Because specialty fibers are expensive and are often blended with wool, there is a need to be able to distinguish between the two groups. Certain lustrous wools are even in diameter and have long scales like mohair, but there are visible differences in scale thickness and brightness. Cashmere and camel hair are fine and somewhat uneven in diameter, cashmere having wide scales and camel almost convex ones. Alpaca and Angora rabbit fibers have distinctive scale and medulla features of their own.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Alvigini, P.G., "The Nearest Fibres to the Sky," A. Mondasori, Verona, 1979.
2.
American Society for Testing and Materials, " Standard Methods for Quantitative Analysis of Textiles," Method D 629, Part 33, A.S.T.M., Philadelphia, Pa. , 1978.
3.
American Society for Testing and Materials, " Standard Methods for Test for Diameter of Wool and Other Animal Fibers," Method D2130, Part 33, A.S.T.M., Philadelphia, Pa., 1978.
4.
Appleyard, H.M., "Guide to the Identification of Animal Fibres," Second Edition, Wira, Leeds. 1978.
5.
Bergen, W. J. von, Cashmere, Melliand1, 855-859 (1929).
6.
British Standards Institution, "The Determination of Wool Fibre Fineness by Use of a Projection Microscope," BS 2043, B.S.I., London, 1968.
7.
British Standards Institution, "Quantitative Analysis of Fibre Mixtures," BS 4407, B.S.I., London, 1975.
8.
Burns, R.H., Bergen W. von, and Young, S.S., Cashmere and the Undercoat of Domestic and Wild Animals, J. Textile Inst.53, T45-68( 1962 ).
9.
El-Alfy, M.D. and Blakey, P.R., The Identification of Animal Fibres by Means of Plasma-etching and the Scanning Electron Microscope, J. Textile Inst.71, 168-170 (1980).
10.
Matthews, J.M. "The Textile Fibres," Third Edition, John Wiley and Sons, New York, 1916.
11.
The Textile Institute, " Identification of Textile Materials," Seventh Edition, The Textile Institute, Manchester, 1975.
12.
Skinkle, J.H. , The Determination of Wool and Mohair by Scale Size and Diameter, Amer. Dyest. Reptr.25, 620-621 (1936).
13.
Wildman, A.B. , "The Microscopy of Animal Textile Fibres," Wira, Leeds, 1954.
14.
Young, S.S., "Cashmere and the Undercoats of Domestic and Wild Animals," Thesis for Ph.D. Degree, Univ. of Wyo., Laramie, 1952.
