Waldemar Cierpucha,

Zdzisław Czaplicki,
Blended Rotor-Spun Yarns with a High
Jerzy Mańkowski,
Jacek Kołodziej,
Proportion of Flax
*Stanisław Zaręba, Abstract
*Jerzy Szporek We present the results of tests on rotor-spun blended yarns, made with a high proportion of
flax, and rotor-spun all-cotton yarns. Of special concern was the method of preparing the
fibres and sliver. The flax/cotton sliver was made up of medium-long cotton, and the flax fibre
Institute of Natural Fibres, was shortened and reduced in diameter by mechanical cottonising. The basic composition of
ul. Wojska Polskiego 71 b, 60-680 Poznań, Poland
the flax/cotton sliver was 30% cotton and 70% mechanically cottonised flax. The optimum
* Zamatex Sp. z o.o., linear density of the yarns was 40 tex. The experiments enabled the optimum values of twist
ul. Rembielińskiego 16/18, 93-575 Łódź, Poland and linear density to be found, at which the quality parameters of the yarns produced were
acceptable. In addition, a comparative analysis of the produced cotton yarn and flax/cotton
yarn was made. The flax/cotton yarn with a high proportion of flax is suitable for both
weaving and knitting.

Key words: flax cottonised fibres, cotton, blends flax/cotton rotor-spun yarns, yarn proper-
ties, application of blend flax/cotton yarns.

72/P-04653, PN-72/P-04654, and PN-72/ Characteristics of the raw

P-04652, describing the test methods. materials used in the blends
A comparative analysis was made of the In the rotor-spinning system, cotton can
n Introduction only be blended with cottonised flax
results of spinning cotton (100%) and
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

For many years Zamatex of Łódź (spe- flax/cotton blends (containing a high pro- (Figure 1). Of the available types of
cifically the Moszczenica plant thereof) portion of cottonised flax). It was found flax fibre, practically only one is used as
has been co-operating with the Institute that compared to the cotton yarns, the an ‘input’ material in the production of
of Natural Fibres, Poznań, in the manu- blended flax/cotton yarns were character- cottonised flax. This material is the flax
facture of blended rotor-spun cotton/flax ised by a lower strength (by about 10%) hackling noil. It is a fibre deriving from
yarns. This co-operation has contributed and slightly higher CV values of linear the central parts of the stem, the origin
to the development of a technology for density and strength. In addition to that, of most of the technical fibres and fibres
manufacturing a yarn made from 70% a higher twist factor (by 10 - 12%) was that are very clean (showing only traces
mechanically cottonised flax in blend required for a smooth spinning process. of shive). The fibres (noil) are used for
(before processing) with cotton, and the relatively coarse yarns produced by the
use of this yarn for woven and knitted Despite these differences, the blended linen spinning system.
fabrics and other textiles which are cur- yarns meet the standard quality require-
rently regarded on the market as being ments for this group of products [1, 3, 5, 6]. If the flax hackling noil is subjected to
ecologically-friendly. Flax (as well as cottonising, it takes a form and shape
hemp) has high utilitarian and ecological The level of breakage was determined at that permit its processing in a blend with
values, being random, and was estimated at the follow- cotton by the cotton (rotor-spinning)
n antiseptic (bacteriologial, antifungal), ing levels: system. The important properties here
n absorbent, n for blended yarns: 95 to 160 breaks are the linear density and staple length
n physiologically friendly (hygroscopic, per 1000 hours, of the cottonised fibre. In the spinning
thermal, and electrostatic properties), n for cotton yarns: 65 to 85 breaks per results discussed here, the material was
and 1000 hours. mechanically cottonised flax.
n protective against UV radiation.

This paper presents the results of the

rotor spinning of yarns of 30, 40, 50, 60
and 80 tex, using flax/cotton blends with
a high proportion of mechanically cot-
tonised flax of 70% flax / 30% cotton in
blends for all the above-mentioned linear
densities. We also give the physical and
mechanical characteristics of the compo-
nents of the blends. For comparison, we
also present the results of the rotor spin-
ning of cotton alone within the above-
mentioned linear density range (30, 40,
50, 60 and 80 tex).

