Yarns spun from olefin and cotton fibers and products made therefrom

Abstract

A textile yarn consisting of a blend lightweight olefin fibers that has a specific gravity of 0.91 to 1.0 blended with cotton fibers that have a specific gravity of more that 1.0 made using commercially available cotton spinning systems, and the textile articles manufactured using said yarn. This invention takes advantage of the fact that during the spinning process, centrifugal force slings most of the heavier cotton fiber to the outside while the lighter weight olefin remains mostly in the core of the yarn thus formed. The system is especially useful when using cotton open end or air jet spinning systems. Novel fabrics can be made from the new yarns.

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application is based on and claims priority of provisional application No. 60 / 638,525, filed Dec. 23, 2004.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] Cotton fiber has been the predominant choice of textile fibers through the ages. When used to make yarn, cotton fiber is versatile enough to be used in almost any type of knitted or woven cloth or fabric. It is soft to the touch, and comfortable to wear. Cotton absorbs moisture and is easily washed. Blue Jeans, pants and “T” shirts are the most common articles made using cotton yarn. Cotton yarn is produced in most parts of the world and is consumed as apparel in almost every country in the world. In recent years as shortages of cotton started to occur, cotton fiber has been successfully blended with polyester fibers to make yarn. This yarn is a good substitute for 100% cotton yarn and is used extensively world wide to make textile articles. Cotton fiber and polyester fiber have the same relative specific gravi...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

"The patent text describes a method for producing a yarn that looks and feels like cotton using a blend of synthetic fibers and cotton fibers. This allows for the efficient use of short length cotton fibers and the creation of textile articles that feel like cotton. The technical effect of this invention is the creation of a yarn that looks and feels like cotton, even when made from a blend of synthetic fibers and cotton fibers. This enables the use of readily available short length cotton fibers in many ways."

Problems solved by technology

Long staple length cotton fiber is only available in limited quantities and is more expensive than the shorter length cotton fibers.

While the blend of polyester fibers and cotton fibers is generally acceptable, the yarn is not generally used to make Indigo dyed Blue Jeans.

This blended yarn feels too harsh.

While many attempts have be made to make a yarn that would feel just like 100% cotton yarn using the blend of cotton and polyester staple fibers, the blended yarn falls short of feeling like 100% cotton yarn.

Dyeing and finishing: A drawback in dyeing and finishing exists using a yarn made from an intimate blend of cotton fibers and polyester fibers.

Since it is a two-step process and uses two different dye methods, the process is more time consuming and expensive than using a one step cotton dye process.

In addition to being expensive, dyeing uniform shades is difficult and requires great skill.

Unfortunately the finished fabric while acceptable still does not feel like 100% cotton.