Cashmere Manufacturing Terms You Need to Know
YARN COUNT
In the textile industry the yarn count measures the texture of the fiber and comes from the Latin word titulus.
In Europe the standard yarn count of 100% cashmere is 2/28000 – this means that it is made of two threads twisted together and they can reach 28000mtl per kg.
The higher is the yarn count, the longer have to be the fibers and this of course helps the processing of textile fibers.
To produce a yarn count 1/16000 or even 1/9000 we could choose, for example, from selections of cashmere wool which can cost much less than half of those we use for the yarn count 2/28000.
WARP and WEFT
The warp is the set of lengthwise threads attached to a loom before weaving begins and through which the weft is woven. Based on thetexture and density of the fabric required, the number of threads is decided per square inch and the cones of yarn are setup on racks to be rolled up over a drum for the required length of yarn. The width of the warp is setup based on the output of the fabric required with a margin set aside for the shrinkage during the manufacturing process.
HEDDLE DRAFTING PROCESS
A heddle is an integral part of a loom. Each thread in the warp passes through a heddle, which is used to separate the warp threads for the passage of the weft. The heddles are fitted on frames that ate suspended on the loom.
Each heddle has an eye in the center where the warp is threaded through. As there is one heddle for each thread of the warp, there can be nearly a thousand heddles for fine or wide warps.
A handwoven throw will generally have between 900 to2000 warp threads and a blanket will have 1700 to 3400 warp threads and thus use that many heddles, sometimes 2 -3 warp threads are passed through one heddle depending on the yarn and texture of the fabric.
The warp is threaded through heddles on different frames in order to obtain different weave structures.
This process of setting up the warp threads through the heddles is known as drafting. It is during the drafting process that the weave pattern is setup.
LOOM SETUP
After the beam has been setup, it is now ready to be installed on the loom. During this stage the weaver takes over and ties the warp to the take-up beam and adjusts the loom’s different components to get the correct fabric and makes a small sample of the weave.
WEAVING
Weaving is a textile craft in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced to form a fabric or cloth. The threads which run lengthways are called the warp and the threads which run across from side to side are the weft.
Cloth is usually woven on a loom, while weft threads are woven through them. Weft is an old English word meaning "that which is woven".A fabric band is one which meets this definition of cloth (warp threads with a weft thread winding between).
The way the warp and weft threads interlace with each other is called the weave.
The above information has been copied from the internet. pa