Woollen finishing, piece-dyed route

Piece-dyed woollen finishing means the greige cloth is woven first, still undyed, with dyeing scheduled after weaving — unlike stock-dyed routes, which dye the loose fibre before spinning even starts. The route's real decisions sit at three points: how the scour-and-mill set-up is arranged before dyeing, whether crabbing after dyeing runs batch or continuous, and whether the face gets an extra polishing pass for a lustrous finish. QL supplies yarn steaming for the spinning workshop, and scouring, wool milling, crabbing, raising, brushing, polishing, pre-shrinking and decatizing machines across wet and dry finishing.

Piece-dyed woollen versus stock-dyed: where the routes differ

The only difference between the two routes is where colour enters — at the raw-fibre end, or the greige-fabric end. Piece-dyed woollen fabric is dyed as a whole piece after it comes off the loom; every step before weaving — willeying and oiling, woollen carding, woollen spinning, yarn steaming, weaving itself — runs on undyed fibre. Stock-dyed fabric instead starts from fibre already dyed loose, before carding, spinning and weaving. QL's Vacuum Yarn Steaming Autoclave, the WPF-ZS, serves the steaming station after spinning and before weaving, shared by both routes.

Scour–mill set-up and preparation for dyeing

Scouring and milling before dyeing clean the greige fabric and set the wool milling degree without compromising the level dyeing that follows. The fabric first passes burling, checked and mended piece by piece, then tubular seaming, joined head to tail into a loop for rope-form processing — QL can configure pre-owned refurbished European equipment for this station. The scour-and-mill set-up is a choice of three:

• Separate: mill, then scour — the WPF-1S wool milling machine mills the fabric, which runs straight into the WPF-XN multi-channel rope scouring machine. One machine per step, a simple flow for steady batches.
• Combined: scour and mill in one machine — the Four-Channel Wool Scouring and Milling Machine WPF-4XS mills and scours on one platform, each channel independently set; batches mixing colours and weights run on separate channels at once.
• Mill first, then open-width spreading and washing — the WPF-1S mills the fabric, untwisted and spread, then washed in open width on the WPF-JXPX discontinuous open-width washing machine, never gathered back into rope form — avoiding the creases rope processing leaves on crease-prone qualities.

Once scoured and milled, the fabric goes to piece dyeing or bleaching, where colour is set.

Washing and setting after piece dyeing

Fabric off the dye vat still carries loose dye and surplus liquor, so it is untwisted, spread open and mangled — QL can configure pre-owned refurbished European equipment for this station — before crabbing. Crabbing is a choice of two:

• Batch — the WPF-ZN crabbing machine reciprocates the fabric through a single bath on twin cylinders, exchanging position pass after pass, so the whole piece sets alike end to end.
• Continuous — the continuous crabbing section of the WPF-LXZH continuous crabbing and drying line, running the fabric non-stop and able to line straight into the drying section that follows.

After setting, the WPF-SSMDX wet brushing and setting machine combs the nap while the fabric is still damp and sets it in place; the WPF-CG teasel raising machine, new or refurbished European pre-owned, then raises the nap wet: the fabric still holds water and the wool is swollen, the natural teasel hooks bend rather than tear fibre under resistance, and as the fibres are hooked and released again and again they curl naturally, laying a smooth, fine nap and, when wanted, a water-wave face. The WPF-CG, developed in 2017 as China's first vertical teasel raising machine, forms a water-wave face on both sides in one pass. This teasel raising and the wire raising in dry finishing can both sit on one line, each for a different effect. Mangling follows — QL can configure pre-owned refurbished European equipment — pressing out surplus water. Drying is then a choice of two: conventional drying equipment, or the continuous drying section of the WPF-LXZH — four tiers of cylinders, each with its own temperature zone, both faces taking turns against the cylinders, cooled by air before plaiting to avoid the glazed face and harsh handle cylinder drying often leaves on wool. The workshop can keep suitable drying equipment already in place — the two sections of the WPF-LXZH run separately.

Face finishing: raising, shearing, fabric polishing

Fabric off the dryer sits below normal moisture regain, so it is reconditioned first — the WPF-PP rotating disc moistening unit brings it back to normal regain — before raising, shearing and polishing. Face finishing opens with wire raising — QL can configure pre-owned refurbished European equipment — sharp steel pins giving a stronger, fluffier nap; shearing trims the pile even — QL can configure pre-owned refurbished European equipment for this station too — though the cut leaves fibres crushed and lying every which way. The WPF-SM Vertical Brushing Machine combs them back into one direction, so light reflects evenly. Whether a bright, lustrous finish is needed is then a choice of two: if so, the fabric goes to polishing — the WPF-TG fabric polishing machine synchronises spiral grooves and combing teeth 1:1 on its roller, combing the pile straight to its root, then heat-pressing it for directional sheen; if not, straight to pre-shrinking and weft straightening.

