Blended yarn and blended yarn manufacturing method

Abstract

To provide a blended yarn that can be manufactured using 100% or approximately 100% animal hair and is less likely to cause snarl.SOLUTION: A blended yarn contains animal hair fibers and water-soluble vinylon fibers having 60°C or more of melting temperature. The blended yarn has English cotton count of 5 to 40, twisting coefficient of 3.0 to 6.0, and a snarl value of 6.5 or less. The animal hair fiber of the blended yarn is preferably sheep wool.SELECTED DRAWING: None

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a blended yarn of animal hair such as wool and water-soluble vinylon. [Background technology]

[0002] Animal hair fibers such as sheep's wool have a unique texture and excellent heat retention, and have long been used as clothing fibers. In recent years, the demand for fine wool has been increasing for softer and lighter clothing. However, when wool is spun into yarn, there is a problem that if the twist is weak, it will not be able to be made into yarn, and if the twist is strong, it is prone to snarling. In particular, when wool is spun into thin yarn, the occurrence of snarling has been a major problem. Snarling is a loop-shaped shrinkage that occurs when the twist of the yarn is loosened, and it is likely to occur during rewinding into cheese or cones after spinning, knitting, etc. The likelihood of snarling occurring can be evaluated by the snarling index (also called the Klinger coefficient). The higher the snarling index, the greater the internal stress of the yarn and the more likely it is that snarling will occur.

[0003] One method to prevent snarnling is to blend wool with synthetic fibers and then heat set the material to stabilize the shape, but this method cannot be used when a 100% wool product is desired.

[0004] On the other hand, a method for producing a bulky, soft-to-the-touch 100% wool product involves blending wool with water-soluble vinylon fiber, and dissolving and removing the water-soluble vinylon after knitting and weaving. For example, Patent Document 1 describes a method for producing a 100% wool knitted or woven fabric that is soft to the touch and has excellent bulkiness, by blending animal hair with water-soluble polyvinyl alcohol-based synthetic fiber (water-soluble vinylon fiber), and dissolving and removing the water-soluble fiber after knitting and weaving. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 54-073968 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] However, since water-soluble vinylon dissolves when wetted with water or at high temperatures, heat setting is not possible, and even when animal hair and water-soluble vinylon fiber are blended, snalling still occurs easily. Patent Document 1 does not mention the problem of snalling.

[0007] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above, and has as its objective the provision of a blended yarn that can be used to produce products made from 100% or nearly 100% animal hair and that is less susceptible to snarnling. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The blended yarn of the present invention is characterized in that it contains animal hair fiber and water-soluble vinylon fiber having a dissolution temperature of 60° C. or higher, has a British cotton count of 5 to 40, a twist coefficient of 3.0 to 6.0, and a Snarl index of 6.5 or less. In this specification, the Snarl index is a value measured by the Snarl index method B specified in JIS L1095:2010.

[0009] Preferably, in the blended yarn, the animal hair fiber is wool.

[0010] Preferably, in any of the above blended yarns, the mass proportion of the animal hair fiber is 70% or more, and the mass proportion of the water-soluble vinylon fiber is 10% or more.

[0011] Preferably, in any of the above blended yarns, the water-soluble vinylon fiber has a dissolution temperature of 75° C. or higher.

[0012] The method for producing a blended yarn of the present invention comprises the steps of blending animal hair fiber and water-soluble vinylon fiber having a dissolution temperature of 60° C. or higher, with a British cotton count of 5 to 40 and a twist coefficient of 3.0 to 6.0, and heat setting the blend at a temperature of 40° C. or higher and not higher than the dissolution temperature of the water-soluble vinylon fiber −20° C. The temperature not higher than the dissolution temperature of the water-soluble vinylon fiber −20° C. is a temperature that is 20° C. or more lower than the dissolution temperature of the water-soluble vinylon fiber. Effect of the Invention

