Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02282135 1999-09-15
BUFFALO HAIR YARN AND FABRIC AND METHOD OF
MAKING BUFFALO HAIR YARN AND FABRIC
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to yarn and fabric made from said
yarn, and more particularly, to yarn and fabric comprising a buffalo hair-
fiber blend, and a method of making yarn and fabric comprising a buffalo
hair-fiber blend.
Statement of the Problem
The buffalo, or American bison, is a magnificent animal found on
the plains of North America. The buffalo is related to domestic cattle and
other bovines, although generally larger, and has a heavy coat of hair,
called the cape, extending over its front portions. The cape comprises two
types of hair, coarse guard hairs and fine, soft down hairs.
There is a historical significance and present Western/Plains
mystique about the buffalo, a national and spiritual symbol. Native
American peoples found the buffalo to be essential to their existence. To
honor the buffalo, they used every part of the animal. It was a source of
food, and its hide provided clothing and shelter. The hair of the buffalo
was used to stuff pillows and moccasins and was plaited to make ropes.
The Plains Indians who had access to the buffalo were nomadic people
who did not spin yarns or weave cloth.
When European people came to North America, they also found
many uses for the buffalo. The explorers Lewis and Clark brought back
hides and attempted to find some way to utilize the buffalo hair apart from
the heavy leather hide, but the textile experts rejected the idea of weaving
CA 02282135 1999-09-15
-2
buffalo hair into textiles as unfeasible. After the near extinction of the
buffalo, buffalo hair simply was not available.
In the last ten years, ranchers have begun to raise buffalo
commercially. This enabled shed buffalo hair to be gathered, and the shed
buffalo hair has been hand spun and hand woven. One hand spinner uses
only the fine down hairs, and hand knits the resulting yarn into wearable
items. Others use both the guard hairs and the down. The latter type of
yarn can be woven into fabric on a hand loom.
The handspun yarn provides only very small amounts of product,
and at a prohibitive cost of more than $100 per pound of yarn. Because
buffalo hair is dark brown, the handspun yarn is also dark brown, and
does not dye well except to darker shades of brown or black.
Given the mystique associated with the buffalo and the Old West,
a demand exists for commercial, cost-effective methods to provide
products made with buffalo hair, that is, with yarn and fabric comprising
buffalo hair, and to provide buffalo hair yarn and fabric in colors other
than dreary dark brown. The handspun method cannot produce the
quantities of yarn necessary to fulfill this need.
Solution to the Problem.
The present invention discloses a buffalo hair yarn that is
preferably blended with other fibers during the spinning process. A
method of making a buffalo hair-fiber yarn with conventional commercial
machinery is described. The commercially spun buffalo hair-fiber yarn
can be dyed to desired colors. Once spun, the buffalo hair-fiber yarn can
be used to provide a plurality of fabric types.
CA 02282135 1999-09-15
-3-
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention provides a commercially spun yarn comprising
buffalo hair and, preferably, another fiber, for example, sheep wool. The
commercially spun buffalo hair-fiber yarn is dyeable. The commercially
spun buffalo hair-fiber yarn is used to make fabric. "Fabric" is defined in
S the present specification as any spun, knitted, woven, pressed, non-
woven, or otherwise formed material made from buffalo hair alone or
from buffalo hair blended with natural or synthetic fibers, including
fabric, cloth, knitted goods, drapery material, upholstery material, velour,
velvet, velveteen, corduroy, rugs, carpet, and the like.
In the method of the present invention, buffalo hair is provided by
shaving the cape from buffalo hides. The buffalo hair is then processed
with conventional commercial machinery to make yarn. First, the buffalo
hair is raked with a conventional commercial raking machine and dried. If
desired, the buffalo hair is then blended with another fiber. The other fiber
can be of natural or man-made origin. The amount of fiber blended with
the buffalo hair is between about 5% and about 95% by weight. In a
highly preferred embodiment, the fiber used for blending is sheep wool.
Once blended, the buffalo hair-fiber blend can be dyed if desired.
After dyeing, the buffalo hair-fiber blend is carded with a conventional
commercial carding machine. The carded buffalo hair-fiber blend is then
spun with a conventional commercial spinning frame to make yarn
comprising the buffalo hair and fiber.
