That's fascinating - I remember making baby gowns and smocked dresses from Viyella for my children. Interesting to know the background. Jeanette. . Unlike > other yarns, Viyella was not made of a single fiber, but was a combination > of > wool and cotton fibers. Renison McNab & Co was one of the firms called > upon to > solve the problem of weaving this yarn into cloth. > The problem with combining wool and cotton fibers in the same yarn is that > different sizings were normally used for these fibers. The trick to > successfully > weaving the mixed fiber yarn was finding a sizing that would work well > with both > cotton and wool. Renison McNab & Co was one of the first mills to solve > this > problem and satisfactorily weave it into cloth for Hollins.
Vyella is very expensive to buy these days but it was lovely to sew and you had to be very careful when you washed it, with it being made from wool. My aunts uncle used to work at the Vyella factory in Paisley and I was lucky enough to be able to go to the factory shop in 1970 when I was visiting Scotland and buy a few lengths of fabric. Sandy (Wagga x 2) ----- Original Message ----- From: "J.M.de Montalk" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, July 27, 2006 8:53 AM Subject: Re: [Renfrew] Coats & Clarks > That's fascinating - I remember making baby gowns and smocked dresses from > Viyella for my children. Interesting to know the background. > > Jeanette. > . Unlike > > other yarns, Viyella was not made of a single fiber, but was a combination > > of > > wool and cotton fibers. Renison McNab & Co was one of the firms called > > upon to > > solve the problem of weaving this yarn into cloth. > > The problem with combining wool and cotton fibers in the same yarn is that > > different sizings were normally used for these fibers. The trick to > > successfully > > weaving the mixed fiber yarn was finding a sizing that would work well > > with both > > cotton and wool. Renison McNab & Co was one of the first mills to solve > > this > > problem and satisfactorily weave it into cloth for Hollins. > >