Carpet and Fiber Glossary
An adhesive compound applied for the purpose of locking pile yarn tufts into a carpet backing, bonding a secondary backing to a primary backing, increasing the fabric body or stiffness, and increasing dimensional stability.
Materials comprising the back of the carpet, as opposed to the carpet pile or face.
For Fusion Bonded Carpets: Backing material for fusion-bonded carpet is a system of layered vinyl or plastic compound and fiberglass scrim for dimensional stability.
For Tufted Carpets:
- Primary backing - In tufting, a woven or nonwoven fabric in which the pile yarn is inserted by the tufting needles. Usually woven or nonwoven polypropylene for carpet. In the past woven jute was used.
- Secondary backing - Fabric laminated to the back of carpet to reinforce and increase dimensional stability. Usually woven or nonwoven polypropylene.
For Woven Carpets: Backings of woven carpets are the "construction yarns" comprising chain warp, stuffer warp, and shot or fill, which are interwoven with the face yarn during carpet fabric formation.
A fabric into which a pile yarn is inserted or a reinforcing layer which is adhered to the reverse side of a fabric.
Attached cushion: Padding, such as foam rubber or polyurethane, that is made as an integral part of the backing.
Conventional backing: Carpet with a primary and secondary latex-laminated woven or nonwoven fabric. Sometimes referred to as ActionBac®.
PVC hard-backed or closed-cell PVC (polyvinyl chloride): Used mostly in carpet tile or 6' wide goods due to its weight and stiffness. PVC gives a stiff, stable backing with little cushioning but excellent tuft bind and stability.
Thermoplastic: A molten resin process that permanently adheres the primary and secondary backing. This backing system is branded as Unibond® by Lees Carpets.
Unitary: A single lamination of fabric backing with high rubber content latex or hot-melt resin compound for increased tuft bind. Used primarily with loop pile carpet.
Urethane (polyurethane): A polymeric resin applied by the carpet mill in the finishing process. In the heat and curing chamber it reacts and creates a foam-like texture. This backing encapsulates the yarn for extra tuft bind with a cushion attached.
A container of approximately 650 lbs. of staple fibers,
wrapped and ready to be shipped to the yarn spinner or carpet mill with yarn-spinning capacity.
Barber-pole
Two different colors of yarn twisted together to form a two-ply yarn.
An abbreviation for Bulked Continuous Filament yarn referring to synthetic fibers in a continuous form. BCF yarn can be used in cut or loop pile construction.
A large cylinder on which carpet yarns, usually pre-dyed, are wound prior to feeding onto tufting, weaving or fusion bonding equipment.
Dyeing of tufted greige carpet in a large vat of dye liquor. In this process, the carpet roll is sewn into a loop and then is continuously rotated and immersed in the heated vat for several hours. Most commonly used for cut pile carpet, it offers good custom color flexibility. (See "Dye methods.")
Loss of color by a fabric or yarn when immersed in water or a solvent, as a result of improper dyeing or the use of dyes of poor quality. Fabrics that bleed will stain white or lightly shaded fabrics that come in contact with them when wet.
A mixture of two or more fibers or yarns.
The mixing of staple fibers before they are carded, drafted and spun into yarn. Blending is done for consistency in the final yarn and is a critical step to avoid "streaks" in a carpet.
- An uneven yarn of three plies, one of which forms loops at intervals.
- A fabirc made of boucle yarns and having a looped or knotted surface.
Synthetic fiber produced by a fiber manufacturer who also produces the raw ingredients and polymer and who has quality control of the entire process. Branded fiber is warranted by the fiber manufacturer.
The opposite of dull or matte when describing luster.
Denotes carpet tufted or woven in widths greater than six feet.
The process of a textured or latent crimp yarn to achieve maximum bulk. Carpet fibers develop maximum bulk during wet processing such as dyeing.
Also known as crimping or texturizing. Bulking imparts texture/fullness to the fiber or yarn during production. Bulking is done to increase the coverage the yarn will have in the carpet face. Bulking also adds to fiber resiliency. See "Texturizing."
