DEAS 1177 -1: 2023  
ICS 59.080 .020 
 
© EA C 2023                                                                                                                              First Edition 2023  
 DRAFT EAST AFRICAN STANDARD  
Yarn made from staple fibres — Specification  — Part 1: Cotton  
yarn  
EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY  
 DEAS 1177 -1: 2023  
ii © EAC 2023 – All rights reserved  
 Copyright notice  
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 DEAS 1177 -1: 2023  
© EAC 2023 – All rights reserved  iii 
 Contents  Page 
Foreword  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ............................  iv 
1 Scope  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ......................  1 
2 Norm ative references  ................................ ................................ ................................ ............................  1 
3 Terms and definitions  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...........................  2 
4 Requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .........  3 
4.1 General requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...........................  3 
4.2 Specific requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...........................  4 
4.2.1  Yarn count  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ..............  4 
4.2.2  Yarn twist  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...............  4 
4.2.3  Moisture regain  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...... 4 
4.2.4  Yarn appearance  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .... 4 
4.2.5  Breaking tenacity  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ... 4 
4.2.6  Unevenness  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...........  5 
4.2.7  Fibre composition  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ . 6 
4.2.8  Yarn mass  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ..............  6 
4.2.9  Colour fastness  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ..... 6 
4.2.10  Restricted chemicals and substances  ................................ ................................ ................................  6 
5 Packaging  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...............  7 
6 Labelling  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .................  7 
6.1 Unit packages  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ........  7 
6.2 Bulk package  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .........  7 
7 Sampling  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ................  8 
Annex  A (normative)  Determination of moisture regain  ................................ ................................ ...............  9 
A.1 Principle  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .................  9 
A.2 Apparatus  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...............  9 
A.3 Procedure  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...............  9 
A.4 Calculation  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .............  9 
A.5 Report  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .....................  9 
Annex  B (normative)  Determination of net mass of the yarn  ................................ ................................ ..... 10 
B.1 Principle  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...............  10 
B.2 Apparatus  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .............  10 
B.3 Procedure  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .............  10 
Bibliography  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ........................  1 DEAS 1177 -1: 2023  
iv © EAC 2023 – All rights reserved  
 Foreword  
Development of the East African Standards has been necessitated by the need for harmonizing requirements 
governing quality of products and services in the East African Community. It is env isaged that through 
harmonized standardization, trade barriers that are encountered when goods and services are exchanged 
within the Community will be removed.  
The Community has established an East African Standards Committee  (EASC)  mandated to develop an d 
issue East African Standards  (EAS) . The Committee is composed of representatives of the National 
Standards Bodies in Partner States, together with the representatives from the public and private sector 
organizations  in the community .  
East African Standa rds are developed through  Technical Committees that are representative of key 
stakeholders including government, academia, consumer groups, private sector and other interested parties. 
Draft East African Standards are circulated to stakeholders through the  National Standards Bodies in the 
Partner States. The comments received are discussed and incorporated before finalization of standards, in 
accordance with the Principles and procedures for develop ment of East African Standards.  
East African Standards are subject to review, to keep pace with technological advances. Users of the East 
African Standards are therefore expected to ensure that they always have the latest versions of the standards 
they are implementing .  
The committee responsible  for this document  is Technical Committee EASC /TC 061, Textiles , textile products 
and accessories . 
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be subject of patent 
rights. EAC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.  
 DEAS 1177 -1: 2023  
8 © UNBS 2023  – All rights reserved  
 DRAFT EAST AFRICAN STANDARD  DEAS 1177 -1: 2023  
Yarn made from staple fibres — Specification — Part 1: Cotton 
yarn  
1 Scope   
This Draft East African Standard specifies  requirements , sampling and test methods for 100 pe r cent  cotton 
yarn. 
This standard does not cover yarn produced from blends of cotton with man -made fibres or any other fibre.  
2 Normative references   
