thinner yarn contracts, resulting in the thicker yarn spiralling around the thinner yarn. Although their basic structure is identical, these yarns are aesthetically very different and they will be employed in very different ways.

7.2.5 The condenser system Although it is used particularly for short staple wool and recovered fibres for woollen fabrics, and is not viewed as being a method for the production of very high quality yarns, the condenser spinning method may still be used to produce fancy yarns of a particular type. The effect components are introduced into the blend either prior to or during the carding operation. For example, a controlled flow of coloured


75

nepps may be fed to the card just before the condenser; or the nepps may be incorporated into the blend. In the latter case, the blend must therefore already have been opened out, as it is necessary to use an open setting in order to prevent the fibre balls themselves being opened out. The yarns thus produced will have small colour flecks, spread out to a lesser or greater extent, depending upon the closeness of the settings. Longer and larger flake effects can be produced on the condenser system by injecting fibre materials into the condensing zone.

7.2.6 Open end spinning There are two commonly used open end systems: rotor and friction. The rotor system is mainly used for the production of plain, short staple yarns. The friction system is used mainly to make coarse industrial yarns. However, both systems can also be used for making particular fancy yarns. The rotor system In rotor spinning (Fig. 7.8), the fibre material is fed into an opening unit by a feed roller in conjunction with a feed shoe. This feed material is usually a drawn sliver. An opening roller is located inside the opening unit. The surface speed of this opening roller is much faster than the feed roller, and it opens up the fibres to create a very thin and open fibre flow. The fibres are taken off the opening roller by an air stream that has a speed about twice that of the opening roller. The fibres are carried by the air stream

7.8 Rotor spinning system.

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Fancy yarns

through the fibre transportation tube and into the spinning rotor. The surface speed of the rotor is faster again than the exit air speed, so the fibres emerging from the transportation tube are pulled into the rotor. This in turn keeps the fibres aligned in the direction of the fibre flow. The centrifugal force generated by the rotor throws the fibres into the rotor groove. Because of the high surface speed of the rotor, only a very thin layer of fibres, with usually one or two fibres in the cross-section, is deposited in the rotor as the rotor passes the fibre exit point of the transportation tube. Many such layers of fibres are needed to make up the yarn. This doubling up of the fibres in the rotor is called back-doubling, and it contributes to the maintenance of an even linear fibre density. The centrifugal force inside the rotor throws the tail of the yarn arm against the rotor groove. The yarn arm rotates with the rotor, and each rotation of the yarn arm inserts one twist in the yarn. As the yarn is withdrawn continuously through the navel and tube, the contact point of the yarn arm with the rotor groove must move around the rotor. Because the yarn arm is rotating axially, the fibres in the rotor groove are twisted into the yarn. There is no need to rotate the yarn package to ensure the insertion of twist, so with less mass to rotate and control, rotor spinning can attain much higher twisting speeds than is possible in ring spinning. Furthermore, since the feed can be in sliver form, the roving process needed in ring spinning is eliminated in rotor spinning, which reduces the production cost still more. The final package can also be much larger, with fewer knots in the product, and in a more suitable form for subsequent processes. The absence of trash particles on the fibres is more critical for rotor spinning than for ring spinning. This is because the yarn is formed in an enclosed space inside the rotor, which means that trash particles remaining on the fibres can accumulate in the rotor groove. This will lead to a gradual deterioration of yarn quality and, in severe cases, it can result in yarn breakage. In order to reduce the trash particles remaining among the fibres, a trash extraction device is used at the opening roller. As the twist in the yarn runs into the fibre band in the rotor groove, the inner layers of the yarn tend to have higher levels of twist than do the outer layers. Fibres landing on the rotating fibre band close to the yarn tail, or landing directly on the rotating yarn arm when the yarn arm passes the exit of the transportation tube, tend to wrap around the yarn instead of being twisted into it. These wrapping fibres are characteristic of rotor-spun yarns. Rotor spun yarns usually have lower strength than ring spun yarns of the same components and count because there is poorer fibre disposition within the yarn, although the rotor spun yarn tends to be more consistent in its strength along its length. This is the result of the combined effects of using an opening roller to open up the fibres, transporting the fibres by airflow,


77

and the low yarn tension during yarn formation. The wrapping fibres also lead to a rougher yarn surface. The back-doubling action gives rotor yarns a better short-term evenness than ring spun yarns. Rotor spinning is used almost exclusively for spinning short staple fibre yarns. Recent developments in electronic control have allowed the development of rotor spinning machinery that is capable of producing slub yarns. These yarns are used in furnishings and drapes, rather than in apparel fabrics, although they are sometimes used in denim fabrics. They are produced by attachments to ordinary open end spinning devices, which usually incorporate an electronically-controlled device to briefly accelerate the drawing-in roller. As a result of the back doubling action inside the rotor, it is not possible to produce slubs shorter than the circumference length of the rotor because any variation in the fibre feed stock is spread over a minimum length of the rotor circumference. There have also been attempts to use injections of pressurised air into the fibre transportation tube to alter the fibre flow and thus introduce variations in the yarn. However, the effects created using this approach are very limited since the fibre flow in the transportation tube is extremely thin and the variation in the yarn caused by changes in the airflow is consequently very small. The friction system Friction spinning is an entirely different open end spinning technique. Instead of using a rotor, two friction rollers are used to collect the openedup fibres and to twist them into the yarn. The principle is shown in Fig. 7.9. Unlike ring or rotor spinning machines that are produced by many manufacturers around the world, friction spinning machines are at present made

7.9 Friction spinning principle.

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Fancy yarns

7.10 DREF 2 friction spinner.

only by Dr. Ernst Fehrer AG of Austria. Figure 7.10 shows the DREF 2 machine. The company also produces the DREF 3 machine, which has an extra drafting unit on the side of the machine in order to feed in drafted staple fibres to form a core component. The most recent offering from DREF is the DREF 2000 machine, which essentially operates on the same principle as the earlier versions. The fibres are fed in sliver form and are opened by a carding roller. The opened fibres are then blown off the carding roller by an air current and transported to the nip area of two perforated friction drums. The fibres are drawn onto the surfaces of the friction drums by air suction. The two friction drums rotate in the same direction and twist is inserted into the fibre strand because of the friction between the fibre strand and the two drum surfaces. The yarn is withdrawn in the direction parallel to the axis of the friction drums and is delivered to a package-forming unit. A high twisting speed can be achieved even when using a relatively low speed for the friction drums, because the friction drum diameter is so much larger than the yarn diameter. Because the yarn is withdrawn from the side of the machine, fibres fed from the machine end away from the yarn delivery tend to form the yarn core while fibres fed from the machine end closer to the yarn delivery tend to form the sheath. This characteristic can be conveniently exploited to produce core – sheath yarn structures for particular purposes such as a yarn with the strength of a polyester core and the natural feel of a cotton sheath. Furthermore, additional core components, filaments or drafted staple fibres, can be fed from the side of the machine while the fibres fed from the top of the machine, the normal input, form the sheath. The fibre configuration in friction spun yarns is very poor.When the fibres come to the friction drum surface, they are obliged to decelerate sharply


79

from a high velocity to become almost stationary. This causes fibre bending and disorientation. Due to the very low tension in the yarn formation zone, fibre binding within the yarn is also poor. As a result, the yarn has a very low tensile strength and in most cases only coarse yarns, of 100 Tex and above, will be produced. The main application of friction spinning is for the production of industrial yarns and for spinning using recycled fibres. The process can also be used with aramid and glass fibres and with various core components including wires. Slub yarns, which are potentially important for decorative effects, can be produced on the friction system by changing the feed speed of one or more of the slivers, or by injecting fibres directly into the friction zone. However, the yarn tends to offer low performance in processing and use, as a result of the poor binding of the fibres in the yarn indicated earlier.

7.2.7 Airjet texturing Also referred to as ‘airjet texturising’, airjet texturing was introduced by DuPont in the 1950s, and was then known as the Taslan® process. It may be used on all types of synthetic flat filament, and is used for texturing POY (Partially Oriented Yarns) and fully drawn yarns. In some cases, the speed of processing can reach more than 900 metres per minute. Figure 7.11 shows the basic principles of the process. The flat filaments are wetted, in order to improve process stability by reducing filament to filament friction, and fed into the texturing jet. The material is then blasted with high pressure air or steam that accelerates to supersonic speeds and forces the filaments to buckle and mutually entrap each other in the turbulent airstream. These air jets are enclosed in a ‘jet box’ which reduces noise and collects the water and spin finish as it is washed off the yarns. Following this, heaters are frequently used to remove the water remaining at the end of the process and to set the bulk

7.11 Airjet texturing.

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of the finished yarn. Because the filaments buckle and loop during the texturing process, they need to be overfed as compared to the final delivery speed. It is possible to use airjet texturing to combine two or more threadlines, which may vary in several ways. This allows the resultant yarn to be ‘engineered’ in terms of both its composition and its properties, and it opens the way for the production of what appear to be ‘fancy yarns’. The basic technique consists of feeding in several ‘ends’ of flat filament at differing speeds. The yarn created by this process is becoming more frequently used in apparel fabrics as developments in the filament feedstock and the precise texturing techniques result in yarns that are becoming increasingly comfortable in wear, unlike some of the early ones that, through a combination of poor feedstock choice (in terms of both polymer and filament denier) and less sophisticated techniques, produced yarns with no elasticity and relatively poor aesthetic appearance. These new airjet textured yarns are beginning to be used for knitted fabrics, and indeed are even used in fabrics for intimate apparel. All airjet textured yarns have a reduced tensile strength compared with an untextured filament yarn because of the confusion of the filaments. Fancy yarns – primarily slubs and bouclés – can be made, and if the filaments are chosen carefully, can be very successful, but the market for them, in recent years at least, has been much reduced. However, as recent developments begin to come into production we can expect to see that situation change. In particular, metallic filaments can be processed to create new types of metallic yarns, with varying degrees of lustre and a range of other properties. The vast speeds achievable in airjet texturing (especially in comparison with conventional fancy twisting) offer sufficient commercial incentive to encourage research in producing a range of fancy effects by this means. In addition, work involving new filament profiles and new production techniques will allow more and more variety to be introduced into the yarns created using this process.

7.2.8 Methods of creating chenille yarns Weaving A chenille yarn was in times past produced by weaving a leno fabric, which was then cut into narrow warpwise strips. This is illustrated in Fig. 7.12. The yarn so produced had projecting tufts formed by what had originally been the weft yarn of the leno material. This technique has been superseded by a variety of new systems, which create more or less convincing copies of the chenille effect. The old, leno-woven method may still be used in some very specialist applications, but the scarcity and expense of this particular effect


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7.12 Chenille yarn production by weaving.

when this was the only method is sufficient testimony to the relative slowness and difficulty of the technique. It is not really a viable alternative if the goal is to create yarns for the mass market. The chenille system A method of producing a chenille yarn has been developed which produces two ends at each unit. This is illustrated in Figures 7.13 and 7.14. The effect yarns are wrapped around a gauge or former that is triangularly shaped at the top, narrowing towards the base to allow the effect yarn coils to slide downwards onto the cutting knife. The width at the bottom of the gauge determines the effect length, by maintaining the depth of the pile, or ‘beard’, in the final yarn. Although, for the sake of simplicity, the cutting knife is shown in Figures 7.13 and 7.14 as a straight knife edge, the modern machines all use a circular cutting knife. On each side of the cutting knife there are two ground yarns, which may be either singles or two-fold yarns. One ground yarn is guided by the takeup roller while the other is guided by the companion roller. The take-up roller is pressed against the profiled guide and intermeshes with the companion roller, allowing the two ground yarns to trap the pile created by the effect yarn in between them, at right angles to the ground yarn axis. The two ground yarns are twisted together, usually by a ring spindle at the lower part of the machine, to produce the final yarn. In the early years of this technique, several factors militated against the popularity of the yarn. First of all, like all new systems, the technique was not without its problems, and much research and effort was needed to

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7.13 Chenille yarn production (1).

7.14 Chenille yarn production (2).


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develop the expertise needed to manage the new system. In addition, the chenille effect is one that has distinct phases of popularity (and by contrast unpopularity), and since the machines developed to create chenille type yarns can do nothing else, the purchase of them could be clearly seen to be a gamble. Further, the yarn does have a very distinct weakness – it does not have very good inherent abrasion resistance. When the yarns are in use, clearly the abrasion resistance of the chenille yarn is crucially important, in particular because the effect sought is always that of the velvety feel of the pile, and the bald look of worn velvet or chenille is not appealing. Any removal of the effect yarn forming the beard, either during further processing or during the eventual end-use, will expose the ground yarns, which in turn will result in this bare appearance. To avoid this undesirable result, several options are available, or a combination of them may be chosen. These include creating a longer beard that will offer greater resistance to being pulled out and will also take longer to abrade: clearly, whether or not this option is selected is dictated mainly by the desired yarn appearance. Other options include the use of longer fibres in the effect yarn and of a higher twist level in the creation of the chenille itself, in order to offer greater resistance to the removal of the effect yarn. Careful choice of the effect and ground yarns to increase the inter-fibre friction may also assist in reducing the rate of loss of the effect. The use of chenille yarns in domestic furnishing is sufficient proof that great strides have been made in rendering this aesthetically appealing yarn useable in situations where the fabric is subject to considerable abrasion. These important characteristics are also enhanced by the use of higher twist levels, although the addition of a thermoplastic filament to the composition is another development that has significantly reduced the main problem of shedding to which early chenille yarns were prone. The use of thermoplastic fibre, of course, brings its own challenges in production, especially since the relatively low melting point may result in activation of the filament at the wrong time; or alternatively, if the temperature of the thermosetting device is too high, the thermoplastic filament may melt completely and run down the ‘beard’, settling in beads on the ends of the fibres. Like velvet and other pile fabrics, the chenille yarn made using this process has what is in effect a nap (see Fig. 7.15 and Plate 1, Example B). This is caused by the interlacing of the pile and the core, and it means that in later treatment of the yarn, the number of winding processes need to be carefully monitored in order to ensure that the nap lies in the same direction on all cones or cheeses in a batch. If this is not done, the fabric in which the yarn is used will show colour differences resulting from the differing reflectances of the nap, which depend upon the angle of the pile and of the light.

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7.15 Chenille structure showing nap.

7.16 Flocking process.

Flocking Chenille effects can also be produced by a flocking process in which a ground yarn coated with adhesive is flocked electrostatically with loose fibres (Fig. 7.16). The loose fibres and the ground yarn are charged with opposite electrostatic charges. As a result of this, the loose fibres are attracted to the ground yarn and are bonded to it by the adhesive. The loose fibres have the same electrostatic charge and they repel each other, ensuring good fibre separation and also forcing them to ‘stand’ on the ground yarn rather than lie flat on the ground yarn surface. This is a very economical production method, but the yarn has poor abrasion resistance because the anchor of the loose fibres onto the ground yarn is small and these loose fibres can very easily be worn off, leaving the ground yarn bare. Mock chenille A mock chenille effect can be produced by plying two gimp or bouclé or loop yarns with dense effects; for example, two loop yarns with large numbers of small loops. The yarn may not look like a chenille, but when it is made into fabric, the large number of small loops in the fabric results in a fabric surface that resembles a chenille effect.


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7.2.9 Dyeing Fancy coloured yarns may be produced by such techniques as space dyeing or ombré dyeing. Cross dyeing effects and dye-injected rovings or slivers all contribute to a range of fancy effects, and all offer original creative opportunities to the designer. The printing of patterns onto comber sliver or other fibre materials is another variation on this technique. In addition, continuing research in wool treatments has allowed the development of dye resist techniques that may also be of value in this field.

7.2.10 The phenomenon of ‘striping’ Machines that create intermittent fancy effects need to include some form of randomisation mechanism to eliminate any possibility of ‘striping’ effects. This ‘striping’ occurs if the effect introduced in a yarn, of whatever nature – colour, volume, texture – has a ‘period of repetition’ that can be expressed as a multiple of the width of the fabric in which it is used. It is manifested in the form of warpwise or angled stripes in the fabric as the effect repeats. Since this effect can be seen even when the multiple is not a whole number, it follows that patterning of some form will appear whenever there is any type of repeating variation. Assuming the fabric width is W and the repeat period is R, if R/W (when R is larger than W, which is more likely to be the case) or W/R (when W is larger than R) is a whole number, warpwise stripes will appear in the fabric. If R/W or W/R is a whole number plus a fraction, an angled pattern will appear in the fabric. In Fig. 7.17, W/R is just less than 3 and the effects will appear slightly to the right in successive weft lines in relation to those that appear in the weft line just

7.17 Striping or patterning in a fabric.

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above. This results in the angled pattern shown in Fig. 7.17. If the period of repetition is altered in relation to the width of the fabric, the angle of the stripe will change, but it will always be present to some degree. The human brain is especially skilled at pattern recognition, so even if such a pattern is not exact, it will normally be possible to discern it. In weaving, the use of multiple cheeses for weft input allows the patterning in woven fabrics to be attenuated, and if the period of repetition is long enough in relation to the expected uses of the fabric, this form of patterning may not present too serious a problem. Clearly, however, it is greatly to be preferred that there should be no patterning at all. In early machines that were developed for the production of fancy doubled yarns, this potential difficulty was addressed by a range of mechanical techniques. More recently, with the development of microprocessor-controlled equipment for the design and production of fancy doubled yarns, it has become possible to create yarns with intermittent effects that occur randomly, or randomly within certain boundaries. In fact in strict mathematical terms, this randomness is only ‘pseudo-randomness’, in that the algorithms employed will always produce the same results from the same starting-point. However, since the results show neither pattern nor period, there will be no regularity or even approximate regularity for the eye to detect. The work already undertaken to deal with this question, and to create machines that employ these techniques, has become much more important since it has become possible to produce the intermittent effects, and especially as these intermittent effects have become more striking. In particular, the ‘button’ and ‘flammé’ yarns that can be produced on modern, electronically-controlled hollow spindle machines are sufficiently dramatic for any regular repeating pattern in the yarn to become very obvious in the fabric. These novelties have brought with them the new challenge of avoiding or eliminating patterning and striping effects, and have demonstrated yet again the usefulness of applying a mathematical understanding to ordinary events. Striping does not pose a risk only to makers and users of fancy yarns. On the contrary, their awareness of the unfortunate effect produced by striping in fabrics has given the manufacturers of many different types of textile processing machinery much cause for thought over the years. It is not merely the deliberately introduced intermittent effect that can create striping, the risk of striping is found in the package dyeing of yarns as well, since the differing pressures at different points in a cross-wound package may influence the dye take-up shown by the yarn at these different levels. However, in the future it may become possible for this characteristic, hitherto seen as an undesirable artefact of the manufacturing process, to be harnessed in new ways to produce new and intriguing effects.


