Nap (textile) - Raising The Nap

Raising The Nap

In the finishing process of manufacturing textiles, after the cloth is woven, it goes through processes such as washing, fulling, raising the nap, and trimming the nap. After the nap is trimmed, the fabric is considered finished. The raising process, which draws out the ends of the fibres, is done on both woollen and cotton fabric. Flannelette is a cotton fabric that goes through this process. There are ways to 'raise the nap', most of which involve wire brushes such as raising cards. Originally, dried teasel pods were used and were still preferred for use on woollen cloth for a long time. Woollen fabrics, which must be damp when raising the nap, are then dried and stretched before the nap is trimmed or sheared. Cotton cloth goes straight to the shearing process, where the nap gets trimmed to ensure that all the raised fibres are the same length.