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content consti tutes 
requirements of this document.  For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, 
the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.  
ASTM D2255, Standard Test Method for Grading Spun Yarns for  Appearance  
ISO 105 -B02, Textiles — Tests for colour fastness — Part B02: Colour fastness to artificial light: Xenon arc 
fading lamp test  
ISO 105 -C10, Textiles — Tests for colour fastness — Part C10: Colour fastness to washing with soap or soap 
and soda  
ISO 105 -X12, Textiles — Tests for colour fastness — Part X12: Colour fastness to rubbing  
ISO 139, Textiles — Standard atmospheres for conditioning and testing  
ISO 1144, Textiles — Universal system for designating linear density (Tex System)  
ISO 1833 -5, Texti les — Quantitative chemical analysis — Part 5: Mixtures of viscose, cupro or modal and 
cotton fibres (method using sodium zincate)  
ISO 1833 -11, Textiles — Quantitative chemical analysis — Part 11: Mixtures of certain cellulose fibres with 
certain other fib res (method using sulfuric acid)  
ISO 2060, Textiles — Yarn from packages — Determination of linear density (mass per unit length) by the 
skein method  
ISO 2061, Textiles — Determination of twist in yarns — Direct counting method  
ISO 2062, Textiles — Yarns f rom packages — Determination of single -end breaking force and elongation at 
break using constant rate of extension (CRE) tester  
ISO 2859 -1, Sampling procedures for inspection by attributes — Part 1: Sampling schemes indexed by 
acceptance quality limit (AQL ) for lot -by-lot inspection  
ISO 14184 -1, Textiles — Determination of formaldehyde — Part 1: Free and hydrolysed formaldehyde (water 
extraction method)  DEAS 1177 -1: 2023  
© UNBS 2023 – All rights reserved  9 
 ISO 14184 -2, Textiles — Determination of formaldehyde — Part 2: Released formaldehyde (vapour 
absorption  method)  
ISO 14362 -1, Textiles — Test methods for determination of certain aromatic amines derived from azo 
colorants Part 1: Detection of the use of certain azo colorants accessible with or without extracting the fibres  
ISO 14362 -3, Textiles — Test method s for determination of certain aromatic amines derived from azo 
colorants Part 3: Detection of the use of certain colorants, which may release 4 -amino azo benzene  
ISO 14389, Textiles — Determination of the phthalate content — Tetrahydrofuran method  
ISO 163 73-2, Textiles — Dyestuffs — Part 2: General method for the determination of extractable dyestuffs 
including allergenic and carcinogenic dyestuffs (method using pyridine -water)  
ISO 16373 -3, Textiles — Dyestuffs — Part 3: Method for determination of certain  carcinogenic dyestuffs 
(method using triethylamine/methanol)  
ISO 16549, Textiles — Unevenness of textile strands — Capacitance method  
ISO 17202, Textiles — Determination of twist in single spun yarns — Untwist/retwist method  
3 Terms and definitions   
For the purpose s of this East African S tandard, the following terms and definitions shall apply . 
ISO and IEC maintain terminological databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:  
— ISO Online browsing platform: available at  http://www.iso.org/obp  
3.1  
breaking load  
maximum load (or force) applied to a specimen in a tensile test carried to rupture  
3.2  
tex  
number of grams per kilometre of yarn  
3.3  
ring spun  
yarn spun on a system employing flat top car ds and roller drafting assemblies with or without aprons on 
drawing, roving and ring frames  
3.4  
rotor spun  
yarn spun on an open -end spinning machine wherein the individualization and assembling of fibres are done 
and the real twist is effected by a rotor  
3.5  
plied  yarn  
yarn in which two or more single yarns are twisted together in one or two operations  
3.6  
stitches   
yarn coils that get laid outside the edge of the package (cross winding)  
3.7  
cotton yarn   
type of yarn that is made from 100% cotton fibre s DEAS 1177 -1: 2023  
© EAC 2023 – All rights reserved  3 
 3.8  
tenacity   
tensile force per unit of linear density of the unstrained specimen  
Note 1 to entry:  It is preferably expressed in centinewtons per tex  
3.9  
breaking tenacity   
tenacity corresponding to the breaking load  
Note 1 to entry: For specimens of known linear density, the breaking tenacity can be obtained directly from tensile testing 
machines which can be suitably adjusted to indicate tenacity instead of breaking load  
3.10  
unevenness   
variation of linear density along the length of a continuous s trand of yarn  
3.11  
coefficient of variation of unevenness   
value of unevenness expressed as coefficient of variation  
3.12  
yarn count   
mass per unit length of a yarn  
Note 1 to entry:  It is preferably expressed in tex or multiples or sub multiples thereof  See - ISO 1144 . 
4 Requirements  
4.1 General requir ements  
4.1.1 The yarn packages shall be correctly and uniformly wound and shall enable the removal of yarn 
without difficulty and entanglement.  
4.1.2  Single yarn used for producing doubled yarn shall comply  with the requirements in 4.2.  
4.1.3 Yarn on cones/cheeses shall be free from the following defects:  
a) stitches of more than 2.5 cm in length at the base;  
b) excessive stitches at the nose;  
c) soft cones or cheeses;  
d) prominent stains inclusive of chalk and other ma rkings;  
e) cut threads;  
f) entanglement;  
g) presence of hard waste;  
h) ribbon formation;  
i) drum cuts; and  
j) count mix up.  DEAS 1177 -1: 2023  
© UNBS 2023 – All rights reserved  9 
 4.2 Specific requirements  
4.2.1  Yarn count  
When tested in accordance with ISO 2060, the yarn count shall be as declared on the label marking subject t o 
a tolerance of:  
a) ±3.0 % on the yarn intended for machine knitting and machine weaving processes ; 
b) ±4.0 % on the yarn intended for handlooms ; 
c) ±2.0 % on plied  yarn 
NOTE  Yarn count is expressed in different units such as tex and English count (Ne)  
 
