METHOD OF MAKING FUR BEARING STRANDS

FABRICATION DE FILES DE PELAGES

English Abstract

Abstract

The invention provides a method for making fur bearing strands
from hides of fur bearing animals and a yarn from such strands
suitable for producing a fur garment. The yarn has low stretch
characteristics by virtue of treatment of the hide portions used
to make it. Strands are made from hide portions joined side by
side at abutting longitudinal edges and slit transversely of the
joined portion. A yarn is made from the strands, which may be
joined end to end, by longitudinally twisting them so that the
fur is substantially about the exterior thereof.

Claims

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:

1. A method of making fur bearing strands from hides of
fur bearing animals, comprising:
joining side by side a plurality of hide portions with
the fur grain in each portion running in the same
direction, the hide portions being joined at seams by
means of strips adhered longitudinally over the back
of abutting edges of adjacent hide portions, the grain
running parallel to the joining seams; and
cutting strands transversely of said joined hide portions.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising
attaching a plurality of strands together end to end.

3. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the hide portions
are chrome tanned.

4. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the hide backings
are impregnated with polyvinyl acetate latex.

5. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the strands
are cut in widths of from 1.5 to 2.0 mm.

6. A method as claimed in claim 5, wherein the strands
are cut having widths of approximately 1.75 mm.

7. A method of making fur bearing yarn from hides of fur
bearing animals, comprising:
joining side by side a plurality of hide portions at
seams with the fur grain in each portion running in
the same direction parallel to the joining seams, said
hide portions being joined by means of strips adhered
longitudinally over the back of abutting edges of
adjacent hide portions;


cutting strands transversely of said joined hide portions;
and

twisting each strand longitudinally to form a yarn having
the fur substantially about the exterior thereof.

8. A method as claimed in claim 7, further comprising attaching
a plurality of strands together end to end prior to twisting
thereof.

9. A method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the strands are
attached to provide a yarn having a gradient of fur hair length
from one end to the other.

10. A method as claimed in claim 9, further comprising rolling
the yarn into a ball so that the end having the fur with the
longest hair length is outermost.

11. A method as claimed in claim 7, wherein the hide portions
are chrome tanned.

12. A method as claimed in claim 7, wherein the hide backings
are impregnated with polyvinyl acetate latex.

13. A method as claimed in claim 7, wherein the strands are cut
in widths of from 1.5 to 2.0 mm.

14. A method as claimed in claim 7, wherein the strands are cut
having widths of approximately 1.75 mm.



15. A method of making fur bearing yarn from hides of fur
bearing animals, comprising:

joining side by side a plurality of hide portions at
seams with the fur grain in each portion running in
the same direction parallel to the joining seams, said
hide portions being joined by means of strips adhered
longitudinally over the back of abutting edges of
adjacent hide portions;

treating the back of the joined hide portions with a
stretch reducing impregnant;

cutting strands transversely of the joined hide portions;

stretching the strands to further limit the stretch-
ability thereof; and

twisting each strand longitudinally to form a yarn having
the fur substantially about the exterior thereof.

16. A method as claimed in claim 15, further comprising
attaching a plurality of strands end to end prior to stretch-
ing and twisting thereof.

17. A method as claimed in claim 16, wherein the strands
are attached to provide a yarn having a gradient of fur hair
length from one end to the other.

18. A method as claimed in claim 17, further comprising
rolling the yarn into a ball so that the end having the fur
with the longest hair length is outermost.

19. A method as claimed in claim 15, wherein the hide portions
are chrome tanned.


20. A method as claimed in claim 15, wherein the impregnant
is polyvinyl acetate latex.

21. A method as claimed in claim 15, wherein the strands
are cut in widths of from 1.5 to 2.0 mm.

22. A method as claimed in claim 15, wherein the strands
are cut having widths of approximately 1.75 mm.

23. A method as claimed in claim 1, 7 or 15, wherein the
hide portions are joined by means of leather strips adhered
longitudinally over the back of abutting edges of adjacent
hide portions.

24. A method as claimed in claim 1, 7 or 15, wherein the
hide portions are joined by shaving a narrow strip of fur
from a longitudinal edge of a first hide portion and adhering
the first portion to a second hide portion by joining said
shaved strip to the back of the second portion at a
longitudinal edge thereof.

25. A method as claimed in claim 1, 7 or 15, wherein the
hide portions are joined by means of nonwoven material strips
adhered longitudinally over the back of abutting edges of
adjacent hide portions.

26. A method as claimed in claim 1, 7 or 15, further
comprising stitching adjacent hide portions together at said
seams prior to adhering said strips thereover.

