Imma need all y'all to pay attention here. Now, I don't know about the rest of y'all, but I do not just post the first random thing that pops into my head in this thread. We have other threads for that. Speaking of threads, Ancient Egyptians were known for creating thread using plant fibers, wool and hair. Today, thread can also be made of many different materials including but not limited to cotton, wool, flax, nylon, silk, polyester etc. There are also metal threads (sometimes used in decorative textiles), which can be made of fine wire. Thread is similar to yarn, cord, twine, or string, and there is some overlap between the way these terms are used. However, thread is most often used to mean materials fine and smooth enough for sewing, embroidery, weaving, or making lace or net. Yarn is often used to mean a thicker and softer material, suitable for knitting and crochet. Cords, twines or strings are usually stronger materials, suitable for tying and fastening. Thread is made from a wide variety of materials. Where a thread is stronger than the material that it is being used to join, if seams are placed under strain the material may tear before the thread breaks. Garments are usually sewn with threads of lesser strength than the fabric so that if stressed the seam will break before the garment. Heavy goods that must withstand considerable stresses such as upholstery, car seating, tarpaulins, tents, and saddlery require very strong threads. Attempting repairs with light weight thread will usually result in rapid failure, though again, using a thread that is stronger than the material being sewn can end up causing rips in that material before the thread itself gives way. Yarns are measured by the density of the yarn, which is described by various units of textile measurement relating to a standardized length per weight. These units do not directly correspond to thread diameter. The most common weight system for thread specifies the length of the thread in kilometres required to weigh 1 kilogram. Therefore, a greater weight number (indicated in the American standard by the abbreviation wt) indicates a thinner, finer thread. The American standard of thread weight was adopted from the Gunze Count standard of Japan, which uses two numbers separated by a forward slash. The first number corresponds to the wt number of the thread and the second number indicates how many strands of fiber were used to compose the finished thread. It is common to wrap three strands of the same weight to make one thread, though this is not a formal requirement in the US standard (which is therefore less informative). A denier weight specification states how many grams 9,000 metres of the thread weighs. Unlike the common thread weight system, the greater the denier number, the thicker the thread. The denier weight system, like the common weight system, also specifies the number of strands of the specified weight which were wrapped together to make the finished thread. Only embroidery threads have their weights given in denier. Tex is the mass in grams of 1,000 metres of thread. If 1,000 m weighs 25 g, it is a tex 25. Larger tex numbers are heavier threads. Tex is used throughout North America and Europe. Manufacturers producing fine silk threads, apply their own scales of thread measurement using "aughts" or zeroes at the finest end and FFF at the other, thus scaling 000, 00, 0, A, B, C, D, E, F, FF, FFF. The three finest threads are described as having "three aughts", "two aughts", and "one aught" respectively, and as having different "aught counts". Within a given manufacturer's spectrum, a higher "aught count" indicates a finer thread: this may be given as a single digit followed by a forward slash and a zero— for example, 3/0 indicates a three-aught thread or a thread size "000", but this number only has significance when compared to other threads produced by the same manufacturer: one manufacturer's 3/0 will always be more fine than that same manufacturer's 2/0, but may not be comparable to the 3/0 of another manufacturer. Very roughly, however, size A is 900 yards per pound of thread, and every 100 yards difference is one letter size different. The size is always given for the overall thread, not its individual silk plies. Some heavier duty threads are given "commercial" size designations in set sizes of 30, 46, 69, 92, 138, 207, 277, 346, 415 and 554 only. Each of these numbers is merely the thread's denier size divided by 10. A commercial size 138 thread has a denier of 1380. |