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Yarn Eveness
Yarn Eveness
Yarn Evenness
Overview
Yarn evenness is a measure of the level of variation in yarn linear density or
mass per unit length of yarn. In other words, it refers to the variation in yarn
count along its length. It is the evenness of staple spun yarn that is of concern
here. Continuously filament yarns have virtually no variation in linear density so
evenness is not an issue for those yarns. A yarn with poor evenness will have
thick and thin places along yarn length, while an even yarn will have little
variation in mass or thickness along length. While a yarn may vary in many
properties, evenness is the most important quality aspect of a yarn, because
variations in other yarn properties are often a direct result of yarn count
irregularity. We already know that twist tends to accumulate in the thin places in
yarn, so irregularity in yarn linear density will cause variations in twist along yarn
length. This preferential concentration of twist in thin places along a yarn also
exacerbates the variations in yarn diameter or thickness, which often adversely
affects the appearance of the resultant fabrics. An irregular yarn will also vary in
strength along the yarn. The weakest link theory says a chain is only as
strong as its weakest link. Similarly a yarn is only as strong as its weakest spot.
When there are large variations in yarn linear density, there will be many thin
spots in the yarn, which are often the weak spots (despite its relatively high twist
concentration).
This brief overview highlights the importance of yarn evenness. But what makes
an even yarn then? Can we make a spun yarn as even as a continuously
filament yarn? If not, how do we measure and control yarn evenness? These
questions will be answered in this module. The first topic addresses the
theoretical aspects of evenness. This is followed by the 2 nd topic discussing the
measurement of evenness.
Topic 1
Objectives
At the end of this topic you should be able to:
Figure 1.1 depicts such an ideal fibre assembly with perfect evenness.
Fig. 1.1: A perfectly even fibre assembly with uniform fibres and butted fibre
ends
While the first condition may be achievable with manufactured staple fibres,
natural fibres such as cotton and wool always exhibit variations in thickness
along fibre length.
To satisfy condition (2) would mean that the fibre ends are butted together
(Figure 1.1). In other words, as one fibre terminates, another must be
introduced to take its place. This would require control and manipulation of each
fibre in the fibre assembly by the processing machinery. This is not possible with
current processing technology.
Because of the variable nature of fibres, particularly natural fibres, and the
difficulty with individual fibre placement in the fibre assembly using current
technology, a perfectly even yarn is unattainable in practice. Therefore, a real
yarn (or any other fibre assembly) would always have some irregularity in linear
density, because the way fibres are arranged deviates from whats required to
make a perfectly even yarn. The question then is how does the current fibre
processing machinery arrange fibres? Without this knowledge, we can not
possibly know what would be the likely irregularity for such an arrangement.
To answer this question, we need to look at the whole fibre to yarn processes
and examine what each process does to the fibres. In the Introduction to Fibre
Science and Textile Technology unit, we have discussed, separately, the
processes involved in manufacturing cotton and worsted yarns. Let us now
briefly recap the key processes, from the perspective of fibre arrangement,
before we move onto the theoretical aspects of evenness.
gradually. In the initial blending of fibres from bales, small tufts of fibres are
picked up and combined to make a homogenous blend first. For intimate blend,
the fibre tufts need to be opened out into individual fibres, in the carding
process that follows.
A key objective of carding is fibre opening. Only when fibres are opened out into
individual fibres can different fibres lie side by side to achieve an intimate blend.
After blending and carding, fibres are more or less randomized. Preserving this
randomness is a key objective of the subsequent drawing process.
During gilling of wool or drawing of cotton, several slivers are doubled together
first and drafted to reduce its thickness. Doubling is a random operation
because no deliberate attempt is made to compensate for thick places by
doubling them against selected thin places. If the fibre ends in the individual
slivers are randomly distributed, they will still be randomly distributed after
doubling. If drafting is done properly, this randomness will persist into the
drafted sliver. One problem with maintaining the random fibre ends distribution
is the fibre length variation. If fibre length is very variable or if there are many
short fibres in the slivers before drafting, the short fibres tend to be drafted in
tufts rather than individually, and a drafting wave appears in the drafted sliver.
Since a drafting wave is a practically periodic variation in the number of fibres
in the cross sections along the sliver, it defeats the randomness of fibre ends
distribution. For this reason, some fibre control devices, such as pressure bars
in drawing and faller bars in gilling, are often used to minimize the drafting
waves and improve the random distribution of fibre ends. Similarly, in the roving
process and during the drafting stage of spinning, fibres are also controlled
during drafting.