All tests were carried out in accordance

with the BN-75/7531-01 Standard gen- Figure 1. Distribution of fibres in the cottonised flax, mean fibre length – 27.4 mm, fibre
eral specification, and with standard PN- linear density – 1.1 tex.

80 FIBRES & TEXTILES in Eastern Europe January / December 2006, Vol. 14, No. 5 (59)
As a result of the cottonising operations, Table 1. Characteristics of selected properties of flax and cotton.
a cottonised flax with the following char-
acteristics was obtained: Yarn properties Unit Flax Hemp Cotton

n linear density of fibre – 0.7 to 2.0 tex Length of technical fibre cm 20-140 80-300 -
(mean 50) (mean 120)
n mean length of fibre – 18 to 35 mm 1-130 5-55 10-70
Length of elementary fibre mm
n content of fibres 40 - 50 mm long (mean 13-40) (mean 15-25) (mean 12-36)
– about 8%. Tenacity of fibre cN/tex mean 53 mean 57 mean 30
Linear density of technical fibre tex mean 2 mean 2.2 -
An example of cottonised flax is pre- Linear density of elementary fibre mtex mean 290 mean 333 mean 143-200
sented in Figure 1.
Table 2. Quality parameters of the rotor-spun flax/cotton yarns with a high content of
The middling Uzbekistan cotton with the cottonised flax (70%).
following parameters was blended with Linear density of Coefficient of variation Tenacity, Twist, tpm Twist factor
the flax: yarn cN/tex αm,
n fibre linear density – 0.162 tex tex tex Linear density Breaking
nom. real CVtex, % force CVw, %
n classification length of fibre – 33 to
30 31.5 3.3 12.7 8.1 966 171
34 mm 31.6 2.2 9.4 8.4 1034 184
32.1 1.4 10.7 8.4 1054 189
n total faults and impurities – 3.2% 30.5 2.2 11.2 8.3 1040 185
In respect of length and fineness, the mean 31.4 2.3 11.0 8.3 1024 175
elementary fibres of flax (ultimates) are 40 41.8 3.1 11.5 8.5 837 164
39.7 3.5 12.3 9.8 868 173
close to cotton (Table 1). They are elon- 38.2 1.8 12.9 8.1 844 165
gated, spindle-shaped, and have a polyg- 40.0 1.3 11.6 9.4 813 163
mean 39.9 2.4 12.1 9.0 841 166
onal cross-section (usually pentagonal); 50 52.3 1.3 7.7 10.1 688 157
there is a channel inside each ultimate. 50.4 3.0 15.2 8.4 671 151
49.1 2.2 12.1 8.2 690 157
On the other hand, a cotton fibre has a 51.0 2.1 13.2 9.2 681 155
different shape, of a flat twisted ribbon, mean 50.5 2.2 12.1 8.7 683 155
owing to which it has a greater spinning 60 63.4 2.3 10.0 9.4 705 177
61.0 2.8 14.2 7.6 734 181
capability. In addition to that, the cotton 62.4 2.2 12.9 8.1 718 179
fibre is a unicellular fibre, while the flax 61.0 3.8 12.7 8.0 749 186
mean 61.8 2.8 12.5 8.3 727 181
fibre is multi-cellular, at least in the form 80 79.0 2.6 14.3 8.2 629 178
it appears in cottonised flax. The individ- 80.2 1.9 11.7 8.6 643 180
81.3 1.3 10.5 10.6 517 147
ual fibres in cottonised flax are composed 80.5 1.4 9.7 8.6 578 164
of a few to several elementary fibres. The mean 80.3 1.8 11.6 9.0 592 167

cotton fibre is a few times finer than cot-

tonised flax [2, 4]. Table 3. Quality parameters of the rotor-spun cotton yarns.