It is an object of the present invention to use conventional
commercial machinery to spin yarn comprising buffalo hair. It is another
object of the present invention to use commercially spun buffalo hair yarn
to make fabric.
These and other advantages, features, and objects of the present
' invention will be more readily understood in view of the following
detailed description and the drawings.
CA 02282135 1999-09-15
-4-
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The present invention can be more readily understood in
conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a side view of a buffalo showing the cape.
CA 02282135 1999-09-15
-S-
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring to Figure 1, it can be seen that a buffalo 10 is a large
S bovine animal that grows a cape 20 of hair in the region of its
forequarters. The cape 20 consists of coarse guard hairs and fine down
hairs. The guard hairs are hollow and range from 21 to 110 microns in
diameter. The fine down hairs are solid with a diameter of 12 to 29
microns and have scales. Both types of hair vary less than 1 micron in
diameter from root to tip. Throughout this specification, the term "buffalo
hair" will refer to the mixture of guard hairs and down hairs found in the
buffalo cape 20. However, it is to be understood that the present invention
can be practiced using only guard hairs or using only down hairs, or using
any combination thereof.
It is important to the present invention that the entire method for
making yarn comprising buffalo hair is performed on conventional
commercial machinery. By using commercial machinery, mass production
of commercially spun buffalo hair yarn is obtainable with a reduction of
handling and processing over previous methods involving hand work,
which are cost prohibitive.
The method for making yarn comprising buffalo hair using
commercial machinery was only feasible after applicant discovered that
buffalo hair can be blended with other fibers as described hereinbelow.
This mitigated the fear that the coarse buffalo hair would damage the
commercial machinery. It also enabled the yarn to be dyed with any color
desired.
The following steps are the specific acts that implement the
method of the present invention.
In order to make commercially spun yarn made from buffalo hair,
it is first necessary to provide the buffalo hair. Buffalo hair is provided by
shaving the cape 20 from hides obtained from slaughtered animals.
Naturally, the entire buffalo 10 is covered with hair. However, for use in
CA 02282135 1999-09-15
-6-
the present invention, the buffalo hair must be at least 1 %Z inches long.
The cape 20 is the only area that provides sufficient buffalo hair having
this minimum length, and only at certain times of year.
Once the buffalo hair is provided, it is then raked to clean it. The
S raking is done by conventional methods and with conventional
commercial raking machines that are known to those skilled in the art.
Raking involves first placing the buffalo hair from the cape 20 in water
and then running the buffalo hair through the raking machine. A
significant advantage of using buffalo hair to make yarn is that the buffalo
hair does not have to be scoured before raking. Contrary to all previous
attempts to use buffalo hair, it has been discovered in the present
invention that buffalo hair is not heavily coated with oil or lanolin, as is
found in, for example, sheep wool and other animal hair. Thus, the
buffalo hair does not have to be scoured before it is raked.
After raking, the buffalo hair is removed from the raking machine
and dried. Once dry, the buffalo hair is processed into yarn by using
commercial machinery as described hereinbelow.
In a preferred embodiment, however, the raked and dried buffalo
hair is first blended by machine with one or more other fibers if desired.
"Fiber" is any natural or synthetic fiber, in continuous filament or staple
form, which may be spun, knitted, woven, pressed or otherwise formed
into a textile material or fabric, including silks, cottons, wool, leather,
fur,
alpaca, llama, camel, cashmere, angora, vicuna, guanaco, other animal
hair, kapok, linen, hemp, flax, jute, manila, alfa, coconut, broom, kenaf,
ramie, sisal, polyesters, acetates, triacetates, rayon, rayon-acetates,
cellulose, polypropylene-cellulose, alginates, cupro (regenerated
cellulose), modal, regenerated protein fiber, polyacryl, polychloride,
fluorofiber, modacryl, polyacrylonitrile, polyamide (including nylon),
polyethylene, polypropylene, polyurea, polyurethane, vinylal, trivinyl,
elastodiens, elasthane, and mixtures of these natural and synthetic fibers,
among others. Any type of fiber or combination of fibers can be used to
CA 02282135 1999-09-15
_7_
blend with the buffalo hair, including but not limited to those defined
above.
