Fancy or Novelty or Decorative yarns
Fancy yarns are special products of spinning, twisting, wrapping, texturing and knitting, etc. The
demand for yarns with structural and/or optical effects is due to the special aesthetic and high
decorative appeal to the woven, knitted materials, and other textiles as well. Textile materials
that are produced using yarns with effects find applications in normal and high fashion clothing.
Fancy yarns have deliberately introduced irregular characteristics, in either diameter and bulk
and/or in color, etc. as well as virtually new structures composed of fibers, yarns or other
products that differentiate them from conventionally spun or multifilament yarns. New looks,
structures and raw materials of fancy yarns are constantly in demand.
Some properties or character of Fancy Yarns
*Fancy yarns usually have a base or core yarn which is a conventional plain yarn, this yarn is
combined with the effect yarn.
*The effect yarn can be held in place with a binding yarn.
*Fancy yarn can be made from staple or filament fibres.
*They are intentionally produced to have a distorted or irregular construction.
*There are many types of fancy, novelty and decorative yarns. They can be produced in many
ways.
¬Different colored fibre can be blended together then spun as one yarn.
¬Color can be applied by printing or dyeing pattern onto yarn.
¬Sports of colored fibre can be twisted in with base yarn.
¬Two or more threads of different softness, thickness, weight, color or fiber content can be
twisted together.
¬Raised textured can be introduced by controlling the amount and direction of twist.
- Some types of such yarns are produced from “fancy fiber” or “fancy slivers” used as minor
components of yarns made by spinners with normal equipment
*Fancy yarns can be natural or man-made or a combination of both.
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End-uses of Fancy Yarns
*Fancy yarns are used in weaving of suiting, shirting, dress material, upholstery, furnishing
fabric & woolen tweeds.
*They are also used in the knitting industry.
*These are used for beauty & appeal enhancement.
*By using fancy yarns the end product gets a boost in its visual appeal, which in turn improves
its sales realization.
*These yarns can be used in power looms, hand looms, flat knitting and all type of circular
knitting machine.
*These fancy yarns are synthesized on state of art hollowed fancy machines.
* Such yarns are also used for decorative textiles like
curtains
carpets
ladies and children Outerwear
Decor materials and textile fabrics in the corporate sector, as for example in the trim of a car
or textile furnishing of a hotel lobby are becoming more and more important.
Different types of fancy yarns that are available are briefly described.
Marl Yarn
This is the simplest among the fancy yarns and is made by twisting two different colored yarns
by doubling process. It is different from normal double yarn in the sense of texture.
Figure 1: Structure of Marl Yarn.
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The yarn structure shown in Figure 1 above clearly shows the alternation of the colors that is the
primary effect of marl yarn, as well as demonstrating the plain structure, which is that of an
ordinary folded yarn.
Use
These yarns are used make to good effect in discreet pinstripes for men‟s suiting‟s or to produce
a subtly and irregularly patterned knitted fabric with a relatively simple fabric construction. They
may also be used to provide a Lurex or other metallic yarn with strong support, while at the same
time creating a more subtle effect.
Spiral or Corkscrew yarn
Spiral or corkscrew yarn is a plied yarn that displays a characteristic smooth spiraling of one
component around the other. Figure 2 shows the basic structure, which is straightforward, except
in the differing lengths of the two yarns involved, very similar to the structure of a marl yarn.
Figure 2: Structure of Spiral or Corkscrew Yarn
Gimp Yarn
Gimp yarn is a compound yarn consisting of a twisted core with an effect yarn wrapped around it
so as to produce wavy projections on its surface. This structure is shown in Figure 3.
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Figure 3: Structure of Gimp Yarn
Once a binder yarn is needed to bring the stability of the structure, the yarn is produced in two
stages. Two yarns of widely varying counts are plied together, thick around thin, and then
reverse bound. Reverse binding removes of twist that creates the wavy profiles, since it makes
the effect yarns longer than the actual length of the completed yarn. The texture properties of a
gimp are clearly better than those of a spiral yarn, as apart from being different. The finer of the
two gimps shows that the effect is less regular, and even perhaps less well-defined.
