FIBRE BASICS

COTTON:

Cotton is a natural cellulosic fibre obtained from bushy perennial cotton plants. The cotton plant belongs to the species Gossipium. The cotton plant grows and produces a number of pods (bolls) and on ripening, the cotton pods open which contain lot of seeds to which the cotton fibres are attached. This is called the Seed Cotton. The cotton fibres are separated from the seeds by the Ginning process. This is called the Lint Cotton. This Lint Cotton commonly referred as Cotton is sent to Spinning Mills to spin Cotton Yarn.
Fibre Length, Strength, Fineness (Micronaire value), Maturity, Colour and Uniformity are the important requirements for Fibre selection. Fibre Length, Fibre Strength, Microniare value and the type of yarn decide the Count range.
Cotton is a very versatile fibre and is used in many textile and non-textile applications. China, India, USA, Brazil, Pakistan, Greece, Turkey & Uzbekistan are important cotton producing countries.
Since Cotton cultivation requires a huge amount of Pesticides, Genetically Modified (GM) Cotton was developed to reduce the dependency of pesticides. Organic Cotton is produced without the use of insecticides & pesticides.

Merits	Demerits
Strong	Wrinkles easily
Absorbent	Shrinks unless treated
Comfortable	Easily attacked by Mildew
Versatile	Long drying time
Non-allergenic	Poor crease resistant
Easy to wash	Flammable

JUTE : Jute is natural cellulosic fibre belonging to bast fibres group. Jutes belong to the family Tiliaceae. The two species are Corchorus capsularis and Corchorus olitorius. The strand of Jute fibres lie just beneath the bark of the Jute Plant. The plant is cut and the Jute fibres are removed from the plant by the retting process. Then the fibres are separated from one another by drying, softening & scotching. The colour varies from yellow to brown. The fibre are coarse and the length ranges from 150 mm to 350 mm. India & Bangladesh are the major Jute producing countries. Jute is the second most important natural fibre nest to cotton and has a variety of uses. Jute fabrics are Hessian cloth and the Jute bags are called Gunny bags. These are very much useful in packing & transporting. Jute is 100% bio-degradable & eco-friendly. It is useful in industrial fabrics, nets, packaging, agriculture, floor covering, ropes, twines, geo-textiles & technical textiles.

Merits Demerits 100% bio-degradable Poor extensibility Very strong Poor drapability Breathability Poor crease resistant Acoustic & Thermal insulating properties Brittleness Non-allergenic Fibre shedding Moderate moisture regain Yellowing in sun-light

WOOL:

Wool, common name applied to the soft, curly fibres obtained chiefly from the fleece of domesticated sheep, and used extensively in textile manufacturing. The fleece of sheep raised for wool is generally shorn once yearly, in the spring or early summer. In regions where the climate is warm throughout the year, shearing may occur twice annually. The fleece is cut close to the skin, usually with mechanical shears, and removed in one piece.
The value of wool on the market depends primarily on fineness and length of fibre. Strength, elasticity, amount of crimp, and uniformity are also considered. Two different systems are followed in wool processing, the woolen system and the worsted system. In the woolen system, the fibres are carded and then spun. In the worsted system, the fibres proceed to a combing process, which separates the long from the short fibres. Before the wool can be used for commercial purposes it must be scoured or cleaned. Scouring & cleaning may be done using warm water, detergent, alkali & carbonization.
Wool is used in clothing, shirting, suiting, woolen sweaters, blankets, upholsteries, felt, horse rug, carpets, insulation.

Merits Demerits High absorbency Easily felts in moist heat & friction Provides warmth Stretches during wear Wrinkle resistant Easily attacked by moths Elastic Allergic to some people Can be easily dyed Builds up static electricity

SILK:

Silk is a natural protein fibre used in producing textiles. Silk fibres are produced as a cocoon covering by the silkworm. Although cocoon coverings of fibre are made by a large number of insects, only those of the mulberry silk moth, Bombyx mori, and a few other moths closely akin to it, are used by the silk industry.
The cocoons are first heated in boiling water to dissolve the gummy substance that holds the cocoon filament in place. After this heating, the filaments from four to eight cocoons are joined and twisted and are then combined with a number of other similarly twisted filaments to make a thread that is wound on a reel to give filament silk. The damaged outer portion & inner portion of the cocoons after brushing give staple silk which is spun to produce spun silk.
Silk fibres have a triangular cross section with rounded corners. This reflects light at many different angles, giving silk a natural shine.. Silk is used for clothing such as shirts, blouses, formal dresses, high fashion clothes, negligees, pyjamas, robes, skirt suits, sun dresses, underwear, furnishing applications, upholstery, wall coverings, bedding etc.