7.3

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Yarn and fabric trials

In order to demonstrate some of the basic effects of changing process parameters on the yarn and fabric appearance, a number of fancy yarns were produced under laboratory conditions and then woven and knitted into fabrics. This section presents a comparison of those yarns and fabrics.

7.3.1 Production details Two sets of yarns were made, the first using a Calvani Fancyjet-6 ring twister and the second using a Gemill & Dunsmore hollow spindle machine. Obviously, the hollow spindle apparatus created a yarn in a single passage of the machine, whereas the ring twister required two separate passages of the machine. The first assembles the core and effect components, while the second applies a binder in the reverse twist direction, and in doing so also ‘opens out’ the twist applied in the first process and creates the final balanced yarn. For both machines, the same core yarns, binder yarn and effect yarn were used. Three overfeed ratios – 140%, 180% and 220% – were used on each machine. In addition, three fibre-effect yarns were made on the hollow spindle machine using the same overfeed ratios in order to offer clear demonstrations of the special characteristics of a fibre effect in comparison with a yarn effect. In general, the successful production of the anticipated effect involved substantial experimental efforts, which were mainly concerned with two factors. These were the spacing of the two core yarns and the twist level. With inappropriate spacing and twist, there were frequent breakages of the ground yarns and even, occasionally, of the effect yarn. It was also noted that there was a higher number of breakages when starting from an empty bobbin. Furthermore, the effects tended to be unstable, especially when the machine was first started with each new set-up. This is clearly due to the higher tension and the tension variations involved when starting from an empty bobbin. Little difficulty was encountered with the hollow spindle machine in the production of yarn effects, but in producing the fibre effect yarns, some roller lapping occurred at the higher overfeed ratios. This could be resolved by reducing the delivery speed.

7.3.2 Yarn samples The nine yarn samples are shown in Fig. 7.18. Yarns A, B and C were produced on the Calvani ring twister using overfeed ratios (of effect yarn to core yarn) of 140%, 180% and 220% respectively. Yarns D, E and F were produced on the hollow spindle machine with the same component yarns, using a wrapping density similar to the twist used on the Calvani twister

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7.18 Trial yarn samples.

and with the same corresponding overfeed ratios. Yarns G, H and J were produced on the hollow spindle machine with the same core and binder yarns, but the effect was produced from a roving, again using overfeed ratios of 140%, 180% and 220% respectively. For the yarn effects (examples A to F), there are obvious increases in the frequency, or density, of the effect as the overfeed ratio increases, but the increases in the size of the effects are much less noticeable, except in the changes from yarn A to yarn B. There are also clear differences between the ring yarns and the hollow spindle yarns of the same overfeed ratio. The hollow spindle yarns are much more compact than the ring yarns. This is the result of the binding process that is necessary for the ring yarns. As the binding process uses a twist that is opposite in direction to that of the initial twist, the effect yarn twist became much lower in the final yarn created on the ring twister, thus creating a bulkier and softer appearance. The higher degree of snarling in the hollow spindle yarns is also due to the high twist level of the effect yarn. The high snarling tendency was also noted in the ring yarns after the first ‘assembly’ stage, prior to the final binding process. For the fibre effect yarns G, H and J, the size of the effect increases with the overfeed ratio while the frequency or density of the effect seems to be only a function of the binder wrapping density.

7.3.3 Fabric samples Woven The nine yarns described in the above section were woven on a Bonas SUPERTEX narrow fabrics rapier loom. A standard yarn was used as


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the warp in all cases while the fancy yarns were used for the weft. In order to emphasize the fancy effect, a weft-faced 3 for 1 twill weave was used. The fabrics are depicted in Fig. 7.19. The appearance of the fabrics is dominated by the effect yarn, even when the overfeed ratio is only 140%. The increase of the surface effect with the overfeed ratio is quite as expected. Knitted The nine yarns were also knitted into fabrics using a Dubied flat V-bed hand knitting machine with a gauge of 4.5 (see Fig. 7.20). A plain, single jersey structure was used to reduce the sometimes confusing visual effect of a combination of fabric and yarn structures, since the object of these trials was to provide clear, simple examples demonstrating fancy effects in their simplest application. Even though the knitted fabrics were made completely from the fancy yarns, the effects in the fabrics appear less dramatic than those on the woven fabrics. It would have been more effective, aesthetically, to combine the fancy yarns with some standard yarns in the fabric and to introduce contrasting appearances by using the different yarns. This, in fact, is a widely used practice in the industry, since it allows designers to maximise the visual effect of the sometimes expensive fancy yarns while at the same time reducing the financial impact of their use. It must also be pointed out that the fabrics shown here are all in greige state and, as such, the structures are uneven in appearance.

7.19 Trial woven fabrics.

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7.20 Trial knitted fabrics.

7.4

Future developments

There will no doubt be continuing development of new machines and faster processes – or at least, so one might hope and expect. Quite apart from anything else, we have already commented that the greatest surges in market interest over the past two decades have always been associated with the evolution of new machines and new production processes. It is possible that upper limits for production speed have already been reached for some of the current processes, and that further advances will lie in the field of innovative production techniques that may, in and of themselves, produce new yarn types and combinations. The hollow spindle and the chenille manufacturing techniques are both developments of the past few decades, and the latter system has made the production of this particular yarn very much less expensive than once it was. The development of the small circular knitting machines to produce ‘chainette’ and ‘tape’ yarns, or of braiding and warp knitting for the same purposes, has been continuing quietly for some time. The major achievements of the past two decades have rested, to a significant degree, on the increasing use of electronic controls for the machinery. In particular, increasing electronic control has resulted in the development of computer-aided management and diagnostic systems that increase the data available to the production department. Thereafter, this data may be linked to a company-wide stock tracking and management system. The hope is that such innovations will permit the streamlining of


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the production process, which in turn will limit machine downtime and thus improve profitability. However, in the developed world at least, it should be borne in mind that even the most up-to-date computer-aided production will not make the production of commodity goods economically viable in countries where both wages and social costs are high. The production of fancy yarns or equivalent high value, high margin items seems likely to be the best route to business growth in such areas. Further developments could also lie in the application of new materials science to the conventional spinning systems, to improve the performance and durability of machine parts, to reduce end breaks or to increase production speeds.

8 The design and application of fancy yarns

8.1

Introduction

In discussing the development of the technology involved in design and manufacturing, we thought it appropriate here to encourage students to consider the range of approaches possible when they are seeking employment. Are the approaches in use by the prospective employer compatible with the applicant’s aspirations and personality? Do the culture and methods suit them? For students and young professionals who, in the early stages of their studies, are likely to lack the necessary professional contacts, it is vital to seek out all possible sources of information, and an attempt should be made to visit as many prospects as possible during their student years. It is to the advantage of the organizations and of the students to ensure that students and young professionals learn to rapidly identify the salient characteristics of any organization they visit. In due course, this will allow them to ensure that their own attitudes and priorities are in tune with those of any organizations to which they may consider applying for a post. Equally, it should result in a reduced level of staff turnover for the organizations, who should find that they will receive fewer applications but that those applications will be from individuals who are, to some degree, self-selected. It can prove difficult to find a means of contacting individuals within the industry who are able and willing to discuss those aspects of their work that would be impossible to teach in colleges. However, many professionals within industry are enthusiastic and willing to discuss their work in detail, and the encouragement of these enthusiasts is usually well worth the effort involved in finding them.

8.2

The design implications of fancy yarns

The importance of design and of marketing, which form the beginning and the end of the manufacturing process, cannot be too strongly stressed, for 92


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they inspire all the actions in the other sectors of the production and supply chain. This is clearly demonstrated by the relatively recent development of the chenille machine, discussed in detail in Chapter 7. This machine has made it possible to create a chenille yarn very rapidly and in large volumes. It is no longer necessary, now, to weave a precursor fabric first. Where once the use of chenille yarns in fashion was rare and shortlived because the yarn was so difficult to buy in sufficient quantity and at a reasonable price, now it is possible to use chenille yarns of various types in a wide range of applications. Not only that, but the chenille yarn is being used in a significant proportion of furnishing fabrics (see Plate 2, Example A). These fabrics are even targeted at the mass market, where once again the rarity of the chenille and the long production process involved made it by far too expensive. Indeed, it seems that the chenille yarn in furnishing fabrics has achieved almost the status of a nearcommodity, because the prices per kilogram have fallen significantly since the yarn became popular. Fancy doubled yarns, whatever their exact nature, are all decorative. They will noticeably enhance the aesthetic effect of a fabric in which they are used, even though the precise effect that will be achieved is often a mystery before the fabric is made, until the designer has gained a certain level of experience – and even then, it will not be possible to describe the exact effect expected to another person. Although it is certainly possible to use a fancy yarn in a fabric that has a decorative structure, the decision to use a fancy yarn of some sort means that it is no longer necessary to design a decorative structure in order to create a decorative fabric. On the contrary, the use of a decorative structure becomes just one of the several design choices available in addition to the decorative effect of the yarn. The enhanced aesthetic effect will be felt even – or perhaps especially – in cases where the fabric structure is of the simplest. The plain fabric can therefore combine the elegance and simplicity of the plain structure with the decorative effect of the yarn. This may, of itself, create an exuberant effect, although it may equally well produce one of great subtlety. A yarn need not even be used extensively in a fabric to have a remarkable impact on the overall appearance. Carefully planned, the contrast between the plain ‘background’ yarn and the fancy yarn is likely to heighten the impact of the fancy yarn. For example, as shown in the fabric detail in Fig. 8.1, the use of a fine bouclé yarn with a plain yarn in a woollen fabric may be planned to offer a variety of textures – bouclé crossing bouclé, plain crossing bouclé, bouclé crossing plain, and plain crossing plain. This, when the yarns are all of the same colour, produces a very subtle checked effect, which adds distinction to a fabric without calling attention to itself.

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8.1 Plain woven structure enlivened with bouclé yarn.

8.3

The use – or not – of luxury fibres

Although luxury fibres are not, of themselves, the subject of this book, at this point it is worth recalling that, although luxury fabrics may often include fancy yarns, and fancy yarns may include luxury fibres, the two do not necessarily belong together. Sometimes, a particular effect is best obtained by using a combination of exotic or luxury fibres, but sometimes these do not provide the effect sought. Fig. 8.2 offers an example of an effect that is certainly not available in ordinary yarns or luxury fibres. The detail in Fig. 8.2 shows a fabric that includes two fancy yarns. The first is a fringed yarn, which is certainly ‘fancy’, but the second is truly unusual. This yarn, which is sometimes referred to as a ‘chewing-gum’ yarn, consists of a filament core encased in a polymer foam. Although it sounds alarming, the effect in a fabric has its own charm, and the yarn can be used to create an unexpected textural highlight in an otherwise plain fabric. At the other extreme, there are some exceptional fibres that are best used in plain yarns and plain fabrics, because it is the beauty of the fibre, and its particular characteristics, that produces the beauty of the fabric. The most well-known of these is shahtoosh, a fibre that comes from an endangered Tibetan antelope, the chiru. Unfortunately, it cannot be taken from a live animal, and this fibre is therefore now unacceptable to most consumers: indeed, it is becoming impossible to source even if it had remained accept-


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8.2 Woven fabric showing ‘chewing gum’ yarn.

able, since the high level of poaching has all but wiped out the chiru in most areas. However, substitutes have been found. True pashmina is almost as fine as shahtoosh, and much more acceptable, being obtained from a domesticated goat (capra hircus), and without the necessity for slaughtering the animal first. Top quality cashmere is also exceptional in lightness and warmth, although since cashmere is now available in lower-priced blends and does not benefit from a recognised control system similar to that available for ordinary wool in the Woolmark®, it is necessary to be certain of the probity of the source. Another substitute is the result of the rediscovery of an ancient breed of sheep, now known as ‘Escorial’ because it is said that King Felipe II of Spain kept a flock at his palace of El Escorial. It is even said that the King restricted the use of the wool of this flock to the royal family. In this he displayed an awareness of fabric somewhat at odds with his parsimonious reputation, since the breed has been discovered to produce a luxurious wool that is very fine, light and crease resistant to a remarkable degree. This wool is now becoming very popular with couturiers, although since the amount of wool available in any one year is very small, the price will remain out of reach for most people.

8.4

Intellectual property in design

As with any other product that depends on the thoughts and inspirations of the people behind the scenes, garments, fabrics and yarns offer certain

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challenges to those keen to ensure that intellectual property rights are maintained. We must remember in all our discussions of the application of fancy yarns to the general markets, that we are considering a field in which intellectual property, as it is vested in a garment or fabric design, is perhaps in the most fragile of all its forms. Not so long ago, it was a matter of pride for company producing copies of couturiers’ designs to have a garment copied from the catwalk and in the shops within a week, perhaps two weeks at most, of the designer’s ‘catwalk show’ or the launch of their collection, however that was accomplished. Nowadays, this time scale has been somewhat reduced, and a week is the longest period to elapse between seeing the garment and developing the copy. Fashion designers usually accept this situation with resignation, if scarcely with delight. After all, there are few customers who, knowing the quality of the couture garment, and able to afford such a garment, would then choose to buy a cheap copy from a market stall. Couture customers buy couture garments, not simply because they like the design, the colour or the fabric, but, far more importantly, because they appreciate the finishing touches and the attention to detail shown by the couture houses and their readyto-wear divisions. Nevertheless, the existence of the copyist does pose a dilemma. Clearly a design that is never shown or produced has value only as an example of the designer’s thought processes and design inspiration; it will have no commercial value. Yet, at the same time, one might fear that even poor quality copies of a design will reduce its appeal to the genuine target market. We only have to consider the effect on public perception of over-supply of any other item – its ubiquity reduces its perceived value, and in the case of a fashion trend the item will often become entirely unfashionable. This is a matter that troubles yarn designers as much as it does fashion designers, and so its influence on their behaviour must not be forgotten. It seems clear that textile markets, like other markets, will be dominated in the coming decades by a combination of factors. These will include an increasing demand for customer choice, and an increasingly rapid technical and technological advance. Just as the modern westerner takes for granted the independence granted by the automobile, and is notably reluctant to deny himself that independence, so we cannot expect that the modern fashion customer will happily revert for long to plain yarns and fabrics when they have become accustomed to a variety of textures and patterns, some of them created by yarns and some created by other methods. The new textures and patterns will, in some cases, be the result of new techniques employed in making yarns and fabrics; some will be the result of new technologies; and some will rely purely upon the inspiration of the designer – all of these depend in some way on the intellectual property of the creators being supported and retained.


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The final factor in the changes in the market that we can expect to see lies in a genuine globalisation of the product markets. In this global and highly competitive market, no manufacturer will be able to survive unless they can produce items accepted by their customers as being of the ‘right’ quality for their own market. Any element in a product that distinguishes it from others, for example the use of fancy yarns or the particular talent of the designer, will enable some of these manufacturers to render their goods exceptional and desirable. This will, therefore, make their marketing strategy less one of surviving in a cut-throat commodity market and more one of supplying an interesting and desirable item at a price that more truly reflects its character. It is this that makes the question of intellectual property one which bears consideration.

