Technical Field of the Invention

The invention is related to making the lace used in the women's underwear and outerwear sector suitable for mass production with a yam obtained from improved lyocell fibers.

State of the Art (Prior Art)

The interest in new fabric designs, which are environmentally friendly and have high performance features, has increased with the increase of customer awareness in the textile industry. Lace fabrics are made of cotton, viscose, polyester, nylon, elastane, fiber and their mixtures.

Polyester and polyamide fibers are synthetic fibers; cotton fibers are from the natural fiber group. Due to environmental damages (death of other beneficial organisms, leading to fish deaths, leakage into groundwater, etc.) caused by pesticides used in the production of cotton, which is the other fiber produced and consumed the most together with polyester; genetically modified cotton production, the need for 2500 kg water for the production of 250 g cotton fabric, environmental effects caused by the use of chemical fertilizers etc., environmentalists react heavily against cotton fiber production. In addition, laces made with cotton fiber has a matte look and they are hard-to-touch. Dusting problem and pollution occurs in the working environment during the knitting process in lace machines. It requires strong pre-treatment that creates environmental waste load since it contains color and pre-painting pollution. Strong pretreatments for cotton dyeing in lace comprising cotton/polyamide/elastane mixtures cause a loss of strength for the other polyamide and elastane fibers in the lace content.

With the increasing interest of Fast Fashion brands in sustainable fibers in the recent years, these brands aim to increase the use of sustainable, organic and recyclable materials such as lyocell fibers in their collections. Lyocell fiber is an environmentally friendly, sustainable fiber that is obtained by fiber extraction from specially grown tree logs and can be recycled.

Lyocell fiber has a smooth structure. The most important factor that makes fiber sensitive is that fiber hardness is low. The controlled and regularly arranged nanofibrils in the structure of the lyocell fiber are hydrophilic. For this reason, water absorption is quite high compared to synthetic fibers and cotton fiber. Therefore, it provides a very good heat transfer and gives a feeling of coolness. Lyocell fiber with good hydrophilic properties dries faster than other fibers, does not cause discomfort even if the body sweats, and also prevents the formation of a surface that will trigger bacterial formation as it absorbs the water in the body quickly. It is very suitable for sensitive skins with its smooth surface, high moisture absorption, and fast drying properties.

Lyocell has many properties similar with other cellulosic fibers such as cotton, linen, ramie and rayon but it has higher strength compared to other fibers.

Since the lyocell fiber is a cellulosic fiber, it can be dyed with dyestuffs (direct, reactive, sulfur, indigo, pigment, naphthol, etc.) used in the dyeing of other cellulosic fibers. Lyocell fiber creates less environmental waste load during dyeing and finishing processes compared to dyeing and finishing processes of cotton fiber. Staining and finishing processes in products made of lyocell fibers are very important, especially due to their fibrillation properties. Swelling and dye uptake are higher, compared to cotton. Compared to cotton fiber, darker, brighter-looking, more vividly colored and soft-to-touch fabrics are obtained with lyocell fiber. It has a high color fastness that maintains its brightness and color even after repeated washing since it is a high-strength fiber.

There are no lyocell yarns that can be worked in lace machines. The reason for this is that the yarn disintegrates and breaks during production due to the fact that the lyocell yams known in the art do not have sufficient yam straightness and sufficient twist to be worked in lace machines. Therefore, mass production cannot be performed. Brief Description and Objects of the Invention

The primary object of the invention is the production of lace from lyocell yarn known as a sustainable fiber with its environmentally friendly production.

In the invention, the standard lyocell yarn was converted into multiple layers instead of a single layer by giving a sufficient amount of twist and the yarn was waxed. Working the desired lace design patterns was ensured by reducing the yarn breaks, since the yarn was brought into a proper, smooth surface state and the thinness-thickness differences in the yarn were minimized, and it was prevented from being caught by the working elements in the lace machines. Thus, the production of the lace used in the women's underwear and outerwear sector with improved lyocell yarn has been made suitable for mass production.

Another purpose of the invention is to provide the production of lace knitted from biodegradable yam, which dissolves in nature, does not harm nature during its production; and to respond to the increasing demand in European countries and to produce a new product. With lyocell yams of the invention, the wrapping to booms in lace machines was made at a lower tension than nylon yarns. Adjustment changes were made in the machine and the yam pressure values of the pattern combs were reduced by 0,5 cN in lace machines while the lyocell yarns were knitted in lace machines. The pressure of the pattern combs is approximately 2-5 cN while knitting with Nylon 6.6 yarn in the same denier. The value was reduced by 0,5 cN and it was worked with 1,5-4, 5 cN tension values while working with lyocell yarn. The Lyocell yam tension ratio was preferably worked in the range of 2,5-3 cN in the invention. However, this value can be up to 1,5-4, 5 cN depending on the patterns to be worked.

The machine speed value operating at 500 rpm when working with other fiber types was reduced by approximately 10% when the lyocell yarn of the invention was used, and the work was carried out with a machine speed between 420-470 rpm, preferably 450 rpm.

