RUBBERISED YARNS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 19 July 1939, Page 3

RUBBERISED YARNS

♦ STRENGTH AND DURABILITY. . ADVANTAGES IN WEAVING. A member of the Wool Industries Research Association, Dr C. M. Blow, has recently recorded the results of experiments in the rubberising of yarns carried out over the last two years. , ~ By suitable chemical treatment it has been found possible to deposit an extremely fine layer of rubber on the surface of wool fibres when treated in yarn form. This is not designed to waterproof the yarn or to confer water repellancy on a fabric, as is frequently assumed from the term rubberising. The method confers certain additional properties, such as greater strength and durability, on the yarn without appreciably altering handle or the wool-like quality of the yarn. It offers, moreover, the possibility of producing yarns at considerably lower twist, with consequent increase in fullness. Striking improvements have been demonstrated in the weaving properties of knitted garments made from rubberised yarns, together with prolonged retention of the original surface characters of the fabric. The method is applicable also to carpets and abrasion tests of a pile fabric have shown how the tendency for loose fibres to be shed is greatly decreased, the fibres wearing evenly from the surface.