8.5

Uses for fancy yarns

In the case of fancy yarns, which form our focus of interest, it is possible to say that fancy doubled yarns appear both in apparel (mainly but not exclusively in ladieswear) and in furnishing fabrics. Furthermore, we can say that both woven and knitted fabrics may contain fancy yarns of varying types (see Plates 3 and 4). Although it is now true that some of the more commonly-found fancy yarns, such as chenilles and the finer bouclés, no longer offer the eye-catching appeal they once had merely as a result of their rarity, still, these yarns belong to the more select sections of the market. At the highest level of the market for apparel, the use of these yarns in weaving or knitting haute couture fabrics will no doubt continue, and may even increase. While this is not a large market, it is of a value out of all proportion to its size, and has an influence by no means to be despised. It is here, therefore, rather than in other sectors of the market, that the impetus for continuing innovation and product development will be found. Designers concentrating on haute couture are more able and willing to take as much time and trouble as they deem necessary to make sure that everything is exactly as it was designed to be. They also have the advantage that the selling price of an item does not carry the importance that it does at other levels of the market – although the value of the work and the materials is most definitely of very great importance. However, the appearance of a particular yarn or effect at that high-profile position will frequently inspire further product development; for example, the appearance of less expensive copies or of less exaggerated versions of the same effect in other sectors in the market. This is an appearance made possible by the collaborations between designers and technologists who have access to the high-fashion swatches and other inspirations, but who are willing to accept the challenge of providing more reasonably-priced variations on those themes, for the much greater number of people for whom designer originals

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are unaffordable. This may be done by reducing the scale of an effect like a slub that changes the profile of the yarn, to make it easier and quicker to produce and to use in weaving or knitting machines, or it may be done by changing the components of a blend to reduce the expenditure in materials. A variety of other alterations may be available, depending upon the precise nature of the audience targeted. In the production of fabrics for middle market apparel, fancy doubled yarns become fashionable or unfashionable, just like any other design element. It is unfortunate that, owing to the reputed difficulty of manufacturing with fancy doubled yarns, even when they are fashionable they are usually to be found in more expensive items. The control of knitting and weaving machines is becoming more sophisticated, however, and the reputation of difficulty that persists is now less deserved than in the past. It is already the case that many fancy yarns may be used on modern knitting and weaving machines, and the appearance of these yarns need no longer be as restricted as it has been, although clearly some yarns offer greater challenges than others in the production environment. In order to profit from the new technologies and from the developments in understanding that accompany them, the designers and their technicallyminded colleagues need to ensure that they remain up-to-date, and that they are aware of the possibilities made increasingly available by technical advances in these fields. A range of new machines and processes, for example those that create the chenille yarns and chainette yarns and those that are capable of fabric production using fancy doubled yarns at commercial speeds and with low wastage rates, are increasing the availability of garments made using fancy yarns. These advances are supported by continuing developments in creating new yarns and yarn types, at a reasonable price: it is becoming increasingly important to be able to envisage variants upon a particular yarn effect that are optimised for sale at different market levels or for different production methods. In the area of fabrics for furnishings, we have already seen that the nolonger new chenille yarn has made its way into the marketplace at the level of High Street manufacturers. The furry feel of the yarn creates a warm and ‘comfortable’ handle in the fabric, while at the same time recalling the luxurious feel of velvet. For these reasons, it seems likely that its popularity will continue. If the quantities are no longer enormous, they may be maintained at a constant and reliable level, which may be more satisfactory for the manufacturers in the long run. We have also seen bouclé yarns appearing in this sector, and the developments allowing slub yarns to be produced on the open end system have enabled this yarn to be produced at a more commercial rate than was previously the case. Indeed, the adjustment allowing a particular manifestation of the open end system, rotor spinning, to produce slub yarns was first developed with the home and contract fur-


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nishings market in mind. A variation of the airjet texturing method has permitted ‘copies’ of many of the standard fancy yarns to be made using that system, and the developments of the basic method for airjet texturing have given these yarns a much greater range of uses than was once possible.

8.6

New yarns, new fibres, new ideas

Designers and marketing departments alike have a particular interest in anything ‘new’ or ‘innovative’. For designers, this is because of the personal attraction of the individually characteristic novelty. This in turn is born of an awareness that the new and innovative will often offer new ideas to the creative person, either in terms of applications of the new idea, or variations on the old, inspired by the new. For marketing departments, it is because the ‘new’, like the ‘foreign’, will almost sell itself, at least to a certain sector of the population. Furthermore, any new item will offer the chance of creating new methods of marketing, and certainly an entirely new market where there was none before. This, however, is not to say that any new item will always be easy to sell. On the contrary, the ‘saleability’ of any item is based upon a most complex matrix of influences, of which quality, workmanship and design are only a few, and may not necessarily be the most important. The marketing strategies of the supplier or designer, and even the features of a product may, in reality, have only a limited influence on the final decision of the consumer. It is true that the choice of target market, as it is made by the manufacturer, will be of great importance, since little profit is made by those who misjudge their target market. However, the final customer will be influenced by a variety of factors – the trends on display in the magazines or the fashion pages of newspapers, for example. Therefore, given that ‘fashion’, in its very widest sense, appears to be a matter of cycles, the influences on the customer will follow these cycles, and the customers themselves will accept or reject these influences according to the even more elusive, unpredictable and unquantifiable matter of mood. Although it is clearly possible to research and test market any item, and to gain some idea of the likely response of the market as a whole, most designers and most marketing specialists will be able to offer examples of occasions when the test marketing and customer research was wrong, when an unexpected item became a craze or when a product that everyone believed in failed to spark an answering chord in the consumer. Although customer response to, and acceptance of, new technologies has become more rapid over the years, this is not a guarantee of success. However, fashion and fabric designers have the consolation that, if they are required to produce a greater number of new products every year than designers of other items for the retail market, the cost of those items is less, and if

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production can be maintained close to the territory of sale, the risk of the radically new can be offset by reducing the initial production and being prepared to manufacture more if the item proves to be a success.

8.7

The retail potential of fancy yarns

The writer Alexis de Tocqueville, who visited America in the 1830s, was so interested by what he found there, and felt so strongly that it offered lessons to the countries of the Old World, that he wrote an entire book on the subject. ‘Democracy in America’9 is of interest even now, more than 150 years after it was first published, and not simply as a description of the America of his time. One of the theories he put forward was that the ‘consumerism’ or ‘materialism’ that apparently was, even then, a characteristic of American society was contributing in no small way to the wealth of the country as a whole. He felt that the retail activity that resulted from it stimulated the economy in general. He even went so far as to suggest that this consumerism offered a real alternative to revolution in providing the impetus for a nation’s progress to democracy. This may not be as far-fetched as it appears at first sight – certainly the emptiness of shops in Eastern Europe seems to have contributed in some way to the downfall of communism and the end of the Cold War. If we accept de Tocqueville’s theory of the stimulatory effect of consumer spending upon the economy, we should perhaps be even more eager to see novel yarns, fabrics and garments being developed. It is already well known that the newest garment is more desirable, and therefore easier to sell, than last season’s or last year’s. It is a reasonable deduction, therefore, that the continual development of the new and different is what offers the consumer the incentive to spend. This, in turn, suggests that the use of differing yarns and fabrics can offer retailers a powerful tool as they seek to increase sales. Fabrics involving fancy yarns catch the eye and draw the customer to look more closely.

8.8

Retailing

The developed world demonstrates most clearly the variety of forces shaping the market, and allows us to trace their effects most easily. The ready availability of labour-saving devices and the rise in leisure pursuits have combined to increase the feeling of invulnerability that seems to be characteristic of consumers in the Western world. This is further encouraged by advertising and publicity campaigns across all media, and seems relatively unshaken even by war or terrorism. The lasting effects of any uncertainty seem relatively slight, as markets bounce back after any shock. In a sense, of course, this is all to the good, firstly because uncertainty tends


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to paralyse endeavour in all directions, which does not assist any attempts to return to normal. Secondly, because history throughout the world shows us that it is as important in time of war to maintain as far as possible the infrastructure that will be needed in peacetime, as it is to maintain the effort directly involved in the war. After any war, the real winners are those who are prepared for the peace and are able to benefit from the freedom it offers, as witness the reported chaos in some parts of post-Soviet Eastern Europe. The ‘conspicuous consumption’ of the developed world, identified in America over a century ago by de Tocqueville, is clearly the main force behind the retail markets. However, the marketing of the fabrics and garments produced to the final customer, who is looking for a sweater, a formal suit, a set of curtains or a cover for an armchair, is at the far end of a chain of marketing events. Although purchase by a customer is the raison d’être of the chain, it is still only the last in a series of links. Earlier in the chain, the marketing of their wares by spinners to fabric and garment producers is also of significant importance. In fact, the fabric and garment producers are likely to find themselves the target of several marketing efforts. The fibre suppliers and producers will want to increase their sales – the longrunning and successful ‘Woolmark®’ scheme, funded originally by wool producers, shows how marketing and education initiatives can be addressed to several different stages of the production chain, providing each with the information it requires, and how in the end, increased retail sales provide the impetus to continue the effort. The same model has inspired the marketing for Tactel® and Tencel®, which have both been the subject of vigorous marketing efforts targeting not only the spinners or fabric manufacturers, but also the eventual retail customers. The fabric manufacturers will be subjected to further advertising and marketing, as well. The spinners and throwsters will wish to present their goods and their skills, and the machinery manufacturers will wish to explain the benefits offered by their own newest developments. Although our main focus in Chapters 8 and 9 lies on design and marketing as it relates to and affects the manufacturing and development of fancy yarns, we should not ignore retail marketing entirely, since these yarns contribute materially to the appearance and thus to the saleability of fabrics and garments. There are two aspects to this: marketing to retailers and marketing which targets the final retail customer. Of these, the first is most easily tackled by the obvious method – that is, by working with the retailer as one would work with a designer. This, of course, presupposes that we are concerned with a retailer or retail chain interested in design, and maintaining a ‘house’ style or a brand. Retailers who do not maintain a ‘house’ style, but simply an outlet for several manufacturers, may be attracted by branded items or by affordable copies of

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the goods available from the ‘designer–retailer’. In fancy yarn terms, this often means substituting relatively inexpensive fibres for the expensive ones used by the designer in creating the original yarn. This second type of retailer may also be more susceptible to ‘fashion’ and ‘lifestyle’ ideas, because their own final customer is as well. We should remember that marketing endeavours, although their visible result is in sales of goods, are more concerned with the customer’s aspirations and ideals, and that it is this point that makes an understanding of their primary customer so vital to every retailer, since it ensures that the goods on offer match the customer’s expectations of them. It is of little value to offer images of luxury and extravagance to customers whose interest is primarily on practicality and value for money. Conversely, the customer interested in luxurious living will make assumptions about the quality of the goods they buy, and the added value inherent in the choice of fibre or material. The retailer who, through inattention, incompetence, or sheer arrogance, fails to remain aware of the values and aspirations of their core customers is unlikely to retain significant market share, whether that retailer has a single retail outlet or a large chain. The ‘emotional added value’ that marketing endeavours attempt to sell, and that, as we have seen, rests largely on the aspirations and ideals of the target customer, can be achieved in a number of ways. Good design (either in terms of aesthetics, as in the fashion industry, or good engineering design, as in the automotive industry) is one of those ways. In fashion terms, fancy doubled yarns can contribute to this emotional added value because they contribute a distinctive appearance to the fabric or garment, or because they may include unusual or expensive combinations of fibres, which can offer this ‘added value’ simply by their presence. At differing levels of the market, garments – and indeed other items – are produced and offered to the customer with differing goals in mind. For example, whereas the mass market manufacturer’s aim is to offer goods at a low cost, which are intended to be adequate for most purposes, the boutiques and couturiers have additional interests, based on their awareness of the customer’s needs (a unique or striking garment for public appearances, perhaps) and their discovery of new inspirations or ideas.

8.9

Apparel fabrics

As there are two main viewpoints for considering apparel, both have been employed in this chapter. First, the division into ‘casual’ and ‘formal’ wear is used to give an impression of the place fancy yarns have in general across the whole apparel sector. Second, the division into ladieswear and menswear is used to show at what level of the market the yarns are employed for these very different consumers. Children’s clothing has not


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been included – it will occasionally include bouclé and chenille yarns in knitwear, but fancy doubled yarns seem rarely, if ever, to be used in children’s garments made using woven fabrics. Finally, we consider the use of fancy yarns in furnishing fabrics, where the growth of the large retailers offering a ‘made to order’ service has resulted in an ever-broadening choice becoming available to the customer.

8.9.1 Casual wear The heavier gauge, chunky knitted garments that are most often associated with casual or weekend wear are well served by the colourful and textural effects made possible by the use of fancy yarns of any type. Many fancy yarns already find their way into knitwear. In casual knitwear, most frequently the yarns used are chenilles, bouclés or heavy slub yarns. Plain structures are enlivened and enhanced by the extensive use of marl or cable yarns, which give an impression of lively colour by a method somewhat similar in its effect to that used by Seurat and other Pointillist painters. Some of these effects are shown in Plate 4. Where casual clothes are concerned, the market levels are distinguished by the finishing of the garments, together with the choice of fibres, rather than by any significant increase in the complexity or detail of design, although the very high-fashion garments do tend to include more extravagant effects.

8.9.2 Formal wear The striking possibilities of fancy yarns in woven fabrics lend themselves more to dramatic clothes and suits than to less formal uses. This is something that might be addressed by a sufficiently ingenious designer. In ladieswear, extensive use may be made of metallic yarns and flat ‘tape’ yarns, for evening knitwear as well as for woven apparel; and this is already done at many levels of the market. Plate 3, of woven fabrics and garments, shows a variety of the fabrics available for formal wear, which are colourful and bright when seen in close-up, as they are in the pictures, but which become more muted when seen from a reasonable distance. However, formal male attire is still relatively rigidly defined and it does not offer much scope for the more commonly made fancy doubled yarns, which are in most cases too heavy for use in a worsted suiting fabric. In some of these suiting materials, subtle variations of effect may be obtained by using unusual weave structures and by including fancy doubled yarns. However, as these are found only at the higher, more expensive levels of the market, it is only the really passionate enthusiast for fancy doubled yarns who makes use of them for himself or his customers. At a certain market level, there is simply a change from the ordinary ‘off-the-peg’ suit,

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to the tailor-made ‘bespoke’ suit. While ‘off-the-peg’ suits will always be in classic fabrics, perhaps twills, hopsacks or plain weaves, some Master Tailors, although not as a rule those referred to as the ‘semi-bespoke chains’, will carry a selection of unusual suitings for those customers who are interested in them. The ‘semi-bespoke chains’ are those that offer a range of sizes and proportions, so that by buying the right size trousers and jacket (available separately), the customer can assemble a well-fitting suit. The manufacturing methods used combine the modern production-line techniques with as much hand-finishing as is feasible while remaining within the planned price range. The availability of fancy weaves or unusual fabrics to the provincial customer is crucially dependent upon whether they choose to visit a tailor or a retail outlet for one of these semi-bespoke manufacturers.

8.9.3 Ladieswear Ladieswear can be fairly easily divided into different levels, which can be indicated by the expense of the garments and the name of the designer. In effect, therefore, the name of the designer or manufacturer offers a code word that defines the market sector for those who are interested. This holds true even with the recent developments of ‘designer’ ranges among the High Street fashion chains. Special effects of all types are enjoyed first by customers of haute couture and of ‘boutique’ outlets, where the influence of the ‘price point’ is less overwhelming. In considering retail, the price point is the breakpoint in price at which the retail customer will change their assessment of a product, perhaps from ‘good value’ to ‘too expensive’ or (in the other direction) to ‘cheap and poor quality’. Haute couture At the haute couture level, only very low volumes are sold, and the effects are often flamboyant and colourful. Frequently, a variety of exotic materials or fibres will be used to create the desired effect, so that the value of the items will be large in spite of the small numbers involved. Indeed, it is particularly characteristic of the couture garment employing fancy yarns that several different types of fancy yarn may be used in the fabric. The designer ‘names’ define the sector – Chanel, Jean Muir, Vivienne Westwood to name only a few. Customers here tend to be well-known women, much in the public eye. It is as a consequence of their high number of much publicised and photographed public engagements that they need to be assured of distinctive, becoming attire that they can be confident will be unique to themselves. The couture garment often responds well to photography, since what appears flamboyant and perhaps even overpowering at close quarters becomes merely striking at a distance.


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Boutique fashion The ‘boutique’ level is also expensive, but it is still significantly lower in price than true haute couture. Again, designer or manufacturer/designer names are predominant (Clements Ribeiro, Jasper Conran). However, it is the owners and managers of the boutiques who wield the greatest influence on their customers, since not only do they choose what they will stock, but many customers will often seek their advice and rely on their recommendations. The boutique is perhaps the original basis for the ‘personal shopper’. Boutique owners are not without influence on the designers, as well, since they are in a uniquely strong position to pick out and develop new design talent, a freedom that is not available to buyers for the High Street stores. They can also encourage more established ones, often providing them with information about the current concerns and interests favoured by their customers – information that it would be very difficult to acquire by any other means, and that can offer the designers a useful insight into the lifestyle experienced by their customers, as opposed to the one they imagined for them. The customers of the boutiques are in most cases working professional women, often in the more ‘creative’ professions. They do not shop exclusively in boutiques, but for special occasions they want a more individual style than is available in the High Street fashion stores. Production for the boutiques tends to be in small quantities, with only a limited number of any particular style available to each potential outlet. Fancy yarns will be used slightly more sparingly in garments at this level, and there will be fewer such yarns used in any single item. While there is no absolute guarantee of exclusivity, the likelihood of encountering another woman in the same dress or hat is really very small indeed.

Quality chains In the intermediate level, between the ‘boutique’ and the ‘mass market’, there lies another, rather less well understood level, occupied by small, relatively exclusive chains. The reason this level may be less well understood, and even perhaps, less researched, is because these ‘quality chains’ are often seen simply as part of the general High Street range. Here, the brand name – usually the name of the store – is the defining element. However, the outlets are often small and vaguely reminiscent of a boutique. Certainly they do not have the crammed racks and narrow aisles of some other sections of the High Street. In these cases, there will be relatively few outlets, including concessions in department stores, and, again, they will not expect to sell many examples of the same item. A small quantity of luxury fibres and processes will find their way into the products sold in these places,

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but the customer does not have the absolute guarantee of exclusivity of haute couture or even the qualified guarantee of exclusivity that they may get in the boutiques. At this level, fancy yarns are most often found in knitwear, and occasionally fine bouclés or slubs will be seen in woven fabrics. Mass market Fancy yarns may also be used in mass market garments; as witness the occasional fashion for chenille in knitwear. The techniques used in these garments often include colour effects, as well as simple structural effects, and the range of fibres used is more restricted than in the other sectors of the market. In woven mass market apparel, at least of recent years, fancy yarns have scarcely appeared at all, although some of the finer bouclés have made an occasional appearance. This scarcity is perhaps a reflection of the greater difficulty involved in weaving at economical rates using fancy yarns, or it may simply relate to the greater popularity of printed fabrics in these markets. At this level, meeting others in the same garb is not expected to matter, and the decorative element makes little pretence of either delicacy or subtlety, although at the same time it does not display the exuberance of a haute couture effect. However, as the major brands have all been developing links with major designers, the High Street is no longer a ‘style free zone’. This alliance of High Street and high fashion is one that benefits all concerned. As a result of the association, many of the designers have a stronger financial underpinning than might otherwise have been the case, and are able to develop a greater understanding of all aspects of business, which will stand them in good stead as they develop their own ‘signature’ ranges. The High Street stores have been able to receive inspiration and ideas from designers unfettered by price-points, and then have the incentive to demonstrate what they can achieve in developing the ideas the designers have offered in such a way as to fall within the target prices. In addition to that, they win an association with style and fashion that was once (not very long ago) unimaginable. Finally, the customer gains a much wider choice of garments, and access to fashionable clothes and accessories at an affordable price, in the whole range of sizes.

