Which of the fabrics is most suitable for

winters?

Cotton
Silk
Wool
Sheep
 Syllabus

Wool
Types
Fibre extraction
structure & properties
end uses
Classification of Fibres
 Wool Fibre
What is Wool fibre ?
fibers from fur-bearing animals
Important Wool Fibre
Sheeps wool
Specialty & costly wool
camel, alpaca, llama, and vicuna
 Types of Wool
Wool
Sheep Wool - Sheep Obtained From
type
Sheep Wool Sheep Sheep

Merino Wool Merino Sheep

Lambswool Lamb

Mohair Goat
Angora Goat

Cashmere Wool Cashmere Goat

Alpaca Wool Alpacas

Angora Wool Rabbit

Wool - Sheep
Merino Wool Merino Sheep
Incredibly warm yet
very soft and
lightweight, making it a
great choice for people
with sensitive skins
Australian
Merino fibers have the
finest diameter and
shorter lengths
Mohair - angora goats

Due to its softness

and sheen mohair is
considered to be a
luxurious fibre
Cashmere Wool - Cashmere Goat

Not prickly, very soft and warm

Alpaca Wool - Alpacas
Alpacas are a species of
domesticated camelid
originating in the high Andean
plains of South America,
 Angora - Rabbit
China, there are more than 50 million Angora rabbits, growing 2,5003,000 tonnes per year.
llama and vicuna
Incredibly warm yet
very soft and
lightweight, making
it a great choice for
people with
sensitive skins
Australian
 Types of Wool
Wool
Sheep Wool - Sheep Obtained From
type
Sheep Wool Sheep Sheep

Merino Wool Merino Sheep

Lambswool Lamb

Mohair Goat
Angora Goat

Cashmere Wool Cashmere Goat

Alpaca Wool Alpacas

Angora Wool Rabbit

Not prickly, very soft and warm
Sheep Numbers by country
 Wool Production by country

CIS CommonWealt of Independence States

Wool Production by country
 Classifications of wool

Fine wool
wool fibre of <= 24.5 m (fibre diameter)
Medium wool
wool fibre of 24.6-32.5 m(fibre diameter)
Coarse wool
wool fibre of >32.5 m (fibre diameter)
WOOL STRUCTURE
PHYSICAL
Fiber crimp refers to waves, bends, twists or curls along the fiber length

Electron micrograph of a cross-
section of merino wool at low
magnification. The bilateral structure
of a wool fibre can be distinguished
Electron micrograph of a cross-section of
merino wool at high magnification. The
micrograph reveals the different organisation
of the filaments in the paracortex (P) and
orthocortex (O). The letter m denotes the cell
membrane complex separating the
orthocortical from the paracortical cells, 1957
Cross section
Bilateral structure of a wool fibre can be distinguished
WOOL STRUCTURE
CHEMICAL
Wool Chemical structure
 Inter polymer forces of attractions in wool

Hydrogen bonds Salt Linkages

Cystine linkage
between hydroxyl acidic and basic side chains forms
covalent crosslink between
groups present in salts linkages
adjacent chains
the side chains holding the side chains together
by electrovalent forces
 Alpacas
Merino Sheep

Wool General Properties

fibers from fur-bearing animals
Important type Sheeps wool
Specialty & costly wool camel, alpaca, llama, and vicuna
protein polymer keratin (NH2CHRCOOH)
Crimped (three dimensionally) 4 to 10 crimps/cm
Length 5 to 12 cm
Diameter 14 to 45 m.
The fabrics drape well, durable, comfortable,
retain their good looks
during wear and care
luxury sweaters, coats, and suits

vicuna-and-llama Llama
 Wool Physical Properties
Specific Gravity: 1.31 g/cc
Length : 35 to 250 mm
Color: The color of wool fiber could be white, near white, brown and
black.
Flame reaction : Odor of burnt horn
Luster: Luster of course fiber is higher than fine fiber.
Moisture Regain: 13-16% , very absorbent, decrease strength when wet,
seem warmth, will shrink in washing.
Electrostatic reaction: Highly electrostatic at dry conditions
Strength: Tenacity dry =1.35 g/d, Wet = dry* 0.69 weak (Due to few
H-bond)
Elasticity: Breaking extension 42.5 %, Recovery % 69 at 5%
Elongation at break: Standard elongation is 25 35% and 25 50% -
wet
 Wool Physical Properties
Feel or Hand: Soft

Resiliency: Excellent (due to crimp)

Abrasion resistance: Good.