From this brief discussion of the fibre to yarn conversion, we can see that
throughout the different processes involved, random fibre distribution is a key
objective. If all processes perform perfectly, we will end up with a completely
random distribution of fibre ends in the resultant yarn. We call this yarn an ideal
yarn, and the irregularity of this yarn the limiting irregularity.. Limiting
irregularity is therefore the minimum irregularity that we must expect from any
real yarn or other fibre assemblies. A thorough understanding of the concept of
limiting irregularity is essential for the understanding of yarn evenness in
particular, and yarn quality in general.
x1 x 2 x 3 ....... x n x i
n
n
(1.1)
__
__
( x1 x) 2 ( x2 x) 2 ..... ( xn x) 2
n 1
__
( x x)
n 1
(1.2)
s
__
(1.3)
100%
| xi
__
x|
100 %
__
(1.3a)
The CV thus calculated will be the measured CV, or effective CV. It is the actual
CV of the yarn concerned. The U% value is listed here for completeness.
Increasingly, it is the CV or CV% value that gets used for this purpose. For a
fault-free yarn with random variations in thickness or linear density, the following
relationship exists between the U value and the CV value.
CV 1.25 U
(1.3b)
Modern instrument, such as the Uster Evenness Tester, can measure the U and
CV values of a fibre assembly at a high speed. More on evenness
measurement will be discussed later.
Coming back to the concept of limiting irregularity, we have said before this is
the minimum irregularity that must be expected from even an ideal yarn with
random fibre ends distribution. The limiting irregularity is also expressed as a
CV value, denoted as CVlim here. Early works in this area have derived the
following very important expressions for the limiting irregularity of various yarns
with random fibre ends distribution.
(1)
100
n
(1.4)
where n is the average number of fibres in yarn cross section.
(2)
CV lim
100 1 0.0001 CV A
(1.5)
(1.6)
The fibre variability of synthetic staples may be ignored and we can simply use
equation (1.4) to calculate the limiting irregularity of a assembly of synthetic
staple fibres.
CVlim ( synthetic staple)
100
n
(1.6a)
Because of the small fibre variability in cotton, we can not simply use equation
(1.4) to work out the limiting iregularity. Instead, the following equation is used
to calculate the limiting irregularity of cotton fibre assemblies.
CVlim
106
n
(1.6b)
Worked example:
A cotton yarn of 25s English cotton count (Ne) consists of cotton with a
micronaire value of 4.1 ( g inch ). What is the limiting irregularity of this cotton
yarn?
Firstly we need to work out the number of fibres in yarn cross section using
formula (1.6). To do that we need to use the same count unit, tex, for both fibres
and yarns.
From the first module, we already know the conversion between English cotton
and tex count systems ( tex
590.5
). Therefore, the yarn count in tex is
Ne
590.5
23.62 tex .
25
4 .1 g
4.110 6 g
10 6 g
10 6 g
10 6 g
g
1.61
1.61
1
.
61
0.161
0 .1
2
5
inch
2.54 cm
cm
1000 m
10 m
10 1000 m
Using equation (1.6), the average number of fibres in yarn cross section is:
n
23.62 tex
146.7
0.161 tex
Applying equation (1.6b), we get the limiting irregularity for this yarn:
CV lim
106
n
106
146.7
8.75 (%)
This would be the minimum irregularity that must be expected of this yarn. The
actual measured irregularity of the yarn would be slightly higher than this ideal
figure.
Wool fibres
For wool fibre, it is the fibre diameter and diameter CV that get measured, not
the fibre cross section area and its CV. In addition, the average number of fibres
in yarn cross section is not as easy to get as the yarn count. The following
equation has been derived to calculate the average number of fibres in the
cross section of worsted yarns consisting of 100% wool fibres, assuming a fibre
density of 1.31 g/cm3.
n
972 tex
2
D (1 0.0001 CV D )
2
(1.7)
where:
Since the bulk of the merino wool fibres has a CV D of about 24.5%, the above
equation is often simplified to:
n
917 tex
D2
(1.7a)
3.2 D 1 0.0005 CV D
tex
(1.8)
For a given yarn count (tex), the finer the fibre in the yarn, the less the yarn
irregularity. This is the main reason why fine fibres are more expensive than
coarse fibres.