Diamond Yarn
Diamond yarn is produced by folding a coarse single yarn or roving with a fine yarn or filament
having contrasting color using S-twist, and cabling it with a similar fine yarn using Z-twist.
Multi-fold or “cabled” yarns may be made by extending and varying this technique, to bring
about a wide range of effects. Clearly, a true diamond yarn would show some compression effect
upon the thick yarn from the thin ones, an effect which in the interests of clarity is not provided
in Figure 4.
Figure 4: Structure of Diamond Yarn
This is a yarn that can be very useful to designers looking to create subtle effects of color and
texture, particularly in relatively simple fabric structures.
Boucle yarn
This types of yarns are characterized by tight loops projecting from the body of the yarn at nearly
regular intervals, as shown if Figure 5. Some of these yarns are made by air-jet texturing, but
most are of three-ply constructions. The three components of the yarn are the core, the effect,
and the tie, or binder. The effect yarn has the loops wrapped around a core, or base yarn, and
then the third ply, or binder, is wrapped over the effect ply in order to hold the loops in place.
The individual plies could be filament or spun yarns. The characteristics of these yarns determine
the ultimate design effect.
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Figure 5: Structure of Boucle Yarn
Loop Yarn
Loop yarn has core with an effect yarn wrapped around it and overfed so as to produce nearly
circular projection on its surface. Figure 6 shows the structure of a loop yarn, in this case
somewhat simplified by showing the core as two straight bars. In reality, the core, which for a
loop yarn always consists of two yarns twisted together, which, can entrap the effect yarn.
loop yarn has core with an effect yarn wrapped around it and overfed so as to produce nearly
circular projection on its surface. Figure 6 shows the structure of a loop yarn, in this case
somewhat simplified by showing the core as two straight bars. In reality, the core, which for a
loop yarn always consists of two yarns twisted together, which can entrap the effect yarn.
Figure 6: Structure of Loop Yarn
Snarl Yarn
Like the loop yarn, the snarl yarn has twisted core, although, again for the sake of simplicity, the
core has been shown in Figure 7 as two parallel bars. A snarl yarn is one which displays “snarls”
or “twists” projecting from the core. It is produced by similar method to the loop yarn, but uses a
lively, high twist yarn and a somewhat greater degree of overfeed as the effect yarn.
The required size and frequency of the snarls may be obtained by careful control of the details of
overfeed and spinning tension, and by the level of twist in the effect yarn.
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Figure 7: Structure of Snarl Yarn
Knop Yarn
knop yarn is one that contains prominent bunches of one or more of its component threads,
arranged at regular or irregular intervals along its length (Figure 8 ).
This normally produced by using an apparatus that has two pairs of rollers, each capable of being
operated independently. This makes it possible to deliver the base threads intermittently, while
the knopping threads that create the effect are delivered continuously. The knopping threads join
the foundation threads below the knopping bars. The insertion of twist collects the knopping
threads into a bunch or knop. The vertical movement of the knopping threads results in formation
of a bunch or knop. The vertical movement of the knopping bars decides whether the knop is
small and compact or spread out along some length of the yarn.
Figure 8: Structure of Knop Yarn
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Slub Yarn
Slub yarn is one in which slubs have been deliberately created to make the desired discontinuity
type of effect. Slubs are thick places in the yarn. They can take the form of a very gradual
change, with only a slight thickening of the yarn at its thickest point. Alternatively, the slub may
be three or four times the thickness of the base yarn, and the increase in thickness may be
achieved within a short length of yarn. The yarn pictures in Figure 9 should give a clear
impression of the structure of the yarn itself.
