A&E, Technical Information Search A&E

American & Efird, Inc.

       
       



 

   
   
  Thread Selection by End Use  
   
  World Wide Thread Size Comparison  
   
  Selection Logic  
   
  ISO Stitches  
   
 

Global Retail Solutions Workshops

 
   
     

  A&E, General Textile Terms
P | Q | R
To access a listing of general textile terms, click on a letter above.
 
-P-

Go to Top   


Package Dyeing: A process for dyeing thread wound on packages. Dye solution is forced under pressure from the outside of the package inward, and then from the inside out.
Peeler Cotton or CP Cotton: A high quality long staple upland cotton with a staple 1-1/8 inches in length or more.
Performance Bobbin?/a>: An A&E thread product of ready wound bobbins. (Packed loosely in an easy-to-use one piece box.) Registered trademark of A&E.
Perma Core?/a>: A&E's brand name for a polyester wrapped polyester core thread. Perma Core comes in a variety of sizes for sewing anything from fine blouses to heavy weight denim garments. Also see, Perma Core NWT, designed to minimize repairs after harsh finishing processes like enzyme and stone-washing, hand sanding, and sand blasting on denim and twill garments. Registered trademark of A&E.
Perma Spun?/a>: A&E's brand name for a spun polyester sewing threads made from 100% polyester staple. Perma Spun threads have excellent color fastness and chemical resistance and are used for a variety of sewn products. Registered trademark of A&E.
Permanent Press: Refers to either pre-cured or post-cured chemically treated fabrics that retain their wrinkle-resistant properties after wearing. Usually, they are made from a blend of polyester and cotton. Threads recommended for sewing permanent press fabrics include Perma Core?/a> and D-Core?/a>.
Pigtails: Tails of thread that are made during winding on the inside of the cone.  Pigtails allow the thread to be tied to another cone for continuous operation. To have thread with pigtails, the thread must be ordered with special winding instructions.
Pins, Mfg. by Prym-Dritz?/a>: Stainless steel or steel and brass pins. (Registered trademark of Prym-Dritz.)
Pixelles?/font>: A&E' brand name for a trilobal polyester thread.  Pixelles threads are used for quilting and embroidery or decorative accenting.  (See Signature? Specialty Threads.)
Plain Sewers: Refers to a single needle lockstitch machine that uses a needle thread and bobbin thread. Many plain sewers today are equipped with automatic back tack, needle positioners, and top & bottom thread trimmers.
Ply or Plies: Refers to the number of singles yarns twisted together to make a sewing thread. Most core and spun sewing threads have either two or three ply constructions. The ply twist is normally a "Z" or left twist compared to a "S" or right twist in the singles yarns.  (See Thread Construction.)
Ply security or Ply Adhesion: Refers to a sewing thread's ability to stay together during the sewing process. The most common type of thread break is caused by a loss of ply security. When the plies open up during the sewing process they are much more susceptible to breaking and causing an unraveled type thread break. For apparel applications, corespun threads like Perma Core?/a> and D-Core?/a> have the best ply security and will sew on many tough sewing operations with minimum interruptions. For industrial sewing applications where leather and vinyl fabrics are sewn, bonded nylon or polyester threads like Anefil Nylon?or Anefil Polyester?/a> have the best ply security ratings.
 
