U.S. flagAn official website of the United States government
                    Here's how you know **Official websites use .gov**
                            
                            A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
 **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
                            
                            A **lock** (                            
                              A locked padlock                                                      
                            
                            ) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.


Menu Agricultural Research Service
						
                    U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 close



Research
                Research Home
                            National Programs
                            Research Projects
                            Scientific Manuscripts
                            International Engagement
                            Scientific Software/Models
                            Databases and Datasets
                            Office of Scientific Quality Review
            Media
                News & Features
                            Multimedia
                            Briefing Room
                            Down on the Farm
                            Press Room
                            Science in Your Shopping Cart
                            Scientific Discoveries
                            Tellus
                            Under the Microscope
            About ARS
                About ARS Home
                            Staff Directory
                            Labs and Research Centers (Map)
                            Headquarter Offices
                            Organizational Chart
                            Employee Services (REE Employees Only)
                            Office of Outreach, Diversity, and Equal Opportunity
            Work With Us
                Work With Us Home
                            ARS Vacancies at USAJOBS
                            Careers at ARS Information
                            Scientific Collaborations
                            Extramural Agreements
                            1890 Faculty Research Sabbatical ProgramSearch small
                    Search
            
            ARS Home
                                About ARS
                                Contact Us




ARS Home News & Events News Articles Research News 2002





- ARS News & Events
- AgResearch Magazine
- Image Gallery
- News
- Search News & Events
- Pesticide Drift May Endanger Pollinators
- ARS Seeks a Fire Ant Fix
- Scientific Discoveries 2024
- ARS Featured Photos
- Down on the Farm
- Facebook Live Events
- Food and Nutrition Research Briefs
- News Archive
- Science in Your Shopping Cart
- Scientific Discoveries
- Social Media
- Under the Microscope
- AgResearch magazine
- ARS at Work
- ARS Memorial Lectures
- ARS Science Hall of Fame
- Citrus Disease (Huanglongbing)
- Contact Office of Communications
- Plant Hardiness Zone Map
- Mobile Apps
- Public Affairs Contacts
- Publications and Other Resources
- USDA Blog
- Videos

Archived Page
 This page has been archived and is being provided for reference purposes only. The page is no longer being updated, and therefore, links on the page may be invalid.
 Photo: Cotton yarn.
Spinning System Produces Core-Wrapped Yarn in a Single Step
By Amy SpillmanMay 14, 2002
Tandem spinning, a U.S.-patented technology, produces soft, yet strong, bicomponent yarn more than 10 times faster than conventional ring spinning systems allow. The tandem system, a combination of two different spinning technologies, was developed by Agricultural Research Service scientists at the Southern Regional Research Center (SRRC) in New Orleans, La.
To improve the strength or performance of fabrics, many textile manufacturers combine two fiber classes, such as cotton and polyester, into one strand of yarn. Fabrics made from such yarn are called intimate blends. Although stronger than 100 percent cotton, these intimate-blend fabrics sometimes exhibit undesirable properties. For example, they frequently pill, or make lint balls on their surface as they wear, and they do not provide the comfort of a 100-percent-cotton surface.
A few years ago, scientists at the SRRC developed new spinning technologies to form bicomponent, or “core-wrap,” yarn in which the core material is usually a strong, synthetic fiber and the wrap/sheath is 100 percent cotton. The core contributes excellent mechanical and functional properties to the yarn, such as wrinkle resistance, and the cotton wrap provides the desired comfort characteristics. Fabric made from core-wrap yarn has added strength because of the yarn’s synthetic core, yet it maintains the soft texture of cotton.
To increase the productivity of core-wrap spinning, SRRC scientists, led by cotton technologist Paul Sawhney, successfully developed a tandem spinning system. The resulting yarn is exceptionally soft and well-covered and is produced at a speed at least 10 times greater than that allowed by the conventional method.
In a test at SRRC, a prototype of the tandem spinning system produced a bicomponent yarn with a polyester core and a cotton sheath. The yarn was converted to twill fabric that had an almost 100-percent-cotton surface. After it was heat-set, the fabric showed unusual properties of softness, satisfactory shrink resistance and acceptable wrinkle resistance upon laundering.
ARS, the chief scientific research agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, has a patent on the system, which is available for licensing (Patent 5,802,826).


Return to top


Research
                            Media
                            About ARS
                            Work With Us


Connect with ARS Sign up


ARS Home
                            USDA.gov
                            Plain Writing
                            Policies & Links
                            Civil Rights Statements
                            FOIA
                            Accessibility Statement
                            Privacy Policy
                            Non-Discrimination Statement
                            Quality of Information
                            USA.gov
                            WhiteHouse.gov