Montefibre - The Leacrils of Montefibre

• Leacril^® Outdoor

• Protection against the sun is just a question of fibre

• The Leacrils of Montefibre

The Leacril^® of Montefibre

THE "LEACRIL^Ž RANGE BY MONTEFIBRE" INCLUDES CONCRETE RESPONSES TO THE DEMAND FOR SOFTNESS AND REDUCED PILLING. Knitwear, like clothing fabrics, is subject to fashion trends that dictate its colors, weights and structures. So periodically the problem of "pilling" emerges, particularly with soft, slightly twisted yarns of acrylic blends with wool or lambswool, like those now experiencing a strong resurgence. The Montefibre Leacril^Ž range includes some proposals that wed technology and fashion through some innovative suggestions in the use of the acrylic component. It is a recognised fact that knitwear, like all textiles, must respond to certain cyclical forces, whether fashions or technical issues. So periodically the problem of pilling comes to the fore, especially when there is a growing market demand for knit outerwear of soft, untwisted yarns of acrylic blended with wool or lambswool (where the natural fibers are rather short, as in the case of lambswool).This is precisely the type of yarns that are in the fashion spotlight today, so the problem of pilling has strongly reemerged, along with the demand for knitwear with a soft feel.
SOFTNESS AND KNITWEAR. Softness and knitwear are indivisible, in the sense that for knitwear softness is an absolutely primary and positive value. The textile industry has long used several methods for achieving this result, such as varying the type of fiber used, since different mechanical characteristics and elastic modules can give different feel effects. With a given fiber, it is a well-known fact that special finishing processes can produce a difference in feel, as can different deniers (a low denier gives a "softer" touch than the saIf, then, from the fiber we pass to the spinning, the variables considered above are exponentialIy multiplied since, as we all know, cotton spinning gives a different feel from wool spinning and, in the former case, cotton ring spinning yields a much softer feel, for the same initial fiber, than a similar count from open-end spinning. The other parameters available in the spinning phase for controlling softness are the swelling or bulkiness of the yarns and the number of twists (the more the twisting, the more the feel tends to be compact). Lastly, examining the construction of the knitwear, we know that the yarn count affects feel and compactness, in the sense that a finer count will tend to decrease the softness of the feel and the compactness of the knit. Similarly influential on "feel effects" are the finishing operations performed on the knitwear, such as tumbling and pressing or raising, which by altering the surface structure can provide the desired changes in "feel effects". me fiber with a higher denier).
PILLING AND KNITWEAR. Our remarks have regarded softness, but the question of pilling is closely associated with knitwear in general and with soft knitwear in particular, in the sense that normally the softer the knit the greater the pilling. In fact, examining our comments above regarding softness, a similar discussion can be made for pilling, starting even farther upstream, i.e. from the principal raw material. Wool normally presents high pilling levels which can be reduced by using particular fibers in the blend, specially devised spinning conditions, levels of twisting that limit the opening of the yarn without overly depressing the swelling, special finishing processes that reduce surface fluffiness, etc.
MONTEFIBRE AND KNITWEAR Knitwear, softness and pilling could be the title summarising our remarks to this point, as there would seem to be no room for compromise within known parameters to obtain soft, pilling free knitwear. MONTEFIBRE however, has always been attentive to market needs and requirements and long ago developed a series of Leacrils that when properly used, wedding technology and fashion, softness and low pilling, can significantly reduce the pilling phenomenon, if not eliminate it altogether, and this has been done for both the cotton and wool spinning systems. The pilling reduction provided by these Leacrils is not obtained at the expense of softness, however. In fact, results have demonstrated that the reduction of pilling has been achieved with increased softness, a fact long recognised by the market. This explains the convincing results obtained in the cotton system by LEACRIL MICRO, FIOCCO 1.3 DTEX/SF regarding raw fibers, and by 1.3/TL for dyed goods. On the wool side, in addition to the time-tested LEACRlL NP as both 2.2 and 3.3 dtex and to Myoliss, MONTEFlBRE is present in its customers' collections with SOFT TOWS, both raw and dyed, especially in 2.6 dtex, that combine color brilliance, soft feel and limited pilling. All these LEACRILs are not only workable in pure form but express the atmost of their softness and reduced pilling potential in blends with fine wools, thus helping produce knitwear that enhances the properties of the other fibers used in the blends: regular, comfortable and lightweight but also soft for pleasant wearability. The original beauty of knitwear produced using these LEACRILs is also long-lasting, given their resistance to pilling, again renewing the effectiveness of the technology-fashion combination that MONTEFIBRE has always expressed with its LEACRIL range. by: Mario Pinton 17.4.2002