27. A method of making fur bearing yarn from hides of fur
bearing animals, comprising:

joining side by side a plurality of hide portions
at seams with the fur grain in each portion
running in the same direction parallel to the
joining seams;


cutting strands transversely of said joined hide
portions;

attaching a plurality of strands together end to
end to provide a gradient of fur hair length
from one end to the other of the joined
strands; and

twisting the joined strands longitudinally to
form a yarn having the fur substantially about
the exterior thereof.

28. A method as claimed in claim 27, further comprising
chrome tanning the hide portions prior to cutting strands
from the joined hide portions.

29. A method as claimed in claim 27, further comprising
impregnating the hide backings with polyvinyl acetate latex
prior to cutting strands from the joined hide portions.

30. A method of making fur bearing yarn from hides of fur
bearing animals, comprising:

joining side by side a plurality of hide portions
at seams with the fur grain in each portion
running in the same direction parallel to the
joining seams;

treating the back of the joined hide portions with
a stretch reducing impregnant;

cutting strands transversely of the joined hide
portions;

stretching the strands to further limit the stretch-
ability thereof;



attaching a plurality of strands together end
to end to provide a gradient of fur hair length
from one end to the other of the joined
strands; and

twisting each strand longitudinally to form a
yarn having the fur substantially about the
exterior thereof.

31. A method as claimed in claim 30, further comprising
chrome tanning the hide portions prior to treating with a
stretch reducing impregnant.

32. A method as claimed in claim 30, wherein the impregnant
is polyvinyl acetate latex.
11

Description

359~6
The invention relates to a method for making fur bearing strands
from hides of fur bearing animals and a yarn from such strands
suitable for producing a fur garment.

Prior methods for making a fur bearing yarn have proven unsatis-
factory for several reasons. Animal hides from which strands are
cut to make the yarn are inherently stretchable. This
stretchability is transferred to the yarn and the fabric made
therefrom. C~early, this stretch characteristic is not desirable
since garments made from such fabric will not hold their shape.

Previously, this problem of stretchability was addressed by
mixing the yarn with a nonstretchable yarn in the production of
the fabric, or the furred yarn itself was made by wrapping or
twisting a furred strand of hide about a nonstretchable cord. A
recent effort along these lines can be seen in Canadian patent
no. 1,107,487 issued to Lishman on August 25, 1981.

In addition to the stretch problem, it is difficult to make from
a furred yarn a fabric or garment which has a natural appearance
to it. A natural fur bearing hide has a clearly apparent grain
to it, that is, the hairs of the fur run in roughly the same
direction. There is also usually a gradient of hair length along
the hide of a fur bearing animal with the hairs becoming longer
from the neck toward the tail of the animal. ~ecause of the
manner in which prior furred yarns were made, the resulting
fabric did not have a natural grain to the fur nor was there a
gradient of hair length so as to give a natural appearance to the
fabric.

The present invention provides a yarn which has low stretch
characteristics so that a fabric can be produced therefrom with-
out the need to include other nonstretchable yarn or cord. The
yarn is made by cutting strands from the hides in such a fashion
to give a fabric or garment made therefrom a natural appearance.
Thus, fabric made from the yarn of the present invention has a
natural grain to the fur, and may, if desired, have a natural
gradient to the length~ of hair comprising the fur.


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Accordingly, the present invention provides a method of making
fur bearing strands from hides of fur bearing animals, comprising
joining side by side a plurality oE hide portions with the fur in
each portion running in the same direction parallel to the join-
ing seams, and cutting strands transversely of said joined
hides. A yarn may be made from the strands by twisting each
strand longitudinally so that the fur is substantially about the
exterior thereof.

The stretchability of the hide may be reduced to an acceptable
level by chrome tanning the hides or by treating them with a
stretch reducing impregnant such as polyvinyl acetate latex.

A preferred embodiment of the invention will hereinafter be
described with reference being made to the drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view from the furred side of hide
portions joined together in accordance with the invention;

Figure 2 is a perspective view from the back or furless side of
hide portions showing one method of joining them together;

Figure 3 is a perspective view as in Figure 2 but showing a
second method of joining the hide portions and also showing the
slitting thereof to form strands;

Figure 4 shows the longitudinal twisting of a strand to form the
yarn of the invention;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of a piece of fabric woven using
the yarn of Figure 4; and

Figure 6 is a sectional view along line 6-6 in Figure 5.

