The invention relates to textiles, and more

specifically relates to towels and to yarns from which they are woven. In its most immediate sense, the invention relates to ultra-high-quality towels that have unique sensory characteristics and that are manufactured from renewable resources, and to the yarns from which such towels are woven.

Towels are conventionally manufactured using cotton fiber, even though cotton fiber has properties that are disadvantageous when used to make toweling. Cotton fiber absorbs moisture but does not release it to the

atmosphere, which causes a towel made of cotton fiber to feel cold and clammy when used.

It would be advantageous to provide an ultra-high- quality towel that feels warm and not clammy during use.

Wool fiber is an animal fiber with insulating properties . It absorbs moisture and releases it to the atmosphere, and thereby reaches equilibrium with the atmosphere insofar as temperature and moisture are concerned. These characteristics would make wool fiber suitable for use in toweling because in use it would feel warm and not cold and clammy. However, wool fiber has a disadvantageous property that to date has entirely precluded its use for toweling. This is that wool fiber is itchy, and an itchy towel would be commercially unsuccessful .

It would be advantageous to provide an ultra-high- quality towel that feels luxuriously smooth and non- itchy .

It is known to spin yarn from a mixture of washable merino-type wool fiber and rayon fiber from bamboo. However, this existing yarn has proven unsuitable for toweling .

The invention proceeds from an extensive testing program in which various blends of fibers and various weaves were tested for suitability for manufacturing toweling. This testing program produced a new and surprising result, namely that an ultra-high-quality towel can be manufactured from a multi-ply yarn that includes 45% - 55% wool fiber.

In accordance with the invention, a multi-ply yarn includes 45% - 55% wool fiber. Advantageously, the yarn includes 45% - 55% wool fiber and a cellulosic rayon fiber. In accordance with the preferred embodiment, the yarn is a four-ply yarn spun from 50% washable merino- type wool fiber and 50% rayon fiber from bamboo. This yarn produces a towel that during use has unique sensory characteristics : it has a lustrous appearance, it is luxuriously smooth and non-itchy, it is warm and non- clammy, and it is highly absorbent . Furthermore, a towel produced using this yarn has highly favorable wear characteristics; it does not pill and it becomes

smoother, warmer to the touch, and more absorbent as it is laundered (in warm or cold water) . And, wool and bamboo are renewable resources . Each has an

environmental footprint that is substantially more benign than that of cotton .

In further accordance with the invention, a towel comprises a yarn that includes wool fiber.

Advantageously, the towel is manufactured using the above-described multi-ply yarn. In accordance with the preferred embodiment, the towel is woven from a four-ply yarn that is used for the warp threads and for the weft threads, the yarn including 50% washable merino-type wool fiber and 50% rayon fiber from bamboo, and the warp threads and weft threads being woven into a weft-facing weave that has 36 - 38 ends per inch and 22 - 28 picks per inch. This produces a towel that is not only lustrous, absorbent, insulating, luxuriously smooth and non-itchy, but that also dries quickly, does not pill, and is highly durable when washed in cold or warm water.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The invention will be better understood with reference to the following illustrative and non-limiting drawings, in which:

Fig. 1A is a representation of a Weave Information File for producing a historical "M' s and 0' s" weave for towel in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention ;

Fig. IB is an image showing the "M' s and 0' s" weave produced by the Weave Information File of Fig. 1A when weaving a towel in accordance with the preferred

embodiment of the invention using yarn in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2A is a representation of a Weave Information File for producing a "Tree" weave for a towel in

accordance with the preferred embodiment of the

invention; and

Fig. 2B is an image showing the "Tree" weave produced by the Weave Information File of Fig. 2A when weaving a towel in accordance with the preferred

embodiment of the invention using yarn in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention.

Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiments

An extensive experimental program has been carried out using yarn spun from wool fiber. As a result of these experiments, it has been determined that a yarn spun from 50% wool fiber and 50% rayon fiber makes a towel that has ideally luxuriously sensory characteristics . However, it is believed that a yarn containing between 45% - and 55% wool fiber will be commercially acceptable. If wool fiber exceeds 55%, a towel made from the yarn performs like a wet blanket; if less than 45%, a towel made from the yarn is

insufficiently warm and insufficiently water-absorbent.

In the preferred embodiment, the wool fiber is washable and of the merino type (i.e. the wool may or may not be from the Merino sheep, but has a "staple" or fiber length of 2.6 inches to 3.9 inches and a diameter of between 19 and 24 microns), and the rayon fiber is derived from bamboo. Wool fiber and rayon fiber from bamboo are renewable resources. This is valued by environmentally conscious consumers .

The yarn spun from 50% washable merino-type wool fiber and 50% rayon fiber from bamboo is a multi-ply yarn and is advantageously four-ply. Experiment has shown that a four-ply yarn is smooth, drapes well, durable when washed in warm or cold water, and does not pill. There is little reason to use more than four plies, because that increases cost without improving performance; using fewer than four plies diminishes the insulation, water- absorbency, and durability of the finished towel.

The preferred embodiment of a towel in accordance with the invention is woven exclusively from the above- described four-ply yarn, i.e. yarn in accordance with the above-described preferred embodiment is used for the warp threads and the weft threads . Advantageously, the weave is unbalanced and weft-facing, i.e. the floats (the threads that do not intersect and that lie on the surface of the woven fabric) are formed from the weft threads. (This is merely for convenience; it would alternatively be possible to weave the fabric using an unbalanced warp- facing weave.) Advantageously, and in accordance with the preferred embodiment, the weave has a density of 36 38 ends per inch and 22 - 28 picks per inch. Experiment has shown that this produces a towel fabric that is not only luxuriously warm and smooth, highly absorbent, durable when washed in cold or warm water, but that also dries quickly and does not pill. A towel in accordance with the preferred embodiment improves with its initial use (i.e. becomes smoother, warmer, and more absorbent after its initial few washings) .

Although any unbalanced weave with an appropriate density will be appropriate for a towel woven from yarn in accordance with the above-described preferred embodiment, the two weaves illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 were so woven and have been shown to produce excellent results. The "M' s and 0' s" weave of Figs. 1A and IB is historical; the "Tree" weave of Figs. 2A and 2B is new.

Although a preferred embodiment has been described above, the scope of the invention is determined only by the following claims :