In the invention, the laces knitted in different patterns containing Lyocell, Nylon and/or Elastane were prefixed, enzyme washed, colored and subjected to final fixation processes, finishing was performed, and ready-to-use colored lace fabric is produced. With the invention, ecologically produced, bright, soft, smooth, attractive, breathable, healthy, comfortable fabrics suitable for the final consumer demands are obtained in a sustainable fashion.

Detailed Description of the Invention

A yam obtained from the lyocell fiber and the production of lace from this yarn in lace machines are described only for the better understanding of the subject matter and in a manner that does not create any limiting effect is in this detailed description.

The invention is related to the production of lace from environmentally friendly lyocell yam by ensuring that the yam produced from lyocell fiber, which is an environmentally friendly fiber, is worked in lace machines.

The method of working with lyocell yarns in lace machines comprises the following procedure steps; a) Preparing lyocell yams,

• Performing double layer of standard Ne 10/1 to Ne 100/1 and lyocell yams,

• Twisting at 100-2000 tpm,

• Waxing, b) Adjusting the lace machine settings,

• Thread tension in pattern combs in lace machines being in the range of 1.5-4.5 cN

• Machine speed being at 420-470 rpm

• Setting the winding speed of yams obtained by step a to booms at 150 rpm.

In one application of the invention, the Lyocell yarn, which can be worked on lace machines has Ne 50/2 double layer, 750 tpm twist and is waxed.

The method of preparing said lyocell yams comprises the following procedure steps: Performing Ne 50/2 double layer of standard lyocell yam, Twisting double layer yarn at 750 tpm,

Waxing.

Two yarns with a yarn number of Ne 50 were combined with 750 tpm twist and as the final product, Ne 50/2 (Double layer) 100% lyocell, double layer, 750 tpm twist, waxed lyocell ring yarn were specially produced. The single layer state of yarn makes 120 dtex as Ne 50, which shows that 10000 meters of yarn is 120 g. The double yarn number becomes Ne 50/2, that is 240 dtex and indicates that the 10000 meter of the used special yarn is 240 g as the final product.

Dtex: the weight of 10.000 m yam in grams.

Ne: 1 pound of yarn (453.6 g.) is the number of 840 yards (1 yard=0,914 m.) in the same, according to the British Cotton Yarn System.

In the invention, 750 tpm twist is applied to the lyocell Ne 50/2 yam and waxed, in order for the lyocell yams to work smoothly and efficiently in lace machines without breaking.

The Uster Irregularity value is Um :7,39%, the hairiness value of the yam (variation coefficient) Cvm is :9,32%, and the thin part value of the yarns (-40% and -50%) are zero in the uster measurement results of Ne 50/2 invention yam. Yarn (+35%) thick part is 15,5, and yarn (+50%) thick part value is 0,5. (+140%) nep value was measured as 18,5, and (+200%) nep value as 2.0 quality.

The Uster irregularity value of the ne-50/2 invention yam can be 8% at the most, the hairiness value can be 10% at the most, the thin part (-40% and -50%) value can be zero, + 35% thick part value can be 19% at the most, +50% thick part value can be 1 at the most, the + 140% nep value can be 20 at the most, the +200% nep value can be 3.0 at the most.

Um denotes the total amount of mass variation across a material. It is the change in the mass of a material along its length, i.e., irregularity. Coefficient of Variation (%CVm) indicates the greatness of the total mass variation along the length of a material.

Thin Parts: They are errors in the approximate fiber length, the cross-section of which is 50% thinner than the average value. Sensitivity levels such as -30%, -40%, -50%, -60% are used to determine thin part errors in irregularity test devices.

Thick Parts: They are errors in the approximate fiber length, the cross-section of which is 50% more than the average value. Sensitivity levels such as +35%, +50%, +70%, +100% are used to determine thick part errors in irregularity test devices.

Neps are the very short thick parts in yarn. These are faulty parts with a length of less than 4 mm, which is 200% of the mass average value in the yarn cross-section.

The irregularity values of the yams were measured in the uster device. The yarn was ensured to work without being caught by the lace working elements thanks to the fact that the yarn is smooth and contains a low number of thick parts and neps.

In the invention, yarn preparations were made for knitting in lace machines while the lyocell yarns were wrapped in booms at a speed lower than 320 rpm, and at 150 rpm, compared to nylon yarns. The tension settings of the other yarns used in the machine were reduced by 5- 3% in order to reduce the force applied to the sensitive lyocell yarn during production and production was made with low tension and 20% lower speed. After the knitting process in lace machines was completed, although approximately varying according to the pattern, dyeing process was performed to give the lace fabrics that contain Lyocell/Nylon/Polyester/Elastane mixtures with 0-15% elastane, 20-60% Lyocell, 30-80% Nylon, 0-30% Polyester by mass, color and touch properties. Prewashing-prefixation- (enzymatic process)-dyeing-post dyeing processes-finishing processes are carried out on the lace fabrics in the dye shop with suitable processes determined. Bright, soft, comfortable lace fabrics with good physical performance values are obtained at the end of the finishing processes.