VARIOUS KNITTING YARNS
A large variety of yarns other than pure woollens are employed for
knitted goods and there is no branch of the textile industry where such
free use is made of materials of different type and character. For the
plain knitted stitch in particular "the yarn is the fabric" and the
qualities of touch and handle as well as colour form the chief features
sought after in the yarn.
_Cotton Yarns._—Yarns spun from cotton are utilized for a large
selection of the trade in knitted articles which perform an
indispensable function in clothing. When examined with the naked eye
cotton yarns can be distinguished by their dense structure, the fibre is
soft when in fibre form, but when spun into yarns takes a firm
structure. Cotton yarns used for knitting are usually spun with as slack
a twist as is consistent with strength, and an effort is made to throw a
considerable portion of fibre to the surface of the thread. When
examined under a low-power microscope much useful information may be
gained by scrutiny of the lie of the fibres and of the way in which they
dispose themselves. A photo-micrograph of a fine counts of cotton yarn
used in knitting is given in Fig. 38 where the fibres are noted to be
densely packed in the yarn with copious material round the surface to
enable the thread to cover up the loop interspaces. From this sample
also may be noted the twisted appearance common to all cotton fibres;
the single fibres have an irregular twist like a twisted ribbon. This
distorted aspect of the fibre is one of the best means of distinguishing
this material, and when the feature is noted, it is a sure sign that
cotton is present. Another evidence which confirms this is the peculiar
manner in which the fibres dispose of themselves, they appear
disjointed, form sharp corners and shoot away at steep angles. Wool
fibres in a yarn appear curved and dispose of themselves in elegant
waves, whilst cotton strands strike out in divergent directions. Fig. 39
gives another view of a type often employed for cotton knitted goods,
this being a single thread of long stapled cotton loosely twisted so as
to give a soft full handle. This character of thread is often employed
for the so-called fleecy underwear where the soft yarn is raised or
brushed on the teasles to give an effect extremely pleasant to the
touch. In this example the fibres are shown freely scattered from the
core of the yarn, and a closer examination of them will show that they
have the sharp angles and the spiral twists just referred to as being
indicative of the cotton fibre.
[Illustration:
FIG. 38
TYPE OF SINGLE COTTON YARN OF FINE COUNTS USED FOR HOSIERY
]
[Illustration:
FIG. 39
SINGLE LOOSE TWISTED COTTON YARN USED FOR BACKING
]
_Mercerized Cotton Yarn._—Mercerized cotton is largely employed in
knitted goods of the fancy class where the great lustre of the material
imparts effectiveness to the fabric. The usual type of mercerized thread
used in knitting is two-ply and hard twisted, with the surface fibre
singed off so as to give an uninterrupted reflection of light. The yarn
is mercerized usually in the hank when the hanks of yarn are stretched
tightly over poles and then immersed in a strong solution of caustic
soda. In a short time the cotton swells and becomes lustrous,
approaching silk in general appearance, and this effect is augmented by
the evenness of the surface of the thread. This type of yarn lends
itself to the production of brilliant colours and is admirably adapted
to such articles as knitted coats, scarves and other types of the fancy
trade in knitted goods, being best suited for summer wear on account of
their coolness.
_Artificial Silk._—The application of artificial silk or wood pulp to
the manufacture of knitted goods has been extensively made and gives
results in every way brilliant in character. The structure of this type
is shown in photo-micrograph 40 which is a view of a single thread of
artificial silk, where it will be noted that the fibres are exactly
parallel to one another and there are no straggling members whatever,
each and all of them taking their place in the thread in a perfectly
parallel and orderly fashion. The substance from which these yarns is
produced is at first in a fluid condition and is pressed through tubes
in a container in very fine strands, a certain number of which are run
together to constitute thread. This material is usually supplied
two-fold for knitting purposes and has been in great demand for the
scarf and knitted coat trade, where brilliance of shade and elegance of
appearance are outstanding features. Care must be taken that the goods
are correctly described, as the Silk Association of Great Britain
maintains a continuous campaign to have these goods distinct in
description from those of real silk. One famous case hinged on the term
art silk. If the word art is written art. with a full-stop it is
recognized as a contraction for the word artificial, but without this
period the term art is misleading as indicating a variety of real silk
and as such constitutes a mis-description for which penalties are
provided.
