SOFT TWIST YARN

A term used in the hoisery trade to mean yarn with less than normal turns per inch. Yarns vary in softness and according to the amount of twist are: - Soft, X soft, XX soft, and XXX soft.

A single yarn made as a cheap imitation of a two-fold yarn by being subjected to two separate twistings. The term really signifies double twisting. The yam is spun on the mule with soft twist and, weft way, then gassed and again twisted at the ring doubler weft way. Thus the twist at the ring doubler is added to the twist at the mule. It is a super quality yarn and spun free from knots and other faults, superior to the ordinary single-twist, but not equal to two-fold. It is of greater strength than ordinary yarn.

A soft-twist wool yarn made of the best quality pure Holland wool. Used for knit goods and fine dress fabrics. Usually has a little silk mixed with the wool.

A three-fold yarn made from a thick soft spun thread twisted with another thread of finer counts and a medium twist. This double thread is again twisted with a third and still finer thread, but with the twist in the reverse way. The illustration shows a cloth in which a chain yarn is used for figuring, Both warp and weft are utilised and by weaving these fancy yarns on an open ground cloth a reversible fabric is obtained. The ground cloth is 36 X 40 per inch, 50's/50's cotton yarns and figuring cham yarn 12 X 12 per inch (see Yarns)

This yarn is made from very soft-twisted woollen yarn in the single, and then run three-ply on the twister, putting from three to four turns of twist to the inch. Gives a full, thick, soft yarn, used for hand knitting, etc. Originally made in Germantown, U.S.A.

A compound yarn composed of a thick centre thread and two finer ones. The thick thread, about 4's, is soft-twisted with, say, a 2/36's with 8 turns per inch; this doubled thread is then twisted with another 2/36's, but about 4 turns per inch and reverse twist. The fine threads are usually different in colour from the thick one. Varying qualities are made by altering the counts and turns per inch

(See knitting). All yarns used for knitting are termed hosiery yarns in Leicester, but in America only yarns actually used for knitted footwear come under this term. These yarns are much softer than required for weaving. Miscellaneous Yarns - Goat wools, such as llama and alpaca are employed in spinning. yarns for the knitting trade. Vicuna and camel yarns are used to a limited extent. Ramie yarn is specially employed for knitting gas mantle fabrics. Soft spun flax yams have been used for making underwear fabric. Chenille and other manufactured threads are used to a small extent in warp knitting. Composite yarns, such as union yarns - spun from a mixture of wool and cotton fibres; cordon yarns - cotton and worsted singles, doubled together; wool and rayon or spun silk, cotton and rayon or spun silk are largely used to produce self or two-colour effects. Fancy yarns, such as slub yams, voiles, and curled and loop yarns are also employed. Hosiery Yarns (Cotton) include condenser, hosiery, condenser lisle thread, mercerised and sewing cottons. Condenser yarns are spun in coarse counts from low-grade cotton, Indian and American. They are carded, condensed and mule spun, and possess little twist. Hosiery cotton yarns vary considerably in counts and qualities, practically all varieties of Indian, American and Egyptian being used in varying proportions to obtain suitable mixture for quality and price. Cheaper yarns are carded and mule spun. American and Egyptian cotton yarns are combed mainly with the object of removing seed particles. High-class Egyptian and Sea Islands cotton yarns are super-combed. The chief features of a hosiery cotton yam should be: (1) Regularity; (2) cleanliness; (3) fullness. Regularity prevents the making of cloudy fabric, showing thick and thin places. Cleanliness is essential, as the seed particles clog the eyelet hole in the yam guides and cause breakages. Fullness is desirable to cover the loop interstices. Elasticity and pliability are quite as essential as tensile strength. Yams are usually soft spun and if two-fold soft doubled, average twists in two-fold being 2/10's 6¹/₂T., 2/20's 8¹/₂T., 2/30's 10T., 2/40's 16T., 2/80's 20T. Softer twist less 25 to 30 per cent of average (T= turns per inch). Lisle thread is a comparatively hard-twisted and doubly-gassed thread in which there are no projecting fibres. It is always of a two-fold character, and the doubling twist varies from 24 to 34 turns per inch in 2/60's. It is used largely in the manufacture of ladies' hose tops and feet and for lace hosiery. Mercerised yams are used largely in the fancy trade, a comparatively soft twist again being employed. Sewing cottons for seaming, linking and making-up are specially prepared in two to six cord open and reverse twist. Woollen and Worsted Yarns include lamb's wool, wheeling, skein yarns, gala yams (woollens), worsted, crossbreds, fingering, cashmere, dry spun botany (see under each name). Worsted and crossbred yarns of various qualities are used. These yams are spun softly with " hosiery twist." The drawing may be open, cone or French, and the spinning may take place on cap, ring or flyer frames. The chief essentials of hosiery yarn are softness of fibre, fullness, minimum of twist consistent with the requisite tensile strength, regularity, pliability and elasticity. Cashmere Yarns, as used in the knitted goods industry, are spun from short, loose and weak wools as well as from better qualities by French drawing and mule spinning. A small proportion of real cashmere is used for outer garments. In recent years nylon yarns have been largely employed.