Technological conditions for manufac- Linear density of Tenacity, Twist, tpm Twist factor
Coefficient of variation
yarn cN/tex αm
turing blended cotton/flax yarns by the tex tex linear density breaking
CVtex, % load CVw, %
cotton rotor-spinning system [1] nom. real
1. Preparation of cottonised flax (hemp) 30 29.3
29.7
1.6
1.2
9.2
11.4
9.9
8.7
940
873
160
150
before blending with cotton: 30.1 1.5 15.2 8.9 922 160
30.5 2.2 13.7 8.2 931 163
n emulsifying (wax OT78 – 0.5% at mean 29.9 1.6 12.4 8.9 917 158
a humidity of 20%); 40 39.1 1.5 10.5 9.9 796 157
n seasoning: 24 - 48 hrs. 38.6 1.3 13.4 9.8 791 155
38.9 1.4 10.8 10.6 750 148
2. Formation of blend (cotton/flax, open- 39.9 1.2 10.3 9.7 773 154
ing on an opening/mixing (willow- mean 39.1 1.4 11.3 9.9 778 154

type) set, ageing in chamber at 80% 50 49.4 0.7 11.3 9.8 714 159
48.9 1.8 10.9 10.2 637 141
humidity, 18 °C). 50.2 1.4 10.9 10.1 683 153
49.2 0.8 13.0 10.9 659 147
3. Seasoning – about 48 hrs, with manual mean 49.4 1.2 11.5 10.3 673 150
mixing every 8 hours. 60 59.8 2.1 11.7 9.2 621 152
4. Second opening and mixing on willow. 59.4 1.2 8.5 10.2 622 152
59.7 0.9 12.4 10.0 652 159
5. Formation of lap on an opening/ 59.1 2.2 11.0 9.6 649 158
mean 59.5 1.9 10.9 9.8 636 154
cleaning set, MT type.
80 79.4 1,.2 7.4 11.8 480 135
6. Carding on a flat card CZ 693 (suit- 81.0 1.9 9.5 10.7 518 147
ably adapted – replaced clothing on 78.3 1.4 10.7 10.2 501 140
81.1 1.7 8.7 9.8 488 139
card cylinders and flats). mean 80.0 1.6 9.1 10.6 497 140
7. Doubling of card slivers on Rietter
Laksmi draw frame.
Results of rotor-spinning scale and monitored according to the
8. Evening-up of slivers on a Rietter
RSB951finisher draw frame. of flax/cotton blends with a 70% technology described in the previous sec-
9. Spinning on BD200RN rotor spin- content of cottonised flax tion of the paper. Yarns of linear densities
ning machine (with replaced spinning The spinning of 20 lots of flax/cotton 30, 40, 50, 60 and 80 tex were made. The
heads). blends was carried out on a commercial process was regular, not exceeding the

