A Complete Guide to Yarn Classification: Do All Textile Professionals Know This?

Yarn is a type of textile product, processed from various textile fibers into a material of specific fineness. It is used for weaving fabrics, making ropes, producing threads, knitting, and embroidery, and is categorized into staple fiber yarn, continuous filament yarn, etc.

(I) Classification of Yarn by Spinning Process

1. Combed Yarn

   Yarn produced through the combing process. Compared with carded yarn, it uses higher-quality raw materials, with fibers in the yarn arranged in a straight and parallel manner. It features excellent quality and finer fineness.

2. Carded Yarn

   Yarn produced through standard spinning processes, also known as greige yarn. There are slight differences between carded yarn in cotton spinning and wool spinning.

(II) Classification by Fiber Length in the Yarn

1. Filament Yarn

   Yarn formed by combining, twisting, or texturing one or more continuous filaments.

2. Staple Fiber Yarn

   Yarn spun by twisting staple fibers into a strand of specific fineness, which can be further divided into three types:

   • Cotton-type Yarn: Yarn produced by spinning raw cotton or cotton-type fibers alone or in blends on cotton spinning equipment.
   • Medium-length Fiber Yarn: Yarn processed from medium-length fibers on cotton spinning or specialized equipment, with properties between cotton-type and wool-type yarns.
   • Wool-type Yarn: Yarn produced by spinning wool fibers or wool-type fibers alone or in blends on wool spinning equipment.
3. Filament-Staple Composite Yarn

   Yarn spun from a combination of staple fibers and filaments using special techniques, such as core-spun yarn and wrapped yarn.

(III) Classification by Fiber Type in the Yarn

1. Pure Yarn

   Yarn spun from a single type of fiber. It is named by prefixing “pure” to the fiber name, e.g., pure polyester yarn, pure cotton yarn, etc.

2. Blended Yarn

   Yarn spun from a mixture of two or more types of fibers. The naming rules for blended yarn are as follows: when the blending ratios of raw materials differ, the fiber with the higher proportion is listed first; when ratios are equal, fibers are ordered as natural fibers, synthetic fibers, and regenerated fibers. In writing, the raw material ratio and fiber type are indicated together, separated by a slash “/”. Examples include polyester/cotton (65/35) yarn, wool/acrylic (50/50) yarn, polyester/viscose (50/50) yarn, etc.

3. Union-Twisted Yarn

   Yarn formed by twisting two or more single yarns made of different fibers or different colors.

4. Blended Filament Yarn

   Yarn formed by combining two types of filaments to enhance specific performance characteristics.

(IV) Classification of Yarn by Dyeing and Finishing Process

1. Greige Yarn

   Yarn that retains the original color of fibers without undergoing any dyeing or finishing processes.

2. Bleached Yarn

   Yarn with a whiter color after bleaching, usually referring to cotton yarn and linen yarn.

3. Dyed Yarn

   Yarn with various colors after dyeing.

4. Solution-Dyed Yarn

   Yarn spun from pre-colored fibers.

5. Gassed Yarn

   Yarn with a smooth surface after gassing treatment (burning off surface hairs).

6. Mercerized Yarn

   Yarn treated with mercerization, including mercerized cotton yarn and mercerized wool yarn. Mercerized cotton yarn is processed in an alkali solution of specific concentration, giving it a silk-like luster and higher strength. Mercerized wool yarn has the scales of wool fibers removed, making it softer and less irritating to the skin.

(V) Classification of Yarn by Linear Density

• Coarse Tex Yarn: Yarn with a linear density above 32 tex.
• Medium Tex Yarn: Yarn with a linear density ranging from 21 to 31 tex.
• Fine Tex Yarn: Yarn with a linear density ranging from 11 to 20 tex.
• Super-Fine Tex Yarn: Yarn with a linear density of 10 tex or below.

(VI) Classification by Yarn Structure and Appearance

1. Monofilament: A single, continuous filament of considerable length.
2. Multifilament: A bundle of two or more monofilaments combined together.
3. Twisted Filament: Yarn formed by twisting multifilaments.
4. Compound Twisted Filament: Yarn formed by twisting twisted filaments together one or more times.
5. Textured Yarn: Synthetic fiber filaments processed to have crimped, spiral, or looped surface characteristics. The purpose of texturing is to improve the bulkiness, stretchability, and elasticity of the yarn. Based on performance characteristics, it is usually divided into three types: stretch yarn, bulky yarn, and network yarn.
6. Single Yarn: A single continuous strand formed by spinning staple fibers.
7. Plied Yarn: Yarn formed by combining and twisting two or more single yarns. If formed by two single yarns, it is called two-ply yarn; if formed by three or more, it is called multi-ply yarn. Plied yarn twisted together again becomes cabled yarn.
8. Fancy Yarn: Yarn with special appearance and color, produced through special processes, including slub yarn and bouclé yarn. It is formed by twisting core yarn, effect yarn, and binder yarn on a fancy twisting machine, featuring special surface textures or colors such as fiber knots, slubs, loops, braids, spirals, and waves.
9. Bulky Yarn: A soft and voluminous yarn processed using the thermal shrinkage (thermoplasticity) of polypropylene fibers. It is made by blending polypropylene fibers with low shrinkage and high shrinkage properties in a specific ratio to form yarn, followed by relaxation heat setting. The high-shrinkage fibers shrink significantly to form the core of the yarn, while the low-shrinkage fibers shrink slightly and are squeezed to the surface to form loops, resulting in a bulky yarn.
10. Core-Spun Yarn: Yarn with a core of filament or staple fiber yarn, wrapped with other fibers or yarns.