Glossary of Effect (Novelty) Yarns:

The following yarns are defined as their construction.

Composite Yarn (Compound Yarn)

A composite yarn is a structure consisting of at least two strands, one forming the central axis or core and the other forming the sheath or wrap. These yarns are of uniform or even diameter, relatively smooth and warped, and are available in the same size range as filament yarns.

Example:

Covered yarns consist of an easily separated core surrounded by a wrap or covering composed of one (single-covered) or two (double-covered) staple or filament yarns. The core can be an elastomeric fiber, such as rubber or spandex, or a rigid fiber, such as polyester or nylon.

Fancy (fancy) yarn

A fancy yarn consists of irregularities deliberately introduced during their formation and usually consists of two or three strands. All novelty yarns have a fancy, or effect strand. Random variations, irregularities, abrupt variations in diameter, as well as modulation between low and high yarns along the yarn length represent a dramatic departure from the uniformity of spun, filament and composite yarns.

Example:

Boucle, loop and snarl yarns are characterized by tight loops at fairly regular intervals from the body of the yarn. They consist of a twisted core with an impact yarn wrapped around it to create wavy projections on its surface. They are characterized by tight loops projecting from the body of yarn at fairly regular intervals. The three components of yarn are core, effect and binder.

Generally speaking, boucle yarns exhibit an irregular pattern of semicircular loops and sigmoid spirals; Gimp yarns exhibit a fairly regular semicircular projection, and loop yarns have well-structured circular loops.

Chenille yarns are made up of tufts of staple fibers interwoven into the plaid yarns that form the core of the yarn. The effect fiber resembles a caterpillar in appearance. Hence the French word for caterpillar - chenille. They are basically made from a cut pile fabric held together by axial yarns that secure the file. Today, chenille yarn is made on a machine that produces the desired yarn without weaving a pile of fabric.

Cloud yarn is a type of yarn that uses two threads of different colors in such a way that each thread alternately forms the base and covers the opposite thread to create a "cloud".

Crepe yarns are produced with a very high degree of unbalanced twist so that they are prone to warping and tearing. They may be single or plaid and create a rough, pebble-like texture to the fabric.

Concentric yarns are undulating Gimp yarns.

Flame yarns are yarns that incorporate injected slobs that can be multi-colored. These yarns are characterized by a gradual thinning of the linear density at both ends of the slobs as they emerge from them and then merge with the support or ground yarn.

Flammé yarns are dyed in small portions by printing, intended for use in Flammé fabrics.

Flake yarn is a blend yarn with a mottled and small streaky appearance due to the introduction of a minority of fibers of different color and/or luster.

Gimp yarn is a yarn made of one or more strands that are usually twisted around a fine central ground yarn and overfed to form a neat spiral wrap.

Grendel yarn is a fancy yarn produced by twisting together two single-ply yarns of contrasting colors.

Ikat yarn is made in a process where a warp is dyed in a pattern and the warp sections are tightly bound in rope form to prevent dye penetration.

Ingrain yarn is spun from a mixture of different colored fibers.

Jaspe' yarn is skin dyed yarn in two tones of the same color or two different colors.

Knickerbocker yarns are yarns produced by the woolen method and show strongly contrasting spots on their surface which are produced by throwing or blending small balls of wool at the end of the carding process. (Nep yarn, Knicker yarn)

Knop yarn is a yarn that has distinct tufts of one or more constituent threads arranged at regular intervals along its length.

Loop yarn is composite yarn with a twisted core wrapped around an impact yarn to create wavy projections on its surface (see Boucle).

Merle yarns are characterized by a mottled (mottled) appearance created by interlacing two strands or shades of main fibers of different colors.

Metallic or laminated yarns have a central core of metal and a covering which is usually a plastic film but sometimes a metal film. They are produced in a flat, ribbon-like shape to achieve maximum light reflection. As a result, the fabric adds a high-gloss, metallic sheen.

Mock-chenille is a double corkscrew yarn (see spiral yarn).

Multi-count yarns are yarns whose thickness varies over a much longer length than ordinary slab yarns. The look is by using different thread counts, creating heavy and light stripes on the fabric.

Nub, splash and seed yarns are effect strands twisted multiple times around the main strand in a small area to create an extended bump or "knob". The bump is large and short in a knob yarn and long and thin in a slash yarn. Seed threads have pits that vary in size and spacing.

Ratine Yarns (Gimp) have a slightly wavy appearance. The effect strand is twisted around the main strand. The effect strand is closer to the main strand than is typical for boucle and loop yarns.

Slab yarn is a variation of spun yarn in which there is a dramatic change in width along the length of the yarn, creating slabs or small thick areas. With new technologies being used today, these yarns are sometimes referred to as engineered yarns.

Snarl Yarns are composite yarns that exhibit snarls or kinks projecting from the core.

Spiral or corkscrew yarns are pleated yarns that exhibit a characteristic smooth spiral around a component. Usually one strand is a soft and heavy yarn and the other strand is a fine yarn. In a spiral yarn, the thicker strand is usually wound around the finer strand, as opposed to a corkscrew yarn.

Stripe yarns are yarns with elongated naps (see nap yarns).