[Illustration:
FIG. 40
2-FOLD MERCERISED COTTON YARN USED IN KNITTING
]
[Illustration:
FIG. 41
SINGLE THREAD OF ARTIFICIAL SILK YARN
]
_Spun Silk Yarns._—These yarns are produced in silk manufacture from the
cocoons which have been damaged so as to cause the silk to be broken or
torn. Such have to be prepared and combed like other short materials and
the resultant yarns are in great demand for knitted goods. The perfect
cocoons have their fibres unravelled in continuous lengths, a certain
number of these being run together to form a single thread of commerce.
Artificial silk thread is similar in appearance except that it is not
possible to approach the real organzine in fineness of fibre. The spun
silk thread is elastic and extremely useful in knitted articles,
although its use is restricted to specialities on account of the high
price of the product. Illustration 42 gives a photo-micrograph of a
common form of spun silk yarn which is two-fold in character, with
abundant surface material projecting at all angles. To attain greater
lustre and a cleaner yarn, these varieties are often put through the
process of gassing, that is, the yarns are passed through a gas flame to
have their loose projecting filaments burned off. Fig. 43 gives a view
of this same thread where the surface fibre has been singed off and the
yarn made much more definite in effect. In the two illustrations the
surpassing sheen of the extremely fine filaments is clearly visible;
when examined still more closely they give the appearance of lustrous
glass rods with very little variation in their structure, absolute
plainness being the characteristic.
[Illustration:
FIG. 42
2-FOLD SPUN SILK KNITTING YARN
FIG. 43
GASSED SPUN SILK THREAD
]
_Silk and Wool Knitted Articles._—The free use of pure silk yarns is
rendered prohibitive in many branches of the trade on account of the
enormous price of the yarns, and generally for knitted goods it is not
possible to produce a garment of sufficient weight for normal use. If
silk is employed for the entire fabric, much of it is lost by
intersecting on the back, only a tithe of the material being visible on
the face. There is no real advantage in having silk on the back of the
texture, and fuller effectiveness and greater comfort and weight are
attained by bringing a heavier material on to the back, preferably a
woollen thread with the silk showing on the face only. The back woollen
thread by its bulk gives greater proportional weight and at the same
time pushes the silk yarn prominently on to the surface and enables it
to exhibit its full lustre. This is certainly the most effective way of
obtaining the utmost utility from the silk material in the texture. The
silk and wool hosiery folded yarn is also employed largely for these
goods, one yarn of silk being folded in a loose twist with one thread of
woollen. In some cases the silk yarn is organzine, in others it is
two-fold spun silk, but as a general rule the woollen constituent is
composed of wool in the single yarn only, and this loosely spun to give
an open effect. This type of silk and wool yarn forms the basis of an
important branch of knitted underwear and such garments present an
intermediate position between the plain variety of woollen garment and
the more costly pure silk article. Fig. 44 gives a view of a typical
sample of this class of yarn, being a single thread of organzine silk
folded with a single pure woollen yarn. The dense member of the twist is
clearly seen to be the silk thread of the organzine variety, because the
constituent fibres are continuous and run parallel with each other.
Contrasted with this the woollen yarn is free and open in structure, the
most suitable type of wool being medium to long staple. In this yarn the
lustre and neatness of the silk imparts an elegant appearance to the
fabric, whilst the open structure of the woollen thread removes the
baldness of the yarn and adds the essential fullness to the handle as
well as softness and warmth. In many cases the organzine silk thread is
replaced by the ordinary type of two-fold spun silk yarn and the
thickness of the woollen neighbour greatly increased over what is here
noticeable. In almost every case for such fabrics the silk yarn
constituent is pure white and very attractive results accrue if the
woollen thread is folded dyed in some bright shade, such as blue, red or
green. The lustrous silk yarn with its whiteness tones down the strong
colours in a highly pleasing manner and the entire production is of the
most elegant description and deservedly a favourite with many classes of
wearers.