8.9.4 Menswear When discussing menswear, we need to accept that the market divisions that become clear so easily when considering ladieswear sit uncomfortably with the menswear markets. This is true even though couturiers do create menswear ranges, and even though there are shops catering for the whole range of prices. It is really quite recent, in historical terms, that Western


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European men, for example, stopped following fashion at least as closely as their wives, and in those times a truly fashionable man was as much at ease discussing laces and the cut of a jacket as he was when practising with the small-sword. Haute couture As a result of this change in the general masculine attitude to menswear, the equivalent of haute couture nowadays lies not so much in the drama or ‘statement’ of the couturier, as in the unobtrusive perfection and clean lines of a beautifully tailored suit – that legacy of Beau Brummel which is still accepted as formal wear where Western European habits prevail. Here, the influence of the bespoke tailors of Saville Row, the shoes at Lobb’s and the shirts of Jermyn Street stretch far and wide, especially as so many of their customers are not resident in the United Kingdom. The Italian tailors are also renowned, and in particular the fabrics they choose are much admired, but, whether it comes from London or Milan, the basic shape of the suit is the same. Nonetheless, bespoke tailoring, constructed as it is on a substantial internal body, has a cost vastly different to that of any of the mass production techniques, each designed with speed and ease of production in mind. ‘Superfine’ fancy doubled yarns may be used in particularly high-quality suitings, but in fact at present a very small volume is involved. Some Italian worsted suitings use superfine marls and knops to inject life and colour into an otherwise plain fabric. These are now so fine that no significant change in level can be felt between the plain fabric and the knop, but the flash of colour produces an intermittent pinstripe effect, which adds interest to the fabric. Other yarns that are used may include marls or ombré dyed yarns to give intermittent stripes, or extra fine knop yarns to give the same effect. Country tweeds may include loop or bouclé yarns (an example is included on Plate 3, Woven apparel fabrics), but again these appear only rarely. Boutique fashion The ‘boutique’, as such, does not exist for the male market, or at least not in the concrete form that a retail outlet would require. Some of Jermyn Street’s shirtmakers do produce a range in standard sizes, to be bought by mail order or off-the-shelf. However, the general dislike of ‘shopping’ for which the male section of the population is (rightly or wrongly) thought to be notorious means that the expected demand for shops arranged to allow leisurely discussions of the merits of one item over another is limited, to say the least. As we have already stated, it is possible to make semi-bespoke

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suits by using a combination of tailoring and manufacturing methods, but again the outlets are relatively few. In making these hybrid suits, as many of the hand processes and finishing techniques are retained as is feasible within the price targets intended for the garments, but the suits are made to standard sizes. In addition, the fabrics are standardised, plain and simple, certainly not ‘fancy’ in any way. Quality chains Quality chains are aimed generally at the younger man, and in consequence rest heavily on informal weekend clothes, for example chunky and heavy knitwear, and strongly woven casual trousers. Where they include formal attire, the suits tend to have a slightly exaggerated cut, and the display will include many of the colourful ties and braces that are intended to express the individuality of the wearer. The garments are reasonably well made, but as fashion garments they are not expected to have the durability of the ‘bespoke’ class of garment, nor is it desired. In these stores, fancy yarns may be found in knitwear, but not in woven fabrics. Mass market Again, fancy yarns of several types can be found in casual mass market knitwear, but will not be seen in woven fabrics. The yarns will include marls and ombré dyes, and perhaps heavy chenilles or slub yarns. The garments are intended to be durable and comfortable, and the sketchiest of bows is made in the direction of ‘fashion’.

8.10

Furnishing fabrics

Upholstery and home furnishings have offered a relatively new field to spinners of fancy yarns. The recent trend for old, ‘worn’, and comfortablelooking furnishing fabrics is one that favours the use of their products, because the inherently uneven surface of a fancy yarn is enhanced when it is woven or knitted into a fabric, giving that fabric, in its turn, an uneven surface. This uneven fabric surface gives the appearance of age and wear, even when the item is brand new, partly because of the manner in which light is reflected, and partly because it results in a more textured feel and handle. Chenille yarns are also beginning to be used extensively with a multicoloured warp to create picture panels, after the fashion of the colourwoven tapestry fabrics once popular in accessories.This offers the alteration in texture afforded by the differing textures of the chenille background and the warp-face pattern, and the alternation in colour that is used to create the picture. For this reason, chenille yarns, although first popular in


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knitwear, are now used to a very significant degree in furnishings at many levels of that business. They are accompanied by bouclés and (to a lesser degree) slub yarns, neither of which contribute quite the warm, plush feel of a chenille. In Plate 2, the use of fancy yarns in furnishing, both as curtains and as throws, is shown in photographs. This plate also includes two detailed pictures of upholstery fabrics, both of them jacquard designs, but one using a chenille and the other a slub as the effect. It has been said that once an effect becomes popular in furnishings, it is almost certain to continue in production, for two reasons. Firstly, because ‘fashion’ moves very much more slowly in furnishing than in apparel, which makes all trends continue for a longer period. Secondly, upholstered furniture and curtains or other window treatments involve a far greater quantity of material than would be required for a garment. Thus, what an upholsterer would see as a trivially small quantity of fabric would be considered a very respectable order by a garment manufacturer. Furthermore, as the High Street furnishing stores have raised the competitive stakes, the increased popularity of offering a second set of covers for each item of furniture has effectively doubled the fabric requirement of any ordinary suite. In addition to the expected drapes and upholstery – which are expected to have a certain durability – fancy yarns can be used more lavishly in accessories such as cushions and throws. These items, which are intended to produce a temporary change in the appearance of a room, do not have the same high wear-resistance requirements, and therefore the ‘feel’ of the fabric, rather than its wear-resistance, can be rated more highly than when an upholstery fabric is planned. Furthermore, chenille yarn has found an unexpected application in making tassels for curtain tie-backs and key-holders. It is true that greater caution needs to be exercised in choosing yarns for furnishings because fancy doubled yarns are, by their very nature, designed more for drama and novel effects than for the durability which is after all, a prime requirement of furnishing fabrics. However, many yarns have been found suitable, and this number is increasing. The development of understanding and of skill, which has been extended with every year that a yarn is made, has allowed spinners and fabric manufacturers together to develop yarns that achieve ever better wear-resistance. They have a considerable incentive, for the softer, ‘broken’ surface of a fabric in which a bouclé or chenille has been used provides an impression of comfort and resilience not so easily obtained when using plain yarns. Furthermore, the chenille, in particular, offers a similar feeling to that of velvet, although because it offers a ‘broken’ surface, scattering the light, it is less optically obtrusive. This is becoming an important point, as houses become smaller, and the impression of space becomes more valuable.

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Fancy yarns may also be used in loosely-woven fabrics which are then backed with lining paper and hung like normal wallpaper. This produces an interesting effect, putting an extra dimension into the wallcoverings. They are more easily assembled, and more easily used by a decorator than the method still popular in France, whereby fabrics are woven especially for the purpose of hanging on walls. The latter fabric is woven on extra-wide looms and is attached to the wall in such a way that the selvages run parallel to the floor and the ceiling. In this way it becomes a simple matter to cut out holes for doors, windows and electric sockets or other built-in fittings. The edges are trimmed with braid, and a thin layer of wadding is often attached to the wall underneath the fabric, providing protection and admirably concealing any unevenness in the surface of the wall. When we consider the variety of uses already open to fancy yarns, it seems that more than any truly novel idea, what is needed is encouragement and assistance for designers in seeking to use the yarns that are already available from the spinners more frequently in men’s suitings for example, or in worsted upholstery fabrics. It might also be fruitful to extend research to develop a new range of fancy yarn structures that are more suitable for such end-uses.

8.11

Designing the yarns

In designing fancy doubled yarns, or indeed fancy yarns of any description, there are two distinct approaches. In the first, the ‘design’ element is likely to be concentrated upon achieving visual and tactile subjective attraction in high fashion attire. This will usually involve combining many different plain and fancy yarns, to produce an exciting visual effect mingling colour, texture and structure to achieve the desired appearance. In the second, which is more generally seen in the mass market sector, the textural effect of a single fancy yarn is likely to be more dominating. This is partly because in the mass market, it is more usual to find only one fancy yarn type used in any particular garment (the popular chenille sweater, for instance), although it may sometimes be combined with a couple of plain yarns to provide a smooth background throwing textures and colours into relief. It is also because increasing the number or type of fancy yarns will increase the cost of a garment beyond what the customer may be expected to spend. A variety of subtle appearances may be achieved, and new design potentials may be explored at all levels of the market, by the artful combination of several factors. These may include the interactions of varying fibre types and staple lengths, which react differently to the processes involved in ordinary spinning, as well as to the dyeing and finishing processes used. For example, it is known that an irregular slub effect can be made by feeding a


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blend of fibres of different staple lengths, which will pass through the drafting area at differing rates resulting in an irregular draft ratio. These and other factors can combine to alter the variety of tones available through cross-dyeing, or to alter the bulkiness, handle and visual changes expected in processing the yarn. In a sense, these are simply extensions of a wellknown technique for producing what are termed ‘heathered’ yarns. This involves the use of mixtures of differently coloured wool at an early stage in blending the tops, and has a long history in the production of plain woollen yarns for knitting or weaving. It is becoming clear, now, that variations on this technique can also be used to add a further dimension to the fancy yarns produced using fibre effects. Many fibre-based bouclé yarns have been made that combine several striking colours, yet produce a subtly varied fabric. Plate 4, on knitted garments and fabrics, shows some of the effects that can be achieved. A wide range of variations on a particular yarn design may be produced by changing the colour used in the core, effect or binder yarns, by changing the count of the core, effect or binder, or by changing the twist level in one of the feed yarns. Indeed, some of these changes may create such an alteration that it becomes relevant to ask whether a new yarn has been created. As we discussed in the description of yarn structures in Chapters 5 and 6, the same basic formula – two core yarns fed at a constant rate, with an effect material fed at a higher rate and a binding yarn applied to ensure cohesion – can be altered to produce different fancy yarns, merely by changing the amount by which the effect material is overfed and its level of twist. A twist-lively effect yarn will tend to produce a ‘snarl’ effect, while a lower twist level may produce a loop yarn (if the yarn is sufficiently stiff) or simply a heavily exaggerated bouclé. These alterations to the basic design will not only produce different effects in and of themselves, but by adding to them the choice of fibre type or characteristics, they can be extended to offer possibilities that can be exploited by cross-dyeing or overdyeing effects. In these cases, it is easy to see that as different fibres accept certain dyes and dyeing methods to different degrees – or even not at all – it is possible to design a folded yarn that can be dyed progressively to create a deeper colour as each element is dyed. This has the advantage that, although from a distance the colour will appear plain, it will not appear ‘flat’ or dull. Frequently, a particular desired effect may be gained in one of several different ways, the actual method being chosen according to a matrix of the constraints on the end product and any other factors the spinner or the designer specifying the yarn may wish to add. These may include the budgetary constraints or performance constraints, the equipment and possibilities available to the spinner, and the practical requirements of the intended end use.

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It should therefore be clear that, in the case of fancy yarns perhaps more than in many other textile fields, there are two separate but completely interdependent elements in the design process. Firstly, there is the purely ‘design’ element, where an effect is first envisioned and the design specified. Secondly, there is the ‘technical and commercial design’ element, which combines the original idea with the production and price constraints that need to be considered. It is this dual-stage process, combining design with technical knowledge, that makes possible all the vivid, dramatic effects we see. By working in this way, with designers working either as their own technical specialist, or with the aid of a skilled technical specialist, it is possible to avoid seeing design innovation inhibited by production constraints during the early stages of the design process. If the designer is willing to accept that some compromises may need to be made, perhaps in the size of the effect, or indeed that a completely new production route may need to be devised in order to bring the effect (or an approximation thereof) within the cost bracket required by the final customer, it follows that at the beginning of the process the imagination may be allowed free rein. To offer an example, an ombré effect may be achieved through the continuously varying, alternating feed of two or more different coloured slivers; or it may be achieved through the use of a single sliver, already dyed to give the changing colours. In the nineteen-fifties, a variant of this latter effect was used to provide yarns for menswear, when a roller was used to print dyes onto a row of comber slivers. In the first case, it is clear that greater flexibility is required at the spinning frame, with two or more different delivery paths for the feed slivers, each separately controlled. Obviously, this requires a longer period for setting up the machine, and furthermore the equipment is more expensive. In the second case, a single sliver may be used and therefore a simpler spinning frame or set-up may be used. This, however, will be at the expense of using a more complex (although in the case of this example, well-understood) dyeing process. The two processes will produce somewhat different effects, especially since with the first, more complex process, it is possible not only to produce shorter sections of each colour than by the second, but also if the equipment is electronically controlled it will be possible to vary the sizes of the sections. This ‘two-stage’ approach to yarn and fabric design makes it feasible to bring many more effects (and more complex effects) to a wider audience, without at the same time restricting the designer’s freedom in the initial stages. In addition, this approach has the advantage of giving the technologist a more involved and involving role than is afforded by the simple diagnosis and rectification of failures. However, if it is to be successful, full co-operation and dialogue between the designer and the technical department is required. This is not by any means impossible to achieve – in the


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majority of companies it is already a reality – but as these specialists often both work and think in radically different ways, using different methods to identify problems and find solutions, it certainly requires that considerable efforts should be made to develop a common language.

8.12

The design of fancy yarns using computers

8.12.1 The background The expansion of Information Technology in its wide variety of aspects into every facet of our lives has not passed by the textile industry without having an effect. In the early years of computing, the contribution of the computer was limited to accounting, payroll applications or very simple process control; but electronic controls are now an important aspect of all new systems. In the textile industry, electronically-controlled fabric and garment design, computerised weaving and knitting machines, and the computerised control of dyeing and finishing ranges are all becoming widespread. The increased flexibility, efficiency and control offered to the operator is by far too great to be ignored in times of strong competition. Electronic warehousing systems and links in retail companies extending from the point of sale to the warehouse and beyond that to the suppliers, although challenging to implement with complete success, offer such advantages that most of the larger retailers have either installed such a system or are planning its installation. In the early days, a design was developed on paper and a computer programme was then created in order to interpret the paper pattern, allowing the computer to control the knitting or weaving machine to reproduce the pattern in fabric form. One immediate result of the evolution of the electronic jacquard machines for woven and knitted fabrics has been in the development of applications that enable the designer to develop the design on a computer which then controls the operation of the machinery. This eliminates the possibility of errors in transferring the design from the paper version. It is possible to undertake basic design work using simple drawing or image-processing packages. However, the true benefits of computer aided design only become apparent through the use of specially developed applications that can then be used to control the fabric manufacturing process, either directly, or indirectly through the production of punched cards (which may still be found in some mills) or floppy disks. The majority of computer aided design systems already include the facility to develop ‘simulation’ views in which the application computes and displays a picture of the fabric as it is expected to appear. Dependent as they are upon the computer’s internal expression of our understanding of the details of yarn, fabric, and fibre structure and behaviour, these simulations

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will become ever more convincing as our understanding improves and the internal computer model of fabric and yarn structures and behaviours becomes more sophisticated. In effect, this ‘model’ is the collection of rules which, if applied to the design, should provide an approximation of the behaviour and appearance that can be expected from it; as the model becomes more accurate, so too do the simulations it can create. However, at no time should we confuse the model with the reality – they remain subtly different. A variety of enhancements of these design programmes allow the designer to reproduce the fabric’s pattern not only on-screen but also in paper simulations before committing it to fabric sample production. This, in turn, offers the opportunity to reduce significantly the sampling costs, since it is possible to show clients a realistic paper or screen image of a wide range of fabrics, from which they can then choose a much smaller selection for fabric sampling. Although it is difficult at first to become accustomed to the notion of a picture, rather than a fabric, being presented to the client, the advantages in reduced costs can be considerable. At present, the greatest challenge to the spread of computer-based image and paper samples rather than fabric samples lies in the problem of colour matching. As anyone who has ever used more than one computer is already aware, different monitors and printers will often produce very different results when displaying or reproducing the same image. It is therefore clear that, unless a means can be found to ensure that all those working on a project see the same image, with the same colour balance, the muchvaunted advantages in time and cost conferred by digital collaboration will still not be achieved. However, calibration of the equipment, although not yet easy to achieve, is already possible. As the development of colour calibrated printers and screens continues, it will become reasonable to offer ‘true-colour’ printing and screen images, allowing colours to be perfectly matched. This will mean that the fabric samples can be used purely to determine such physical matters as ‘handle’, to undergo wear tests, or to cast light on the manufacturing hurdles that may lie ahead. The use of computers to answer these questions clearly and incontrovertibly is probably still some distance into the future. In order to compute reliable results in ‘virtual wear tests’, the computer model of the fabric and yarn structure, and its reaction to the chosen form of wear, will need to be very accurate. It is likely, too, that ‘virtual wear tests’ will be so computationally intensive that for some time computers capable of performing these tests within a sensible time scale will be extremely expensive. For a while, in any case, the virtual tests will have to run concurrently with actual tests, on a very wide range of fabrics, in order to test the accuracy of the model.