FIBRES & TEXTILES in Eastern Europe January / December 2006, Vol. 14, No. 5 (59) 81
allowable number of breaks occurring on and those of the yarns made from cotton- Let us compare the number of fibres in
the spinning frame. The number of turns blended with mechanically cottonised the cross-section of a 40 tex yarn:
per metre of the yarns was adjusted in flax in a large proportion. a) If the yarn is spun from 100% cotton
spinning to the optimum breakage level of which the linear density is 0.16 tex,
over the spinning process itself. A comparison of the quality parameters the number of individual fibres in its
of the yarns shows that those made from cross-section is 250;
The quality parameters of the yarns, pre- cotton blended with cottonised flax b) If the yarn is spun from a blend of
sented in Table 2, meet the requirements generally have a slightly lower tenacity 30% cotton and 70% mechanically
of the relevant standard. This applies to (by about 12%) than those made from cottonised flax with a linear density
both the strength and coefficients of vari- 100% cotton, and that to ensure a correct of 1.5 tex, the number of individual
ation of strength and linear density of the spinning process, the number of turns fibres in the cross section of that yarn
yarns. The yarns produced fully satisfy per metre of the yarn must be increased will be as low as 94.
the requirements of weaving. The finest by about 10% (at twist factor increased So, the example cotton yarn has 2.6 times
of the yarns, 30 and 40 tex, can be used by 10 - 12%). Admittedly, the use of a as many fibres in the cross-section as the
for the production of knitted fabrics. higher twist in the case of the flax/cotton exemplified flax/cotton yarn.
yarns results in a correspondingly lower
efficiency of the spinning machine.
In addition to that, the inferior quality
Comparative rotor-spinning
parameters of the blended yarn are due
of cotton The coefficients of variation of strength
to the difference in the physical structure
and linear density are lower in the case of
Under comparable conditions cotton, and shape between cotton and cottonised
the cotton yarns, although they are con-
was rotor-spun into 100% cotton yarns of flax, to the advantage of cotton [7-10].
fined within the standard tolerance.
linear densities 30, 40, 50, 60 and 80 tex.
The quality indices of these yarns are The differences between the values of the Examples of the use of flax/cotton
presented in Table 3. respective parameters of the cotton and yarns with a high content of flax for
flax/cotton yarns are to the advantage of the production of woven fabrics and
Comparative analysis of the results spin- the former, which is because in the cross- other textile products
ning of cotton and flax/cotton blends section of a cotton yarn, there are many Below are listed the woven and knitted prod-
On the basis of the data presented in more individual fibres than in the cor- ucts manufactured with use of flax/cotton
Table 3, the diagrams a, b, c, d and e responding cross-section of flax/cotton blended yarns with a high content of flax:
shown in Figure 2 illustrate the differ- yarn. The number of fibres in the cross- n Woven suiting – denim, bleached,
ences between the values of the quality section of a yarn has a determinant effect area weight - 360 g/m2,
parameters of the rotor-spun cotton yarns on its quality. warp – 40×2 tex, weft - 100 tex;

a) b)

c) d)

Figure 2. Yarn parameters of flax/cotton blends and cotton,

as a function of the linear density of yarn. The following
dependences of the following parameters are presented:
a) dependence of the yarn’s tenacity to the linear density
of yarn; b) dependence of the coefficient of variation of the
yarn’s tenacity on the linear density of yarn; c) dependence
of the coefficient of variation of linear density on the linear
density of yarn; d) dependence of the number of twists on the
linear density of yarn; e) dependence of the metric twist factor
e) on the linear density of yarn; cotton, cotton/flax blend.

