Noil refers to the short

fibers Fiber (spelled fibre in British English; from ) 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 inco ...

that are removed during the

combing Combing is a method for preparing carding, carded fibre for spinning (textiles), spinning. Combing aligns fibers in parallel before spinning to produce a smoother, stronger, and more lustrous yarn. The process of combing is accompanied by ''gil ...

process in

spinning Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...

. These fibers are often then used for other purposes. Fibers are chosen for their length and evenness in specific spinning techniques, such as worsted. The short noil

are left over from combing of

wool Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have some properties similar to animal w ...

or spinning

silk Silk is a natural fiber, natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be weaving, woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is most commonly produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoon (silk), c ...

. Noil may be treated as a shorter-staple fiber and spun, hand-plied, or used as wadding. Noil may also be used as a decorative additive in spinning projects like

roving A roving is a long and narrow bundle of fiber. Rovings are produced during the process of making spun yarn from wool fleece, raw cotton, or other fibres. Their main use is as fibre prepared for spinning, but they may also be used for specialise ...

s and

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 ...

s.Indiana Alpaca
Fiber Encyclopedia. Collected 20 Jul 2010Encyclopædia Britannica
Volume XXV, 1911 Edition, pp 107. Google Books. Collected 20 Jul 2010 As noil is a relatively short fiber,

fabric Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, and different types of fabric. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is no ...

made from noil is weaker and often considered less valuable than that made using long lengths of longer staple lengths, though it is sometimes valued for aesthetic effects (see

Slub (textiles) A slub in textiles production refers to thickened areas of a fiber or yarn. Slubbed or slubby fabric is woven from slubby yarn (yarn with a very variable diameter). Both high and low slubbiness may be sought. Slubs in spun fibers may be produced ...

Silk

Silk noil is also called "raw silk", although this is a

misnomer A misnomer is a name that is incorrectly or unsuitably applied. Misnomers often arise because something was named long before its correct nature was known, or because an earlier form of something has been replaced by a later form to which the nam ...

. Silk noil may also be made from the short fibres taken from silkworm cocoons – either fibres that are naturally shorter or fibres broken by emerging silk moths. Rather than the continuous filament length of silk, shorter fibers are silk noil, which has a slightly rough texture. It is relatively weaker and has low resilience. It tends to have very low lustre, which makes it appear more like cotton than silk. Noil silk has the advantage of being made from protein. Thus, it has a better texture and depth than cotton and gives a nice fall and drape. Silk noil is also blended or appended with heavier fabrics like velvets and satins to create varied textures. Made out of the strongest natural fibres (with a protein base) around, noil

sari A sari (also called sharee, saree or sadi)The name of the garment in various regional languages include: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * is a drape (cloth) and a women's garment in the Indian subcontinent. It consists of an un-sti ...

s are not as slippery as many synthetic fibres or filament silk. Being silk, it dyes easily, absorbs moisture well, and can also be waterproofed with a polyurethane coating. Such coatings increase their use in furnishings and

upholstery Upholstery is the work of providing furniture, especially seats, with padding, springs, webbing, and fabric or leather covers. The word also refers to the materials used to upholster something. ''Upholstery'' comes from the Middle English wor ...

. Silk noil hails from China, whence it was exported to Europe in the Middle Ages, especially to Italy. It was used to create silk blends through the first half of the 14th century. However, over time its use decreased. With an increase in demand and variety of alternatives and low-cost substitutes, noil has re-surfaced, experiencing a sort of revival. In India, noil is used to make saris, materials and furnishings.

References

Fibers Materials Textiles {{Textile-stub

Silk

See also

References