Dimensional stability: Bad (For tendency of felting).

Effect of Heat: Heat affects the wool fiber greatly.

Effect of Sun Light: The fibers become discolored and develop a harsh feel.

Effect of Resistance to Compression: Resistance to compression values are

useful in assessing the suitability of wool for specific end uses. Resistance to
compression (R to C) is the force per unit area required to compress a fixed
mass of wool to a fixed volume. Resistance to compression is related to fiber
diameter and the form and frequency of crimp.
 Wool Chemical Properties
Effect of Acids: Wool is attacked by hot concentrated sulphuric acid and decomposes completely.
It is in general resistant to mineral acids of all strength even at high temperature though nitric acids
tend to cause damage by oxidation.

Effects of Alkalis: The chemical nature of wool keratin is such that it is particularly sensitive to
alkaline substances. Wool will dissolve in caustic soda solutions that would have little effects on
cotton. Strong alkaline affect on wool fiber but weak alkaline does not affect wool.

Effect of Organic Solvent: Wool is not affected by organic solvents.

Effect of bleach: Chlorine bleach is ordinary harmful to the wool. KMnO4, Na2O2 are utilized for
bleaching.

Effect of Micro Organism: It is affected by mildew if it remains wet for long time.

Dyeing ability: Wool absorbs many different dyes deeply, uniformly and directly without the use of
other chemicals. Because of this ability, wool is known for the beautiful, rich colors that can be
achieved.

Effect of Colorfastness: Like cotton wool is easy to dye. Acid dyes, chrome and mordant dyes are
utilized to dye this. The dye molecules are attracted into the amorphous areas of wool.
 PROCESSING WOOLS
WOLLEN AND WORSTED
Long staple fibre spinning
Worsted Spinning
Worsted and Woolen yarn

45
Wool Processing
Shearing
Wool manufacture begins
with shearing the sheep.

Cutting or shaving the wool off of

a sheep is called shearing.
Shearing doesn't usually hurt a
sheep. It's just like getting a hair
cut.

Sheep are usually sheared once

per year before the onset of warm
weather.

2.7 and 8.1 kilograms

 Wool Processing
Grading and sorting
Grading is the breaking up of
the fleece based on overall
quality.
In sorting, the wool is broken
up into sections of different
quality fibers, from different
parts of the body
Grading based on quality of
raw fiber in respect of fiber
length, diameter, amounts of
dirt, and other impurities.
These factors are determined
either by the experienced
Graders
 Impurities in Wool

Finer wools tend to have a higher proportion of impurities as compared

to coarser wool.
 Impurities in Wool
Wool wax (Fat) Easily saponifiable and emulsifiable hydrophobic
impurity It consists of:
Esters
Diesters
Hydroxy esters of high M. Wt Lanolin alcohol and acids
Suint
It is the perspiration of sheep and is generally water soluble/insoluble.
Sand and dirt
Particulate type of impurity which sheep picks up during its movement.
Vegetable matter
Parts of dried leaves and some sticky seeds of certain plants. These are primarily
cellulosic in nature.
 Wool Processing
Carbonization
Objective: To remove cellulosic impurities from
wool by treatment with acid/acid producing salts.
Raw wool may also be contaminated with
vegetable matter which may be primarily
cellulosic in nature, consisting of seeds, burrs,
grass etc.
Removal of vegetable matter from wool is
treatment with mineral acids, especially sulphuric
acid.
 Wool Processing
Cleaning and scouring
Wool taken directly from the sheep is called "raw" or "grease wool.
It contains sand, dirt, grease, and dried sweat (called suint)
The weight of contaminants accounts for about 30 to 70 percent of
the fleece's total weight
This can be done using soap or detergent and a lot of water or it can be
done by submerging the wool in an acid bath which dissolves all the
vegetable matter as well as the grease (this is called scouring).
During Scouring process pH should never be above 10 and Temp. 35
40 C but never above 60 C.
Scouring process should effectively remove contaminants and there
should be minimal fibre entanglement (as fibre tends to felt)