For fibres of a given fineness (D), the finer the yarn, the more irregular it is.
This explains why for a given fibre fineness, there is a limit on the finest yarn
count. It is worth noting that the concept of irregularity applies to not just
yarns, but fibre assemblies in general. Therefore, for a given fibre fineness,
the irregularity of sliver will be less than that of roving, and rovings
irregularity will be less than yarn irregularity. This can also be explained by
considering the different number of fibres in those fibre assemblies.
If you reduce the CV of fibre diameter, the irregularity of the yarn decreases.
Put differently, if you reduce the fibre diameter CV by 5, you may increase
the fibre diameter by 1 micron without significantly affecting the yarn
irregularity. This is the so-called 5-to-1 rule of thumb.
The equations for wool appear rather complex. A simpler equation for wool is
given below:
CVlim ( wool )
112
n
(1.8a)
Given the count of the blend yarn Tb, and the blend ratio of fibre component Pi,
the count of each component Ti can be worked out according to the formula
below:
Ti
Tb Pi
100
(1.9)
Once we know the count of each component yarn, the limiting irregularity of the
blend yarn of n fibre components is given as follows,
CVlim (blend )
(1.10)
The following example brings what we have discussed together.
Worked Example:
13.5 (tex)
100
100
Tb Pp 30 55
Tp
16.5 (tex )
100
100
Tw
Using equation (1.6), the average number of fibres in the polyester component
(np) can be worked out as:
np
66
2.5 dtex
2.5 dtex
Since polyester staple has little variability in fineness, we can then use equation
(2.4) to work out the limiting irregularity of the polyester component:
CV p lim
100
n
100
66
12.3 (%)
CV w lim
3.2 D 1 0.0005 CV D
tex
3.2 22 1 0.0005 25 2
13.5
21.95 (%)
Finally, we can use equation (2.10) to work out the limiting irregularity of the
blend yarn,
CVlim (blend )
CVlim
1.25
(1.11)
CV
eff
CVlim
(2.12)
12 (%)
Figure 1.2 shows changes in CV and I of the fibre assemblies at different stages
of the fibre to yarn conversion. It is worth noting that the trends for CV and I are
quite different. The index of irregularity (I) gradually decreases with further
processing. This indicates that the fibre assembly is increasingly approaching
an ideal one. In other words, with further processing, the fibre ends distribution
is getting more and more random. As mentioned early, promoting random fibre
ends distribution is a key objective of fibre to yarn processing. At the yarn stage,
the index of irregularity is approaching one, suggesting that the yarn is
approaching an ideal yarn.
On the other hand, there is a general trend for the effective (or actual) CV of the
fibre assemblies to increase during fibre to yarn processing, with the CV of the
resultant yarn higher than the rovings and the slivers. This is a reflection of the
decreasing thickness of the fibre assemblies, and reducing number of fibres in
the cross section of the fibre assemblies. At the yarn stage, the number of fibres
in the cross section is the lowest, hence the CV of the yarn is the highest.
This example again demonstrates the difference between the CV value and the
I value. The I value provides a good indication of how close a fibre assembly is
to an idea one with random fibre ends distribution. Because of this, the I value is
often used as a quality control parameter for assessing the performance of
drawing and spinning. For instance, if the I value is obtained at every
processing stage, and an increase in I value is found after the 2 nd drawing as
indicated by the broken line in Figure 1.2, that immediately tells us that the 2 nd
drawing is a defective one and should be fixed. If all processing stages are
under control, the I values should progressively decrease from start to the end
of the processing as indicated by the solid line for I values in Figure 1.2.
CVeff
Defective passage
CVeff
I
1
Carded
sliver
Roving Yarn
11
Unlike the CV% and U% values, the index of irregularity (I) is independent of
the count of the fibre assembly. This makes it an ideal tool for use in the control
chart. For instance, if the I value is obtained at the roving stage for every
processing lot and plotted on a control chart, abnormalities may be easily
identified before the final spinning stage.
CVI
where:
CV
(1.13)
CV 2 out CV 2 in CV 2 add
CV add CV 2 out CV 2 in
or
(1.14)
The added irregularity comes from two sources reduction in the number of
fibres in cross section and imperfect drafting.
The following example will help understand the concepts here.
Worked example
Eight slivers, with an average irregularity CV of 4%, were fed to a drawframe.
The drawn sliver has a CV value of 3%. What is the total irregularity introduced
during the drawing process?
