Staple Length
Staple length, a property of staple fibres, is a term referring to the average length of a group of fibres of any composition. Staple length depends on the origin of the fibres. natural fibres (such as cotton or wool) have a range of lengths in each sample, so the staple length is an average. For synthetic fibres which have been cut to certain length, the staple length is the same for every fibre in the group.
Staple length is an important criterion for spinning fibre, as shorter fibres are more difficult to spin than longer ones, the former also resulting in more hairy yarns.
For cotton and wool, staple length was originally tested by hand, the tester removing a clump of fibre and then arranging it on a dark cloth for measurement. In the 70s machines were invented to do this task, taking around 5 minutes for cotton and for wool around 20 minutes. Today, machinery can take the measurement in seconds.
Read more about this topic: Staple (textiles)
Famous quotes containing the words staple and/or length:
“He draweth out the thread of his verbosity finer than the staple of his argument.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“Nor had I erred in my calculations—nor had I endured in vain. I at length felt that I was free.”
—Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849)