Hybrid yarns which include oil seed flax plant bast fiber and other fibers and fabrics made with such yarns

Abstract

The invention is directed to (1) hybrid yarns which include oilseed flax straw plant bast fibers and a second group of fibers which may be synthetic and/or natural plant fibers, and (2) fabrics made from such yarns.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A hybrid yarn comprising at least two groups which are twisted together to form the yarn, the group comprising: 
 a first fiber group which comprises flax oilseed plant bast fibers having a tenacity of at least about 1.5 grams/Denier, a breaking elongation of from about 1 to about 20% and a crimp of from about 5 to about 80%;    a second filament group which is selected from the group consisting of synthetic fibers, natural plant fibers other than oil flax oilseed plant bast fibers and mixtures thereof, the second filament group having a fiber tenacity of above about 1.5 gram/Denier and a breaking elongation of from about 5 to about 75%;    a hydrophobic lubricant; and    a hydrophobic antistat.    
     
     
         2 . The hybrid yarn as recited in  claim 1  wherein the first fiber group and the second filament group each comprise a plurality of fibers.  
     
     
         3 . The hybrid yarn as recited in claims  1  or  2  wherein the two groups have been twisted and each group is in an effective amount for providing a yarn with a tenacity of at least about 0.8 grams/Denier.  
     
     
         4 . The hybrid yarn as recited in claims  1  or  2  wherein the flax oilseed plant bast fibers have a length of from about 15 mm to about 75 mm and a tensile strength of at least about 1 GPa.  
     
     
         5 . The hybrid yarn as recited in  claim 4  wherein the first and second group are ring spun into a yarn.  
     
     
         6 . The hybrid yarn as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the second filament group is selected from the group consisting of polypropylene filaments, polyester filaments, polyethylene filaments, polyvinyl chloride filaments, polyurethane filaments and mixtures thereof.  
     
     
         7 . The hybrid yarn as recited in  claim 4 , wherein the first group of oilseed flax bast fibers further includes an additional type of bast fiber which comes from a plant other than an oilseed flax plant.  
     
     
         8 . A thermoformable hybrid yarn comprising: 
 at least two groups which are twisted together to form the yarn, the yarn comprising: 
 a first fiber group which comprises oilseed flax plant bast fibers having have a length of from about 15 mm to about 75 mm, a tenacity of at least about 1.5 grams/Denier, a breaking elongation of from about 1 to about 20% and a crimp of from about 5 to about 80%; and  
 a second filament group which comprises at least one thermoplastic filament having a melting point of at least about 10° C. and below the thermal decomposition point of the plant bast fibers, wherein the first and second group are ring spun to a yarn.  
   
     
     
         9 . A thermoformable hybrid yarn as recited in  claim 8 , wherein the yarn further comprises a hydrophobic lubricant and antistat.  
     
     
         10 . A thermoformable hybrid yarn as recited in  claim 8 , wherein the hybrid yarn is effective for forming composites which are permanently deformable.  
     
     
         11 . A method for making a hybrid yarn comprising at least two groups, a first fiber group and a second fiber group: 
 mixing the first fiber group, the second fiber group, a hydrophobic lubricant, and a hydrophobic antistat to provide a lubricated fiber group; and    spinning the lubricated group,    the first fiber group comprising flax oilseed plant bast fibers having a tenacity of at least about 1.5 grams/Denier, a breaking elongation of from about 1 to about 20% and a crimp of from about 5 to about 80%,    the second filament group being selected from the group consisting of synthetic fibers, natural plant fibers other than flax bast fibers and mixtures thereof, the second filament group having a fiber tenacity of above about 1.5 gram/Denier and a breaking elongation of from about 5 to about 75%, and    the first fiber group and the second fiber group being in amounts effective for proving a yarn with a tenacity of at leat about 0.8 grams/Denier.    
     
     
         12 . The method as recited in claim  13  wherein the flax oilseed plant bast fibers have a length of from about 15 mm to about 75 mm and a tensile strength of at least about 1 GPa.