WOOL SCOURING
 WOOL OILING AND DRYING
It is critically important that the wool is optimally lubricated
prior to carding
This helps in minimimal fibre breakage, fly waste and static
electricity, provide additional fibre cohesion and facilitate
drafting, condensing and spinning.
CARDING
CARDING
CARDING
CARDING- STRIPPER AND WORKER
 CARDING
OBJECTIVES
To open and disentangle the blend to a single fibre state and
mix it homogeneously with minimal breakage of fibres or
formation of neps
To remove impurities such as vegetable matter
To deliver the carded material in an appropriate form to the
next stage of processing (i.e. as a web, sliver or slubbing).
MACHINE
A full-size commercial carding machine usually comprises two
or more of these units placed end to end. A card consists of
cylinders (of large diameter) and rollers (of smaller diameter),
each with a unique name (lickerin, swift, worker, stripper, fancy,
doffer etc.)
 WOLLEN SPINNING
After being carded, the wool fibers are spun into
yarn
Spinning can be divided into the following three
basic operations:
Attenuation (drafting) of the roving, sliver (semi-
worsted) or slubbing (woollen) to the required linear
density.
Imparting cohesion to the fibrous strand, usually by
twist insertion.
Winding the yarn onto an appropriate package.
 GILLING
A gilling machine is also known as a gill box, or
simply a gill.
The preparative gilling is mainly to align the fibers
in a parallel direction, further blend the wool
through doubling
Gilling is carried out before(preparative gilling)
and after combing (finisher gilling)
Finisher gilling is mainly aimed to remove the
mild entanglement introduced to the combed
sliver.
GILLING MACHINE
GILLING - DRAFT ZONE
 WORSTED - COMBING
This operation removes the shorter fibers of 1
to 4 inch (25 100 mm) lengths and also
neps, and impurities (collectively called
combing noils)
It places the longer fibers (called tops) as
parallel as possible
forms a continuous rope-like comb sliver.
WORSTED - COMBING
 DRAWING AND ROVING
DRAWING
Drawing is an advanced operation which doubles and
redoubles slivers of wool fibers.
The process draws, drafts, twists, and winds the stock,
making the slivers more compact and thinning them into
slubbers.
Drawing is done only for worsted process.

ROVING
This is the final stage before spinning.
Roving is actually a light twisting operation to hold the
thin slubbers intact.
DRAWING AND ROVING
DRAWING ROVING
 Spinning:

The type of spinning explained here is applicable both

for woolen and worsted yarns.
In the spinning operation, the wool roving is drawn out
and twisted into yarn.
There are two main methods used to produce woolen-
spun yarns.
Mule spinning
Ring spinning
Mule-spun yarns generally are superior to ring-spun
yarns but they tend to be much more expensive due to
the slow production rates and high labor input.
 SPINNING
Spinning for woolen yarns is typically done on
a mule spinning machine
Worsted yarns can be spun on any number of
spinning machines.
Woolen Processing Worsted Processing
Spun from wool fibres of: Spun from wool fibres of:
Length : spun from short fibres of 1- Length : longer than 3
3 Diameter: fine diameter
Diameter: medium or coarse Fibres are washed, scoured,
The fibres are washed, scoured and carded.carded, combed and drawn

Yarn Yarn
Bulky Fine
Uneven Smooth
Low to medium slack twist Even
Tensile strength lower than worsted Tighter twist
Higher tensile strength
Fabric Appearance Fabric Appearance
Soft Crisp
Fuzzy Smooth
Heavier weight Lighter weight
Characteristics Characteristics
Insulator due to trapped air Less insulator
Does not hold a crease well Holds creases and shape
Less durable than worsted More durable than woollens

Uses Uses
Sweater Suits
Carpets Dresses
Tweeds Gabardines
70
Crepes
 WOOL FELTING/ MILLING
Milling or Felting is an essential process for
woolen material. It is otherwise known as Felting.
The ability to Felt is the characteristic feature of
wool.
The felting property is used in the finishing
process to alter the appearance, body, elasticity
and the strength of the woolen fabric.
Different types of wool vary in their ability to felt
and this depends on length, fineness, scaliness,
waviness etc.,
Moisture, Heat and Pressure are required for
milling
 END USES
Sweater
Carpets
Tweeds

Suits
Dresses
Gabardines
TWEEDS

Tweed is a
rough, woolen fabric, of a
soft, open, flexible texture,
resembling cheviot or
homespun, but more closely
woven.
Carpets
THANKYOU