4.2.2 Yarn twist  
4.2.2.1 The number of turns per metre  shall be determined in accorda nce with ISO 2061 or ISO 17202.  The 
percentage CV of twist shall be less than 10 %  of the declared value on the label . 
NOTE  1 TPM = 39.37 TPI  
4.2.2.2 When determined in accord ance with ISO 2061 and ISO 17202, the direction of twist shall be as 
declared  by the manufacturer . 
4.2.3 Moisture regain  
Unless otherwise agreed to between the purchaser and the manufacturer, the moisture regain of cotton yarns 
shall not exceed 8.5 % when determined in accordance with Annex A . 
4.2.4  Yarn appearance  
When determined in accordance with ASTM D2255, the average black board appearance (five boards) shall 
be at least of Grade D. In case of yarn counts coarser than 98 tex (6s), this shall  be as agr eed to between the 
purchaser and the manufacturer.  
4.2.5  Breaking tenacity  
When tested in accordance with ISO 2062, cotton yarn shall meet the breaking tenacity requirements given in 
Table 1. 
Table 1 — Breaking tenacity of cotton yarn  
Yarn type  Breaking te nacity, cN/tex, 
min. 
Combed ring spun yarn for weaving  15.0 
Combed ring spun for knitting  14.0 
Carded ring spun for weaving  13.5 
Carded ring spun for knitting  13.0 DEAS 1177 -1: 2023  
© EAC 2023 – All rights reserved  5 
 Carded rotor spun for weaving  10.5 
Carded rotor spun for knitting  9.0 
 
4.2.6  Unevenne ss 
When tested in accordance with ISO 16549, cotton yarn shall meet the unevenness requirements given in 
Table 2 , Table 3  and Table 4.  
Table 2 — Unevenness of carded ring spun cotton yarn  
Linear density, tex  C.V. %, max.  
Coarser than 60  11.5 
60 - 35 12.5 
34 - 25 13.5 
24 - 20 14.5 
19 - 16 15.0 
15 – 13 15.5 
Finer than 13  15.8 
 
Table 3 — Unevenness of combed ring spun cotton yarn  
Linear density, tex  C.V. %, max.  
Coarser than 20  10.5 
19 - 16 11.0 
15 - 13 12.5 
12 - 11 13.0 
10 - 9 13.5 
8 – 7.6 14.0 
7 – 6.4 14.5 
Finer than 6.4  15.0 
 DEAS 1177 -1: 2023  
© UNBS 2023 – All rights reserved  9 
 Table 4 — Unevenness of carded rotor spun cotton yarn  
Linear density, tex  C.V. %, max.  
Coarser than 60  11.0 
60 - 35 12.5 
34 - 25 13.5 
24 - 20 14.5 
19 - 16 15.5 
15 – 13 16.0 
 
4.2.7  Fibre composition  
The fibre com position shall be 100 % cotton fibres when tested in accordance with ISO 1833 -5, ISO 1833 -11 
or any other relevant part of ISO 1833 . 
4.2.8 Yarn  mass  
The mass of the yarn shall be not less than 98 % of the declared value when tested in accordance with Anne x 
B. 
4.2.9 Colour  fastness  
The minimum colour fastness rating for dyed cotton  yarns shall be as given in Table 5 when tested in 
accordance with the test methods specified therein.  
Table 5 — Colour fastness requirements of cotton  yarn  
S/N Parameter  Numeri cal rating , 
min. Test method  
Colour change  Staining  
i Light  5 - ISO 105 –B02 
ii Washing  3 3 ISO 105 -C10 
iii Rubbing  Dry  
 3-4 
ISO 105 -X12 Wet  
 3 
 