These are silk yarns mainly used for warps. Care is taken not to give too much twist, since the twisting reduces the lustre. Organzine is produced by slightly twisting together several filaments, and then twisting two or more such singles together to form the required yarn. The first is Z twist, the doubling is S twist. The turns vary from 9 up to 30 per inch according to the fabrics the yarn is to be used for. Satins require a fairly soft twist of 10 to 11 turns, yarn for velvet about 15 to 20, and grenadines, voiles, etc., up to 30. Organzine was first produced in Italy and not till 1718 did English silk spinners make a silk strong enough for warp (see silk yarns)

A Scotch soft-twist wool yarn used for knitting and is spun from native wools.

A soft cotton muslin made of slack twist yarn on hand looms in India.

Silk yarns are composed of a number of silk filaments twisted together, usually 8 to 12 to form a thread. The filaments have a natural coating of gum which gives strength and elasticity, but reduces lustre. The gum must be boiled off if lustre is wanted, which may be done either in the yarn state or when woven in cloth. Silk yarns are divided into two classes, " thrown silk" and " spun silk," the first being yarns that are made by the processes of reeling and throwing, and the second consisting of yarns spun from waste silk. Thrown Silk, or Net Silk comprises organzine and tram yarns, organzine being made from the most perfect cocoons and used for warps. Tram is made from the inferior cocoons and used as weft. All silk contains a proportion of natural gum, and the amount of gum removed give rise to the following terms: - Boiled-off Silk - Yarn which has had all the gum removed, and has the highest sheen (see Boiled-off). Hard Silk - Yarn that has not undergone any boiling-off process. Ecru Silk - Yarn boiled to remove about 3 per cent to 5 per cent of the gum by light washing in lukewarm water. Souple Silk - Yarn boiled to remove about one-sixth of the gum. Bengal Silk - See Bengal Silk. Berlin Silk - A silk yarn made for fancy hand work. It is produced by doubling from 4 to 8 twisted singles grege by a right-hand twist; then again doubling three of these with a left-hand twist. The thread is very round, smooth, and hard, also known as cordon-net. Blond Silk - A special silk yarn made by doubling three grege threads left-hand twist, then doubling three of these together with right-hand twist. Brights - Silk which has been entirely de-gummed in the skein and then dyed. Bourette, Bourrette Yarn - A low grade of silk yarn made from the waste produced by schappe spinning. Canton Silk - See Canton Silk. Chiffon Twist - Single raw silk threads, 50 or more turns per inch. Used for chiffons, crepe-de-chines, etc. Crepe-de-Chine - Hard twist tram silk, about 40 to 70 turns per inch. Made from 3 to 5 raw silk ends. Usually woven as weft. Crepe Georgette - Hard twist raw silk usually made from two threads 13/15 deniers, 50 or more turns, both right and left twist, used for crepe georgettes as warp and weft. Crepe Twist - This is tram silk hard twisted, having from 30 to 100 turns per inch. Used for making fabrics of a crepe character both all silk and mixtures. Cordonnet Silk - See Berlin Silk; also under Cordonnet. Eri Silk - A raw silk obtained from the wild silkworm " Attacus ricini." Flock Silk - A general term used to indicate silk yarns made from the outer uneven parts of the cocoon. Floss Silk - Used principally for embroidery purposes. It is a thrown silk and made by doubling two thick raw singles with right-hand twist together with a left-hand twist. Galette Silk - A coarse silk yarn made from waste. Grenadine Silk - Organzine silk with a large number of turns per inch. Jaspe Silk - Silk warps printed in the hank. Ombre Silk - Skein dyed yarn in a gradation of shades, which run in sequence of depth of colour, varying from five up to forty shades. Schappe Silk - A spun silk yarn which is made from silk degummed by the maceration process used on the Continent (see Schappe Silk). Soie Ondee - See Soie Ondee. Silk Yarns - In addition to the foregoing yarns see under the following terms for further silk yarns: - Cable, Cevennes, Chappe, Chine, Clochepeid, Crocheting, Crue (see Ecru), Cuite Cusier, Cusirino, Degummed, Docken, Doup-pion. Ecru, Embroidery, Etschingo, Filature, Filature a 1'Europeune, Filet, Florette, Fringe, Goffered, Grege, Gum Hainin, Hard, Kahing, Knitting, Lousy, Marabout, Maybasch, Melange, Mele, Mi-cuit, Minchcw, Nett, Noil, Organzine, Ouvrees, Oval, Pearlina, Pel, Pelo, Poie, Pure dye Silk, Raw (see Grege), Re-reels, Retorse, Senegal, Sewing, Simonita, Soft Singles, Soie Ondee, Souple, Spun, Steeped, Strafilato, Stumba, Thrown, Tors San File, Tram, Tramette, Tsatlees, Tussah, Twist, Washed, Zaguri.