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Clearly, therefore, there are a number of applications where computers of varying types, from ordinary desktop computers to embedded systems, offer considerable advantages in the present production environment. However, this is to ignore completely the wide range of additional applications, where computers are used not to control production processes or to automate the purely mechanical aspects of the design process, but where they offer aid to the researcher. As suggested in the discussion of ‘virtual wear testing’ above, once it is possible to specify and model the behaviour of a yarn or fabric, it will become possible in turn to test the material using a computer simulation, reducing (although never eliminating) the need for laboratory testing. It may also become possible to create an application to compute and then simulate on-screen or in printed form, the general appearance or the striping effects that can be expected from a particular yarn used on a particular loom, using a specified fabric structure.

8.12.2 Yarn production The spinning frames now available are electronically-controlled, whether they are intended to produce plain yarns or fancy yarns. The newly developed electronic control systems offer not only control of the machine as it runs but also, almost as a by-product of that control, a variety of operational data. These data are processed to provide information to the plant manager or operator that includes detailed production or diagnostic information, which may vary from total figures for the entire spinning frame to details of the performance of particular spinning positions. Most importantly, this is available, not after hours of painstaking observation and calculations, but in real time, without interrupting the machine or interfering in any way with the operation of the mill. As an aid to production control, maintenance scheduling, and performance monitoring, these data are invaluable. However, the software gathering the spinning data does not in any way offer us a useful, usable yarn design software. Yarn structure and behaviour is so complex that, while it is now possible to provide usable fabric simulations, accurate yarn simulations remain difficult to achieve and uncertain in final application. Consequently, we are some way from any general availability of software that provides helpful ‘simulation views’ and production parameters, in a manner that can be easily generalised for the wide variety of spinning equipment now available. We must accept, therefore, that development of a convincing, useable simulation of a plain yarn is not, even now, a straightforward task. If this is true of designing plain yarns, then it becomes very clear that in developing software for, say, fancy doubled yarn design and simulation, the inter-

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nal models of yarn appearance and behaviour will have to be very detailed indeed to give a true and useful picture. Not only will it be necessary to model the general behaviour of a generic fancy yarn, but the effects on that behaviour of changing the properties of one of the component yarns must be modelled too. The multitudinous complexities and variations in the structures and outward appearances of complex fancy doubled yarns will make the modelling and production of a simulation many times more difficult. In addition, in order to be of any significant use to both the production and design departments, yarn design software needs at the very least to be able to produce some instructions for machine settings and feedstock. Although some spinning machinery manufacturers are beginning work on software that can be integrated with their own equipment, developing software that is generalised to provide instructions for all spinning machinery is likely to prove still more challenging. Nor is that all, because, preferably, such software should also produce a computer model that can subsequently be loaded into a fabric design program, either for woven or knitted fabrics, in order to show how a particular fabric will appear when the newly designed yarn is used. Such an application or suite of applications could be an extremely useful addition to the armoury of the fabric and yarn designer, for two reasons. Firstly, at present, only the designer’s own years of experience are available to help them envisage the effect of a particular yarn in any fabric. This carries with it the obvious cost implication that the level of sampling and experimentation required by a designer will be significantly higher at the beginning of their career than at the end. Yet it is often the inexperienced designer who will invent new combinations of yarns. Or perhaps, unaware of the production hazards caused by a yarn when it was first developed, and thus lacking the prejudice experienced by other designers, they may resurrect an interesting yarn in a new form and lay the foundations for a new fashion in fabric or yarn design. Secondly, although the designer may be able to envisage the effect, their client may not, so that at present fabric samples are needed whenever the designer of the fabric does not have the final choice of the fabrics or garments to be put into production.

8.13

Designing fabrics using fancy yarns and fancy doubled yarns

As we have already discussed, fancy doubled yarns may be used in a variety of ways. They can produce subtle textural variations in a fabric, using a plain weave and a combination of plain and fancy doubled yarns in a single shade. Alternatively, they can be used to produce a riot of vivid checks and stripes, varying texture and colour both at once. The primary point to bear in mind,


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and the greatest challenge in using any fancy yarn, seems to be that a fancy doubled yarn, as a yarn in the hand or on a cone, gives very little hint of its usability in a powered production process, and still less of the effect it will have in a woven or knitted fabric so produced. In truth, this may be the basis for the reputation that fancy yarns have for being ‘difficult’. In yarn design and manufacture, an unfortunate, and at some levels widespread, lack of understanding between technologists and designers is something that still needs to be addressed. In a few organisations this antagonism remains strong, but the challenges that are offered by the production of fancy yarns or fabrics made using fancy yarns are such as to require the cooperation of all. It is based upon the particularly unfortunate misconception that design and technology have different goals and that they are not equally important. The error embodied in this misconception becomes clear, however, when it is realised that an understanding of technical matters is often very strong (although not necessarily detailed) among the better fashion designers, enabling them to take full advantage of the benefits of any technique. Furthermore, the really inventive technologists who make it possible to create new and different yarns, clearly both appreciate and share the designer’s passion for creating a particular effect. The increasing use of computers in production design and production control have reduced the number of staff needed, as in all other departments, and all of those remaining need to have some appreciation of the contribution made by their colleagues. In particular, we should all remember that, with the possible exception of design for printed fabrics, which comes as close as production design ever can to graphic design or art, successful design for textiles of all types requires some understanding of the constraints imposed by the technical limitations of the processes involved. The truly creative and inventive designers and technologists will find, jointly, a stimulating challenge in the development of items that can be produced within production constraints and yet still provide the fashionable or novel effect that is sought. It is rarely appreciated that seemingly ‘negative’ factors, such as cost, can have positive effects by forcing both designers and technologists to think about the important elements of their designs in order to achieve the desired result most effectively within the parameters available. In Europe, this preoccupation with cost has been largely the result of the overcompetitive climate caused by the improvement in the quality of the cheap imports, which were once simply not of a high enough, or consistent enough, quality to be useable. Now, European producers must concentrate on high value, high margin ‘niche’ markets or on the higher value to the customer of their support or delivery services. The best defence lies, of course, in extensive sampling and experimentation in this area of fabric design and production above all others, especially

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since it is known already that some yarns that appear straightforward and inoffensive can, in the production environment, offer sufficient challenges to make the most inventive and experienced production manager blench. For example, the known difficulty that knitwear manufacturers sometimes encounter with yarns that were folded before being dyed – that is, the yarn showing varying moisture regain through the cone or cheese – can of course occur whether the resultant yarn is plain or ‘fancy’. Although fancy yarns are often made of dyed components, it is by no means unknown for yarns to be made of undyed components and then dyed to the colour required as an order comes in. It needs little imagination to visualise the additional complications created when a fancy yarn composed of greige components is dyed. Furthermore, although the experienced eye can, in some cases, look at a yarn and be confident that the likely challenges are all envisaged, surprises are always possible, and some very plain looking yarns have proved to be so slippery that weaving with them at all almost requires the manufacturer to revert to hand-insertion – scarcely a profitable production method. Sometimes, such plain yarns can be controlled by doubling them with another yarn; some yarns benefit from being slightly dampened before processing; other methods of control may be devised as the need arises. Clearly, the production process may present considerable challenges. However, reassuringly, it is often the case that only a small proportion of a fancy yarn is needed to produce a pleasing effect in the fabric. In the case of slit film yarns or metallic yarns, as little as 5% may be used to produce excellent, even dramatic, results. This in turn should suggest that a particular effect is most unlikely to be impaired by the introduction of a supporting or controlling yarn that is included in order to make the whole assembly easier to process. It is therefore relevant to bear in mind that the expensive fancy doubled yarn is only one small component of the fabric and is therefore a very small proportion of the final garment cost. It is also the case that the fancy yarn need not necessarily be used in a fabric which makes a feature of the yarn itself in the expected manner. For example, an obvious way of using a loop yarn would be by knitting it into a fabric to obtain a surface decorated with the characteristic hoop-like structures, both flat on the surface and at a variety of angles to it. However, a traditional market for mohair and long staple wool loop yarns lies in the production of travel rugs, where the fabric is brushed or teazled to produce a soft, smooth surface. The result does not at all resemble the effect produced by these loop yarns if left unbrushed – nor can this effect, so far, be produced by any other means. It may be that designers and technologists will be able to take this example and then devise new ways of treating other fancy yarns to produce a variety of equally uncharacteristic and therefore unanticipated effects.


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8.13.1 Economic and practical implications We are all well aware that, for a variety of reasons, fancy doubled yarns cannot be produced as rapidly as plain yarns and are more costly per kilogram for that reason alone. This is the result of a concatenation of circumstances. Firstly, a fancy doubled yarn is created by combining several yarns to make one – there are usually two core yarns, at least one effect yarn, and a binder. At the very least, therefore, the materials cost for a fancy doubled yarn will be perhaps twice that of an ordinary doubled yarn. Secondly, making a fancy doubled yarn often involves more than one process. This in turn means that, for each process there is an additional cost in the machine set-up time. Even the use of the modern combined spinning machines, although it may reduce these costs, does not eliminate them. The combined equipment is complex to set up, and the machine must run no faster than the slowest process. Thirdly, fancy doubled yarns often include novel or exotic fibres – again, the materials cost will go up. However, in spite of this, it is probably true to say that in most cases a fancy doubled yarn is one for which the production and processing costs far outstrip the materials costs, however expensive the materials may be. Other fancy yarns, produced by methods other than doubling, have their own cost structures, and in those cases the materials and the production costs may be the same, but for most processing thereafter the remarks in the following paragraphs hold true for both. Fancy doubled yarns require more careful handling in the weaving shed or knitting room, and cannot be processed as rapidly as plain yarns. Therefore, again, several factors combine to increase the costs involved. Because the machines need to be run more slowly – perhaps at 70 or 80 percent of the usual production speed – there is an additional cost in time, and therefore money, for every fabric length manufactured. There tend to be more frequent interruptions (although this depends on the yarn) and thus the cost in machine stoppages is higher. Because it is sometimes necessary to devise new ways of handling particularly temperamental yarns, machine set up and down time will take longer. Finishing processes may need to be run more slowly, as well. Finally, the inspection of fabrics involving fancy yarns is a skilled and tiring job, since the differences in texture can appear to cause changes in colour.Although they are not all relevant for every use of a fancy yarn, these factors increase the production costs of the fabrics produced and consequently the ultimate cost to the consumer. Apparel fabrics made using fancy doubled yarns are often special orders and short runs, a combination that can be economically achieved by only a relatively small number of weavers or knitters. In studying the challenges offered by this particular branch of manufacturing, the impression has been received that these companies are ones with long histories, and in particu-

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lar long histories of innovation and product development. It has also been noted that, although many of them have at times in the past diversified their operations beyond their original core products, many of those now surviving have returned to that original knowledge base, where they retain a hardwon reputation for excellence. In spite of this longevity, far from showing any sign of emotional attachment of obsolete machinery or working practices, these companies have maintained a high level of investment in modern plant and machinery, permitting them to use their mastery of the most recent technological advances to offset the high overheads relating to processing and labour which, if combined with old technology, would make their prices too high for their customers. All of these remarks hold true for the spinners of fancy yarns as well. In addition, their sales representatives provide a first level of ‘customer support’ for their clients. They are often interested in and knowledgeable about many areas of the textile industry, and manufacturing in particular, that are only distantly related to their own. They tend to have a thorough understanding of the capabilities of the machines used by their own company, often being perfectly capable of running these machines and assisting the customers to specify yarns they wish to see made using those machines. In addition, their interest in matters related to their work often gives them a better than average grasp of the complexities of the customer’s business, which makes it possible for them to tailor their advice to their knowledge of the machines available to their customer, and the qualities of yarn that run well on those machines. These attributes are all necessary in selling fancy yarns to both manufacturers and designers, because these yarns are still to some degree regarded as ‘luxuries’. In the manufacture of furnishing fabrics, still more complications arise when the question of the wear-testing requirements laid down by the retailers is considered. When planning to use any fancy yarn, it must be remembered that its uneven surface will create a ‘high point’ on the fabric. This high point will then be subject to the brunt of the wearing process. The uneven yarn profile will render the fabric less resistant to snags and rubs than a plain yarn. The combination of these two factors – to some extent, two parts of the same whole – will thus create a series of ‘weak points’ in the fabric, in comparison to a similar structure made using a plain yarn. These weak points may result in thin patches, holes, or snags, which impair the appearance and performance of the item. As a natural consequence of this, great care needs to be taken to ensure that yarns and fabrics are chosen or designed with constant attention to their intended purpose. This need not result in avoiding the unusual or fancy yarn. Manufacturers are constantly developing their products, discovering ways to create a yarn that produces the desired effect while at the same time being strong and wear or snag resistant.


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The primary concerns in the case of fabrics for apparel are different. While in fabrics for upholstery the emphasis is on wear-resistance and fire retardancy, for apparel the whims of fashion ensure that the unusual, and the fashionable, item has a short ‘shelf life’. Consequently, the more important concerns are those of dimensional stability and evenness of colour. Durability is of less account (relatively speaking) and is therefore much less stringently checked. In any case, some improvements can be made in the durability of garments by a combination of designing the garment to ensure that wear occurs on sections well able to resist such an assault, and the provision of appropriate internal support, for example the correct choice of interfacing or lining. It is clear that the challenges involved in manufacturing and processing will play a part in increasing the cost of a fabric that includes fancy yarns. In turn, it thus becomes clear that the items made from such a fabric may be more expensive than those made from a plain fabric. This could be a cause for concern to retailers and wholesalers aware of their profit margins and customer sensibilities. However, only in a few cases does the fancy yarn provide more than a small percentage of the fabric weight, although its contribution to the fabric cost may be disproportionately high. Fifty years ago, in those times of low production efficiencies, a value or cost margin of 2.5% was not really weighed; everyone was in the same situation. However, as the efficiency gains have increased over the years, we can now assume that a total additional cost of more than 2.5% is likely to be commercially significant – most fancy doubled yarns in a fabric could cost at least 300% more than the base yarn, but the higher labour costs can generally be expected to make a much greater contribution. It is worth recalling that the spinners’ shade and sample cards show the effect of their yarns used as 100% of the fabric: at a smaller percentage, the effect will often be significantly different, although it has been found that – in woven fabrics in particular – it is possible to get almost the ‘100% effect’ using very much less than 100% of a fancy doubled yarn. This is one more aspect of the seemingly negative factor of cost promoting research and experimentation that, in due course, produces a positive advantage to the final customer. However, although the use of the metallic yarns is becoming more common, it seems that the extensive use of fancy doubled yarns in apparel is likely to remain confined to the ultra high fashion section of the consumer markets, unless the labour costs of producing a particular yarn do not exceed a very small proportion of the total garment or furnishing item production costs (less than 1%). The factors relating materials and labour costs in spinning vary continually, and research is always in progress to develop a new range of production methods, which may result either in new yarn types or in new ways of producing familiar yarns. It may be that at

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least some of these new yarns or yarn types can be used in a broader section of the market place. The successes experienced with chenille yarns, tape yarns and chainette yarns, all relatively recent appearances at the mass market level, lend support to this supposition.