[Illustration:
FIG. 44
SILK AND WOOL KNITTING YARN
]
_Cotton and Wool Mixtures._—Just as we obtain articles of intermediate
qualities by adding silk and wool together, so by combining cotton and
wool results are obtained which blend the peculiarities of each
material. For many wearers pure wool underwear proves rather an irritant
to the skin, the crispness making itself felt on a tender cuticle. On
the other hand, garments worked entirely from cotton do not possess
anything like the power of heat retention as is the case with the pure
wool article, and in the important matter of elasticity and absorbency
cotton as much inferior to the wool. When the two materials are blended,
the resultant is warmer than pure cotton and not so warm as wool, whilst
the blended article stands mid-way in absorbency and does not produce
the same irritation to the skin as some varieties of pure wool. In
regard to whiteness the cotton and wool blend is more satisfactory than
many types of wool which have to be bleached in a rather expensive
method in order to give similar whiteness. The addition of the cotton
improves the colour and obviates bleaching of the garment. Finally, the
blended article from cotton and wool is much more moderate in price than
the pure woollen garment. For winter its chief drawback is a much lower
clothing or heating power, and for the summer its disadvantage is that
it quickly fills with moisture and renders the wearer uncomfortable
until this moisture has been radiated back again.
_Merino._—The great bulk of fabrics of this class are embraced under the
term merino, which denotes cotton and wool articles where the materials
have been blended in the fibre in a given proportion. The normal yarn is
composed of 50 per cent. of each, but the range includes as much as 90
per cent. cotton, with 10 per cent. wool, with 90 per cent. wool and 10
per cent. cotton at the other end of the scale.
[Illustration:
FIG. 45
SILK SINGLE AND COTTON AND WOOL MERINO FOLDED 2-PLY
]
If Fig. 45 be examined it will be noticed that it is in the form of
two-ply, one thread being composed of pure silk as shown by its density
and fineness, whilst the thicker yarn is merino, that is, cotton and
wool mixed in the fibre. The presence of the cotton and the wool may
both be detected by an examination of the straggling fibres, the wool
curving and bending in its usual characteristic manner, whilst the
cotton fibres show their twisted convolutions and their furtive breaks
into angles. The usual kinds of merino yarns used for underwear are
folded two-ply, with a slack twist which seldom exceeds more than a few
turns per inch. In spinning such yarns it is sought to throw the wool to
the thread surface as far as possible so as to increase the comfort to
the wearer and give improved handle.
[Illustration:
FIG. 46
SHOWING GRACEFUL CURLING PROPENSITIES OF A CASHMERE THREAD
]
_Cashmere._—The general use of this term includes open spun worsted
yarns, used in underwear, but the original signification is the product
of the Cashmere goat which inhabits the Himalayas. This material is
natural coloured, the softest kinds are of a sandy fawn shade and are
largely employed in the knitting industry for scarves, gloves and vests.
In respect of soft, delicate handle real cashmere is without an equal
amongst textile materials, and this property alone makes it eminently
suitable for these branches in particular.
_Angora Rabbit Fur._—The fur of the rabbit has recently come into
prominence for the knitting industry and many new uses have been found
for these materials. The product of the Angora rabbit reared in large
numbers in France has been extensively used for knitted articles,
notably gloves and vests, where its surpassing qualities of delicacy of
handle have been greatly appreciated. One disadvantage of this fur is
that it readily contracts when steeped in water, where the least
scouring makes it almost vanish out of view. It is extremely difficult
to spin into yarns which will bear the strains of knitting and of
ordinary wear, the length of the fibres is rather variable and large
portions of the rabbit coat consist of fibre of the most flimsy
description, being perceptibly swayed by the ordinary air currents of a
room. It will thus be seen that in employing this material the kind of
article to which it has to be applied must be kept carefully in mind,
and every effort should be made to utilize it where it will be protected
from contact with excessive moisture. The article selected should not be
one which encounters much friction during its period of wear because one
of the troubles is that the loose floating fibres easily separate
themselves from the parent fabric. This sort of material taken from the
common rabbit is often vended in the shops in balls of thick, loose spun
thread which can rapidly be made into plain stitch gloves, not very
shapely but certainly having qualities of novelty and comfort.