Animal pelts generally thought to be suitable for production of
the yarn of the present invention include those pelts of animals
usually trapped or bred for the fur industry. Such pelts are
normally tanned without the use of chromic acid or dichromate,

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thereby giving a softer more pliable hide than if a chrome
tanning procedure is used. The hide from a normally tanned pelt
may be used to make the yarn of the invention, however, the
resulting yarn is generally felt to be too stretchable for most
applications. ~ garment made from a stretchable yarn does not
readily maintain its shape and is thus, generally undesirable.

It has been found that the stretchability of the hides used in
the present invention can be reduced to an acceptable level by
chrome tanning the untanned pelts, or chrome tanning hides
previously tanned without chrome, or by impregnating the hides
with a stretch reducing substance such as polyvinyl acetate
latex. To achieve the lowest degree of stretchability it is
often desirable to impregnate chrome tanned hides with polyvinyl
acetate latex.

The production of strands 10 suitable for making a fur yarn 15 is
carried out in accordance with the invention by initially
selecting a plurality of pelts or hides from which are cut
rectangular portions 17 each having approximately the same length
and each having the grain of the fur thereon running in a
compatible direction. Generally, the portions 17 are cut from
each hide so as to produce the largest portion 17 possible. This
usually means that the portions 17 are cut from the whole hides
longitudinally so that the grain of the fur runs along the length
of each portion 17.

The portions 17 are joined side by side along their longitudinal
edges 1~ at seams 19. Usually it is preferable to join the
portion 17 so that the grain in each portion 17 is running in the
same direction. The grain of the fur most commonly runs
longitudinally parallel to the joining seams 19. The portions 17
may be joined by butting adjacent edges 18 of two portions 17
together and adhering a leather strip 21 thereover at the back or
furless side of the hide portions 17. A second preferred joining
method involves shaving or shearing a narrow strip 25 of fur
along a longitudinal edge 18 of a first portion 17 and adhering

~3~9~L6

the back of a second portion 17 at a longitudinal edge 18 thereof
to the shaved strip 25.

The hide portions 17 may be treated to reduce stretchability, as
explained above, either before or after they are joined
together. As a practical matter chrome tanning can be
economically and conveniently accomplished either before or after
the portions 17 are joined together, but since impregnation of
the hides with polyvinyl acetate latex or other stretch reducing
substance is relatively more expensive than chrome tanning, it is
preferred to carry out the impregnation process on the assembled
hide portions 17.

To form the strands 10, the joined portions 17 are slit trans-
versely. The slitting operation is preferably performed by a
machine so that strands 10 of uniform width are obtained. The
preferred width for the strands 10 used to make a yarn 15 is in
the range 1.5 to 2.0 mm, with 1.75 mm being optimal in most
cases.

Individual strands 10 cut from joined hide portions 17 may be
joined together end to end to form a strand 10 of a desired
length. The end to end joining of strands 10 may be most
conveniently carried out by sewing or by adhering the back end of
one strand 10 to a shaved front end of another strand 10.

The strand 10 thus produced can be made into a yarn 15 by simply
twisting it about its longitudinal axis so that the furred side
faces outwardly. This twisting is conveniently accomplished by a
spinning wheel or the like. ~rior to twisting the strand 10, it
is preferable to stretch it longitudinally to remove residual
pliancy therefrom. Loose hairs are also desirably removed from
the strand 10 prior to twisting thereof by tumbling the strands
10 in a clothes drier or vacuuming the strands 10 by running them
through a vacuum chamber. Often both steps of vacuuming and
tumble drying are used.



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~3~ 6

The yarn 15 may be formed into a fabric 27 by knitting or
weaving. A garment may be knitted directly from the yarn 15, and
by virtue of the present method of making the yarn 15, such a
garment will have a very natural appearance. Thus, when the hide
portions 17 are assembled so that the grains oE the fur in
adjacent portions 17 all run in the same direction parallel to
the joining seams 19, the knitted garment produced from the
resulting yarn has a uniform grain to the fur on the exterior of
the garment, which grain runs from the top to the bottom
thereof. This uniformity of grain produces a very natural
appearance to the garment in the manner of a fur garment made
from a plurality of hides.

This natural effect can be further enhanced by taking advantage
of the natural gradient in hair lengths on a fur bearing animal
hide, the hairs being longer toward the tail of the animal. Hide
portions 17 joined together having this natural hair length
gradient will result in strands 10 cut from the tail end side of
the joined portions 17 having longer hair than strands 10 cut
toward the head end side thereof. By maintaining the hair length
gradient of the strands 10 when joining them end to end to form a
long strand 10, the resulting yarn will have fur at one end which
is longer than that at the other end. By knitting a garment
using the long fur end first, the garment will incorporate the
natural fur length gradient as well as the natural fur grain thus
further enhancing the attractiveness of the finished garment.




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