8.13.2 Fibre selection The most superficial reading of any report on Expofil or Pitti Filati will show that the garment buyers and designers are faced with an enormous range of choices in yarn and fibre. While many of the yarns on display will plainly be unsuitable for any particular intended purpose, the remaining choice available is still vast, especially when the additional effects resulting from the various finishing processes are included. When specifying a yarn for garment or other uses, that intended end use will enable the designer to fix (at least, approximately) the yarn count and the properties of strength, elongation and abrasion resistance needed during both processing and wear. These may be taken as more or less unchangeable, because any attempt to process the material through an unsuitable route will lead to far too many failures or damaged pieces for it to be practicable or economical. This in turn will make any items surviving for sale far more expensive than is necessary. Spinners can give their customers a reasonably clear idea of the properties of their yarns, and will undertake some careful testing before offering a yarn for sale. However, the wide range of processing machinery available is such that precise limits for every type of machinery offered are unlikely to be available, and manufacturers will want to perform their own experiments to verify a yarn’s suitability for the particular series of processes they have in mind. From the point of view of the final customer, it is the combination of appearance and tactile sensation that is the most important, and thereafter perhaps the care instructions or, in certain (clearly defined) cases, such properties as absorbency, stain resistance or waterproofing. Certain technical properties can be seen to be of some benefit. For example, the recent development of antibacterial and antifungal fibres may offer the opportunity of developing new consumer markets. However, if so, they will provide an admirable example of the development of new markets from technical innovation – there was certainly no widespread demand for these products before they were developed. These areas of technical performance are more difficult to manage than the purely fashion area. Although it is possible to gain some information about technical research in progress, it is not easy to forecast which projects will meet with success and which will not. With the speed at which innovation progressed during the latter half of the twentieth century, who knows what unlooked-for developments may have occurred in ten or twenty years time? In addition,


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technical research that concentrates on developing such properties as fire retardancy, stain resistance and antibacterial functions is very easily applied to the restricted circumstances and end uses for which it was developed. It becomes far less straightforward to apply these new yarns and fabrics to a wider range of circumstances. What if, for some reason, it seemed advisable to include fire retardant fibres in ordinary apparel, for example children’s nightwear? The enormous strength and relative rigidity of the technical fibres, which is acceptable, even important, in their original applications, makes them unsuited to garments where drape, handle and comfort are important. It is important to remember that the choice of fibres to be used in a fancy doubled yarn for garment making depends upon many things, and that technical performance (however defined) is only one element of a matrix of criteria. From the point of view of the fabric and garment manufacturers, a further dimension of specialisation arises, based on the physical demands and mechanical characteristics available only to the particular yarn manufacturers and usable by particular fabric manufacturers.This in turn arises from the machinery available to them. In other words, there is no generalised source for all of these materials. It is simply not possible for every spinner to produce every type of fancy yarn, nor for every weaver to use every type of yarn. This is partly for historical reasons, and partly a result of the physical conformation of the fibres involved. For example, short staple spinners have their machines set up with drafting zones and fibre control for the staple length they are used to handling, and the same is true of long staple spinners. Changing such fundamental machine settings is not a task to be undertaken lightly. Although weavers may not seem to be obliged to specialise to the same degree, it is usually the case that each geographical area will have its own spinners and weavers, using in most cases the same fibres. Fibre and fabric choice as they relate to purchasing behaviour When considering women’s fashion, the first element in a garment that attracts the customer’s attention is not the fibre, nor is it even the yarn. That vital first impression rests on the elusive combination of colour, impact, touch and design that creates an instant response in the customer – ‘hanger appeal’. This observation holds true to some degree in furnishing retail as well, since the fabric chosen can have considerable impact on the appeal of a particular item of furniture. Thus, an item’s appeal to the customer may be the result of such components as the manner in which it recalls an image in a magazine or a report on catwalk fashion, or on the customer’s awareness of becoming colours and styles. A secondary appeal lies in handle (that is, the way the fabric feels

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when held, stroked, or crushed in the hand) and drape, and this is where the selection of fibres, yarns and finishing processes will become most relevant. Rarely, if the garment design is a successful one, will any consideration of practicality prevail in the first instance. The haute couture garment uses fancy doubled yarns to give the fabrics impact and variety from a distance, so that the garment will attract favourable attention from across the room. An added advantage, at least in modern times, lies in the fact that these garments often respond well to photography. They are rarely intended for the close quarters of the cocktail party, but instead for the distance of a public appearance. At this distance, the exuberant combinations of colour and yarn seen in close up will blend into a subtly varied textural appearance, which looks quite as expensive as it is, and incidentally affords the wearer a hint of authority. In haute couture, perhaps contrary to expectation, the choice of fibre is not restricted to the natural fibres, still less to the ‘noble’ fibres. On the contrary, an immense variety of synthetics are often used. This is because in haute couture a particular effect or appearance is desired, and each fibre in a blend or yarn in a fabric contributes to that effect. Once we accept that this is so, no fibre can substitute successfully for another for that particular purpose. Fortunately for those who like a similar effect but cannot afford the precise combination of materials, it is often possible to produce an approximation of any particular effect by the substitution of one fibre for another. In the case of menswear, the situation is somewhat altered. A plain dark suit will have the same degree of ‘hanger appeal’ regardless of the fabric used, and so some of the influences on decision making will be different. For example, there is what may loosely be termed a ‘heredity effect’, because in some cases at least, those men who choose the very highest qualities of materials for their suits or shoes or shirts had, in many cases, fathers and grandfathers with the same tastes – and not infrequently the same tailor! In these cases, buying decisions are rarely fashion-based, although the details of cut and finishing may change from one period to another. Instead, they are based on an appreciation of the quality of the workmanship. When we consider off-the-peg garments, of whatever market level, and regardless of whether the customer is male or female, we know that those who are interested will already know the quality of the fabric and of the garment making of a particular outlet, and will be prepared for the associated price; while those who have no interest will not know and will rely on their supplier – the retailer – to price each quality appropriately. In the case of furnishing fabrics, abrasion resistance is obviously a key factor, and at the moment it seems that the range of fibres used is relatively restricted. High-quality worsted yarns appear only in the most expensive fabrics, and cotton fabrics are used extensively at all levels. Of the vast range


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of synthetics available, only a small selection is used – smaller, perhaps, than might be expected, because of the demands of fire retardancy that are made on fabrics for upholstery and other furnishings. In soft furnishings, curtains and cushions for example, the range is rather greater, especially in ‘impermanent’ items such as throws, which can be used to change the appearance of a room without the time, expense and upheaval involved in buying new furniture, but it is still generally very much smaller than in apparel. Wallcoverings, too, in areas of low traffic at least, may incorporate a wide range of ostensibly ‘impractical’ fibres and yarns.

9 The marketing of fancy yarns

9.1

The market size and form

The market size and form is shaped by a wide variety of forces, all of which are at their most apparent – one might even say exaggerated – in the developed world.These include generally improved standards of living, a demand for greater and ever more diverse consumer choice, and the ready availability of a vast quantity of goods, of varying levels of achievement, merit, and distinction. This last force, the ready availability of enormous quantities of goods, seems to imply that still higher standards should also be both accessible and reasonably affordable. There is a widespread belief in the accessibility and affordability of desirable goods, which persists in seeing ease and plenty as the birthright of mankind. It is encouraged by a variety of attractive and effective publicity from the advertising industry, the printed press (magazines and journals), radio, television, the Internet, exhibition audiences, and in person-to-person conversations. All these factors in their own way encourage the consumption patterns that drive the innovation and design development that result finally in new products to sell. It is not always possible to reflect accurately the activity throughout the world. This is partly a result of the sheer volume of data any such attempt would generate. However, the variety of different types of market area is also a contributing factor. For example, where labour and social costs are high, the added value inherent in such products as fancy yarns make production feasible when it most certainly is not sensible to produce commodity goods for the markets. This is because these niche products demand not only high and consistent quality in production, but an enormous contribution is also made to their value by a plethora of other factors. These include the innovations in design and production that create the new yarn or fabric, and the range of other facilities that combine to ensure that the customer receives the goods when they want them. Increasingly, this last issue, that of delivery, is acquiring an importance at least equal to that of cost, which was once the deciding factor. It has become clear to all that even if it is possible to source components at a very low price, this offers no 126


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savings if a late delivery of the low-priced goods reduces throughput and loses business for the customer. If this is true of low-priced commodities, prompt delivery will become much more important when the goods are relatively expensive decorative or luxury materials, especially when fashion is involved. The important innovations in production techniques or in design can be developed almost anywhere in the world. A trade show such as that presented by ITMA (the International Textile Machinery Association) concentrates on technologies already embodied in production machinery, and so a visit to such a trade show will give the visitor only a glimpse of the research being undertaken to produce better materials more quickly and consistently, or to produce new materials using a new range of raw materials that have never been used in the past. These developments, for much of the twentieth century, occurred first in the developed world, where the population density and the interplay of old and new industries and methods created a rich environment to stimulate the researchers. This research was given added impetus by the high social and labour costs of running any business in the developed world, since any reduction of the labour required reduces the employer’s overheads by much more than the amount of the salaries or wages no longer paid. Nowadays, in fact, these reductions are not sufficient to ensure competitive prices, unless the producers of the developed countries can concentrate on the high-value niche markets, where the value of the materials is much higher even than the costs involved in producing them.

9.2

The markets available and marketing techniques employed

Fancy yarns and fancy doubled yarns can offer the advantage of allowing the creation of many different effects in a finished fabric, while at the same time retaining a relatively simple fabric structure. They require some specialist equipment to produce and some care in converting to fabric but, especially where high quality goods are concerned, they create effects that can be obtained no other way. Obviously, the lower the design input involved in producing an item, or the closer it is to being considered a commodity item, the less likely it becomes that a fancy yarn would be used. Indeed, since there is very considerable design and product development time required for the most effective use of these yarns, perhaps it is better to say that it is less likely that such a yarn should be used. However, in any case where the competition for sales is not based solely upon price, the use of a fancy doubled yarn will be able to contribute significantly to the perceived value of the fabric, garment, or item of furnishing.

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There is still a debate concerning the variety of yarns currently available and the need (or otherwise) for further research and experimentation. Many textile journalists and even some involved in academic research feel that, with the enormous wealth of yarns available, there cannot possibly be any unmet need. This view is worthy of some consideration, although it is clearly one that would inhibit research if it were to become widespread. This in itself would reduce the interest in fancy yarns within the fabric and garment producing sector, since if nothing new is devised, there will be no incentive to look at the available yarns which are not new. We should, after all, bear in mind that an event like Expofil or Pitti Filati attracts some 200 or more spinners to exhibit. All of them will be showing a range of fancy doubled yarns devised to meet their ideas concerning the prevailing fashion in colour and texture, as well as the less extravagant, plainer yarns suitable for producing the more traditional fabrics and garments. Each of these spinners will have their own expertise in certain areas and they will be able to offer yarns in every fashionable colour range and style that they can produce. It is therefore said that designers need only go to the spinner and choose their yarns, since almost every possible effect must already be in production. What else can be required? First of all, let us briefly consider the question of primary research in yarn production, such as that which was responsible for developing the chenille machine. Obviously, research in yarn production techniques will address one of the following issues: • • • • • •

improving consistency of quality in existing plain yarn production techniques improving speed of plain yarn production using existing techniques improving consistency of quality in existing fancy yarn production techniques improving speed of fancy yarn production using existing techniques developing new ways to produce familiar structures developing entirely new production routes that produce new yarn structures.

Of these, the first two will be of interest to all spinners, whether or not they produce fancy yarns, because they have the potential to improve the profit margin available from producing the existing, standard yarns.The next three will be of interest to spinners of fancy yarns, and may be of peripheral interest to fabric designers because they will make certain fancy yarns easier to make, and consequently these yarns may become cheaper and easier to obtain. Indeed, if new ways are devised to produce new structures, we may also find that although the structure is superficially the same, the new production route in fact creates a yarn that is easier to use in further manufacturing processes. The development of new production methods that


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produce new yarn structures is of course much rarer than any of the others, but without the background of expertise developed in the other areas of research, it would be impossible, and therefore the driving innovative force of fancy yarn production and usage would be lost. Now let us consider what actually happens to the yarns and yarn designs displayed at a yarn show. Any discussion with either the designers or the spinners will soon make it very clear that a great deal more is needed, and that the ranges on display at a yarn show are only the beginning of the story. Certainly, many customers (perhaps even the majority) do buy yarns directly from the sample book, but for the others, more is needed. For example, the designer may wish to see a particular yarn in their own range of colours, or in a slightly heavier or finer count; perhaps they will have in mind a particular effect using a completely different fibre or combination of fibres. Indeed, in some cases, the designer may have searched in vain for the yarn they have in mind, and then they will choose to work with a particular spinner specifically in order to develop that yarn. It is true that spinners are very well accustomed to producing yarns for dyeing in shades other than those they use as standard, and this is not particularly challenging since at least some of the yarns will be made in the uncoloured state as a matter of course. However, changing the fibre or the count of the yarn to be produced means that sampling must be done again, perhaps several times, to produce exactly the effect being sought. Therefore, while it is certainly the case that there is a huge range of yarns and fibres available, it is also true that, in some cases at least, the immediately available item is not exactly what is wanted. Equally, it is often the case that the designer, at whatever level, may have a specific effect in mind that is unlike anything in the present catalogue, and that therefore requires the yarn manufacturer and the designer to collaborate on its development from the beginning. In all these cases, the spinner’s range of yarns and colours are viewed as inspirations, starting points or ideas. They are certainly not seen as catalogues from which stock would be selected. We should therefore remember that, perhaps more than in any other area of textiles, the question is not one of ‘need’ at all: it is one of motivation, of design, of innovation, of new fibres, new machinery, new combinations, all intended to produce novel effects, or to contribute, after further processing, to novel effects. We must always bear it in mind that any striking innovation can, in and of itself, create its own new market. The spinner’s catalogues, however, do more than simply offer a talking point. The range and variety of effects is a testimony to the skills and ingenuity of their designers and the inventiveness of their technical staff. It provides a ‘visiting card’ that indicates the range of equipment at the spinner’s disposal and their expertise in handling a variety of fibres. In addition, and far more important than it may seem at first sight, each new season and

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each new range provides a reason for the agents and sales representatives to revisit their customers and their potential customers. Even in the retail market, sales are not achieved simply by setting out the goods in the marketplace and hoping to catch a buyer’s eye. In the industrial markets, there are many considerations over and above the superficial suitability of the goods offered for the end in view. Consequently, in industry, sales are achieved by building a relationship of trust between buyer and seller, so that the buyer knows that they can rely upon the seller to provide the goods specified, on time and to the appropriate quality. Thus, season upon season, the regular visits by the sales representatives and agents offer them the opportunity to develop their relationships with these customers and potential customers. As a consequence of this, the trade shows offer, not a platform for sales as such – although it is true that spinners at these shows will often make significant sales – instead, they offer the opportunity to create the basis of the relationships between the spinners and their customers, relationships that then can be fostered during the year as they work together to extend specific yarn designs for their own particular purposes.

9.3

Historical evidence for the status of fancy yarns

We are all aware that the attractive effects of texture, drape, and sheer eyecatching glamour in fabrics produced using fancy yarns are by no means new. Even though many archaeological discoveries have been on sites inimical to the survival of textile materials, still some artefacts have been discovered. Furthermore, in some cases, we have the writings of the ancients themselves to tell us of some of their achievements for which we have no other evidence – for example, there is a description of Egyptian printing using a variety of mordents given in the works of Pliny, who seemed to regard it as pure magic! There is little evidence in the archaeological record for many of the types of fancy doubled yarns we know today, but there is some evidence of the use of metallic threads. In 1999 and 2000 in London, visitors flocked in their thousands to see the ‘Roman Princess’, as the Roman woman discovered at Spitalfields became popularly known, partly because among the remains of fabric found in her sarcophagus was a tangle of gold thread, made of fine gold strips that had been coiled around a core. It is thought that the core was probably of silk, although so little remained that verification of that supposition has not been possible. We have some material evidence elsewhere in the world that has taken the horizon of our knowledge back to 1000 bc, in burials at Ürümchi2 and we know that the early weavers could be very inventive in their creation of fancy yarn effects at the loom, but the spinning of fancy effect yarns as we understand and recognise them today is of a much more recent date.


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Although many of the innovations that have been discussed in this volume were designed to create structural effects by combining spun yarns, the cover yarn of gold-wrapped silk found in Spitalfields probably offers some of our earliest evidence for fancy yarns – as it most certainly offers clear evidence of the implied status they afford. And it is this point that has caused many headaches for modern designers: the high status and consequent price implications of fancy yarns are not favoured by manufacturing concerns which have ‘cost’ presented to them as the prime consideration.

9.4

The challenge of marketing

All marketing departments, in any industry, face a two-fold challenge – that of maintaining customer interest in their current product ranges while at the same time creating interest in new products immediately before and after their launch. Fail in the first and the company will steadily lose market share; fail in the second and years of product and process development work may go for naught, and may in extreme cases take the company with them. In the high-technology industries or in the market for production equipment, this potential for disaster is exacerbated by a combination of factors. These include the exceptionally high investment required in research and development, and the existing general pattern of relatively slow market penetration, which although market penetration has accelerated in the years since the Second World War still means that the return on investment is neither immediate nor certain. Whereas in the food or cosmetics industries, it is straightforward, and often profitable, to simply hand out samples, perhaps together with vouchers for a first full size purchase, in high-technology or heavy industry, ‘try before you buy’ is not an available option.

9.4.1 The market for spinning equipment It should cause little surprise, then, that in the specific markets with which we are concerned, radically new spinning processes are few and far between. Nor should it be surprising that the market available for any such new processes is initially very small.Although the textile industry as a whole extends throughout the world, the equipment it employs has a long lifespan. Not only that, but there is a considerable market for second-hand machinery, which reduces still further the potential for sales of new equipment. Thus, except in rare times of expansion, the actual market every year is very small as compared with the potential market. An even smaller proportion of that potential market will care to take the risk of investing in a novel and untried technology.

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It is perhaps a reflection of this situation that, although the newer technique for producing chenille yarns was invented in the middle of the 1970s, it was twenty years before that yarn was to be found on the High Street in any significant quantity. In this case we are choosing to interpret that appearance on the High Street as providing an indication that the technology is no longer in its infancy. In other words, the equipment has been installed in a relatively large number of mills, and therefore as a consequence of that installed base the particular yarn structure can be produced at a reliable and acceptable quality, in sufficient quantities to be economically viable. In particular, that it can be produced in sufficient quantities to satisfy the level of demand at the height of its popularity. It is reasonable to remind ourselves that the conceptual gap between the maker of spinning machinery and the wearer of a garment is so large that the effects of the one upon the other must necessarily be expected to be long in coming. If for no other reason, the quality of the intervening stages of product design are as important as the initial technology or the marketing effort that accompanies the final item. However, we are all aware that technological advances sometimes offer successful by-products, in addition to the primary products. The most famous example of this is now the American space programme. Even though it has developed its own mythology and even though its original goals and the missions that have been accomplished are famous in their own right, the space programme is now almost equally well known for ancillary advances in technology that have created new products affecting such widely ranging areas of ordinary life as cookware, textiles and stationery. In the same way, however wide the conceptual gap, we can expect changes in manufacturing technology to inspire or direct the creation of new products, which may even appear in due course in the ordinary retail markets. It is clear that as new techniques are invented, new markets or market sectors open up to receive them; as an example of this, as discussed earlier, we can consider the huge growth in fabrics for upholstery that take advantage of the uneven light reflectance of the chenille yarn to produce the effect of a comfortable, worn fabric in brand-new items.