Solution
The above problem can be graphically represented as:
Sliver 1
CVadd = ?
CVout = 3%
Sliver 8
CVave = 4%
First of all, we need to know the CV of the input material (CVin). According to
the law of doubling (equation 1.13), this can be easily calculated:
___
CVin CV
n
4
8
1.4 (%)
Now that we know CVin and CVout is already given as 3%, we can calculate the
CV introduced during drawing (CVadd) using equation 1.14.
CVadd
CV 2 out CV 2 in
Review questions
1. In the calculation of limiting irregularity, information on fibre length is not
used. This implies that fibre length has noting to do with the theoretical yarn
evenness. Yet in practice, fibres with shorter length and higher length
variations usually make less even yarns, other things being equal. How do
you explain this 'discrepancy'?
2. A yarn is composed of 40/60 wool/cotton blend and has a linear density of
20 Nec (cotton count). The cotton has a fineness of 3.8 micronaire ( g / inch
) and the wool has an average diameter of 19 m (1 m = 10 -6 m) and a
diameter CV of 25%. What is the limiting irregularity of this wool/cotton yarn?
If the blend ratio is changed to 20/80 wool/cotton, is the yarn evenness likely
to improve or deteriorate, compared with the 40/60 wool/cotton blend ratio?
(you need to show your workings).
3. In his classical book "Studies of quality in cotton", published by Macmillan
and Co., Limited in 1928, W. Lawrence Balls described such a paradox - the
weaker the fibre, the stronger the yarn! Please explain this paradox, using
the information provided in this topic.
Topic 2
Objectives
At the end of this topic you should be able to:
Fibre
assembly
Capacitor
Electronic
signal
Processing
Display
Printing
Fig. 2.3: The single overall results for a 100% cotton yarn (Uster News Bulletin
No 35, October 1988, p14).
Um
CVm
CVm(1m)
Index
The index of irregularity (I) value, which is always greater than one
as indicated in the print-out.
Q95%
Please note that the thin places, thick places, and neps are called the
imperfections.
Diagram
A diagram is simply a trace of mass (linear density) variation along a fibre
assembly. For instance, if you dissect a long length of yarn into many very short
sections and then weigh each section, you will get many mass readings (x i) as
shown in Figure 2.4.
Mass
xi (individual mass readings)
Mean
mass
Length
Fig. 2.5: A diagram showing an extreme thin place in the sliver (Furter 1982,
p.12)
Spectrograms
The single overall results are very useful in that they provide evenness
information in concise single values. These single values are easy to use for
comparison purpose in particular. For instance, the CV% or index of irregularity
of one yarn is higher than another similar yarn, we can say one yarn is better
than the other in terms of yarn evenness. But that is often not sufficient for
quality control purpose. Suppose we now know from the single overall results
(eg. CV, I) that a yarn is not good in evenness, and we want to find out what has
caused the irregularity in the yarn. Once we know what has caused the
irregularity, we can then try to rectify the problem. For this, we need the
spectrograms.
Before we discuss the spectrogram, it is necessary to say a few words about
the nature of mass variations in a fibre assembly. We already know that random
fibre arrangements lead to mass variation, and this variation can be precisely
calculated as discussed in the limiting irregularity section. If that is all the
variation we get, then we have nothing more to worry about, because that is
exactly what we aim for in a yarn. Unfortunately we often get more than just the
random variations, for two common reasons:
(a) Variability in fibre length and the presence of short fibres make fibre control
during drafting difficult, this leads to non-random variations in a fibre
assembly. Such non-random variation is called a drafting wave. It is called
a drafting wave because the mass variation occurs in a more or less periodic
manner in the drafted material, much like a wave of variations along the
length of the fibre assembly.
(b) There may be machine defects or mechanical faults in the drafting systems,
which causes changes in drafting speed and the actual draft periodically,
leading to rather strictly periodic mass variations in the drafted fibre
assembly.
Here we need to reflect upon what has been discussed on Roller Drafting in the
Introduction to Fibre Science and Textile Technology unit. For roller drafting, as
depicted in Figure 2.6, the most important concept is the concept of perfect
roller drafting.
