Composite regenerated cotton and bast fiber yarn and method for making the same

Abstract

A composite bast fiber and cotton yarn is formed by blending natural bast fibers with cotton fibers which have been regenerated from waste cotton material such as trimmings and cuttings from the apparel manufacturing industry. The regenerated cotton and bast fibers are cleaned and blended, then carded to align the fibers into strands. Depending on the size and texture of the desired yarn, the fibers are stretched and drawn into slivers prior to spinning to join the fibers together. The natural bast fibers are up to two and one half to three time longer than the regenerated cotton fibers, so that the natural bast fibers overlap and braid onto the regenerated cotton fibers during spinning. The resultant yarn is stronger and more absorbent than yarns made solely out of regenerated cotton fibers, a blend of regenerated cotton and acrylic fibers, or regenerated cotton and polyester fibers currently available.

Description

[0001]This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 11 / 971,473 filed Jan. 9, 2008.[0002]Textile fabric treatment typically includes bleaching vast amounts of greige fabric and then dyeing the fabric to a desired color for use in manufacturing various fabric articles such as apparel, household linens, and canvas. Unfortunately, the effluents produced by the treatment processes can be harmful to the environment, thus increasing the costs of manufacture of such fabrics to safeguard the environment. In addition, waste fabric resulting from trimming and cutting the fabric during the formation of fabric articles must be discarded. The waste is typically dumped into landfills or incinerated, thereby releasing harmful pollutants into the environment and atmosphere.[0003]Accordingly, there exists a need to recapture and reuse the waste fabric material, particularly bleached and dyed materials formed of cotton. The present invention relates to the production of yarn ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0007]The finished yarn is between 30 and 45% recycled and regenerated cotton fibers which are generally shorter than the natural bast fibers. Prior to spinning the fibers into yarn, they are blended and cleaned to remove any impurities from the mixture. Next, the blended fibers are carded to form aligned strands of fibers. The strands may be drawn roved into smaller finer strands depending on the type of fabric to be formed from the yarn. Finally, once the desired strand size has been obtained, the fibers are spun to form the finished yarn.

Problems solved by technology

While the composite yarns of the prior art are satisfactory, they each suffer from certain inherent drawbacks.

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