Figure 9: Structure of Slub Yarn
Fasciated Yarn
Fasciated yarn is a staple fiber yarn that consists of a core of a parallel fibers bound together by
wrapper fibers. Yarns made under the air jet spinning method are of this structure. The yarns
produced under the hollow spindle method are also frequently described as fasciated, since the
binder is applied to an essentially twistless core of parallel fibers.
The fasciated yarn, shown in Figure 10, is produced using the hollow spindle process. It is
possible to see the fibers that have escaped and the dark binding thread that contrast with one of
the two slivers used as feed-stock in making the yarn.
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Figure 10: Structure of Fasciated Yarn
Tape yarn
Tape yarns may be produced using various processes; braiding, warp knitting and weft knitting
being among them (Figure 11). In recent years, these materials have become better known,
especially in fashion knitwear. It is also possible to use narrow woven ribbons, or narrow tapes
of non-woven material, or slit film, in the same way.
Figure 11: Structure of Metallic Tricot Tape Yarn
Chainette Yarn
The Chainette yarn, shown in Figure 12, is produced in miniature circular weft knitting process,
often using a filament yarn and a ring of between 6 and 20 needles. They have been seen in small
quantities for many years, and are being used extensively in fashion knitwear.
Figure 12: Structure of Chainette yarn
Chenille Yarn
Chenille yarn is a kind of fancy yarn which charms because of its gleam and softness. Chenille
yarns are constructed by twisting core yarns together in chenille yarn machines, where cut pile
yarns are inserted at right angles to the core yarn surface to create a surface in which the fibres
contained in the pile yarns
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Chenille yarn can be made from many different types of fibers and yarns. Most common are
cotton, viscose (rayon), acrylic, and polypropylene (olefin).
Chenille yarn can be made in many different sizes, ranging from as heavy as 0.2 Nm to as fine as
12.0 Nm.
Figure 13: Structure of Chenille yarn
Ribbon Yarns
These yarns are not produced by spinning. They are finely knitted tubes, pressed flat to resemble
ribbon or tape. The ribbons are usually soft, shiny and silky.
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Covered or Core-spun Yarns
Covered yarns have a core yarn this is completely covered by fiber or another yarn. Figure 14
shows different types of covered yarns. The core might be an elastomeric yarn, such as rubber or
spandex, or yarns, such as polyester or nylon. Covered yarns may have either a single covering
or double covering. The second covering is usually twisted in the direction opposite from the
first covering.
These yarns are lighter, more resilient, and more economical than double covered yarns and can
be used in satin, batiste, broadcloth, and suiting as well as for lightweight foundation garment.
Most ordinary elastic yarns are double-covered to give them balance and better coverage. Fabrics
made with these yarns are heavier.
Figure 14: Different Types of Covered Yarns
Metallic Yarns
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Figure 15: Cross-section of Lamination used for making Metallic Yarns.
It has been used for thousands of years. The laminating process seals a layer of aluminum
between two layers of acetate or polyester film, which is then cut into strips for yarns, as shown
in Figure 15. The film may be transparent, so the aluminum foils shows through, or the film
and/or the adhesive may be colored before the laminating process. The metallizing process
vaporizes the aluminum at high pressure and deposits it on the polyester film
Chenile yarn
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Loop yarn
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End-uses of plied yarns:
2 Ply 3- Ply Cabled yarn
poplins sewing threads industrial yarns
voiles Industrial yarns electrical insulation
gabardines canvas shoe laces
crepes filter cloths cords
sewing threads conveyor belts V-belts
general purpose embroidery embroidery
Market Potential of Fancy Yarns:
While considering the market for fancy yarns, we need to remember that these goods are not
commodity items, and nor will they ever be. Their purpose is to add colour or texture, or both. So
market value of fancy yarns will remain negligible with compared to the rest of the textile
market. But due to the consequence of liberalization in trade with countries like China a great
interest in fancy yarn area is noticed in textile market all over the world. Due to liberalization in
fancy yarns sector trade between Europe and Asia, the main Asian producers of fancy yarns
compete with each other to offer more and more sophisticated products.
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