Pre-shrinking and decatizing, and the handle decision

Pre-shrinking settles a dimensional problem, decatizing a surface-and-handle one, and the two run in fixed order. The pre-shrinking method is a choice of two, and it decides where weft straightening sits:

• Pin-chain: selvedge-held conveying, weft straightening before entry — the WPF-ZW pin-wheel weft straightener corrects weft skew, and the WPF-LTYS pin-chain steaming-shrinking machine holds the fabric on pin clamps throughout, locking width and guarding against leg twist after garment washing.
• Belt-type: tension-free conveying, weft straightening after shrinking — the WPF-WDYS belt-type steaming-shrinking machine runs the fabric free of width-locking, releasing residual shrinkage in a way better suited to knits, straightening follows.

Decatizing is a choice of four, weighed by set depth and line takt:

• Batch — the WPF-JXZN-MAX discontinuous decatizing machine's Ø2000 oversized cylinder gives ample fabric travel, eliminating head-to-tail piece variation; the QL Micro-Pressure Uniform Steaming Technology distributes steam evenly across the width, eliminating left-centre-right shading.
• Continuous — the WPF-LXZN continuous decatizing machine's enlarged steam-rise chamber extends dwell time, an internal heating bank staged to prevent condensation, running non-stop; fringed scarves, shawls and similar categories cannot be processed on batch decatizing equipment, and this is the only viable route for them.
• Continuous pressure — the WPF-LXZN-P continuous pressure decatizing machine pressurises its vessel to 0–3 bar, so saturated steam acts on the fabric directly and continuous travel still reaches light-kier-grade set depth.
• Autoclave — QL can configure pre-owned refurbished European equipment; a batch process, the deepest set of the four.

On handle: where a fuller, softer handle is wanted, an air-flow softening step goes in before final inspection — QL can configure pre-owned refurbished European equipment — tumbling the fabric to open the fibre structure mechanically; a conventional handle goes straight to final inspection and rolling, ending the route.

QL machines on this route

QL's wool-finishing machines on this route, in station order:

• Yarn steaming: Yarn Steaming Autoclave WPF-ZS, sets twist before weaving.
• Tubular seaming: QL can configure pre-owned refurbished European equipment.
• Combined scouring and wool milling: Four-Channel Wool Scouring and Milling Machine WPF-4XS, scours and mills in one pass.
• Milling: Wool Milling Machine WPF-1S, mills under moist heat and pressing.
• Rope scouring: Multi-Channel Rope Scouring Machine WPF-XN, scours in rope form.
• Untwisting → open-width spreading: QL can configure pre-owned refurbished European equipment.
• Open-width washing: Discontinuous Open Width Washing Machine WPF-JXPX, circulates the piece in open width.
• Untwisting → open-width spreading → mangling: QL can configure pre-owned refurbished European equipment.
• Batch crabbing: Crabbing Machine WPF-ZN, sets the piece in a single reciprocating bath.
• Continuous crabbing section: Continuous Crabbing and Drying Line WPF-LXZH, sets the fabric on continuous travel.
• Wet brushing and setting: Wet Brushing and Setting Machine WPF-SSMDX, combs and sets the nap while damp.
• Teasel raising: Teasel Raising Machine WPF-CG, new or pre-owned refurbished.
• Mangling: QL can configure pre-owned refurbished European equipment.
• Continuous drying section: Continuous Crabbing and Drying Line WPF-LXZH, dries over four temperature-zoned tiers.
• Moistening and conditioning: Rotating Disc Moistening Unit WPF-PP, restores normal regain.
• Wire raising: QL can configure pre-owned refurbished European equipment.
• Shearing: QL can configure pre-owned refurbished European equipment.
• Brushing: Vertical Brushing Machine WPF-SM, combs the pile into one direction.
• Polishing: Fabric Polishing Machine WPF-TG, heat-presses the pile for directional lustre.
• Weft straightening: Weft Straightener WPF-ZW, pin-wheel type, corrects weft skew.
• Pin-chain steaming-shrinking: Pin-Chain Steaming-Shrinking Machine WPF-LTYS, pin clamps hold width locked.
• Belt-type steaming-shrinking: Belt-Type Steaming-Shrinking Machine WPF-WDYS, tension-free, releases residual shrinkage.
• Batch decatizing: Discontinuous Decatizing Machine WPF-JXZN-MAX, Ø2000 cylinder gives a deep set.
• Continuous decatizing: Continuous Decatizing Machine WPF-LXZN, sets the fabric on continuous travel.
• Continuous pressure decatizing: Continuous Pressure Decatizing Machine WPF-LXZN-P, pressurised steam gives light-kier-grade set on continuous travel.
• Autoclave decatizing: QL can configure pre-owned refurbished European equipment.
• Handle improvement: QL can configure pre-owned refurbished European equipment.

Bring your fabric types, batch sizes and current machine list to QL and we talk process before configuration: WhatsApp +1 380 900 2442, or +86 189 2110 8080.