Yarns
AYC manufactures the finest Australian pure wool: Merino and crossbred fibres into classic crepes and fingering yarns in various plies, from bulky quick-knit yarns to fine soft baby yarns, blends of natural fibres and colours; blends of natural fibres with synthetics and blends of synthetics. In addition, AYC manufactures luxury yarns by blending Mohair, Cashmere and Alpaca with Merino Wool to produce classic styles.
Worsted vs Woolen Yarns
Worsted Yarns are of superior quality and appearance, spun from better qualities of longer length woollen fibres by having to go through an elaborate system of approximately 16 different operations to convert the greasy wool to a two-fold worsted yarn. The objective is to assemble the fibres as near as parallel as possible and to remove, by combing, all the short fibres. A fault that would otherwise spoil the regularity, smoothness and lustre that defines worsted yarn. Much of the waste from worsted processing can be re-used in the manufacture of woollen yarn.
Woollen yarns are usually coarser and produced from shorter wools. Fibres do not lie parallel which makes the yarn fuller with more projecting fibre ends. Woollen yarns are excellent for the production of knitwear, blankets and rugs where warmth without weight is desirable. The system to turn greasy wool into a two-fold woollen yarn is relatively short, requiring only 6 different operations.
Effects
AYC prides itself on being able to develop yarns with a wide variety of effects: soft and subtle colours or vivid and contrasting shades; marls, mélanges, tweeds and tartans are achieved through top dyeing and blending injected colour effects, or by adding a brushed finish or knop to create something new. Its Research & Development laboratory also investigates the use of coloured man-made effects such as lurex, sparkles and viscose neps.
An array of print configuration can produce spot or patterned effects or a combination of both. Capable of 5mm spots with solid print lengths of 250 mm up to 8 m between 2 and 8 colours available. Printed products can be on wool, nylon, acrylic and their blends. Polyester printing can also be achieved through the availability of 130 ‘C dye fixation.
Specifications
Spinning Counts from 4Nm to 34Nm can be produced on our conventional ring spinners and coarser counts as low as 0.6Nm can be processed on specialist machinery. Package specifications for its hand knitting yarns include classic ball configurations of standard balls, donuts and pull skeins. Weights range from 25g to 1 kilo balls. Industrial customers can be supplied with yarns suitable for either knitting, weaving or hosiery applications on 1.2 kg cones.
Treatments
AYC is able to produce yarns with a wide variety of treatments that gives each yarn its distinctive quality. These treatments include producing yarn that is machine-washable, in colour-fast subtle shades to vibrant colours; yarns that have a soft handle to the many unique effects which create a particular look or style.
Dyeing is flexible and versatile with hank, top, package and printing capabilities. Considerable technical and practical dyeing experience is on hand with wool dyeing being the company's specialty.
New products and processes are constantly being evaluated through various laboratory scale dye machines set up to replicate bulk condition and a colour matching service is available. AYC Datacolour networked colour system can produce colour recipe predictions that are then refined by laboratory trials. Small lot sampling services are available and the ability to dye most fibres and blends is achieved through the experience of a multi–skilled work force and fully automated dye vat controls. Fastness specifications are met through the use of high quality dye processes and technical expertise
Quality and Innovation
AYC has a fully equipped, modern testing laboratory and testing is standard procedure on all AYC yarns and raw materials to ensure the highest quality control. The streamlined production process includes automatic bar-coding of all products. The emphasis on quality and innovation is reinforced through an ongoing research and development program.