O o d h e a d p u b L i s h I n g L i m I t e d

12.3
Processing systems for wool blend yarns
Wool blends can be formed at almost any stage of the process from fibre to
fabric. If blending takes place before or at spinning, a blended yarn is produced.
© 2009 Woodhead Publishing Limited

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High-performance wool blends
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A pure wool yarn can also be plied with a non-wool yarn to form a twist
blend or union blend yarn. Pure wool yarns may be combined with other
yarns during fabric making to produce a union fabric. We will focus on the
production and quality aspects of wool blend yarns.
Fibre length in a wool blend is of primary importance in early stage textile
processes up to spinning. The woollen spinning system is often chosen for
its unique appearance and the bulky handle of its products. The system is
known for its tolerance for processing blends with a wide range of fibre
lengths for both long and short staple fibres. The woollen spinning system
produces relatively coarse count yarns for a given average fibre fineness.
When a smoother and less bulky yarn is required, high-draft spinning systems
that straighten and parallelise the fibres are used. When wool and long staple
synthetic fibres are blended, a long staple worsted spinning system is used.
Short staple fibres, such as cotton, are usually blended with short wools
(short shorn wool, combing noils, broken tops, etc.) and processed on short
staple (cotton) spinning systems.