The Package Dyeing of Wool Yarn — Process Appraisal and Product Assessment

Five basic types of commercially produced yarns designed for machine knitting, weaving or hand knitting have been bulk-dyed in package form to demonstrate the technical possibility of producing commercially acceptable products. Various factors were examined including yarn type, package type, package presentation, type of dyeing machine and method of drying. The dyed yarns were evaluated by producing fabrics under commercial conditions. Finally, the cost effectiveness and productivity of the various systems were assessed. The principal results from this project have indicated that certain methods of preparing packages favour level dyeing and that these are the most economical due to advantageous payloads. It has been established that certain of the operations usually associated with package-dyeing processes can be omitted with a significant reduction in cost. Package-dyed yarns in a variety of qualities have produced commercially acceptable fabrics. In some instances, to imitate fabrics already available by alternative processing routes, a change in finishing routine may be necessary.