Singed cotton
Singed cotton is the result of an industrial procedure where the cotton thread is passed through a flame to eliminate all the excess fluff.
Process
The cotton thread is passed very fast over a flame that burns off the external fluff; above all, the speed by which the thread passes over the flame is very important, it must not be burnt and furthermore no residue can be left on the fiber of singed cotton.
The machine that does this process uses natural gas for the flames for the reason that natural gas does not leave any residue on the fibers. Alessandro Volta in 1776 discovered and studied the natural gas or so said methane, exactly here in Angera while he was a guest of the inventor Teresa Ciceri Castiglioni. Walking alongside the shore of the lake, he saw some bubbles coming up from the bottom of the lake, and collected them in a bottle. He subsequently discovered that you can light this gas with a candle or an electric spark and the flame burns at the temperature of 600°
(A. Volta)
Singed cotton – Results
The resulting thread is more uniform, (see picture) also fresher and more luminous; eliminating the fluff, makes the cotton drier and consequently fresher; this process is done before the mercerising, therefore the final result is even better.
Singeing is done on high quality cotton only, with long fibers, as a preparation for all the subsequent processes that will transform it from its original form ( egyptian Makò cotton) into the finished product Lisle Cotton Yarn; at the end of this operation, about 6/7 % of the initial weight will have been lost, this is necessary to guarantee the excellence of the product.
Some of our singed cotton products