Abstract: The present invention relates to composite elastomeric yarns and fabrics, to methods of making same, and to articles in which such yarns and fabrics are used. The composite yarns of the present invention comprise a elastomeric core, an elastomeric thermoplastic sheath disposed about the core and, preferably, fibers mechanically anchored in the sheath. The composite fabrics of the present invention comprise the composite yarns of the present invention and conventional fibers arranged to form a fabric.

Abstract: A recyclable chenille yarn has a core yarn or core yarns, and effect yarns, of natural fiber materials. The core yarn or yarns hold the effect yarns by twisting the yarns together, so that no binder is necessary or used. Accordingly, the chenille yarn is biodegradable and readily recyclable. Preferred natural fibers for the yarns include bamboo, kudzu, potato, alpaca, banana, coconut, kenaf and soybean.

Abstract: A recyclable chenille yarn comprising a core yarn and an effect yarn wherein at least one of the core yarn and effect yarn comprises a natural fiber selected from the group consisting of bamboo, kudzu, potato, tobacco, alpaca, banana, coconut, kenaf and soybean.

Abstract: A warp knit fabric having a plurality of stitches formed by overlaps arranged in adjacent, longitudinally extending wales with transverse underlaps connecting the overlaps of adjacent wales and with a binder material extending along the wales is used to produce a chenille yarn having a core and a pile. The pile of the chenille yarn is defined by the slit transverse underlaps and the core is defined by the overlaps of the stitches and the binder. Either before or after slitting, either the fabric or the chenille yarns is(are) heated to activate the binder. A tensile force is imposed either during or after heating.

Abstract: The present invention is directed to new chenille yarns and methods of making the same. The present invention is further directed to new chenille yarns having a spun core containing low-melting staple-length binder fibers and methods of making the same. The chenille yarns may be used on conventional weaving equipment, including air jet and water jet weaving machines, to produce simulated pile fabrics having superior abrasion resistance and improved hand. The present invention is, also directed to methods of making fabrics containing the chenille yarn, and various uses for the fabrics, especially as residential upholstery fabrics, decorative throws, contract fabrics, automotive fabrics, and bedding fabrics for use in the home.

Abstract: A machine for dubbing assembly in fly hook production includes a base having a vertical dowel mounted to one end of the base, and a housing mounted to the other end. A work platform is pivotally mounted to one side of the base so that the platform may be elevated or lowered. A drive motor is mounted within the housing. The motor drives a drive shaft. The drive shaft terminates in a hook or eye. A second eye is mounted to the vertical dowel. The second eye projects toward, in opposed facing relation with, the drive shaft. The second eye supports a tensioning spring which has a barrel swivel attached to its opposite end. One or more filaments may be attached to a ring on the barrel swivel so as to extend across the work platform and be secured to the hook or eye on the drive shaft. Dubbing material is applied to a single filament or sandwiched between double strand filaments. Double strand filaments are twisted into a helix to flare the dubbing material.

Abstract: A machine for dubbing assembly in fly hook production includes a base having a vertical dowel mounted to one end of the base, and a housing mounted to the other end. A work platform is pivotally mounted to one side of the base so that the platform may be elevated or lowered. A drive motor is mounted within the housing. The motor drives a drive shaft. The drive shaft terminates in a hook or eye. A second eye is mounted to the vertical dowel. The second eye projects toward, in opposed facing relation with, the drive shaft. The second eye supports a tensioning spring which has a barrel swivel attached to its opposite end. One or more filaments may be attached to a ring on the barrel swivel so as to extend across the work platform and be secured to the hook or eye on the drive shaft. Dubbing material is applied to a single filament or sandwiched between double strand filaments. Double strand filaments are twisted into a helix to flare the dubbing material.

Abstract: Chenille yarns having a spaced dyed appearance of made by crochet knitting a chenille fabric having a plurality of parallel spaced warp yarns with which chain stitches are formed for securing weft yarns laid transverse to the warp yarns as each stitch is formed. Weft yarns of different colors are applied at different times to create a chenille fabric with differently colored sections. Slitting of the fabric in the warp direction between the parallel chain stitches yields individual multi-colored chenille yarns which can be used a flat yarns or twisted to form round chenille yarns.

Abstract: Apparatus for driving interweaving threads in a yarn-forming unit of a chenille machine comprising, for each of the two sides of a gauge (1) on which the fuzzy thread is wound and sized, a pair of rollers (3, 30) forming a calender for driving two interweaving threads to be twisted in order to engage the lengths of the fuzzy thread. Of the rollers (3, 30), the upper one (3) of at least one of the two pairs is provided with a plurality of radial channels (31) associated to air-suction device to pull in the lengths of fuzzy threads being cut by a blade (2) towards the respective edge, at least over an arc thereof instantaneously facing the gauge (1) during the rotation of the rollers (3, 30) of the pair.

Abstract: This invention provides moisture stable tuftstring carpet assemblies. The pile surface structure comprises a moisture stable backing substrate, a plurality of elongated pile articles each comprising an elongated, moisture stable support strand having bonded thereto a plurality of "U" shaped bundles of multifilament yarn. The pile articles are bonded to the backing substrate. Different backing substrates and support strands may be used.

Abstract: A yarn/tow composed of continuous thermoplastic filaments and discontinuous structural filaments wherein the discontinuous structural filaments are intermingled with the continuous thermoplastic filaments. Groups of discontinuous structural filaments have cut ends which are staggered with those of neighboring groups to allow a continuous structural path along the yarn or tow when the thermoplastic is melted to form the matrix of a composite structure. This hybrid continuous/discontinuous (CD) yarn or tow can be "stretched" as the thermoplastic filaments are melted, allowing the structural filaments to slip relative to one another. Woven forms of this CD precursor can then be molded into complex shapes starting from simple preform shapes.