NAUTICS - Ropes are made of hemp, flax, jute, cotton and numerous other fibres in different countries. The strands are twisted in a different direction from that of the original yarns. See following list. They are often measured by their circumference in inches and length in fathoms (6 feet). Bandura-wel. Pliable cord. Stem Pitcher plant, Ceylon. Cable. Heaviest ropes: over 10-in. circumference. Cable-laid ropes. Three ropes, three strands, twisted into one. Cablet. Ropes less than 10-in. circumference. Cant. The strand of the rope. Dori. Indian-made ropes used for tents. Dumb waiter rope. Untarred ropes of hemp. Fag end. Untwisted end of a rope. Fake. A single coil of rope. Fancy line. Braided cord used for sash windows on ships. Fathom. Standard length of rope measure - one F. is 6 feet. Hawser. Small cable twisted from three small ropes each of 20 strands. Heart. The core strand of a rope. Heart yarn. The centre of a core yarn. Kickling. Old rope round cables to keep them from chafing. Kink. To twist a rope. Knittles. The strands of two ropes twisted together. Lacs. Strong thin cords. Lay. The strand of a rope. Laying. The doubling process in rope making. Lizard. A rope with several rings spliced into it. Marling. Small tarred rope used to tie ropes. Mat. Made of old ropes, interwoven and beaten flat. Netting. Network made of cord. Parcelling. Wrapping of old canvas round ropes for protection. Patent cordage. Ropes or cords spun by natives. Paunch mat. Ships mat made from rope. Plain laid rope. Hemp or manila rope, made of three strands RH twist. Rattine. Small rope, measured by the fathom. Rombowline. Condemned canvas or rope. Rope yarn. Yarn made of RH twist, manila or hemp. Russia rope. Untarred cables and cords of hemp. Seizing. Binding two ropes together with marling. Seizing stuff. Rope of 4 to 12 strands used for seizing. Sel. Strong rope made of hemp fibres in India. Selvagee. Skein of rope with another rope wound around it. Sennit. Braid formed by plaiting strands of rope together. Shroud laid. Rope with core and four strands twisted around it. Shroud rope. Finer quality of rope of three plies; used for rigging. Spun yarn. Rope of long tow hemp, tarred and rubbed. Strap. Rope spliced to form a ring. Suti. Twisted cotton rope in India. Swab. Bunch or mop of soft rope. Tapered rope. Rope with strain bearing part thicker. Water laid. Heavy rope, three strands each with three plies, used for hawsers. White rope. Untarred cordage on ships. Worming. Filling divisions in rope between the lays with spun yarn. Wrack. Sea grass used for coarse ropes.

A French term for sponge cloth, or ratine woven from a hard twist warp and soft spun weft, usually a fancy yarn to give the soft and loose woven fabric required. A dress eponge is made from fancy warp and weft yarns, 64-in. wide, 14 ends and 16 picks per inch, weight about 11-oz, per yard. The yarns are looped with the loops bound by a third thread of cotton (the core is cotton and the looping thread wool). Tadpole Eponge is woven from yarn with a thick nub at intervals.

Thick strong twist, made by twisting together two or three untwisted raw silk threads to the left, and then combining two or three of the composite threads with a right-hand twist. The yarn has a soft handle.

A fineall-wool light-weight dress fabric in an open fancy weave. Good quality worsted yarns are used. A crepe effect due to spiral twist in the yarns is obtained. The cloth is piece-dyed in cream, tan and other light shades. It is soft enough for infants' wear. Also applied to a plain woven cotton cloth of soft fine yarns, piece-dyed black and other solid colours, used for decorations, such as 84 X 90, 60's/64's, super-combed Egyptian yarns. The cloth has a short nap face. Known also as "Satin Moss", "Vienna", "Snowflake" and "Llama Croise". The Snowflake has flecked yarn and the Vienna is the heaviest variety.

A term used by home trade buyers for a plain cloth made from twofold warp and single weft, good quality yarns. The cloth is used for pillow cases, underwear, etc. Widths 34¹/₂-in. to 36-in., 60 ends X 60 picks per inch, or 44 ends, one in a dent, and 72 picks; yarns 2/36's twist, 16's to 20's weft. The finished cloth is bleached and soft finished. All " double warps " are super qualities, giving strength and wear. The term does not mean two warps are used but simply a single warp of two-fold yarn.

These are composed of two or more untwisted singles, doubled together with just sufficient twist required to bind the filaments so as to prevent them from forming loops in the thread. The yarn is very soft.