Front rollers
Back rollers
Slower
Faster
Ratch setting
nip. Then the fibre gets instantly accelerated to the front roller speed. If this is
what actually happens in roller drafting, we will get a drafted fibre assembly with
random variation of fibre ends only. However, when there are many short fibres
in the drafting zone, these short fibres will not move according to the
requirements of roller drafting. They float and swim together in the drafting
zone, the speed at which they travel depends on the speed of their
neighbouring fibres. The end result is some practically (i.e. not strictly) periodic
mass variation in the drafted material. Such practically periodic mass variation
caused by floating short fibres is called a drafting wave, and its wave length is
approximately 2.5 to 3 times the average fibre length of the fibre assembly.
With good fibre control, using pressure bars (on cotton drawframe) and pinned
faller basr (on worsted gillbox), drafting waves can be significantly reduced or
eliminated.
A common machine defect or mechanical fault of drafting elements is roller
eccentricity, as indicated in Figure 2.7.
Eccentric front
bottom roller
Drafted material
Speed varies
with radius
R
Wave length
(Roller circumference)
Eccentric back
bottom roller
Drafted material
R
r
Wave length
(Roller circumference x draft)
reduction in draft and hence a thicker section in the drafted material. The
opposite is the case at the smaller radius of rotation (r). Not only that, the
periodic mass variation caused by the back eccentric roller will be lengthened
by a factor of the draft used. In other words, the wave length of the periodic
mass variation caused by a back eccentric roller will be equal to the roller
circumference multiplied by a factor of draft, as indicated in Figure 2.7.
Periodic mass variations in a yarn often result in unwanted patterning in fabrics
made from such yarns. They also lead to increased ends down during spinning
and subsequent processing. It is essential in yarn manufacture to prevent the
occurrence of such mass variations in slivers, rovings or yarns. Furthermore,
the presence of periodic or practically periodic mass variations in a fibre
assembly does not necessarily result in significant increases in the CV% value
or in the index of irregularity. So the CV% value or index of irregularity will not
indicate the presence of those mass variations. But how do we know if a fibre
assembly has a drafting wave or periodic mass variation then? This question
leads us back to discussion on spectrograms.
Hypothetically, if a yarn has mass variations that resemble a sinusoidal wave as
shown in Figure 2.8(a), then a mathematical (Fourier) transformation of such a
mass variation signal will reveal the frequency (f) of such variation as a sharp
peak shown in Figure 2.8(b). For a signal that is not as simple as just a
sinusoidal wave, it has been proven mathematically that it can be constructed
by superimposing a series of sinusoidal waves of varying frequencies.
Therefore, if the original mass variation in the yarn is of a more complex shape
as shown in Figure 2.8(c), then the same mathematical transformation will
reveal the frequency of each of its sinusoidal components as shown Figure
2.8(d). The different amplitude reflects the different share of the respective
component in the original signal.
Amplitude
Amplitude
(a)
(b)
Transformation
Time
(c)
Frequency
(d)
Transformation
Time
f1
f2
f3 Frequency
mass variation in addition to the random variation, then the frequency of that
periodic mass variation will show up as a sharp peak after the transformation.
Put differently, if a mass variation signal is subjected to a transformation and a
sharp peak (chimney) appears in the transformed signal, then we know there
is a periodic mass variation in the fibre assembly. This is basically how
spectrogram works. Since wave length is more useful than frequency for textile
purposes, the spectrogram indicates the different wave lengths (on a
logarithmic scale) versus their amplitude. Modern evenness testing
instruments, such as the Uster Evenness Tester, provide diagrams as well as
spectrograms for the fibre assembly tested. The diagram is a time domain mass
variation signal, while the spectrogram represents the same mass variation in
the frequency domain. Figure 2.9 shows the diagrams and spectrograms of 3
different yarns normal yarn with random variation only, faulty yarn with
additional periodic mass variation, and faulty yarn with additional drafting wave.
Index of irregularity
Uster Statistics
Yarnspec (for worsted yarn only)
Index of irregularity
Table 2.1 shows a classification of worsted yarns based on the index of
irregularity of the yarn.
Table 2.1: Classification of worsted yarns based on the index of irregularity
(Source: Textile Quality, M. Bona, p253, 1994)
Index of irregularity (I)
Bornet Classification
Monfort Classification
1.1
Excellent
Very even
1.2
1.3
Very good
Even
1.4
Good
1.5
Mediocre
Irregular quality
1.6
Poor
1.7
1.8
Very irregular
Since processing technology is improving and so is yarn quality, the data in this
table may not reflect the quality of worsted yarns in the future. Generally
speaking, a good quality worsted yarn should not have an index of irregularity
greater than 1.2 by todays standard.