Polyester: A synthetic fiber made from a chemical composition of diethyl terephthalate and ethylene glycol. The polyester is melted, extruded through a spinneret, and drawn. It can be different tenacities and be fully oriented (FOY) or partially oriented (POY) depending on how it is processed. Usually, sewing threads are made from FOY fibers. (Fiber brands: Dacron? Trevira? Fortrel? Kodel?.  (See Fiber Science.)
Poly Bags: Polyethylene film bags for garment packaging and shipping.
Polyethylene: An Olefin fiber used in outdoor furniture and similar applications. This fiber has very good UV and chemical resistance. We do NOT have a thread made with this fiber. We generally recommend polyester threads for sewing polyethylene fabrics.
Post-Cured Fabrics: Fabrics that have been chemically treated but must be heat activated after sewing by passing the finished garment through an oven.
Pre-Cured Fabrics: Fabrics that have already been chemically treated and heat activated prior to sewing. They exhibit wrinkle resistant properties. See also Permanent Press.
Pre-Wound Bobbins: Refers to bobbins that are wound by the thread supplier. From 15 to 20% more thread can be wound by precision winding equipment than by a sewing operator using a sewing machine bobbin winder. When ordering pre-wound bobbins the following information is required: 1) thread type; 2) thread size; 3) sided or sideless; 4) Bobbin style; and 5) color. Most of our pre-wound bobbins are sold by the gross.
Pryrm Dritz?/font>: Refers to a brand of the notions and craft company of that name.
PTFE: A polymer based thread made from fluoride and ethylene (polytetrafluoroethylene) used in applications where either UV or chemical resistance is important. A&E brand names of PTFE products are Filtrane?/a> and Solarance?/a>. They are available either white or solution dyed black. These thread are promoted to last as long as the associated fabric. They are also very expensive compared to Polyester or Nylon threads.
Puckering: Refers to the wrinkled appearance of a seam, which can be caused by a number of factors including: 1) Structural jamming; 2) Tension puckering, and 3) Feed puckering. A&E's Perma Core?/a> is recommended on many fabrics to minimize seam puckering because of its high tenacity and excellent lubricity characteristics.  (See Technical Bulletin, Seam Puckering.)
Purl Stitch: Refers to an overedge stitch usually sewn on the edges of napkins. Many manufacturers use a textured nylon or polyester sewn with a high stitch count to cover the edge properly. A&E's T-50 or T-70 Wildcat Plus is ideal for purl stitching on napkins, etc.
Put-up: Refers to the type, size, and yardage of the cone, king-tube or tube upon which thread is wound.
PW Core: Refers to Polyester Wrapped Core thread - Perma Core?/a>. See core spun thread construction.
 

-Q-

Go to Top   


Quarpel Finish: Refers to a water-repellent finish used on fabric or thread, which causes water to bead up and run-off rather than absorb into the fabric. This is a special finish that must be processed on request. It can adversely affect the frictional characteristics of the thread.  (See Thread Finishing.)
 
 

-R-

Go to Top   


Signature?/a> Plus: An A&E thread product of trilobal polyester.  Used in topstitching denim products. Registered trademark of A&E.
Rayon: Refers to a regenerated cellulosic fiber similar to cotton in its physical characteristics. Rayon is primarily used today for embroidery applications. Madiera is a company that markets rayon embroidery thread around the world. Currently A&E does not produce a rayon embroidery thread.
Reactive Dyes: Dyes used for cellulose fibers like cotton or rayon. Reactive dyes are available in very bright shades but may not have good color fastness characteristics.  (See Thread Dyeing.)
Regenerated Cellulose: Rayon, Lyocell?and Tencel? are made from regenerated cellulose and is a wood-pulp by-product. They are man-made fibers that are wet-spun and exhibit similar properties to cotton.
 
Ring Spinning: Refers to the method of spinning that uses a Ring Spinning Frame where a roving yarn is drafted and twisted using a traveler to form a singles yarn. Ring Spinning is stronger than either air-jet spinning or open-end spinning and makes the highest quality sewing threads.
Roving: In spun yarn production, roving is an intermediate state between sliver and yarn. Roving is a condensed sliver, which has been drafted, twisted and wound on a roving bobbin, which is the supply package for spinning.
Runback: Refers to the thread sliding out of a seam causing thread failure. This occurs on knit shirts and other undergarments that are sewn with an overedge stitch using a narrow bite. Sewing with light machine thread tensions and with the proper number of stitches per inch will reduce this problem. Also using a thread with a fibrous or fuzzy surface - spun or corespun - will minimize runbacks compared to textured and other continuous filament thread constructions

Go to Top
 

  Technical Information
 
A&E, Technical Information
 
  Need More Information?
 


A&E, Email Technical Services
 

  Glossaries
 

General Textile Terms

Specialty


  New Bulletins
 

Over-Dyeing or Piece-Dyeing Assembled Garments: Describes considerations when selecting 100% cotton thread for assembled garments that are to be over-dyed or piece-dyed.
 
 
  Performance Measurement
 
A&E, ANETRAK
 
  Textile Resources
 

A&E Technical Services

Internet Sites

AATCC: American Association of Textile Chemist and Colorists. www.aatcc.org
ATMI: American Textile Manufacturing Institute.
www.atmi.org

North Carolina Center for Applied Textile Technology:  Part of the NC Community College System, NCCATT provides instruction in textile technology and related fields.
www.nccatt.org/home.asp

  Technology
 

Thread Science