In clothing, heather refers to a

color Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associ ...

effect created by mixing two or more different colored

fiber Fiber or fibre (from la, fibra, links=no) is a natural or artificial substance that is significantly longer than it is wide. Fibers are often used in the manufacture of other materials. The strongest engineering materials often incorporate ...

s or

yarn Yarn is a long continuous length of interlocked fibres, used in sewing, crocheting, knitting, weaving, embroidery, ropemaking, and the production of textiles. Thread is a type of yarn intended for sewing by hand or machine. Modern manu ...

s. It is interwoven yarns of mixed colors, and possibly the type of fiber, producing another color. It is typically used to mix multiple shades of grey or grey with another color to produce a muted shade (e.g., heather green), but any two colors can be mixed, including bright colors. A mixed fabric color is achieved by using different colors of fiber and mixing them together (a good example is a grey heather t-shirt). Black and white fiber mixed will combine to give grey heather fiber. Heather is blended fibers combined to create a multicolored effect. Heather effect is also known as melange effect.

Methods

Fundamentally it is a mixing of the different colored fibers and yarns combined in one fabric. The methods may involve one of the following * Melange (yarn)—Fiber dyeing in different color and then mixing (in desired percentages) and spinning. * Marl or Marled—Jaspe-Roving Grindle. * Cross dyeing—Using blended yarns and cross dyeing

Melange yarns

The term “melange yarn” is derived from the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

word ''mélange'', meaning a mixture. Melange yarns are made with mixed fibers dyed before yarn

spinning Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally ...

. Melange yarns render economical blended textile materials.

Marl yarn

Marl or Marled yarn is a plied yarn. The doubling process produces the Marl yarn. Two yarns of different colors or may be of two different types are twisted together to make one. The texture of the resultant yarn is other than regular yarn. The process helps in producing fancy yarns. Jaspe is similar yarns produced by twisting different colored yarns or spinning yarn from two different colored rovings.

Cross dyeing

Heather yarn may be more expensive than regular yarns because of other processes involved during fiber dyeing or yarn dyeing in the case of heather effect. The cross dyeing of blends may also create the heather effect. Different fibers types respond differently to the

dye A dye is a colored substance that chemically bonds to the substrate to which it is being applied. This distinguishes dyes from pigments which do not chemically bind to the material they color. Dye is generally applied in an aqueous solution and ...

s. Cross dyeing is the way of dyeing constituting fibers in different colors. Selection of dyes and fiber composition plays a vital role in this case. It is important to note that depending on the percent of cotton, the fabric can still be legally labeled 100% cotton.

Importance and use

Manipulating parts of fiber (by color or type) produce different shades in the heather. Many weaves and knit structures are possible with them. Heather effects add value to the products and increase the range and variety of textiles options other than piece-dyed/solids and

prints In molecular biology, the PRINTS database is a collection of so-called "fingerprints": it provides both a detailed annotation resource for protein families, and a diagnostic tool for newly determined sequences. A fingerprint is a group of conserved ...

. Grey heather in T-shirts is one of the most famous colors in heathers.

References

Woven fabrics {{textile-stub