Development of Flax and Silk Blended Yarn in the Wet Spinning System and Comfort Characterization of Blended Fabrics

Flax fibre obtained from the flax plant, is one of the oldest and most traditional fibres, valued for its exceptional coolness and freshness in hot weather. Silk fibre, known as the queen of textiles, is valued for aesthetics and comfort. Different types of silk produced in India, are known for their unique characteristics. Due to high stiffness flax fibres are spun into yarn in a wet spinning system, whereas silk fibre spinning is done in a worsted spinning system. In the present study, work has been done to develop silk and linen blended yarns in a wet spinning system. For running silk along with flax fibre in a wet spinning system, certain modification in the spinning conditions has been done. Three types of silk fibres, i.e., mulberry, eri, and tasar have been used in different proportions for this purpose. The developed yarns have been subjected to quality testing. The effect of silk proportion on yarn properties and comfort properties of fabric has been evaluated. The study deciphers that silk/linen blends can be developed in a wet spinning system. Experimental results show that linen/silk blends can offer excellent comfort properties to the wearer with a superior appearance.