[0013] The blended yarn of the present invention has a snare index of 6.5 or less, so that snare is unlikely to occur during rewinding or knitting / weaving. Furthermore, by dissolving and removing the water-soluble vinylon resin after knitting / weaving, a knitted or woven fabric that is bulky and soft to the touch and made of 100% or nearly 100% animal hair can be obtained. According to the blended yarn production method of the present invention, an animal hair blended yarn with a low snare index and less likely to cause snare can be obtained by blending a water-soluble vinylon resin with a high dissolution temperature and heat setting at a sufficiently low temperature. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] The blended yarn of one embodiment of the present invention contains animal hair fiber and water-soluble vinylon fiber. The mass ratio of the animal hair fiber is preferably 70% or more, and the mass ratio of the water-soluble vinylon fiber is preferably 10% or more. The combined mass ratio of the animal hair fiber and the water-soluble vinylon fiber is preferably 95% or more, and more preferably 100%. This allows a product that is 100% animal hair or close to 100% to be obtained by dissolving and removing the water-soluble vinylon resin after knitting or weaving.

[0015] The type of animal hair is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include wool, alpaca, angora, cashmere, camel, mohair, and mixtures of two or more of these. The animal hair is preferably wool. Moreover, the wool preferably has a thickness of 16 to 25 μm and a fiber length of 30 to 60 mm.

[0016] Water-soluble vinylon fiber is a synthetic fiber made from polyvinyl alcohol and has a dissolution temperature (also called the nominal dissolution temperature) that is determined according to the manufacturing method. The dissolution temperature of water-soluble vinylon fiber is 60°C or higher, preferably 75°C or higher, and more preferably 85°C or higher. Due to the characteristics of the raw material polyvinyl alcohol, the dissolution temperature of water-soluble vinylon fiber is usually 100°C or lower. The dissolution reaction of water-soluble vinylon proceeds slowly even at a temperature slightly lower than the dissolution temperature.

[0017] The blended yarn may contain fibers other than animal hair and water-soluble vinylon fiber. Even in this case, the mass ratio of fibers other than animal hair and water-soluble vinylon fiber is 20% or less, preferably 5% or less. It is particularly preferable that the blended yarn contains only animal hair and water-soluble vinylon fiber, and does not contain other fibers.

[0018] The thickness of the blended yarn is 5 to 40 in British cotton count, preferably 8 to 35. The thinner the yarn, i.e., the larger the count, the stronger the twist required for spinning into yarn, and the more likely snarning occurs, so there is a great advantage to using the blended yarn of this embodiment. However, if the yarn is too thin, it becomes more difficult to spin, and after the water-soluble vinylon is dissolved and removed, the yarn has low strength and is more likely to break.

[0019] The twist coefficient of the blended yarn is 3.0 to 6.0, preferably 3.5 to 5.0. The twist coefficient is the number of twists per inch divided by the square root of the yarn count. If the twist coefficient is smaller than this, the animal hair fibers tend to break apart after the water-soluble vinylon is dissolved and removed. On the other hand, if the twist coefficient is larger than this, it is difficult to reduce the Snarl index.

[0020] The Snarl index of the blended yarn is 6.5 or less, preferably 6.0 or less, and more preferably 5.0 or less. Such a low Snarl index can be achieved by a heat setting process after spinning, as described below. The Snarl index is 0 or more.

[0021] Next, a method for producing the blended yarn of this embodiment will be described.

[0022] First, animal hair and water-soluble vinylon fiber having the above-mentioned dissolution temperature are blended. The blending method is not particularly limited, and various known methods can be used. If the blending method is the same as cotton spinning, snalling is likely to occur, so the blended yarn of the present invention has a great advantage.

[0023] The blended yarn is heat-set by heating at a predetermined temperature. Specifically, for example, the blended yarn is placed in a heating vessel and heat-treated for a predetermined time. This can reduce the Snarl index to 6.5 or less. Heat-setting can be performed on the bobbin-wound pipe, the cheese or cone rewound from the pipe, or both the pipe and the cheese or cone.

[0024] Heat setting is preferably by steam setting. Steam setting using water vapor for heat setting has a larger heat capacity than heat setting without water vapor, and therefore has a greater setting effect.