Merits	Demerits
Lustre & soft	Perspiration & sunlight weakens
Strong	Sensitive to alkali & acids
Absorbent	Insects attack silk easily
Warm & suitable for winter	Yellowing with aging
Highly drapable	Leaves water spots

POLYESTER:

Polyester is a synthetic fibre produced from the polymer Poly Ethylene Terephthalate (PET). PET is produced by reacting Purified Terephthalic Acid (PTA) or Dimethly Terephthalate (DMT) with Mono Ethylene Glycol (MEG). All these raw-materials are from Petroleum products. From the PET polymer Polyester Fibres are produced in various forms namely Staple Fibres (PSF) and Filament forms Partially Oriented Yarn (POY), Draw Textured Yarn (DTY), Fully Drawn Yarn (FDY).
PSF are produced in cut lengths of 38, 44 & 51 mm and in deniers of 1.0, 1.2, 1.4, 1.5, 2.0, 2.25 and 3.0. POY have deniers of 51 to 245 with number of filaments between 14-34. Crimping is done PSF which facilitates production of spun yarns.
PSF are sold in various strengths namely Low-pill fibres, Medium Tenacity, High Tenacity & Super High Tenacity. Various lustre level fibres are available like Bright, Semi dull, Dull & Extra dull.
Polyester woven fabrics are used in apparel and home furnishings such as bed sheets, beds, curtains and draperies. Industrial polyesters are used in tyre reinforcements, ropes, fabrics for conveyor belts, safety belts, coated fabrics and plastic reinforcements with high . Polyester fibre-fills are also used to stuff pillows, beds and cushion padding.
Polyester fabrics have a "less natural" feel when compared to natural fibres like cotton in textile uses. Polyester fibres are spun together with other natural fibres to produce a cloth having the merits of both synthetic & natural fibres.

Merits	Demerits
Strong	Collects static electricity
Wrinkle & abrasion resistant	Sensitive to heat
Shrink resistant	Pilling
High dimensional stability	Low moisture absorption
Mildew resistant	Affinity for oily stains
Easy care	Melts in fire

VISCOSE RAYON:

There are many types of Rayon namely, Nitrocellulose, Acetate, Cuprammonium, Viscose etc., Here we consider Viscose rayon only. Viscose Rayon is a regenerated cellulosic fibre. It is made from cellulose extracted from wood pulp produced from trees. The wood pulp obtained from trees is bleached and then sent to Rayon factories in the form of sheets and boards which contains about 87 to 98% cellulose.
The Viscose fibres are produced both in filament form & staple form. The fibres are produced in cut lengths of 28, 32, 38, 44, 51 & 60 mm for cotton spinning system. The deniers are generally 1.2, 1.5, 2.0, 3.0 & 4.0 .
Rayon is a very versatile fibre and has the same comfort properties as natural fibres. It can imitate the feel and texture of silk, wool, cotton and linen. Rayon is easily bio-degradable. Rayon is used in making apparel (e.g. blouses, dresses, jackets, lingerie, linings, scarves, suits, ties, hats, socks), furnishings (e.g. bedspreads, blankets, window treatments, upholstery, slipcovers), industrial uses (e.g. medical surgery products, non-woven products, tire cord), and other uses (e.g. yarn, feminine hygiene products, diapers)
High Wet Modulus rayon (HWM) is a modified version of viscose that has a greater strength when wet and can be mercerized like cotton. HWM rayons are also known as “POLYNOSIC“.and has a trade name MODAL. High Tenacity rayon is another modified version of viscose that has almost twice the strength of HWM. This type of rayon is typically used for industrial purposes such as tyre cords.

