Blending Cottons Differing Widely in Maturity

Abstract

This investigation compares properties of a Type 128 sheeting woven with yarns spun from a blend of fihers differing widely in fiber fineness with comparable properties of a similar sheeting woven with yarns spun from a control cotton of the same average fineness. The data demonstrate that blending fine with coarse fibers in proportions of 60% to 40% does not detrimentally affect the important physical properties of grey, bleached, and bleached and dyed fabrics. Commercial acceptability evaluations showed that, in general, marketable bleached materials can be manufactured from a blend of extremely fine and coarse fibers. The dyed fabrics were not generally commercially acceptable due to nep imperfections. These findings, which showed that cotton fibers differing extremely in fineness can be utilized successfully when blended properly, revealed that the generally accepted opinion of unsatisfactory processing performance of blends containing fibers of widely different finenesses may be due to the inadequacy of present blending systems and methods rather than the properties of the fibers.