Thread Finish

Thread finish
The final aspect of thread construction to be studied
is that surface finish.
The most important type of finish applied to a sewing
thread is being lubrication.
Finishes are given to a thread for two purposes
1. To improve sewability
Some finishes involve increasing strength,
abrasion resistance and lubrication of the
thread.
2. To achieve a specific functional requirement
Some finishes include bonding, non wick, antifungal, fire retardant, water repellent and antistatic finishes.

Thread Terminology
Tensile strength is the tension at which a thread breaks,
expressed in grams or kilograms (force).
Tenacity is the relative strength obtained by dividing the
tensile strength by the thickness of the structure.
Loop strength is the load required to break a length of thread
which is looped through another length of the same thread.
Elongation at break is the amount by which a thread is
extended at its breaking point expressed as a percentage of its
original length.
Modulus is a term used to denote a numerical value which
indicates the manner in which the textile behaves when a
tensile force is applied.
Elasticity is a property of the thread which enables it to
recover to its original length after being extended by a set
amount.
Shrinkage is the amount by which a thread contracts under the
action of washing or heating.
Moisture regain is the weight of moisture in a fibre or thread
expressed as a percentage of weight of completely dry material.

Requirements of lubrication:
It should
Produce regular level of friction.
Provide protection from needle heat.
Protection against unacceptable
damage inflicted during sewing.
Thread must withstand stresses and
should give adequate seam strength.

Properties of lubricant:
Must not clog the needle eye.
Not cause staining.
Must allow thread to unwind evenly from
package.
Must reduce friction with machine surface.
Should not create to much slippage.
Must reduce fiber to fiber slippage in spun
threads which could lead to loss of strength.
Must not react adversely to high temperature.
Must be relatively inexpensive.
Ease to apply to the thread during
manufacturing.

Other thread finishes:

Water resistant finish:
sewing water repellent or water proof
clothing creates difficulty along the
seam, which tend to allow water to
enter to the garment.
Where a garment to be totally
waterproof the seam must be sealed
by means of taping or welding over
the needle holes.

Soil release finish:

work wear fabrics are treated with a
soil release finish, unless a thread is
similarly treated, the dirt washed off
the fabric is redeposit on the seams.
Thus spoiling the appearance of
garment.

Flammability:
these requirement are that synthetic
night wear material melt before they
burn and extinguishes themselves by
the falling away of any burning,
molten material hence the seam
support the adjacent burning material
and even act as a wick to encourage
burning

Antimicrobial threads finish:

Synthetic thread are naturally
resistant to rot and mildew but if
cotton threads must be used,
specially on items which will be kept
in hot and humid condition then
specially treated threads should be
used.