Granular fleece: full analysis of characteristics, processes and applications

Granular fleece is a kind of knitted fabric with a dense and small granular surface. It is made of polyester as the core raw material. It has the characteristics of softness, warmth, lightness and wear resistance. Because of its fluffy touch and distinct graininess, it is widely used in autumn and winter clothing, home textiles and other fields. It is a popular fabric that is both practical and cost-effective. This article comprehensively dismantles the core value of granular velvet from the six dimensions of principle, process, application, maintenance, technology, and trends.

1. Principles: Structure and functional logic of granular velvet

The core advantage of granular fleece comes from the dual blessing of polyester fiber characteristics + special raising process, which determines its core performance of warmth and touch:

1. The raw material of fiber properties to support granular fleece is mainly polyester low-elastic yarn, and some high-end products will add a small amount of nylon to improve elasticity. Polyester fiber has high curl and strength. After processing, it can form an intertwined granular structure, which can lock a large amount of still air. The thermal insulation properties of the air give the fabric excellent warmth retention, and polyester has low water absorption, and the fabric dries quickly and is not easy to breed mold.

2. Principle of particle structure forming: Granular fleece adopts a weft-knitted double-sided knitted structure. After the gray fabric is processed by raising, shearing, heat setting and other processes, the surface fibers are broken and curled, and are fixed into small round particles under the action of high temperature. This structure is different from the loose fluff of ordinary polar fleece. The particles are tighter, less prone to lodging, and reduce lint shedding. The reverse side of the fabric is relatively smooth, which can reduce friction with other clothing and improve wearing comfort.

2. Technology: Production process of granular velvet

The production of granular fleece requires three core stages: raw material preparation - weaving and shaping - finishing. Each link directly affects the uniformity of the granules and the quality of the fabric:

1. The raw material preparation uses polyester low-elastic yarn with specifications of 150D/288F and 75D/144F. The finer the fiber, the finer the particles and the softer the hand feel of the finished product. The raw material needs to be wound to ensure stable yarn tension and avoid wire breakage during weaving.

2. Weaving and shaping are made using a double-sided circular knitting machine, using plain weave or small jacquard weave. The woven gray fabric has a tight structure and moderate elasticity. During weaving, it is necessary to accurately control the knitting needle density and yarn tension to prevent defects such as thin paths and holes in the gray fabric, laying the foundation for subsequent pellet molding.

3. finishing processing

• Raising: Use the steel needle roller of the raising machine to evenly pull up the fibers on the surface of the gray fabric to form a fluffy short pile layer;

• Shearing: Use a shearing machine to trim the villi of different lengths neatly to ensure surface smoothness and provide a uniform foundation for pellet molding;

• Heat setting and shaking: This is the core process. The sheared fabric is sent to a high-temperature setting machine, and at a temperature of 120-150°C, the ends of the fluff are curled and fixed into granular shapes; some processes are combined with high-speed tumbling of a shaking machine to make the particles more round and full;

• Dyeing and color fixation: Disperse dyes are used for high-temperature dip dyeing to ensure that the color penetrates the fiber evenly, and then washed and dried to fix the color to improve the color fastness of the fabric.

3. Application Category: Applicable Scenarios of Granular Velvet

With its characteristics of warmth, lightness, lint resistance, and easy care, the application of granular velvet covers three major fields: clothing, home textiles, and outdoor products:

1. Apparel field: It is the main fabric for fleece jackets, sweatshirts, home clothes, and children's clothing in autumn and winter. It can be directly made into outerwear, or used as the lining of jackets and down jackets to achieve the dual effect of "windproof + warmth"; it can also be used to make scarves, gloves, hats and other accessories, taking into account practicality and fashion.

2. Home textile field: used to make blankets, pillows, sofa covers, mattresses, etc. The granular fluff is comfortable to touch and has strong warmth retention, and is suitable for use in autumn and winter. The fabric is friction-resistant, not easy to pill, easy to clean daily, and suitable for high-frequency household use scenarios.

3. In the field of outdoor products: it can be used to make sleeping bag liners, outdoor cushions, mountaineering gloves, etc. It is light and easy to carry, and can provide warmth protection in low-temperature environments; it is also wear-resistant and tear-resistant, and can adapt to complex outdoor use conditions.

4. Maintenance: Cleaning and maintenance skills for granular velvet

Scientific maintenance can maintain the fluffy and grainy feel of granular velvet and extend the service life of the fabric:

1. Cleaning precautions

• The water temperature should be controlled below 30°C. It can be hand washed or machine washed gently. It is recommended to wrap it in a laundry bag to avoid lodging and deformation of the particles caused by strong stirring;

• Use neutral detergent, and prohibit the use of bleach and softener. The softener will adhere to the fiber surface, block air gaps, and reduce warmth retention;

• Wash dark and light colored fabrics separately to avoid color cross-fertilization; avoid mixing with sharp objects such as zippers and buttons during cleaning to prevent snagging.

2. Drying and storage

• After washing, gently squeeze out the water and lay it flat or hang it in a cool and ventilated place to dry. Avoid exposure to the sun. High temperatures will cause the polyester fiber to age, causing the particles to harden and lose elasticity;

• When storing, fold it neatly and put it in a drying closet to avoid heavy pressure and prevent the particles from being deformed under pressure for a long time. If the fabric has slight pilling, you can use a ball trimmer to trim it at low speed. Do not pull hard.

5. Technology: Core technological breakthroughs in granular fleece

With the upgrade of textile technology, particle fleece has achieved multiple innovations in functionality, quality stability, and environmental protection:

1. Functional upgrade technology develops functional fabrics such as antibacterial granular velvet, antistatic granular velvet, and moisture-wicking granular velvet through fiber modification and post-finishing processes; for example, adding antibacterial agents to raw materials can inhibit bacterial growth and is suitable for making children's clothing and medical home textiles; hydrophilic modification treatment can improve the moisture absorption and perspiration capabilities of the fabric, expanding its application in the field of sportswear.

2. Quality stabilization technology introduces an intelligent temperature control setting system to accurately control the temperature and time of heat setting to ensure that the particle size of each batch of fabrics is uniform; through pre-shrinking treatment, the shrinkage rate of the fabrics is controlled within 2%, which solves the pain point of traditional particle velvet deformation after washing.

3. The environmentally friendly process upgrade uses recycled polyester (RPET) raw materials to make granular fleece. The raw materials come from recycled plastic bottles to reduce carbon emissions. Low-temperature dyeing and waterless printing processes are used to reduce water consumption and pollutant emissions. Some products have passed GRS global recycling standard certification, in line with the development trend of green textiles.

6. Trend Category: Market Development Direction of Granular Velvet

From the perspective of consumer demand and industry technological innovation, particle fleece will develop in three major directions: functionalization, environmental protection, and personalization in the future:

1. The trend of multi-functional integration integrates functions such as warmth, antibacterial, antifouling, and anti-UV into fabrics, and develops special products suitable for niche scenarios, such as moisture-wicking granular velvet jackets for outdoor sports and antibacterial granular velvet home clothes for children.

2. Sustainable development trend The market share of recycled polyester granular velvet will continue to increase, and brands will pay more attention to environmental certification; at the same time, they will optimize the production process, reduce energy consumption and wastewater emissions, and promote the transformation of the industry into a green and low-carbon direction.

3. The trend of personalized customization combines digital printing and jacquard technology to create granular velvet fabrics with personalized patterns, such as cartoon jacquard children's jackets and gradient printed granular velvet blankets to meet consumers' needs for differentiated products.