[0025] The heat setting temperature is preferably 40°C or higher. If the heat setting temperature is too low, the Snarl index does not decrease sufficiently. On the other hand, the heat setting temperature is set to a temperature sufficiently lower than the dissolution temperature so that the water-soluble vinylon does not dissolve during the heat setting process. In particular, when the heat setting is performed by steam setting, the water-soluble vinylon is easily dissolved, so the heat setting temperature is preferably 20°C or higher, more preferably 25°C or higher, lower than the dissolution temperature of the water-soluble vinylon fiber.

[0026] The heat set treatment time is preferably 5 minutes or more, more preferably 10 minutes or more, and even more preferably 15 minutes or more. This allows the Snarl index to be sufficiently reduced. On the other hand, the heat set treatment time is preferably 40 minutes or less, more preferably 30 minutes or less. Even if the treatment is performed for a longer period of time, the effect of reducing the Snarl index gradually decreases. When the heat set treatment is performed in several steps, the total time of each treatment is preferably 5 minutes or more, more preferably 10 minutes or more, and even more preferably 15 minutes or more, and preferably 40 minutes or less, more preferably 30 minutes or less.

[0027] The blended yarn of the present embodiment produced as described above is then knitted and woven, and the knitted or woven fabric is immersed in warm water to dissolve and remove the water-soluble vinylon, and dyed to produce a bulky product made of 100% or nearly 100% animal wool yarn, with a soft texture. The blended yarn is less likely to cause snarls in these processes because it has a snare index of 6.5 or less. In a typical loom, both the warp and weft yarns are tensioned, so snarls are less likely to occur during weaving, but they may occur during handling before weaving. In contrast, in a typical knitting machine, there is no tension on the yarn, so snarls are likely to occur during knitting, but if the snare index is 5.0 or less, snarls during knitting can be almost completely eliminated. The blended yarn of the present embodiment is particularly suitable for knitting yarn. EXAMPLES

[0028] Wool (thickness 18.5-24.0 μm, fiber length 38-55 mm) and water-soluble vinylon fiber (Kuraray Co., Ltd., nominal dissolution temperature 95°C, fineness 1.7d (denier), fiber length 32-38 mm) were mixed in a cotton blending machine in a mass ratio of 80:20 to obtain a mixed cotton. The obtained mixed cotton was spun in a normal spinning process to obtain a mixed yarn with an English cotton count of 24 and a twist number of 19.6 turns / inch (twist factor 4.0). The mixed yarn was wound on a bobbin (coil yarn) and subjected to a first heat setting treatment at 45°C for 10 minutes, and then rewound on a cheese and subjected to a second heat setting treatment at 45°C for 10 minutes. The heat setting treatment was a steam setting, and was performed in the following manner. The coil yarn together with the bobbin or the cheese was inserted into a heating vessel, and the heating vessel was evacuated. Steam controlled at a specified temperature was then introduced into the heating vessel. After a specified time has elapsed, the heating vessel is evacuated to remove the steam from the vessel and the spun yarn is dried.

[0029] The measured Snarl index was 7.05 before heat setting in the bobbin state, 5.32 after the first heat setting, and 2.76 after rewinding into a cheese and undergoing a second heat setting.

[0030] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment and examples, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the technical concept thereof.

Claims

1. The material contains animal hair fibers and water-soluble vinylon fibers having a dissolution temperature of 60°C or higher, The British cotton count is 5 to 40, The twist factor is 3.0 to 6.0, The Senar index is 6.5 or less. Blended yarn.

2. The animal hair fiber is wool.

2. The blended yarn of claim 1.

3. The mass ratio of the animal hair fiber is 70% or more, The mass ratio of the water-soluble vinylon fiber is 10% or more.

2. The blended yarn of claim 1.

4. The dissolution temperature of the water-soluble vinylon fiber is 75° C. or higher.

2. The blended yarn of claim 1.

5. A step of blending animal hair fiber and water-soluble vinylon fiber having a dissolution temperature of 60°C or higher with an English cotton count of 5 to 40 and a twist factor of 3.0 to 6.0; a step of heat setting at a temperature of 40° C. or more and a temperature lower than the dissolution temperature of the water-soluble vinylon fiber by 20° C. or less; A method for producing a blended yarn comprising the steps of: