Singeing is a

preparation Preparation may refer to: * Preparation (dental), the method by which a tooth is prepared when removing decay and designing a form that will provide adequate retention for a dental restoration * Preparation (music), treatment of dissonance in tona ...

method of textiles; it is applied more commonly to

woven Woven fabric is any textile formed by weaving. Woven fabrics are often created on a loom, and made of many threads woven on a warp and a weft. Technically, a woven fabric is any fabric made by interlacing two or more threads at right angles to o ...

textiles and cotton yarns where a clean surface is essential. Singeing in

textile Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not t ...

s is a mechanical treatment or finish to obtain a neat surface of the fabric or less hairy yarn. In a singeing machine, the

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 manufac ...

s or fabrics are exposed to direct

flame A flame (from Latin '' flamma'') is the visible, gaseous part of a fire. It is caused by a highly exothermic chemical reaction taking place in a thin zone. When flames are hot enough to have ionized gaseous components of sufficient density the ...

s or to the heated plates to burn the protruding

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 incorpora ...

s. Hence, also called "gassing."

Singe

Singe means ''burning slightly.''

Objective

Singeing is a surface finishing procedure that is followed by

mercerising Mercerisation is a textile finishing treatment for cellulose fabric and yarn, mainly cotton and flax, which improves dye uptake and tear strength, reduces fabric shrinkage, and imparts a silk-like luster. Development The process was devis ...

dyeing Dyeing is the application of dyes or pigments on textile materials such as fibers, yarns, and fabrics with the goal of achieving color with desired color fastness. Dyeing is normally done in a special solution containing dyes and particu ...

printing Printing is a process for mass reproducing text and images using a master form or template. The earliest non-paper products involving printing include cylinder seals and objects such as the Cyrus Cylinder and the Cylinders of Nabonidus. The ...

, and other

textile manufacturing Textile Manufacturing or Textile Engineering is a major industry. It is largely based on the conversion of fibre into yarn, then yarn into fabric. These are then dyed or printed, fabricated into cloth which is then converted into useful go ...

steps. When

Greige goods Greige goods (Gray goods, Grey goods, Corah or ) are loom state woven fabrics, or unprocessed knitted fabrics. Greige goods undergo many subsequent processes, for instance, dyeing, printing, and finishing, prior to further converting to finished ...

leave the loom, they may have a downy appearance with protruding fibers, which is undesirable for printed goods. The application takes place on loom goods or the yarn stage itself. Singeing is an application of direct flame onto the surface of yarn or fabric.

Cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor p ...

yarn is produced with discrete length fibers. Shot fibers inevitably tend to show less spinnability and result in a hairy surface in yarn and subsequently in fabric. Hairy fabrics are less desirable than the clean ones. Singeing

burns Burns may refer to: * Burn, an injury (plural) People: * Burns (surname), includes list of people and characters Business: * Burns London, a British guitar maker Places: ;In the United States * Burns, Colorado, unincorporated community in Eagle C ...

those protruding fibers that are lying out and produce a clean surface.

Advantage

Singeing improves the surface appearance by removing fuzzy fibers and improves luster, and the

pilling Pilling is a village and civil parish within the Wyre borough of Lancashire, England. It is north-northeast of Poulton-le-Fylde, south-southwest of Lancaster and northwest of Preston, in a part of the Fylde known as Over Wyre. The civi ...

. The smoother and cleaner yarns break less frequently, which increases the fabric's productivity in weaving (or on the loom or knitting machine) and quality as well.

Disadvantages

Using improper methods when singeing the fabric may result in reduced strength. Yellowing of the material due to over exposure may also occur. Singeing may affect the properties and quality of synthetic and blended fabrics since they are thermoplastic and can melt.

Biopolishing

Biopolishing is an alternative method that is an enzymetic treatment to clean the surface of cellulosic fabrics or yarns. It is also named ''Biosingeing.'' Cellulosic degradation of protruding fibers makes the surface clean.

References