Waste Spinning

the production of yarn from waste fiber materials. The waste material may be cotton, bast fibers, or silk.

In cotton waste spinning, the cotton waste may be used alone or mixed with lower-grade cotton, man-made, or wool fibers. In the USSR this is known as vigogne spinning. The raw material used for each type of waste spinning is loosened and cleaned of foreign matter in waste-cleaning machines, and the components are then blended and lubricated. Waste spinning usually uses the techniques of condenser spinning, in which the mixture is blended by two or three combing machines connected in series. The layer of fibers is divided on the last combing machine, rather than thinned as in other systems. Yarn is usually made on ring frames with low-tension drafting devices. Open-end spinning machines, in which the waste yarn is made from a sliver produced by short card spinning, are also used.

Waste spinning produces a fluffy, loose yarn with a relatively high weight-to-length ratio (80–160 tex). Such yarn is used chiefly as the weft for napped fabrics and upholstery and drapery fabrics; it is also used in the production of handkerchiefs, towels, napkins, and similar articles.