Abstract: Nonwoven fibrous webs are formed including a first group and a second group of fibers, where fibers of the first group are imparted with a degree of shrinkage that differs from a degree of shrinkage imparted to fibers in the second group. During or after bonding of the web, the web may be subjected to heat treatment causing fibers in one of the groups to shrink a greater amount in comparison to fibers in the other group, resulting in nonwoven products with desired textures and other physical characteristics.

Abstract: A fibrous product including a mixture of different shaped fibers is formed utilizing a spin pack assembly including a spinneret with at least two spinneret orifices having different cross-sections. In addition, the formation of the fibrous product is enhanced by controlling the pressure drop upstream from the spinneret orifices, which in turn facilitates effective control of fiber denier. A metering/distribution plate is preferably provided in the spin pack with channels having selected dimensions that control the pressure drop of molten polymer flowing through the spin pack. The metering/distribution plate can be retrofitted into existing systems and easily exchanged with other metering/distribution plates to enhance formation of the fibrous product with different fiber shapes.