Merits	Demerits
High absorbency	Easily felts in moist heat & friction
Provides warmth	Stretches during wear
Wrinkle resistant	Easily attacked by moths
Elastic	Allergic to some people
Can be easily dyed	Builds up static electricity

Major Warping Defects - On Sectional warping

Snarlings and Overlappings

These are caused by irregular yarn tension. The broken end is not tied-up by the operative with the yarn end on the drum.

Different lenghts of sections, High Wastage Rate

This is caused by over-or-under warping of sections, untimely laying of lease cords due to faulty operation of the counter and the carelessness of operative.

Overlapping/Excessive Distance

The sections overlap each other or there is an excessive distance between them. This is caused by support improperly set and the careless of warper operative.

Stripiness in the Warp

This is caused by improper mixing of raw material

Irregular Winding

Irregular winding on the warper's beam which is displaced towards one end. This is due to improper position of the weaver's beam in warp beaming.

Different lenghts of Ends

It also includes irregular distribution of the section in the weaver's beam width. This is caused by improper fixing of section ends to the weaver's beam.

Excessive or insufficient number of yarn ends in the warp

This is caused by improper calculation at gaiting.

Warp Beaming on a defective weaver's beam

This is caused by carelessness of the assistant foreman and the warper operative.

Incorrect Laying of lease cords, or their absence in some sections

Again this is caused by carelessness of the warper operative.

FIBRE SCIENCE

CLASSIFICATION OF FIBRE

PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF FIBRE


DURABILITY PROPERTIES OF FIBRE AND THEIR FABRICS





SELECTION OF DYES FOR VARIOUS FIBRES

Suitability of a fiber for a blend

Fibers in a blend are chosen keeping in mind various properties of the constituent fibers. Thus a blend is chosen which gives the best of properties of the different constituents of the blend. The properties that are considered can be strength, absorbency,crease resistance, resistance to abrasion, resistance to heat, bulkiness,resistance to pilling and Dimensional stability.All the fibers do not have all the properties that are desired. This is the very reason why blend is chosen.

Cotton has moderate strength and dimensional stability. However, it is excellent in absorbency, resistance to heat and pilling. It has an average resistance to abrasion and poor bulkiness properties and crease retention.Thus it is added in the blend to have excellent absorbency properties.

Viscose Rayon has excellent absorbency, resistance to heat and pilling. Thus it is similar to cotton in these properties.It has however, poor resistance to abrasion, bulkiness, crease retention and stability. It has an average strength. It has absorbency properties similar to cotton. It is also cheaper than cotton.

Acetate Rayon has excellent resistance to pilling and stability. It has moderate resistance to heat and average absorbency, crease retention and stability. However its resistance to abrasion is very poor.

Wool has excellent absorbency, bulk and wrinkle resistance. However, it has poor stability. It has moderate abrasion and heat resistance. Its crease retention, resistance to pilling and strength can only be considered as average.

Nylon has excellent strength, stability and abrasion resistance. However, It has poor absorbency and bulk. It has moderate crease retention and average resistance to heat and pilling.

Polyester has excellent strength, stability, crease retention and abrasion resistance. However it has poor absorbency, bulkiness properties and resistance to pilling. Its resistance to heat is average.

Acrylic has excellent bulk and stability. It has moderate resistance to heat and average crease retention and strength. Its resistance to abrasion and pilling and absorbency are very poor.It is similar to wool in most of the properties. It is also cheaper than wool.

Modacrylic has excellent stability and bulk properties. However its absorbency, resistance to heat and pilling is very poor. It has average strength, resistance to abrasion and crease retention.

Polypropylene and Polyethylene have excellent stability and strength. They have poor absorbency, bulk and heat resistance. The have average crease resistance and resistance to pilling.

Fabric Parameters

Woven fabric parameters

There are four basic parameters that are essential for every woven fabric.

1. Ends per Inch and Picks per inch (EPI and PPI).
2. Yarn count
3. Crimp
4. Weave or Fabric Structure or Design

1. Ends per Inch or Picks per Inch

It is a measure of thread density. The normal method used to determine thread density is to use a pick glass.

2. Yarn count

EPI and PPI affects the compactness of the fabric. It is also known as thread count or cloth count. Thread counts range from as low as 20 threads per inch as used in tobacco cloth to as high as 350 threads per inch, found in type writer ribbon fabrics. Normally EPI and PPI of a fabric are described as EPI×PPI. Thus a fabric of 74×66 means 74 EPI×66 PPI.