Uster statistics
While the evenness index value is of use to the yarn manufacturers for internal
quality control purpose, what matters to the users of yarn (i.e the weavers and
knitters) is the actual irregularity in the yarn they are going to use. For this
reason, the Uster Statistics is of great practical importance.
So what is the Uster Statistics then? The following excerpts from the 1997 Uster
Statistics Book (produced by Zellweger Uster) answer this question briefly:
Almost half a century ago, in 1949, the first Uster Standards were
presented to the textile public in numerical form. This started a new era in
2
100% CO, carded, ring spinning 100% carded cotton (ring spun)
100% CO, carded, rotor spinning 100% carded cotton (rotor spun)
100% CO, combed, ring spinning 100% combed cotton (ring spun)
100% CO, combed, rotor spinning 100% combed cotton (rotor spun)
100% CO, carded, rotor spinning 100$ carded cotton (rotor spun)
100% WO, worsted spinning 100% wool yarn (worsted ring spun)
Figure 2.10 shows selected charts for mass variation and imperfections from
the 1997 Uster statistics book. The nomograms or percentile lines refer to the
total world production that equals or exceeds the measurement value given for
a particular yarn description.
(a) Evenness and imperfection statistics for 100% cotton, carded rotor spoun
yarns
(b) Evenness and imperfection statistics for 100% cotton, combed ring spun
yarns
(c) Evenness and imperfection statistics for 100% wool, worsted ring spun yarns
Figure 2.10: Uster statistics for selected yarns - (a) Carded cotton yarn; (b)
Combed cotton yarn; (c) Worsted wool yarns (Uster Statistics 1997, p. 118,
p.120, p.74, p.168, p.170).
Example:
You have an 60 Ne (Nm 100, or 10 tex) 100% combed cotton yarn with a
measured CV of 13.9+0.2%, and you want to know how good the yarn is in
terms of its evenness.
First of all, you need to find the statistics for the right type of yarn from the Uster
Statistics book, then you need to identify from the x-axis the yarn count. In this
example, a vertical line drawn from the x-axis at 60 Ne (Nm 100 or 10 tex)
intersects with the two horizontal lines drawn from the y-axis at 13.7% and
14.1% CV (lower and upper confidence limits for this yarn) right at the 25% line.
This means only 25% of all Ne60 combed cotton ring spun yarns produced
worldwide have a CV of 13.9% or better. In other words, this particular yarn is
better than 75% of the total world production of comparable Ne60 combed
cotton yarns in terms of yarn evenness.
Using a similar approach, we can interpret other Uster statistics.
2
For the Imperfections listed in Figure 2.10, it should be noted that the standard
sensitivity levels (-50%, +50%, +200%) are indicated for the thin places, thick
places, and neps respectively. If the yarn is not tested at these sensitivity levels
on the Uster Evenness Tester, we can not use these Uster Statistics for
comparison.
Finally, it should be stressed that there are restrictions on the interpretation
and application of Uster Statistics. These restrictions include:
Uster Statistics do not provide direct access to information about the raw
materials used in spinning. Good quality, more expensive fibres are usually
spun into good quality yarns. Therefore, a yarn with a CV% below the 5%
line on the Uster Statistics chart may be indicative of a high cost yarn.
Similarly, a yarn with a CV% value above the 75% line may not be all that
good in terms of evenness, but it may be indicative of a very attractive price
and just the right quality for the target markets. The Uster Statistics is merely
a global survey of yarn quality as produced in every part of the world.
Whether or not these qualities are produced economically from adequate
raw materials and offered at a legitimate price is beyond the scope of the
Uster Statistics.
Yarns intended for different end uses have different quality requirements.
For example the requirements of weaving and knitting yarns are often
different. Therefore, yarn quality should be judged in the context of its end
use.
The quality of yarns is a moving target. As technology improves quality
standards also change. Figure 2.11 shows the improvement in yarn
evenness (U%) over a period of almost 50 years.
Therefore, the validity of the information provided in the 1997 Uster Statistics
is confined to the period of time covered by the data, although it can usually
serve as a quality guide over an extended period of 5 years or more.
The yarn quality data refer to ecru yarns. In the worsted industry, top dyeing
is common to produce coloured yarns. In such case, the Uster Statistics
should be used with caution.
Yarn details
Yarn count
Yarn twist
Dyed or undyed