82 FIBRES & TEXTILES in Eastern Europe January / December 2006, Vol. 14, No. 5 (59)
n Woven women’s suiting in natural In addition to that, cotton, owing to
colour, its shape, has a greater suitability for
area weight - 200 g/m2, spinning than cottonised flax. It is
warp – 30×2 tex, weft – 40 tex; true, however, that in respect to their
n Woven men’s suiting in natural col- quality parameters, the blended yarns
our, satisfy the quality requirements of the
area weight - 241 g/m2, relevant standards.
warp – 40 tex, weft – 30×2 tex (with 2. To ensure a smooth process when
addition of Lycra) spinning a flax/cotton blend, it is
n Bed sheeting, bleached, necessary to use a higher twist factor,
area weight - 160 g/m2, of the order of 10-12%. As a conse-
warp and weft – 40 tex; quence, the efficiency of spinning
n Woven fabric for blouses, bleached, proper is reduced.
area weight 145 g/m2, 3. The introduction of cottonised flax to
warp and weft – 40 tex; rotor-spinning in a blend with cotton is
n Woven suiting in natural colour, a contribution to the more effective uti-
area weight - 197 g/m2, lisation of flax, since the cotton system
warp – 40 tex, weft – 30×2 tex (with machinery is much more productive.
addition of Lycra);
n Knitted underwear fabric in natural
colour, References
area weight - 237 g/m2, 1. W. Cierpucha, J. Mańkowski, J. Waśko,
perforated yarn – 50 tex; T. Mańkowski, S. Zaręba, J. Szporek:
n Knitted dress goods in natural colour, ‘Application of mechanically cottonised
area weight - 230 g/m2, flax and hemp to rotor spinning.’ Fibres
& Textiles in Eastern Europe, No2, 2002,
perforated yarn – 40 tex; p. 32.
n Sports socks, yarn - 60 tex. 2. W. Cierpucha, R. Kozłowski, J. Mańkow-
ski, J. Waśko, T. Mańkowski: ‘Suitability
The products mentioned above were pro- of flax and hemp for the production of
duced on a commercial scale in the fol- cotton-type fibre and blended yarns.’ Fi-
lowing Polish factories and enterprises: bres & Textiles in Eastern Europe, No3,
2004, p. 13.
Zamatex (weaving mill), Moszczenica; 3. W. Cierpucha, S. Zaręba, J. Mańkowski,
Andropol (multi-directional enterprise), J. Szporek: ‘Utilitarian values of products
Andrychów; Linen Style (knitting en- made from cotton/flax and cotton/hemp
terprise) Poznań; Fabryka Wyrobów blends’ (in Polish). Przegląd Włókienniczy
Lnianych (weaving mill) Żyrardów; – November 2001, p. 15.
Pawelana (enterprise) Pabianice; Frotex 4. J. Mańkowski, W. Cierpucha, J. Koło-
dziej: ‘Modification of flax and hemp to
(spinning & weaving mill) Prudnik; spinning in blend with other fibres’ (in
Len (enterprise) Kamienna Góra; The Polish). Spektrum Tekstylno-Włókienni-
Institute of Textile Architecture, Łódź; cze 3/2005, p. 23.
Lodex (weaving mill), Łódź; Polkonfex 5. W. Ankudowicz, J. Wróblewski: ‘Prepara-
(enterprise), Łodź; Artistic Workshop tion of flax fibres and spinning with cot-
Bartecka; Zwoltex (multi-directional en- ton’, Research Reports of the Textile Re-
search Institute, vol. XXX, Łódź, Poland.
terprise), Zduńska Wola; Caps (knitting 6. T. Jackowski, J. Czekalski, B. Chylewska,
mill), Kraków; Pasmanta (weaving mill), D. Cyniak: ‘Yarn blends hemp-cotton’ (in
Białystok; Fine Fashion (enterprise), Pa- Polish), Proceedings of the Textile Faculty
bianice; Asia (weaving mill), Łódź. Conference, Technical University of Łódź,
March, 2000.
7. J. Czekalski, K. Patejuk: ‘The Effect of
n Conclusions Flax Fibre Modification on the Quality of
Linen/Cotton-Blended Yarn’, Przegląd
The technology developed for rotor-spin- Włókienniczy, No. 10/1999, pp.11.
ning flax/cotton blends with a flax content 8. T. Jackowski, B. Chylewska, D. Cyniak,
up to 70% permits the production of cot- J. Czekalski: ‘Tensile Strength of Untwi-
sted Blended Cotton/Flax Fibre Streams’,
ton-type yarns ranging from 30 to 80 tex. Fibres & Textiles in Eastern Europe, vol.
These yarns are suitable for the produc- 11, No. 3(42)2003.
tion of a wide range of woven, knitted 9. T. Jackowski, B. Chylewska, D. Cyniak, J.
and other textile products (e.g. socks). Czekalski, L. Jackowska-Strumiłło: ‘Mo-
1. Compared to all-cotton yarns, the delling of the Relationship Between Fe-
blended yarns with flax are charac- eding Sliver Structures and Parameters
of Cotton/Linen Blended Yarns’, Fibres &
terised by lower strength (about 10% Textiles in Eastern Europe, vol. 11, No.
lower) and higher coefficients of varia- 2(41)2003.
tion of linear density and strength. The 10. J. Czekalski, T. Jackowski, I. Krucińska:
differences between the two types of ‘Analysis of the Manufacturing Process of
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Europe, vol. 8, No. 2(29)2000.
flax, which makes a significant differ-
ence as far as the number of fibres in
the yarn cross-section is concerned. Received 02.09.2005 Reviewed 21.04.2006

FIBRES & TEXTILES in Eastern Europe January / December 2006, Vol. 14, No. 5 (59) 83