Balanced constriction

A fabric is said to be well balanced if the number of warp yarns and weft yarns per inch are almost equal.

3.Crimp

Crimp refers to the amount of bending that is done by thread as it interlaces with the threads that are lying in the opposite direction of the fabric. Crimp is defined as the ratio of difference of length of yarn (Ly) taken from length of fabric (Lf) to the length of fabric (Lf).

Crimp = (Ly-Lf)/Lf

Often it is more convenient and preferable to use percentage values. Thus we can define crimp percentage as:

Crimp% = (Ly-Lf)/Lf

A crimp will normally give values ranging from 0.01 to 0.14 ie. (1% to 14%).

Crimp is related to many aspects of the fabric. It affects the cover, thickness, softness and hand of the fabric. When it is not balanced it also affects the wear behaviour and balance of the fabric, because the exposed portions tend to wear at a more rapid rate than the fabric. The crimp balance is affected by the tensions in the fabric during and after weaving. If the weft is kept at low tension while the tension in warp directions is high, then there will be considerable crimp in the weft and very little in the warp.

4. Weave

It refers to the arrangement of warp and weft in the fabric.

OTHER FABRIC PROPERTIES

1. Fabric weight (W)

It is the weight of the yarn per square meter in the woven fabric, which is the sum of the weight of the warp (W1) and weight of the weft (W2).

Weight of the warp is calculated as (per square m):

W1= [n1 x 100 (1+c1%)/100] x [N1/1000] g

Where
n1 = Ends per cm
N1 = Warp count in Tex

C1% = Warp crimp percentage.

Similarly weight of the weft is calculated as (per square m)

W2= [n2 x 100 (1+c2%)/100] x [N2/1000] g

Total weight per square meter = W1+W2

weight/piece = (W1+W2) × piece length × piece width in gram.

Example

A fabric 120m long, 1.3 m wide and having 30 ends per cm of 12 tex warp and 24 picks per cm of 15 tex weft. The warp and weft crimp percentages are five percent and eight percent respectively. We describe these fabric particulars as
30×24; 12 tex × 15 tex; 5%×8%

Warp weight per square m = [30 x 100 x (1+5)/100] x [12/1000] = 37.8 gms

Weft weight/square m = [24 x 100 x (1+8)/100] x [15/1000] = 38.8 gms

Piece weight

= total weight per m × piece length × piece width
= 76.68 × 120× 1.3
= 11962.08 gm or 11.96 kg.

2. Cover factor

(K) it is defined as the area covered by the yarn when compared with the total area covered by the fabric.
The warp cover factor can be found by using the formula.
k1= n1 x sqrt(N1)/10
Where
n1 = Ends/cm
N1 = Count of warp in tex

Similarly the weft cover factor can be found by the formula

k2 = n2 x sqrt(N2) /10

So the total cover factor is
K = K1 + K2

Thus with fabric (30×24; 12 tex×15 tex) the values are

k1= (30 x sqrt12)/10 = 10.39

k2 = (24 x sqrt15)/10 = 9.30

K = K1+K2 = 10.39+9.30 = 19.69

3. Fabric Thickness

For a wide range of fabric, this parameter is not important, but it becomes critical for fabrics that are to be used as belts and felts.

SEAM STRENGTH VS SEAM SLIPPAGE

Difference Between Seam Strength and Seam Slippage

Both the parameters measure the performance of seam. Seam strength referes to the strength when seam finally ruptures or when the fabric breaks.

However before rupturing there is an unacceptable opening in the seam which makes the seam 'failed' commercially even when there is no visible rupture. Seam slippage measures that.

Seam strength depends upon stitch type, thread strength, stitches per inch, thread tension, seam type and seam efficiency of the material.

Seam slippage depends upon the stitch rate, the weave structure of the fabric and the width of the seam allowance.

There is another term called 'yarn slippage' which measures the shifting of warp yarn over weft yarn to render the garment unusuable.

Yarn slippage depends upon a low number of warp or filling yarn, two shallow seam allowance, too tight a fit and improper seam construction.