The type of fiber used to blend with the buffalo hair depends on
the characteristics desired in finished yarn or woven product. For
example, a fiber is blended with the buffalo hair so that the natural color
of the fiber lightens the dark brown natural color of the buffalo hair. In
another example, the blend can be dyed if a color other than the natural
color of the fiber or of the buffalo hair is desired. Blending can also give
the final product other desired characteristics, for example, durability or
warmth. Another reason for blending a fiber with the buffalo hair is to
provide yarn with a coarseness of between about 1 % and about 9%.
Preferably between about 5% and about 95% by weight of the
fiber of choice is blended with the buffalo hair to obtain the desired fabric
characteristics. The amount of buffalo hair in the blend thus is between
about 5% and about 95% by weight.
In a highly preferred embodiment, sheep wool is blended with the
buffalo hair. The amount of sheep wool preferably ranges between about
5% and about 95% by weight. Sheep wool is preferred because it is
readily available, inexpensive, provides durablility and warmth, and can
be dyed easily. In a preferred embodiment, at least 70% sheep wool is
blended with at most 30% buffalo hair in order for the resulting blend to
be dyeable. In a more preferred embodiment, about 80% sheep wool is
blended with about 20% buffalo hair.
After the buffalo hair is blended with the other fiber, the blend of
buffalo hair and fiber is dyed if desired. For dyeing, a blend of less than
about 30% buffalo hair is preferable.
After dyeing, or after blending if no dyeing is performed, the
buffalo hair-fiber blend is carded by conventional methods known to
those skilled in the art using a conventional commercial carding machine.
The carding process produces a long, untwisted or very loosely twisted
strand called a roving. The buffalo hair-fiber blend roving is then spun on
CA 02282135 1999-09-15
_g_
a conventional commercial spinning frame to produce a commercially
spun yarn comprising a buffalo hair-fiber blend.
It is important to the present invention that all the steps set forth
above are done with conventional commercial machinery and not by
hand. It had not previously been thought possible, and had in fact been
rejected by those skilled in the art, to use conventional commercial
machinery to prepare yarn containing buffalo hair, and it is applicant's
discovery that such conventional commercial machinery can be used with
buffalo hair. The use of commercial machinery lowers the cost of the
buffalo hair-fiber yarn of the present invention from $100 per pound for
handspun to $4.35 per pound if undyed and to $6.60 per pound if dyed.
The use of commercial machinery also provides sufficient quantities of
fabric to make it commercially feasible to market products.
Once the commercially spun buffalo hair-fiber yarn is produced by
the method described above, it is used to make fabric by any conventional
method. "Fabric" is defined herein as any spun, knitted, woven, pressed,
non-woven, or otherwise formed material made from buffalo hair alone or
from buffalo hair blended with natural or synthetic fibers as described
hereinabove, including fabric, cloth, textiles, knitted goods, drapery
material, upholstery material, velour, velvet, velveteen, corduroy, rugs,
carpet and the like. Such fabrics containing buffalo hair are then made
into clothing, blankets, upholstery, furniture, hats, and other goods.
Thus, a yarn comprising a buffalo hair-fiber blend has been
provided. The buffalo hair-fiber yarn is made by using commercially
available machines and methods. This provides a great savings over the
cost of handspun yarn, will provide quantities allowing for commercial
production of products, and thus will enable commercialization of the
product.
The foregoing discussion of the invention has been presented for
purposes of illustration and description. Further, the description is not
intended to limit the invention to the form disclosed herein. Consequently,
variation and modification commensurate with the above teachings,
CA 02282135 1999-09-15
-9-
within the skill and knowledge of the relevant art, are within the scope of
the present invention. The embodiment described herein and above is
further intended to explain the best mode presently known of practicing
the invention and to enable others skilled in the art to utilize the invention
as such, or in other embodiments, and with the various modifications
required by their particular application or uses of the invention. It is
intended that the appended claims be construed to include alternate
embodiments to the extent permitted by the prior art.
