Processing and quality of cashmere tops for ultrafine wool worsted blend fabrics

Abstract

This study has focussed on three main areas. First, an evaluation of the physical attributes of cashmere tops available to commercial spinners; second, the influence of processing variables on the efficiency of producing cashmere tops from raw Australian cashmere; and third, the influence of design of cashmere ultrafine wool blends on the fibre curvature of tops. Testing the physical attributes of cashmere tops from traditional and new sources of supply, was followed by statistical analyses based on factors of origin, processor and other determinants. The analyses demonstrated important processor effects and also that cashmere from different origins shows commercially important variations in fibre attributes. It was possible to efficiently produce Australian cashmere tops with Hauteur, tenacity, extension, softness and residual guard hairs quality attributes equivalent to those observed in the best cashmere tops. The blending of cashmere with wool resulted in a reduction of the mean fibre curvature of the blend compared with the unblended wool. The present work demonstrated that the fibre curvature properties of blended low crimp ultrafine wool tops were closer to the properties of pure cashmere tops than were tops made from blended standard high crimp ultrafine wool. The attributes of textiles made from the relatively rare Australian low curvature cashmere could enhance the marketability of both Australian cashmere and low curvature wool. 1.Introduction Cashmere is a rare exotic animal fibre used to produce soft luxurious apparel. It is expensive to purchase, and needs specialist processing, details of which are kept as tightly guarded secrets. Given the lack of technical information available on the dehairing, worsted processing and quality of cashmere textiles, a series of experiments have been completed (McGregor, 2001). This report is part of that larger study which compared the quality and processing of Australian cashmere into tops and the blending and knitted fabric properties of low fibre curvature and high fibre curvature ultrafine wool when blended with Australian cashmere. Forte´ Cashmere Company believed that Australian cashmere had the length of Mongolian cashmere (Hopkins, 1987), a source often used for cashmere top making, but provided no data. The Italian processor Nesti (1989) believed that Australia had the potential to produce fine cashmere of 100mm length, capable of producing a top with a Hauteur of 55 mm. Such a product had not been seen, but no evidence was provided to support his view. Within few years, according to Levinge (1993), companies had developed the ability to produce 50mm Chinese top that matched the performance of Australian cashmere. Despite these views, no commercial processing of Australian worsted cashmere yarn has occurred other than the processing of knitwear samples by Dawson International (Smith, 1987, 1992) and sampling trials by Forte´ and their customers (Anonymous, 1991). In 1992, Smith said that the worsted garments made from 17.5mm Australasian cashmere displayed...

Effect of fibre, yarn and knitted fabric attributes associated with wool comfort properties

“…The dehairing and combing of the cashmere and wool, top making and spinning were carried out as described previously (McGregor & Postle, 2004. Briefly, the finisher gilling of blended tops used a NSC GV11 Vertical Finisher Gillbox (N. Schlumger et Cie, Guebwiller, France).…”

Fabric handle properties of superfine wool fabrics with different fibre curvature, cashmere content and knitting tightness

“…The dehairing and combing of the cashmere and wool, top making and spinning were carried out as described previously (McGregor & Postle, 2004, 2007. Briefly, the finisher gilling of blended tops used a NSC GV11 Vertical Finisher Gillbox (N.Schlumger et Cie, Guebwiller, France).…”

“…Until recently, there was little published literature on the effects of wool fibre crimp (curvature) on the properties of knitwear. Recently, the factors affecting the yarn attributes and knitted fabric quality, low-load compressional behaviour and bending properties of yarns and fabrics made from raw superfine merino wools of MFD 17 μm, but differing in fibre curvature and of blends of those wools with cashmere, were investigated in replicated experiments (McGregor & Postle, 2004, 2007, 2008. It was demonstrated that single jersey knitted fabrics made from high fibre curvature wool compared with those made from low fibre curvature wool differ in many fabric properties including: compressibility, suppleness, air permeability, fabric thickness, mass per unit area, spirality, hygral expansion and dimensional stability during laundering.…”

Cashmere-producing goats in Central Asia and Afghanistan

“…World cashmeres are judged against the industry standard of Chinese white, that accounts for about half of all cashmere produced in the world. The Chinese National Standard has set the upper limit for the mean fibre diameter (MFD) of cashmere at 16.0 µm (+0.5); the trade organisations of the United States, Europe and Japan have set higher diameter thresholds of up to 19 µm (Cashmere and Camel Hair Manufacturers Institute, 2009;Phan and Wortmann, 2000) although some processed cashmere tops have a fibre diameter of 19 to 20 μm (McGregor and Postle, 2004). In addition to fibre diameter, cashmere buyers also have tight specifications for quality based on the diameter distribution of fibres in the fleece, degree of crimp, colour and lustre.…”