Find Pictures of Seam Quality Defects

Improper Stitch Balance - 301 Lockstitch

DESCRIPTION: Where loops are seen either on the bottomside or topside of the seam. This is particularly evident with different colored needle and bobbin threads. Also, where the stitch is too loose. SOLUTIONS: 1) Use a quality thread with consistent frictional characteristics; 2) Properly balance the stitch so that the needle and bobbin threads meet in the middle of the seam. Always start by checking the bobbin thread tension to make sure it is set correctly, so that the minimum thread tension is required to get a balanced stitch. Poor Stitch Balance - Too Loose Proper Stitch Balance

Improper Stitch Balance - 401 Chainstitch

DESCRIPTION: Where the loops on the bottom-side of the seam are inconsistent and do not appear uniform. SOLUTIONS: 1) Use a quality thread with consistent frictional characteristics; 2) Properly balance the stitch so that when the looper thread is unraveled, the needle loop lays over half way to the next needle loop on the underside of the seam. Stitch Too Loose Proper Stitch Balance Proper Stitch Balance

Improper Stitch Balance - 504 Overedge Stitch

DESCRIPTION: Where the needle loop is not pulled up to the underside of the seam and the "purl" is not on the edge of the seam. SOLUTIONS: 1) Use a quality thread with consistent frictional characteristics; 2) Properly balance the stitch so that when the looper thread is unraveled, the needle loop lays over half way to the next needle loop on the underside of the seam. Improper Stitch Balance Purl Not on Edge Proper Stitch Balance

Needle Cutting on Knits

DESCRIPTION: Where needle holes appear along the stitchline that will eventually turn into a "run". Generally caused by the needle damaging the fabric as it is penetrating the seam. MINIMIZING NEEDLE CUTTING ON KNITS: 1) Make sure the proper thread size and needle type and size are being used for the fabric (See Reducing Needle Cutting.); 2) Make sure the fabric has been properly stored to prevent drying out and has been finished properly; 3) Check with your fabric manufacturer.

Open Seam - Seam Failure - Fabric

DESCRIPTION: Where the stitch line is still intact but the yarns in the fabric have ruptured. MINIMIZING SEAM FAILURES - FABRIC: 1) Reinforce stress points with Bartacks. Make sure the bartacks are the proper length and width for the application; 2) Check to make sure the patterns have been designed for proper fit; 3) Make sure the ideal seam construction is being used; 4) Contact your fabric supplier. Open Seam Failure - Fabric Bartacks Used to Reinforce Fly Seam

Open Seam - Seam Failure - Stitch

DESCRIPTION: Where the threads in the seam have ruptured leaving a hole in the stitchline. Caused by 1) Improper stitch for application; 2) Inadequate thread strength for seam; 3) Not enough stitches per inch. MINIMIZING SEAM FAILURES - STITCH: 1) Use a better quality sewing thread. This may include going to a higher performance thread designed to give greater seam performance. (See the Thread Selection Guide.); 2) Use the proper size thread for the application; 3) For knit fabrics, check for "Stitch Cracking". Stitch Cracking can be caused by any of the following: not enough stitches per inch; improper seam width or needle spacing for application; improper stitch balance; and improper thread selection. Seam Failure on Stretch Knit Fabric

Puckered Seams - Knits & Stretch Wovens

DESCRIPTION: Where the seam does not lay flat after stitching. SOLUTIONS: 1) If sewing machines are equipped with differential feed, set them properly for the fabric; 2) Use minimum presser foot pressure during sewing; and 3) Observe operator for correct handling techniques. Too much stretching of the fabric by the sewing operator will cause this problem. (See Sewing Stretch Knits.) Stretch Denim - Wavy Seams

Excessive Seam Puckering - Wovens

DESCRIPTION: Where the seam does not lay flat and smooth along the stitchline. Caused by one of the following: 1) Feed Puckering - where the plies of fabric in the seam are not being aligned properly during sewing; 2) Tension Puckering - where the thread has been stretched and sewn into the seam. The thread then causes the seam to draw back and pucker; 3) Yarn Displacement or structural jamming - caused by sewing seams with too large of thread that causes the yarns in the seam to be displaced, giving a puckered appearance. MINIMIZING EXCESSIVE SEAM PUCKERING: 1) Use the correct thread type and size for the fabric. In many cases, a smaller, higher tenacity thread is required to minimize seam puckering but maintain seam strength (See the Thread Selection Guide or Minimizing Seam Puckering); 2) Sew with minimum sewing tension to get a balanced stitch; 3) Make sure machines are set up properly for the fabric being sewn; 4) Check for proper operator handling techniques.