9.4.2 The marketing of fancy yarns The basic marketing of fancy doubled yarns tends to follow a traditional path, generally combining a stall at yarn shows such as Pitti Filati or Expofil, with a team of agents or sales representatives who visit the existing and potential clients to talk about the yarns and the service provided in greater detail.Although some might consider eliminating one or the other, the combination offers both parties synergistic effects that allow the benefits conferred to be greater than the sum of the parts.


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On its own, the trade show offers an advantage, from the exhibitor’s point of view, in that within the duration of the show, many more potential customers may become aware of the exhibitor than could be reached by any other means. Since there are relatively few yarn shows, this will include many who may be almost impossible for the exhibitor to meet any other way, either because they are new to the industry or because they are based far away from the exhibitor’s base, or for other reasons. Furthermore, the shows will often have trends and forecasting sections, and additional displays from fibre producers or other equipment manufacturers, and all these combine to provide an environment that can inspire and encourage the delegates. From the customer’s point of view, the show offers a concentration of potential suppliers that again is not found under any other circumstances, and that in particular is useful when seeking out a particular effect. However, there are two disadvantages that can easily be anticipated – the sheer number and range of the possibilities available, which make it difficult to maintain a clear overall picture, and the relative scarcity of truly technical advice. There is little that can be done to reduce the impact of the large scale of these events, except for the rather counter-productive method of restricting the number of exhibitors. The second disadvantage is more easily approached, since technical details will be available, and it is relatively straightforward to devise a list of questions that may be passed on to the most appropriate member of the technical staff for a response. Bearing these points in mind, however, and given our earlier point that Marketing in its essence involves building up a relationship between the supplier and the supplied, there is an additional path. This is one, moreover, that, although it involves more effort, reaps dividends in the stability of the relationship that it builds – that is, the path to which we have already referred, which involves the spinners and their clients working together to design the yarns in order to ensure that they not only meet the designer’s requirements, but that they can be easily processed at the next stage.

9.5

Management and marketing issues as they affect the fashion and fabrics industries

9.5.1 Interconnectivity, irritation and their implications Traditionally, there has been relatively little functional ‘interconnectivity’ between the various groups concerned in the development and manufacture of items for the fashion and furnishing world and, in particular, there has been relatively little sign of interconnectivity between the spheres of design and manufacturing. In the future we should hope that increasingly this will not be the case, and we offer here an example from the physical world to demonstrate why such a change could be considered to be an

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A

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A B

B a

A

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b

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A B c

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9.1 Interconnectivity.

improvement. Interconnectivity has for a long time been of great interest to workers in the physical sciences, in particular metallurgy, ceramics and geology. It is all a matter of relationships; ‘phases’ – that is, the various structural forms – may be miscible with each other, or they may not be; either way, these phases define the physical structure of a body and its properties. A possible process is illustrated diagrammatically, and may be shown by the two most extreme situations, as in Fig. 9.1. The two ‘phases’ may be mineral or metallic, and may have interrelationships that depend upon the ‘interfacial free energies’ between A and B. These interfacial free energies are the forces which determine the structural combination of A and B. In the first case, shown in diagram a, B, whilst not miscible with A, ‘wets’ it totally, that is to say that it covers all the surfaces of A that are available to it. This creates a strong and stable structure in which the phases are connected to the greatest possible extent. In the second case, diagram b, it does not – there is imperfect ‘wetting’. There is likely to be pores delimited by the adjacent structures and there is likely to be deformation of the grains of A and B. There is little cohesion within the structure of the material, which is therefore unlikely to withstand significant pressure or tension. The intermediate stage is shown in the third diagram, c, in which the grain of B is deformed to follow the shape of the grains of the material A. Since there is a greater degree of wetting than in the case shown in diagram b, the structure will be somewhat stronger, but since this is gained at the expense of some deformation, what is gained in the ‘wetting out’ may be lost because the increase in the wetted surface area is insufficient to counteract any lost in the deformation. The inference for us should be obvious. Strange incompatibilities of behaviour are, as we well know, not conducive to good commercial rela-


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tionships, while perfect, constant and consistent good communications are the key to success in business. It also suggests that the damage done to a company and its personnel if some of their aspirations or ideas are radically at odds may be reflected, in the end, not merely in a high staff turnover (although that in itself is worrying) but in the longevity or otherwise of the company itself, or in the health of its balance sheet. The potential harm to a company that results from poor interdepartmental communications has always been a matter of concern, and now it is increasingly so. Many organisations simply are no longer of a size to absorb the impact of internecine rivalry among their departments. In addition, the influence of the Internet on our thinking is not limited to the increasing technological sophistication which is perhaps the most obvious. The fact that it is now possible to buy a pashmina shawl from the manufacturers in Tibet, without travelling to Tibet or even paying someone else to do so, or that we can research a variety of topics on the other side of the world without leaving our desks, is gradually bringing forth the truth of John Donne’s comment in his Meditation XVII, ‘No man is an island, entire of itself’. As these new technologies, which are still in their infancy, begin to make it easier for us to discover what is going on far away, so we begin to expect that we should communicate easily, indeed almost effortlessly, with those near at hand. In this way, the gradual erosion of physical distance as a barrier to the transmission of information will begin to erode in its turn our previous acceptance of differences in training and background as barriers to the transmission of information. In the field of textile design and manufacturing, successful designers may work in partnership with technical experts to create as close an approximation of the desired effect as is possible within the externally-imposed manufacturing parameters. These designers and technologists are demonstrating the practical interconnectivity that is possible between their individual fields of interest. They are not forming a mixture of design and technology that offers in some way the worst of both worlds; they are demonstrating that by making efforts to communicate with each other in language that both can understand, they create a ‘structure’ within their organisation that offers the strength of the structure shown in the diagram in Fig. 9.1. This in turn results in the production of items that approximate more closely to the first idea and that can be manufactured with relative ease – the company benefits from a reduction in lead time, the designers benefit by seeing their novel ideas translated into product rather that simply left to one side, and the technologists benefit from the opportunity to develop something new and interesting rather than simply devising small variations on basic products. If the design fits the mood of the moment, sales increase; if not, redevelopment is still likely to take less time than used to be spent on the initial development. Of course, the

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precondition for this delightful scenario is that all those involved are inventive people, both in the design and technical fields. Several of the more successful users of fancy yarns demonstrate the benefits of this scenario – it becomes clear in visiting them that although designers and technologists retain their specialities, there is considerable understanding and great respect between them. Certainly, they benefit from the years of experience within the company in dealing with fancy yarns; certainly, also, for the more flamboyant fabrics, they target customers who are concerned more about the exact effect they achieve than about the exact price they are charged. But at the core of their success lies the realisation that both the designers and the technologists are necessary to the success of the company, and that neither would be able to maintain it alone. At present, this level of understanding is inculcated only in some organisations – it is not, except in rare cases, a strong feature of courses in undergraduate courses in design. This is in part because of the extreme difficulty of expounding such vague ideals as ‘understanding’, and in part because it is not possible, in the short time available, to provide students with projects of a scale that require such collaborations, when the emphasis lies primarily on ensuring that they develop their own portfolio of design and examples of their designs brought to fabric or garment form. Furthermore, and very importantly, the success of a collaboration is determined partly by the personalities involved and the circumstances surrounding them. In the companies that demonstrate this level of partnership, the technologist may be regarded, not as a technician or production supervisor, but as a design engineer – that is to say, the one who provides the link between the designer and the producer of the goods. Indeed, in a company specialising in spinning fancy yarns to commission, it is often the case that the sales representative (the link between the customer and the production department) is actually a technologist by training and inclination, capable of operating the machinery unaided, but also sufficiently experienced to be capable of interpreting the customer’s requirements for the yarn, and therefore able to contribute not only to the production department’s understanding of the customer’s requirements, but also to assist the design department. Thus, the sales representative is able to act, as seems necessary, as the interface between the client and the production or design departments, or indeed, between the production department and the design department within their own company. They interpret not only the design idea, but also the production parameters that will apply in the next process. In particular, this interconnectivity, this willingness to collaborate, becomes especially vital in the development of new production techniques and methods. We know that new technologies will create new markets, and that in terms of textiles a new production method will produce new effects


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or new characteristics in the yarn or fabric so processed. These new characteristics in turn provide the impetus for creating the elements of the new market. The technical input is therefore crucial, since it contributes in developing new effects, and in ensuring that technically feasible, but perhaps unusual, existing effects can be used within the framework of the ordinary manufacturing processes. However, we should not overlook, in our desire to create a perfect working environment, the creative and enlivening effects of conflict. Just as pearls are made when the animal is seeking to protect itself from irritation, so a uniformly pleasant environment, free of all conflict, does not necessarily result in a company that performs well in the marketplace. Thus, the success of the collaborations described above is based upon the fact that the design and technical specialists have developed a mutual language in which to think about and discuss what they want from the yarn or the fabric and the best way to achieve it. It is unlikely that this has been achieved without some frustration on both sides! Equally, at different times in their evolution, companies will require different forms of leadership in order to develop. Small, new companies require a close-knit organisation that supports the inspiration of the founder; as they grow, it becomes necessary for the direction to be supplied by one whose talents lie in consolidation. Conversely, sometimes it is necessary for a large, public company to undergo a period of conflict, because the period of consolidation has outlasted its usefulness and become stagnation. In the field of haute couture, we see that the companies have very different characters, not purely because of the different people involved. The scale of the organisation is also important and it is partially for this reason that the couture ready-to-wear brands, in general, are members of one of only two or three luxury conglomerates or ‘stables’. The emphasis here is less on the individual designer’s inspiration, and more on the production of a small sub-selection of the range, which is targeted at a subtly different market. In recent times this has been brought home by the fact that the Jimmy Choo ready-to-wear shoe division has been sold off, leaving the designer free to concentrate on his catwalk range.

9.5.2 The market for fancy yarns Not the least of the peculiarities of the market in fancy yarns is its extremely uneven nature. The reason for this is partly historical – in the old-fashioned perception of fancy spinning as being slow, prone to faults, and difficult to maintain. However, it also lies in the curricular constraints that have resulted in fancy spinning receiving scant coverage in design and technical courses during some periods in the past. This in turn has meant that in some times the newly-graduated generations of designers and technologists have

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possessed relatively little knowledge or understanding of this admittedly somewhat complex subject. The domination of ‘price-points’ has been another factor in the uneven fortunes of the fancy yarn. ‘Price-points’ are the price-brackets chosen by retailers, which give them a target price for any particular item. They are also seen by customers as indicating a certain level of quality, and each customer will have a mental picture of the price they expect to pay for a given item. Every retailer hopes that their series of price-brackets and quality levels coincides with that of their customers, and they will work hard to try to ensure that it does. The domination of prices in this way makes buyers reluctant to include the more expensive yarns and fabrics for the simple reason that they fear that the expensive yarn will push the item into a higher price-bracket, and will result in reduced sales. In other words, they expect a significant customer resistance to the costs they will need to pass on. Sometimes, of course, the risk will be taken, and the company rewarded with a best-seller – and sometimes not. But it is not necessarily the end customer whose resistance is the dominating factor. If the intermediate customer (the retailer) is fearful of these potential cost implications, the final customer will never be given the opportunity to make their opinions known. These factors, although contributing, still do not tell the whole story. We have already commented on the effect of technical innovation upon the consumer markets. In the second half of the twentieth century, the geographical distribution of the textile industry was radically altered, with far-reaching effects. In the simplest possible terms, production was removed to low-wage countries, relying on the reduction in production costs to offset the higher freight charges and longer lead times. This had many consequences in the manufacturing sectors of high-wage countries, which had once been the driving force in the textile industry. Firstly, there was the general discouragement that was a not unnatural result of the loss of market share, with its accompanying mill closures and redundancies. Without their local customers continually demanding improvements in machine automation and productivity, the machinery manufacturers were at risk of stagnating – wage bills in the new textile mills in the Far East were so low that, even when using the old labour-intensive equipment, they could significantly undercut western prices, and so the competitive drive to reduce costs lost its edge. These factors may in themselves have given the appearance of a sector in its death-throes, as it certainly also led temporarily to an understandable but extremely unfortunate reluctance to innovate or experiment. These downward trends have been partly reversed in the recent past, creating yet another example of the phenomenon we have already noted, where a new product generates a new market. Previously unknown yarns


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have been created and exploited, and previously slow and difficult processes have been made faster. This in turn has brought the resultant yarns within the range of reasonable use at less exalted market levels than was previously the case. The most notable example of this has been in the surge in interest in the ‘chenille’ yarn, which followed this pattern very closely. It was due to the development of a new mechanism, which created, at reasonable speeds, a yarn that provided an effect remarkably like that of a yarn that was already known, but that was prohibitively expensive to manufacture. This in turn inspired variations in fibres and fibre mixtures with specialised uses for individual applications, all in reasonably economic, conventional, embodiments of the yarn. We should remember that, to a spinner, a fancy yarn imparts a textural or ‘volume’ feature, not simply a surface one, and therefore the innovations that will be of interest are not only those that create a surface appearance, but also those that provide alterations in the volume and texture of the yarns.

9.5.3 Changes in the market size and form The procedures of the ‘successive scenario technique’ are described in Chapter 3. For the present, we note that the changes in the market profiles we expect will not be easy to reduce to simple quantities. This will be because, before the market changes significantly, or fulfils the potential it must have, there will need to be major managerial changes from the present concentration on profit, market share, or contribution. Such changes will be the result of new opportunities identified, which should be sought out and developed. These changes will be expensive for the initiators, since they will involve a variety of expenditures. There will be costs in studies, surveys and analyses of the market. Then the costs in machinery and equipment development will need to be met. Finally, there will be charges incurred in the development of fabric design, and in support for innovations in fashion, product, and style design. We note and appreciate the endorsement implied by the adoption of these innovations by fashion or style leaders or prominent public figures. It may prove in the future to be crucially important that innovation in design (both technical and aesthetic) and innovation in marketing should go handin-hand. In this way, the market may be expanded to a much greater extent, without sacrificing either production or design quality.

9.5.4 Service Fancy spinners often have similar local specialisations in fibre or staple length to those of spinners of classic yarns. These local markets, sometimes covering the entire manufacturing process, have many sub-sets, usually

140

Fancy yarns

physical or mechanical in origin. They can form the basis of the expansion of activity for the spinner, in that these local markets offer the opportunity to begin from a known point. In the modern world, of course, ‘local’ is a relative term. It is at least as dependent on the availability of regular and reliable freight services as it is on geographical locality. However, the fact remains that there is an area for each manufacturer that is ‘local’ by some definition, and this is where the idea of ‘service’ begins; although if it is to have any useful effect on the balance sheet, it must expand to cover all customers insofar as that is possible. The advantage of the local manufacturer, whether of yarns, fabrics, garments or home furnishings, lies in their speed of response to any order. The fancy spinner, being somewhat far back in the production chain, needs to appreciate the influence that the rapid feedback available to retailers will have on their own customers, who may be garment or fabric manufacturers. There is always a lower limit to the turnaround possible in manufacturing while maintaining an acceptable quality, and the fancy spinner will often find their prime task lies in balancing the requirements of their customers, which are often for a particular yarn to be instantly available on request, with the demands of their own manufacturing processes and the concomitant requirement that the yarn be consistent in quality. Since any item that is sold on largely subjective terms, as garments generally are, receives essentially ‘instant feedback’ when it is offered to the customer, the manufacturer can benefit particularly if they are able to respond promptly to unanticipated success. If they are relatively ‘local’ to their customers, they may also benefit because such local manufacturing will permit a relatively rapid response without large holdings of stock. This in turn reduces the cost of unpopular lines. The acute manufacturer, wherever they may be based, will also find that their guidance is particularly valued by clients who are unsure of the best choice of fibre or material for their own particular end use. Time spent in advising customers is rarely wasted; even if it does not result in immediate sales, it certainly contributes to the enhancement of the relationship between customer and supplier, and this in turn markedly increases the probability of orders in the future. Once again, as in most such cases, we come back to the idea of ‘service’. If the customer, whether corporate body or private citizen, is pleased with the support and service provided by the supplier, both parties will benefit. This idea is at the core of the redevelopment occurring in the retail sector as well. It has been noted that Mary Portas, the former marketing director of Harvey Nichols, remarked in connection with fashion retailing that ‘the secret of longevity is to find your true customer and indulge them’ (quoted in the Financial Times ‘How To Spend It’ magazine, September 2001). No clearer statement of the benefits offered by excellent customer relations


141

practice could be made than this, which shows clearly that the reward for knowing one’s customers and catering to their needs or their aspirations is that the company remains solvent and indeed improves its balance sheet. Various high-profile events among the fashion and clothing stores on Europe’s high streets have also demonstrated clearly the penalties of any failure to bear in mind the needs and aspirations of the core customer.