_Camel Hair._—As the name indicates this material is secured from the
camel, large tufts of good quality fibre growing on its chest and of a
predominantly sandy tint, natural in hue. This is used in its life shade
for a large number of varieties of knitted articles, perhaps its
best-known use in knitting is in connection with the scarf trade, whilst
it is also found in the knitted glove and cap industry.
_Alpaca._—This is the product of the goat of the same name which
inhabits the Andes of South America and is very useful because of the
large variety of colours in which it grows on the fleece. These are
sorted out into tones of approximately the same depth and used for
numerous other articles in the knitting industry. The material in itself
often appears rather hard and cold for knitted goods, but the handle can
be improved by steaming which has the effect of permanently softening
the cell walls of the fibre. Very successful effects are produced by
folding a thread of one shade with a single thread of another, and when
these are brushed in finishing they give melanged effects which are most
attractive and pleasing.
_Peculiarities of Goat and Camel Hairs._—Materials such as camel hair,
alpaca and cashmere all have certain properties in common. They have
each two growths of material, one on the surface consisting of long,
strong beard hairs which are rough in the extreme and quite unsuitable
for manufacturing purposes. Under this overgrowth and protected by it is
the variety which as a rule is much softer to touch and shorter in
staple; the long hairs are a great nuisance to the manufacturer, but are
in reality indispensable as they afford much needed protection to the
soft undergrowth during the turbulent life of the goat. If they are not
too coarse they may be employed as the dark colouring element in natural
hosiery yarns, the browns and greys of alpaca being most useful in this
regard. These materials belong to the most dirty class of materials used
in knitting yarns, and it is very necessary that they should be
thoroughly cleaned before use. Owing to the fact, however, that they are
not dyed but generally employed as they stand, they may not be scoured
so thoroughly as ordinary wool. The deadly germs of anthrax are often
present on these materials, this disease being frequently transmitted to
a worker handling the fleeces where clots of blood produced by careless
clipping are a grave source of danger. There is also further evidence of
uncleanness in the specks of dandruff-like matter which are often found
sticking on the fibres of the yarn.
Like other branches of the textile industry, hosiery manufacture has
been the subject of numerous attempts at introducing new and novel
fibres heralded on to the market with much blowing of trumpets and
exaggerated prospectuses. This industry can absorb a greater variety of
yarns, different classes of materials than almost any other branch of
textiles. What has often been suggested as a sound commercial
proposition is that yarn made from the nettle plant should be more
extensively utilized. A thread made from fibre extracted from the stem
of the ordinary stinging variety is given in Fig. 47 which gives a
thread quite suitable for many classes of woven fabrics. The material,
however, is not of suitably agreeable handle for knitted goods and would
only be employed for this purpose in times of dire scarcity.
[Illustration:
FIG. 47
YARN SPUN FROM NETTLE FIBRE
]
_Requirements of the Fancy Trade._—In the chapter on woollen underwear
yarns the characteristics of material and structure were discussed in
relation to the trade in underwear. In this chapter a number of
materials have been referred to which take their place in the what is
known as the fancy trade for outer and intermediate garments. If it is a
question of the fancy stitches, it is required to bring out the features
of these with yarns clear in surface and neat in structure so that the
eye may follow the intersections of the yarns in the fabric. The silk
and artificial silk productions belong to the most highly valued of the
ornamental branches of the knitting industry, and these may be utilized
to bring out in the clearest effect stitches such as shogged patterns,
rib varieties and lace designs where definiteness of stitch and
brilliance of colour combine to give results of a high value for elegant
garments. In the case of materials of camel hair, Angora fur or pure
cashmere class, the stitch as a rule is subsidiary, being usually of the
plainest description so as to allow of the fullest display of the
natural properties of the material. In the fancy trade it is futile to
employ features which compete with each other for the attention of the
observer. In a fancy-stitch article the mono-colour should prevail;
where the stitch is simple the best ground is afforded for the display
of several colours in the goods.