Ragged/Inconsistent Edge - Overedge or Safetystitch Seams
DESCRIPTION: Where the edge of the seam is either extremely "ragged" or "rolls" inside the stitch. SOLUTIONS: 1) Make sure the sewing machine knives are sharpened and changed often; 2) The knives should be adjusted properly in relationship to the "stitch tongue" on the needle plate to obtain the proper seam width or width bite. In the photo, the trimming knives have been set wider than the "stitch tongue" on the needle plate causing the "ropy" appearance.

Restitched Seams / Broken Stitches
DESCRIPTION: Where a "splice" occurs on the stitch line. If this occurs on Topstitching, then the seam does not appear to be 1st quality merchandise. Caused by 1) thread breaks or thread run-out during sewing; or 2) cut or broken stitches during a subsequent treatment of the finished product (i.e., stone washing). MINIMIZING THREAD BREAKAGE: 1) Use a better quality sewing thread. This may include going to a higher performance thread designed to minimize sewing interruptions. (See the Thread Selection Guide and/or Minimizing Thread Breakage & Skipped Stitches); 2) Insure proper machine maintenance and sewing machine adjustments; 3) Make sure sewing machines are properly maintained and adjusted for the fabric and sewing operation. (See Machine Maintenance Checklist.); 4) Observe sewing operators for correct material handling techniques.	Excessive Restitched Seams

Excessive Seam Grin
DESCRIPTION: Where the stitch balance is not properly adjusted (stitch too loose) and you can see the seam opening up. To check for Seam Grin, apply normal seam stress across the seam and then remove the stress. If the seam remains opened, then the seam has too much "grin through". SOLUTIONS: To correct, readjust the sewing machine thread tensions so that the proper stitch balance is achieved. Too much tension will cause other problems including seam failures ("Stitch Cracking"), excessive thread breakage, and skipped stitches.	Seam Grinning on Woven Fabric

Seam Failure - Seam Slippage

DESCRIPTION: Where the yarns in the fabric pull out of the seam from the edge. This often occurs on fabrics constructed of continuous filament yarns that are very smooth and have a slick surface. Also caused by loosely constructed fabrics. MINIMIZING SEAM FAILURES - SEAM SLIPPAGE: 1) Consider changing the seam construction to a French seam construction; 2) Increase the seam width or width of bite; 3) Optimize the stitches per inch; 4) Contact your fabric supplier. Seam Slippage on Rayon Fabric

Skipped Stitches
DESCRIPTION: Where the stitch length is inconsistent, possibly appearing as double the normal stitch length; or where you can see that the threads in the stitch are not properly connected together. Caused by the stitch forming device in the sewing machine missing the thread loop during stitch formation causing a defective stitch. On looper type stitches, this will allow the stitch to unravel causing seam failure. MINIMIZING SKIPPED STITCHES: 1) Use a better quality sewing thread. This may include going to a higher performance thread designed to minimize sewing interruptions. (See the Thread Selection Guide and/or Minimizing Thread Breakage & Skipped Stitches); 2) Insure proper machine maintenance and sewing machine adjustments; 3) Make sure sewing machines are properly maintained and adjusted for the fabric and sewing operation. (See Machine Maintenance Checklist); 4) Observe sewing operators for correct material handling techniques.	401 Chainstitch 503 Overedge 301 Lockstitch - Skipped Stitches 401 Skipped Stitch

Unraveling Buttons
DESCRIPTION: Where a tail of thread is visible on the topside of the button and when pulled, the button falls off. SOLUTIONS: 1) Use a quality sewing thread to minimize skipped stitches; 2) Specify attaching the buttons with a Lockstitch instead of a single thread Chainstitch Buttonsewing machine.

How to Read a Weaving Design- A Beginner's Tutorial

Weave: It refers to the order of interlacing of warp ends and the weft picks.

The figure shows the plan view of the most popular weave, which is called plain weave. Cross sectional diagrams are also used, however they are ideal of showing the basic structure of compound weave.
The preferred method of illustrating weave structure is to use point paper as shown.