Abstract: Textile structure useful as a reinforcement in the manufacture of composite materials is produced using technical yarns. At least some of the yarns are formed from three constituents, namely a substantially straight core, a relief yarn, and an independent binding yarn. The relief yarn is secured to the core by the binding yarn.

Abstract: A decorative garland. A product and method of manufacture of garland includes a web having transversely cut center and border sections, and the center section has widely spaced transverse cuts and the border sections have narrower spaced transverse cuts. The cut film web is folded and then stuffed using a wire spine to hold a high density of cut film web. The stuffed web is then twisted causing formation of a helically rotated array of loops of the widely spaced transverse cut sections, and a tinsel-like material is positioned nearest the wire spine formed from the narrower spaced transverse cut sections of the web.

Abstract: Loosened fibers are engaged by means of twisted or knitted binding yarns (FL); a feed roller (210) for the fibers of a roving or fiber top is tangent to a card (206) placed in a housing (212) opening onto a cavity (214) which is essentially tangential to said housing (212), in order to deliver the loosened fibers of the roving in the form of light batting to the binding means.

Abstract: There is described a composite sheet includes a textile layer containing an electrically conductive fiber with an electric resistance of 10.sup.5 to 10.sup.9 ohms/cm as disposed at spaced intervals not exceeding 30 mm and a semiconductive layer with a surface resistivity of 10.sup.6 to 10.sup.10 ohms as disposed on the reverse side of the textile layer. This composite sheet releases the static electricity of the charged body on mutual contact and is therefore suitable for use as a car upholstery material and particularly as a seat covering material.

Abstract: A decorative ribbon is disclosed having a web portion comprising two flexible wires enclosed within its crimped hemmed edges. The flexible wires allow the substantially flat decorative ribbon to be formed into numerous shapes for numerous decorative purposes and also serve to lend structure and rigidity to an otherwise unsupported material. The crimped edges also aid in the forming of various shapes, and create random patterned wrinkles in the web which augment the appearance of the ribbon.

Abstract: The present invention is directed to a garland comprising a core portion and a decorative portion surrounding the core portions, the decorative portion including a first component comprising a non-fibrous material and a second component comprising a fibrous material, the first and second components being intertwined around the core. The present invention is also directed to a method of making a garland comprising the steps of providing an elongated core, cutting a strip of non-fibrous material to produce a plurality of lateral fringes extending from a central longitudinal area of the strip, cutting a strip of fibrous material to produce a plurality of lateral fringes extending from a central longitudinal area of the strip, and winding the cut strips of fibrous and non-fibrous materials around the core to intertwine the fibrous and non-fibrous.

Abstract: Artificial Christmas trees have been formed by sandwiching one or more thin strips of plastics sheeting, whose side edges have been severed by a very large number of closely spaced transverse cuts so as to give transverse elements simulating the pine needles, between a pair of wires approximately at the longitudinal center line of the strip. The resulting structure is cut to a length of two twigs and joined at its center to a main branch formed, for example, by twisting a pair of larger wires. A full branch is formed by providing a number of such twigs spaced along the length of the branch. In a branch of an artificial Christmas tree according to the invention a length to be formed into a pair of twigs is formed by twisting the composite structure at the center of its length relative the two ends forming twists of opposite directions on either side of the center.

Abstract: The present invention provides a decorative ornament that includes a garland, having a center wire and a tinsel strip wound around the center wire. The tinsel strip is divided into a plurality of narrow strands. The invention further includes light string, having an electric wire and a plurality of lights connected together by the electric wire. The light string is wound around the center wire of the garland in a direction opposite to the direction the tinsel strip is wound around the center wire.

Abstract: Apparatus and method for making loop chenille type yarns and yarns produced thereby are disclosed. An elongated spindle having a tapered needle surface at one end thereof is provided. The spindle has a passage therein in communication with the needle surface for feeding a core thread to the needle surface. Effect thread is overfed to the needle location where a nose piece member cooperating with the needle aids in wrapping the effect thread about the needle to form loops. The binder yarn is fed to the needle and twisted about the core and effect threads. In a preferred embodiment, means are provided for reciprocating the nose piece relative to the needle between effect thread loop forming and effect thread non-loop forming dispositions. In this manner, "thick" and "thin" novelty yarns are provided in which the thick sections of the yarn comprise looped effect threads whereas the loops are not provided in the thin yarn sections.

Abstract: An improved chenille woven or knitted fabric utilizing at least a chenille yarn composed of synthetic fibers, wherein raised fibers forming a raised fiber portion of the chenille yarn are composed of ultra-fine fibers having a fineness smaller than 0.9 denier and the rising angle .alpha. between the axis of the raised fibers and the longitudinal axis of the chenille yarn is not larger than 50.degree..This chenille woven or knitted fabric has a very smooth surface touch and a silk-like high-grade luster. Since almost no raised fine fibers are removed, this fabric is excellent in durability.

Abstract: A yarn comprised of a number of threads twisted with each other is provided with a plurality of feathers, the quill portions of which are tightly inserted into twisted threads and the feather portions of which project outwardly from the twisted threads to form a bird feather-shaped covering of the yarn.

Abstract: A machine for producing chenille yarn has a winding member on which turns of effect yarn are formed. A rotating disc-shaped cutter can be moved into an operative position to cut the turns on the winding member into individual lengths of effect yarn for forming conventional chenille yarn. The cutter can also be moved to a non-operative position remote from the winding member whereby the turns of effect yarn are uncut and the chenille yarn then produced is of the boucle type. The cutter may be moved between its operative and inoperative positions during operation of the machine so that the yarn produced has alternate chenille portions and boucle portions.