A New Twist for Spun Kapok
>> Selasa, 18 Desember 2012
Spun kapok possess a high luster and is thick and woolly to the touch, yet
with a certain silkiness and softness lacking in wool. Kapok
fabric has all the virtues and none of the drawbacks of wool, linen and
cotton, besides certain valuable additional characteristics.
Today,
chemists are able to create all kinds of outstanding products in their
laboratories. So many of them appear on the market under various names
that we sometimes forget that Nature herself is able to turn out some
pretty interesting products too! Kapok (kapuk) fiber is one of these.
The
cleaned fiber, which is called a floss, is springy slick and odorless.
It sheds water like a bird's back, and resists the passage of sound and
heat. It is half the weight of wool and just as warm. High quality floss
supports over thirty-eight times it's own weight in water.
Each
fiber is a smooth closed tube coated with wax. Not having the twist
that grows in cotton fibers or hooks found in sheep's wool, Kapok
resists mating and felting. The problem of spinning kapok, though
extremely difficult, was not insolvable.