A square is filled in or filled with a cross mark, every time that a warp end passes over a weft pick, called warp lift or warp up.

Weave repeat

A weave repeat is the smallest number of threads required to show all the interlacing in the patterns. It is usually considered sufficient to show one repeat only.

DRAFTING, DENTING AND LIFTING PLANS

Draft

A draft indicates the number of heald shafts used to produce a given design and the order is which warp ends are threaded through the heald eyes of the heald shaft.
The healds control the movement of warp threads to form a shed, through which the weft picks pass and it is in this way that the yearns are interlaced to form the woven fabric.
The principle of drafting (i.e. putting of ends on different healed shafts) is that ends which work in different order require separate heald shafts.
To keep matters simple, we can also say that the ends that work alike are put on the same heald shaft.
Let us understand the most simple and commonly used

draft of all i.e. the STRAIGHT DRAFT. Let us take a design as given below:

First we should read the design and find its repeat.

How to Read a Design- A step by step procedure
Step 1 Calculate the number of rows and columns. It has four rows and twelve columns. Rows in design indicate the weft and columns in the design indicate the warp ends.
Thus the design is made of four weft picks and twelve warp ends.

Step -2 Note down the working of first warp end.
We see that there are two cross marks at pick position 1 and 2. The cross marks indicate that warp is ‘over’ the pick at that position or we can call it as ‘warp up’. Thus we can say warp is ‘up’ at 1st pick and 2nd pick and as there is no cross mark in 3rd pick and 4th pick, we say that warp is down on 3rd and 4th pick or weft is ‘up’ at 3rd and 4th pick.
In weavers language we say that working of 1st end is 2 up 2 down or “2/2”.
Step- 3: Similarly, note the working of other ends till you reach a point where the whole pattern is repeating itself

Working of first end is 2 up 2 down or (from step 2) –––––
Working of 2nd end is 1down 2 up 1 down
Working of 3rd end is 2 down 2 up
Working of 4th end is 1 up 2 down 1up
Working of 5th end is 2 up 2 down
Working of 6th end is 1 down 2 up 1down
Thus we see that after 4th end the whole pattern is repeating itself.
Thus we can draw the design again upto 4th end, which indicates the smallest repeat of the design, as shown in Figure:

Thus the design is 4×4 i.e. 4 ends and 4 picks.

How to Construct a Drafting Plan from a Design

Creating Drafting Plan – Step-by –Step -Procedure

First let us understand the meaning of the ‘straight Draft. Let us draw our full previous design again.

Step 1: Number the columns starting from 1, from the left. The number represents the number of ends in the repeat. It is already done in the design.

Step 2: Find out which ends (colums) are working alike. We find that column 1,5 and 9 are working alike. Thus from the principle of drafting they should be on the same heald shaft.

Similarly sets of ends (2, 6, 10), (3, 7, 11), (4, 8, 12) are working alike, these four all the ends on the set should be on the same heald shaft.

As we have four sets (1, 5, 9), (2, 6, 10), (3, 7, 11), (4, 8, 12), which are working differently, these sets should be on different heald shafts. Thus we need in all four heald shafts.

Step 3: Show the heald shaft as rows on the drafting plan and ends as columns.

Now we are ready to make drafting plan. Generally drafting plan is shown above the design.

As there are 4 heald shafts and 12 ends so we need 4 rows and 12 columns. Therefore our drafting plan will look like:

Numbering the heald shaft from bottom to top and placing it on top of the design we have:

Step 4 Marking

As 1st, 5th, 9th ends work alike (all 2 up and 2 down) so they should be drawn through the heald eye of first heald shaft, we indicate this by a cross on the first heald shaft at 1st 5th and 9th columns.

Similarly 2nd, 6th and 10th ends work alika (1 down 1 up 1 down) they should be marked on the second heald shaft in similar way.

In the same way set (3,7,11)th end will go on 3rd heald shaft and the set of ends (4, 8, 12) will go on 4th heald shaft.

Which completes our drafting plan or draft.

This drafting plan or draft is called STRAIGHT because 1st end is drawn through 1st heald shaft, 2nd end working differently in drawn through 2nd heald shaft and so on …