Woven Fabrics - Fairchild Books

Table 4.2 Yarn number Conversions
Woolen Linen
Denier Worsted Cotton (Run) (Lea) Tex Metric
50* 160 106 56 298 5.6 180
Fine yarns
range
75 106 72 37 198 8.3 120
100 80 53 28 149 11.1 90
150 53 35 19 99 16.6 60
Medium 200 40 27 14 74 22.2 45
yarns range 300 27 18 9.3 50 33.4 30
400 20 13 7.0 37 44.4 22.5
500 16 11 5.6 30 55.5 18
700 11.4 7.6 4.0 21 77.7 12.9
Coarse
yarns range
1000 8.0 5.3 2.8 15 111 9
1500 5.3 3.5 1.9 10 166 6
2000 4.0 2.7 1.4 7 222 4.5
* Much finer filament yarns, as low as 10 denier, are commonly used.
60/1 60/1 60/1 60/1 60/1 100d 100d 100d
60/2 30/1 60/3 20/1 100d/3-ply 300d
a b
c
singles equivalent singles equivalent singles equivalent
designating all yarn sizes. The International Organization
for Standardization (ISO) has adopted this system
and it is utilized in the sewing thread business.
The tex system is a direct numbering system in which
higher tex numbers correspond to increasingly heavier
(thicker) yarns. The tex standard uses grams per 1,000
meters. Thus, a 10 d yarn used for pantyhose would be
equivalent to a 1.1 tex yarn. Decitex (dtex) is often
used when referring to a very low tex number. Thus 5.6
tex would be 560 dtex.
Sewing Threads
Sewing threads are special kinds of yarns that are engineered
and designed to pass through a sewing machine
rapidly, to form a stitch efficiently, and to function
while in a sewn product without breaking or becoming
YARNS AND SEWING THREADS
A 83 F
distorted for at least the useful life of the product.
How adequately a specific thread performs these tasks
depends on proper thread selection for the specified
fabric and seam type used. American & Efird, Inc., is a
major thread manufacturer.
Fibers Used for Threads
Figure 4.15
Ply yarn and singles equivalents:
(a) spun yarn, (b) spun yarn, and
(c) filament yarn.
The fibers used for sewing threads are primarily cotton,
nylon, polyester, and rayon. Cotton-covered polyester
is the most widely used because of its relatively low
cost and high versatility. The properties and characteristics
of each of the fibers prevail when they are used
as threads, and these properties should be considered
in thread selection for specific end uses. Rayon, for
example, is usually used for thread intended primarily
for embroidery or decorative stitch work rather than for
seaming to hold parts together.