Tightly woven paper textile products

Abstract

The present invention provides a textile material comprising a tightly woven paper fabric having a backing applied on only one side. The tight weave allows the backing to be applied as a liquid, whereupon curing cause the liquid to harden. The backing confers additional strength and durability to the paper fabric and allows mass production of paper fabrics by the formation of a continuous sheet that can be cut to desired dimensions and shapes without fraying at the edges. The present invention also provides methods for forming tightly woven fabrics and for applying a backing onto this fabric.

What is claimed:  
     
         1 . A fabric comprising: 
 a first set of paper yarns in a warp direction; and    a second set of paper yarns tightly woven with the first set of yarns in a substantially perpendicular weft direction.    
     
     
         2 . The fabric of  claim 1 , wherein each set of yarns has a density such that a sum of each density is at least about 20 yarns/in.  
     
     
         3 . The fabric of  claim 1 , wherein each set of yarns has a density of at least about 6 yarns/in.  
     
     
         4 . A method of weaving a paper fabric, comprising 
 providing paper yarns; and    weaving the paper yarns on a wide loom.    
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the paper yarns are tightly woven.  
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the yarns are prepared by twisting wetted paper.  
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the weaving occurs immediately after twisting.  
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the yarns are provided to the loom at a controlled tension.  
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 4 , further comprising a step of applying a backing to the woven paper yarns.  
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 4 , further comprising a step of cutting the woven yarns to form a rug.