4.2.10 Restricted chemicals and substances  
Dyed cotton  yarn shall not contain:  
a) Restricted aromati c amines exceeding 30 mg/kg when tested in accordance with ISO 14362 -1 and 
ISO 14362 -3. 
b) Carcinogenic dyestuffs exceeding 20 mg/kg when tested in accordance with ISO 16373 -2 and ISO 
16373 -3 DEAS 1177 -1: 2023  
© EAC 2023 – All rights reserved  7 
 c) phthalates exceeding 0.1% when tested in accordance with ISO 14389  
d) formaldehydes exceeding 300 mg/kg when tested in accordance with ISO 14184 -1 and ISO 14184 -2 
5 Packaging  
Cotton shall be packaged in suitable packaging materials which shall protect the product from damage during 
transportation, handling and storage. Spool s, cones or cheeses shall be packaged in unit packages and 
thereafter into bulk cases.  
6 Labelling  
6.1 Unit packages  
Each unit package shall bear a clear and indelible label which shall include the following particulars :  
a) manufacturer’s name and address;  
registered trade mark  (if any) ;  
b) product name as  “100 % cotton  yarn”;  
c) linear density in ‘tex’;  
d) twist in turns per metre (TPM) and the direction of twist (S or Z);  
e) number of plies (for plied yarn)  
f) mass of yarn in gram;  
g) intended  use of yarn such as "weavi ng, knitting”  
h) country of manufacture;  
i) shade number  (if coloured) ; 
j) whether carded (KW) or combed (CW);  and 
k) batch/lot number . 
6.2 Bulk package  
Each bulk package shall bear the following information:  
a) manufacturers name and address  
b)  trade mark;  
c) product  name, such as  “100 % cotton  yarn”;  
d) linear density in  ‘tex’;  
e) net mass in kilograms;  
f) number of unit packages;  DEAS 1177 -1: 2023  
© UNBS 2023 – All rights reserved  9 
 g) intended  use of yarn such as "weaving, knitting”;  
h) country of manufacture; and  
i) lot/batch  number.  
7 Sampling  
Sampling shall be done in accordance with ISO 2859 -1. DEAS 1177 -1: 2023  
© EAC 2023 – All rights reserved  9 
 Annex  A 
(normative)  
 
Determination of moisture regain  
A.1 Principle  
A known mass of yarns is dried and then the loss in mass expressed as a ratio of the dry mass . 
A.2 Apparatus  
A.2.1 Weighing balance , capable of weighing to an accuracy of 0.001 g  
A.2.2 Drying Oven , well ventilated with a temperature of 102 °C to 105 °C  
A.2.3 Desiccator , waterproof when sealed, will be used for transfer of analysed material and during 
weighing.  
A.3 Procedure  
A.3.1 From the sample under test draw at least thr ee test specimens each weighing approximately 5 g.  
A.3.2 Take a test specimen drawn as in A.3.1 and weigh it accurately  (M1) 
A.3.3 Dry it at a temperature of 102°C to 105°C until constant mass is obtained (see note)  
A.3.4 Cool the test specimen in a desicc ator and determine the oven -dry mass (M2).  
NOTE  The mass is usually regarded as constant if the loss between two successive weighing, taken at an interval of 
30 min does not exceed 0.1 per cent of the first of the two values.  
A.3.5 Similarly test the othe r test specimen(s).  
A.4 Calculation  
Moisture regain = 
%100 
22 1X 
MMM−  
A.5 Report  
Report the average of the value calculated in A.4 as the moisture regain in %.  
 DEAS 1177 -1: 2023  
© UNBS 2023 – All rights reserved  9 
 Annex  B 
(normative)  
 
Determination of net mass of the yarn  
B.1 Principle  
The mass of  the yarn is taken using a weighing balance without considering the mass of the wrappers and 
holders (cone/spool)  
B.2 Apparatus  
Weighing balance , capable of determining the mass of yarn to an accuracy of ± 0.2 %  
B.3 Procedure  
B.3.1 Condition five specimens  (yarns ) without wrappers in accordance ISO 139.  
B.3.2 Determine the mass of the conditioned specimens using the weighing balance ( B.2).  
B.3.3 Calculate the average of the mass obtained.  
B.3.4 Report the average mass in grams.  
 DEAS 1177 -1: 2023  
8 © UNBS 2023  – All rights reserved  
 Bibliography  
[1]  US 2260 -1:2021 , Textiles — Cotton yarn — Part 1: Weaving  
[2] US 2260 -2:2021 , Textiles — Cotton yarn — Part 2: Hosiery  
[3] KS 1113 -1:1993 , Specification for spun yarns — Part 1: Cotton yarns  
 DEAS 1177 -1: 2023    
 
© EAC 2023 – All rights reserved