9.5.5 Production capacity and the workforce A level of demand for a product which exactly matches the production capacity for the product is clearly extremely rare. It is usual to have some excess either of capacity or of demand, and the skill with which an enterprise handles these situations is of course an important element in that organisation’s overall success. It is clear that the widely varying levels of demand for fancy yarns offer grave challenges to the management and marketing sections of the companies involved. The difficulty posed by the production of chenille by the old method was a significant factor in its relatively rare and short-lived periods in the limelight – it simply was not possible, using the technology available at the time, to satisfy demand at its peak, and because so little of the demand was met, the product remained available only to the select few, and never attained the security (in production terms) of the mass market. In this period at the very start of the twentyfirst century, the problem is reversed, and there is some over-capacity in comparison with the production at present required of it. This, of course, is not entirely unfortunate as it allows for a rapid and flexible turnaround on design development and production deliveries, within the constraints – largely of time – presented by the available technologies. Too great an over-capacity for too long a period may see some of the companies involved in this sector going out of business entirely, or simply losing touch with relevant customers in their struggle for survival. Both of these possibilities may lead in turn, as fashions change, to a significant reduction in capacity, and even to undercapacity in relation to any future increase in demand. It is this see-saw of demand and capacity that proves particularly challenging, in the speciality sectors above all, as such ups and downs can lead to an irrecoverable loss of expertise. If there is storage space available to do so, it is relatively easy to take equipment out of production and retain it against future need – but unless it is possible to find other work for them, it is not possible to do the same with the operatives. In small, specialist companies it is often the case that the workforce needs to have a wide range of skills, and frequently all of those employed need at least some level of training that covers all the installed machinery. Such a company-wide full training of the workforce to enable all of its members to operate all of the

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Fancy yarns

machines is likely to repay the initial investment several times over, in the flexibility it permits the plant manager to exercise in planning assignments. Depending upon the complexity of the equipment and the experience of those being trained, the initial training period may be of between one and six weeks, although a further probationary or supervised period is clearly advisable. It is therefore clear that, in the event of a sudden surge in demand for a particular type of fancy yarn, there would necessarily be some delay in attaining production of the full capacity of each plant, while additional operatives complete their training. However, the existence of such a multiskilled workforce can be used as a marketing tool by a spinning company’s sales force, as it will create an atmosphere of optimism and confidence in the company and its future. It also tends to produce a more committed and enthusiastic workforce.

9.5.6 The effects of serendipity When we talk of serendipity in the context of design and technical development, we are attempting to describe the unpredictable and incalculable combination of circumstances that allows the right product or combination of products to be set before the right group of customers. The phrase ‘the right group of customers’ in this case, of course, represents the group of customers most likely to wish to buy the product. The serendipitous combination of circumstances to which we refer may affect the design and technical development of a new product, by allowing the designer or the creative technologist to take full advantage of their moments of inspiration in solving problems or devising new ideas. It may also affect the choice of market first targeted, which, although it is never a matter of chance, can have a considerable effect on the eventual larger success of a product. It is much easier to expand the target market by building upon a successful base than it is to re-launch a product successfully when it has already failed in one market. Serendipity may be described as the creative element that forges links between a designer’s ideas and a manufacturer’s capability, and that therefore eventually results in new products being put forward to the consumer. It is never the sole contributor to the success of an idea or development, but it has its place in the unpredictable element of design success. Serendipity is the combination of circumstance, situation and personality that allows an idea to be engendered in the mind best suited to take advantage of it. Contrary to popular mythology, at least ninety percent of any innovation is the result of sheer, unremitting hard work, but few would deny that this hard work is frequently guided by what seems to the outsider to be an astonishing intuitive grasp of the particular situation or of the capabilities of the materials and techniques available.


143

9.5.7 The secrets of serendipity There will be persons in both the technical and the design fields who will seem to benefit more consistently from these serendipitous events than others; this will, of course, seem to the outsider to be miraculous, or else to offer evidence of genius. When these people are interviewed, however, a pattern emerges that makes it very plain that the apparently effortless effects of these serendipitous events are in fact the results of more prosaic forces. These consistent beneficiaries of serendipity have certain characteristics in common, and they rarely consider themselves geniuses. They are interested in and knowledgeable about the aspects of technological development that concern them, either directly or indirectly. They have considerable inventive talent, which is often demonstrated outside their main field of interest as well as within it; they have a gift for perceiving links or patterns where less fortunate people see only unconnected events. They also have imagination, without necessarily being imaginative in the ordinary sense, and they have considerable powers of observation. The ability to perceive links between otherwise unconnected events is one that can be enhanced by maintaining an interest in a wide variety of fields and pastimes – it is often notable that the serendipitous events occur more frequently as the person involved becomes older and more experienced, developing a wider range of interests. These inventive people will be curious about their surroundings, and they will have a record of success, possibly in more than one field. As a consequence of this, they will also be confident of success.

10 Conclusion

As it has become easier to produce fabrics and garments including fancy yarns, the average level of their use has risen. The general awareness of the variety of yarn effects available to fabric and garment designers has risen with it. This in turn encouraged investment and research, leading in turn to better machinery, a better trained workforce, more satisfied customers and better profitability for all concerned. Research still under way will result a range of new machines, each offering something new in terms of structure, materials processed, or simply in terms of speed and reliability. As we have said, new products stimulate further invention and so we can expect that the range of fancy yarns available will continue to grow. Obviously, we believe that with the certainties of growth in population that we have referred to and the concomitant increase in fibre and fabric consumption, there will be a similar increase in the area of fancy yarns. In particular, as living standards rise, the use of fancy yarns is likely to rise also. Equally, as this subject now demands increasing technical and design contributions, we hope that textile departments and their students will be able to allot sufficient time for fuller studies. As we have discussed in Chapter 3 on the ‘successive scenario technique’, the actual figures for production and the use of fabrics involving fancy yarns can vary very widely, from perhaps one percent, or even a half of one percent of the total mill consumption in the United States and in much of Western Europe, to two or more percent in Italy, India and some of the Far Eastern countries now responsible for the bulk of production. It is for this reason that we have suggested an average of around one percent of mill consumption. Furthermore, this proportion appears to be remaining stable – that is, as the total worldwide mill consumption increases, the total production of fancy yarns does as well.

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References

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Wilson, I, Before the Flood, Orion, London, 2001. Wayland Barber, E, The Mummies of Ürümchi, Macmillan, Basingstoke, 1999. de Saint-Aubin, C G, Art of the Embroiderer, 1770 (loc. Museum of London). Williamson, J P H, Textile Finishing Chemicals in Europe, Frost and Sullivan E995, New York, 1987. Williamson, J P H, Cosmetics and Toiletries – the Markets in Western Europe in Cosmetics Chemicals, Frost and Sullivan E1062, New York, 1988. Williamson, R M, The European Market for Fancy Doubled Yarns, MSc Dissertation, Department of Textiles, UMIST, 1998. Bellwood, L, ‘Novelty Yarns: The Eternal Search for Something Different’, Textile Industries, March 1977. Mitov, G, Method and Apparatus for Spinning Fibre Yarns, GB 1 444 825, 1976. de Tocqueville, A, Democracy in America (translated by Stephen Grant), Hackett Publishing Company Inc., Cambridge, MA, 2000.

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Allen, L A, Method of Producing Knop Yarn, USP 3 945 189, March 1976. Ball, A, ‘Quick Response in Short Staple Spinning’, Textile Horizons, 8, No. 12, December 1988. Bellwood, L, ‘Novelty Yarns for Speciality Fabrics’, Textile Industries, January 1978. Boldrini, L, Machines for the Production of Chenille Yarns and Spooling Thereof, USP 3 969 881, July 1976. Brett, D, ‘The Management of Colour’, Textile History, 29, No. 2, Autumn 1998. Brochures and information from machinery manufacturers. Brochures and information from spinners. Catalogues from Expofil exhibitions. Catalogues from Pitti Filati exhibitions. Chatin, R, Process for Producing Fancy Effect Yarns, USP 3 717 959, February 1973. The Department of Trade and Industry, The UK Textiles, Clothing and Footwear Industry: An Overview, HMSO, London, 1998. Eschenbach, P W and Goineau, A M, Method of Forming Air Textured Bouclé Yarn, USP 4 610 131, September 1986. Financial Times – We have referred to many articles by a variety of authors during the period 1997–2002, relating to business, fashion, marketing and management issues. As a source of reference concerning matters relating to all businesses, regardless of the industry they are in, the Financial Times stands alone in the scope and depth of its coverage. Gemmill & Dunsmore Ltd, ‘The GDM Production System’, Textile Month, April 1978. Hann, M A and Jackson, K C, ‘Fashion: an Interdisciplinary Review’, Textile Progress, 16, No. 4 1987. Higgins, J P P, Cloth of Gold – A History of Metalised Textiles, The Lurex Company, London and Nottingham, 1993. Ingham Jr, R M, Open End Spun Slub Yarn, USP 4 144 703, March 1979. Jones, A N, ‘TWI Laser Welding Process Seams to do the Trick’, Materials World, January 2001. Kim, S B, Nep Yarn Production with the Cotton Spinning Machine, KRP 9 507 793, July 1995. Moroff, H-J, ‘Reproducibility of Fancy Yarns’, Textil Technologie International, date unknown. Oxtoby, E, Spun Yarn Technology, Butterworths, London, 1987.

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Parker, A, ‘Yarns Without True Twist’, Textile Horizons, 8, No. 12, December 1988. Rheinburg, L, ‘The Romance of Silk’, Textile Progress, 21, No. 4, 1991. The Textile Institute, Tomorrow’s Yarns, Manchester, 1984. The Textile Institute, (eds J E McIntyre and P N Daniels). Textile Terms and Definitions, Tenth Edition, Manchester, 1995. WIRA report, ‘The Weaving of Fancy Warp Yarns on Rapier Looms’, Wool Industries Research Assoc., Leeds, 1975.

Index

abrasion resistance 83, 84 acceleration 48, 65 accumulators 25 acetate 44 acrylic 19, 27, 32, 41 airjet 2, 53, 57, 61, 79, 80, 99 texturing 2, 57, 79, 80, 99 angora 2 apparel 3, 7, 9, 15, 24, 25, 48, 61, 77, 80, 97, 98, 102–108, 119, 121, 123, 125 aramid 79 back-doubling 76, 77 balanced (of a yarn) 24, 33, 45, 87 beaming 26 beard 81–83 Beau Brummel 107 bespoke 103, 107, 108, 109 binder 3, 29, 31, 33, 36, 39, 41, 43, 44, 52, 53, 59, 65, 67, 68, 69, 70, 72, 87, 88, 111, 119 Bonas Supertex 88 bouclé 23, 31, 32, 33, 38–40, 42, 59, 65, 67, 80, 84, 93, 97, 98, 103, 106, 107, 109, 111 boutique 104, 105, 107 braid (trimming wallcoverings) 110 brushed loop 41, 42, 118 button 28, 51, 52, 86 cable 36, 103 Calvani Fancyjet 87, 88 capra hircus 95 cashmere 2, 95 casual wear 103, 108 Çayönü 5 chainette 27, 28, 54, 55, 61, 90, 98, 122 Chanel 30, 104 chenille 7, 8, 33, 56–59, 80, 81, 83, 92, 93, 97, 98, 103, 106, 108, 109, 110, 122, 132, 139, 141 manufacturing processes 80–84, 90 system 56, 60, 128 structure of 55

chewing-gum yarn 94 chiru 94, 95 circular knitting 27 clincon 6 cloud 47 colour calibration 114 coloured knop 47 combined system 61, 71, 73 computerised control 113 condenser system 49, 51, 74, 75 consumerism 100 core yarns 3, 7, 29, 31, 35, 38, 39, 40, 41, 43, 44, 47, 51, 52, 56, 65, 70, 83, 111, 119 corkscrew 34, 44 cotton 8, 12, 27, 43, 54, 59, 78, 124 cover yarn 33, 59, 130 cross dyed effects 8, 29, 85, 111 cylinder-doffer 49 designer-retailer 102 diamond yarn 36 doubling 1, 7, 34, 44, 74, 118, 119 frames 33, 34, 74 twist 39 drafting and delivery system 2, 70 drafting aprons 63, 64, 65 rollers 62, 65, 67 zone 31, 49, 63, 64, 111, 123 drawing-in roller 77 DREF 77, 78 Dubied V-bed knitting machine 89 dye-injected rovings 85 eccentric yarn 37, 38 effect 29, 31 elastomeric 59 electronic process control 8 electrostatic flocking 84 elongated knop 46 elongated slub 65 end breakage 25 Escorial 95

149

150

Index

Estimate 1 13, 14, 20 Estimate 2 14, 15, 20 Estimate 3 15, 20 Estimate 4 16, 20 Estimate 5 18, 20 Estimate 6 20 Estimate 7 20 ethical consumerism 25 exclusivity 105, 106 Expofil 122, 128, 132 false twist 70 fancy yarn definition 2 fasciated yarn 52, 53, 69, 71 fashion 9, 26, 27, 93, 96, 99, 102, 104, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 117, 121, 123, 124, 127, 128, 133, 139, 140, 141 retailing 140 feather yarn 28, 57, 61 fibre effect bouclé 39 filé 6 fire retardancy 121 flake 49, 65, 75 flammé 49, 65, 86 flatbed knitting 28 fleck yarn 50, 51 flocking 84 floss silk 7 flyer frame 65 folded yarn 33, 34, 111 formal wear 103, 108 friction spinning 77, 78, 79 fringed yarn 94 frisé 6 frost 6 furnishing 3, 15, 24, 27, 30, 56, 61, 77, 83, 93, 98, 103, 108, 109, 110, 120, 121, 123, 124, 125, 127, 133, 140 Gemill & Dunsmore hollow spindle 87 geotextile 9 gimp 33, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 44, 67, 84 globalisation 97 grandrelle 47 ground slub 49 ground yarn 39, 41, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 81, 83, 84, 87 hand knitting 27 handle 44, 57, 98, 108, 114, 122, 123 handloom weaving 24 haute couture 97, 104, 105, 106, 107, 124, 137 heathered effect 37, 74, 111 hollow spindle 26, 29, 33, 50, 52, 53, 60, 61, 69–73, 86, 87, 88, 90 injection (of material into fibre flow) 49 intellectual property 95, 96

interconnectivity 133, 134, 135, 136 interfacial free energies 134 intermittent effects 51, 85, 86 internet 126, 135 irregular bouclé 39 ITMA 127 jacquard 2, 109, 113 Jean Muir 104 knitted fabrics 89 knitted-in 28 knitwear 103, 106, 108 knop 37, 38, 45, 46, 47, 68, 69, 107 knopping bar 45, 46 ladieswear 30, 38, 97, 102, 103, 106 laminated 6, 33, 59 lappet 64 leno weave 80 linen 2, 5, 6 loop 33, 38, 40–43, 65–67, 69, 84, 107, 111, 118 Lurex® 34 margins 61, 121 marl 33, 34, 37, 46, 65, 74, 103, 107, 108 mechanical draft 62 menswear 102, 106, 107, 112, 124 metallic yarn 2, 6, 7, 33, 34, 44, 53, 59, 80, 103, 118, 121, 130 Mitov, Georg 69 mock chenille 44, 84 mohair 2, 41, 42, 118 monofilaments 31 multi-ending 34, 74 multi-fold 36 nap (of chenille) 56, 83 nepps 49, 50, 51, 75 noble fibres 2, 124 nubs 50, 51 off-the-peg 103, 124 ombre dyed 85, 107, 108, 109, 112 open end spinning 49, 75, 77, 98 overfeed ratio 66, 87 overheads 22, 120, 127 overspun yarn 5 package dyeing 86 pashmina 95, 135 patterning 49, 52, 85, 86 pile 55, 56, 57, 58, 81, 83 Pitti Filati 122, 128, 132 plate 6 Pliny 130 plucked slub 48 plying 30, 39, 84

Index Pointillist 103 polyester 78 polymer foam 94 powerloom weaving 25 price point 104, 106, 138 quality 8, 22, 25, 96, 99, 117, 126, 128, 130, 132, 140 randomisation 85 randomness 86 rapier loom 25, 88 ring spindle 62, 63 system 29, 33, 34, 56, 60, 61, 62–65, 70, 71, 73, 74, 81 system, production of fancy yarns on 65–69 ring spinning 76 comparison with rotor spinning 76, 77 ring yarns, comparison with hollow spindle yarns 88 ringframe 24, 49, 50 ring-spun yarns 76 roller drafting 62 rotor spinning 49, 75–77, 98 rovings 29, 49, 65, 85 Saint-Aubin, Charles Germain de 7 semi-bespoke 104, 107 serendipity 142, 143 service 117, 139, 140 Seurat, Georges 103 shahtoosh 94, 95 shedding 56, 83 silk 2, 6, 7, 130, 131 simulation (of fabric or yarn) 113, 114, 115 slit film 2, 6, 53, 58, 59, 118 slub 2, 8, 31, 37, 44, 45, 46, 47–50, 64, 65, 77, 79, 80, 98, 103, 106, 108, 109, 110 snarl 33, 43, 44, 65, 67, 111 spinning triangle 39, 67 spiral 33, 34, 35, 36, 58, 65, 74 Spitalfields 130, 131 spun slub 48 stripe yarns 37, 46, 47, 69 striping 85, 86, 115 s-twist 36

151

successive scenario technique 10, 139, 144 suitings 29, 33, 38, 45, 47, 103, 104, 107, 110 Tactel® 101 tape yarn 28, 53, 54, 55, 61, 90, 103, 121 Taslan® 79 teazled 41, 118 Tencel® 101 texturising 61, 79 thermoplastic 56, 83 thermosetting 83 threadlines 80 Tocqueville, Alexis de 100, 101 tricot 54 true-colour printing 114 tubular 28 twist 64, 66 twist regulator 70 twisting-in 67 twist-liveliness 67 two-coloured knop 45 unbalanced-twist spiral 34 Ürümchi 5 variegated yarn 39 viscose 35, 41, 52, 54 wall covering 110, 125 warp knitting 28 warp, the use of fancy yarns in 26 Wayland Barber, Elizabeth 5 wear resistance 32, 71, 109, 121 wear testing 114, 115 Westwood, Vivienne 104 wire 6 wool 12, 19, 32, 74, 85, 95, 101, 111, 118 woollen 48, 51, 93, 111 Woolmark® 95, 101 worker-cylinder 50 work-in-progress 23 worsted 42, 43, 44, 47, 48, 65, 103, 107, 110, 124 woven fabrics 88, 108 wrapping fibres 76 z-twist 36

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