Pill (textile)

A pill
pill,, colloquially known as a bobble
bobble,, fuzzball
fuzzball,, or lint ball is a small ball of fibers t hat forms on a
h. Pill is also a verb for t he format ion of such balls.[1]
piece of clot h. [1][2]
[2]

Pills on a knit fabric

Pilling is a surface defect of t ext iles caused by wear, and is generally considered an undesirable
t rait .[3] It happens when washing and wearing of fabrics causes loose fibers t o begin t o push out
from t he surface of t he clot h, and, over t ime, abrasion causes t he fibers t o develop int o small
spherical bundles, anchored t o t he surface of t he fabric by prot ruding fibers t hat haven't broken.
The t ext ile indust ry divides pilling int o four st ages: fuzz format ion, ent anglement , growt h, and
wear-off.[4]
Pilling normally happens on t he part s of clot hing t hat receive t he most abrasion in day-t o-day
wear, such as t he collar, cuffs, and around t he t highs and rear on t rousers.[5]

Causes

All fabrics pill t o some ext ent , alt hough fibers such as linen and silk pill less t han most .[6] The
primary drivers of pilling are t he physical charact erist ics of t he t ext ile (including bot h t he init ial
fibre, and t he way in which it is processed during manufact uring), t he personal habit s of t he
t ext ile's wearer, and t he environment in which t he t ext ile is used. Fibers such as wool, cot t on,
polyest er, nylon and acrylic have a t endency t o pill t he most , but wool pilling diminishes over t ime
as non-t enacious wool fibers work t hemselves free of t he fabric and break away, whereas pilling
of synt het ic t ext iles is a more serious problem, because t he st ronger fibers hold on t o t he pills
prevent ing t hem from falling off.[7]

In general longer fibers pill less t han short ones because t here are fewer ends of fibers,[2] and
because it is harder for t he longer fibers t o work t hemselves out of t he clot h. Fabrics wit h a
large number of loose fibers have a higher t endency t o pill. Also, knit t ed fabrics t end t o pill more
t han woven fabrics,[1] because of t he great er dist ance bet ween yarn crossings in knit t ed fabrics
t han in woven ones.[8] For t he same reason, a t ight ly knit t ed object will pill less t han a loosely
knit t ed one.[2] When a fabric is made of a blend of fibers where one fibre is significant ly st ronger
t han t he ot her, pills t end t o form as t he weaker fibre wears and breaks, and t he st ronger fibre
holds t he pills ont o t he clot h.[2]

Preventing

Techniques used by t he t ext ile indust ry t o avoid pilling include singeing t he loose fibers
prot ruding on t he surface of t ext ile, and spinning t he yarn wit h a high number of t wist s per inch.
Some fabrics are chemically t reat ed during t he manufact uring process in order t o reduce t heir
propensit y t o pill. Polymeric coat ings are somet imes applied t o bind fibers int o t he fabric
surface and prevent init ial fuzz from forming. Polyest er and cot t on fibers are somet imes
modified t o be of lower-t han-normal st rengt h, which result s in pills det aching easily from fabrics,
once t hey are formed. Cellulase enzymes are somet imes used on cot t on fabrics during wet
processing, which removes loose fibers.[6]

Text ile aut horit ies say consumers can prevent or post pone pilling of t heir fabrics by t reat ing
t hem wit h chemical soil release t reat ment s t hat make t he surface of t he fabric more hydrophilic,
and by t urning clot hes inside out before washing t hem.[9]

Result

Pills do not int erfere wit h t he funct ionalit y of t he t ext ile, unless a spot wit h a lot of pills t urns
int o a hole in t he fabric. This is because bot h pills and holes are caused by t he fabric wearing—a
pill is fibre t hat was in t he clot h. Aft er t he pill forms t he fabric is t hinner t here, increasing t he
likelihood t hat a hole will form.

Pilling can seriously compromise a t ext ile's accept abilit y for consumers, and is t he focus of
significant indust ry research. In t he t ext ile indust ry, severit y of pilling is object ively evaluat ed
using five paramet ers: pill number, t he mean area of pilling; t he t ot al area of pilling; cont rast , and
densit y.[10]

Before and after shaving.

See also

Look up pill in Wikt ionary, t he free dict ionary.

Nap (t ext ile)

Pile (t ext ile)

 References

1. "Pill." The Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd ed. 1989.

2. "Popular Science" (https://books.google.com/books?id=5Jr8k-Drkh4C&pg=PA83) . Bonnier

Corporation. September 1999. p. 83. Retrieved May 13, 2009.

3. Ukponmwan, J. O.; Mukhopadhyay, A.; Chatterjee, K. N. (1998). "Pilling". Textile Progress. 28 (3): 1–57.
doi:10.1080/00405169808688874 (https://doi.org/10.1080%2F00405169808688874) . ISSN 1754-
2278 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/1754-2278) .

4. Shen, Gang, and Xiong Huang (2011). Advanced Research on Electronic Commerce, Web Application,
and Communication, Part 1 (https://books.google.com/books?id=JbyQcjOWigAC&dq=pilling+fabric+we
ar&pg=PA80) . London: Springer Heidelberg Dordrecht. p. 80. ISBN 978-3-642-20366-4.

5. Mehta, Pradip V., and Satish K. Bhardwaj (1998). Managing quality in the apparel industry (http://www.
newagepublishers.com/servlet/nagetbiblio?bno=000465) . New Delhi: National Institute of Fashion
Technology and New Age International Publishers. p. 110. ISBN 978-81-224-1166-9.

6. Schindler, Wolfgang D., and Peter J. Hauser (2004). Chemical finishing of textiles (http://www.woodhead
publishing.com/en/book.aspx?bookID=786) . Manchester, England: Woodhead Publishing in Textiles.
pp. 132–133. ISBN 1-85573-905-4.

7. Yates, Marypaul (2002). Fabrics: a guide for interior designers and architects (http://books.wwnorton.c
om/books/978-0-393-73062-3/) . New York: W.W. Norton. p. 188. ISBN 978-0-393-73062-3.

8. Berkowitch, John (1996). Trends in Japanese Textile Technology (https://books.google.com/books?id=k

mfbGNjs0zMC&pg=PA27) . Diane pub. p. 27. ISBN 0-7881-8938-7. Retrieved May 13, 2009.

9. Mendelson, Cheryl (1999). Home comforts: the art and science of keeping house (https://books.google.
com/books?id=xfB99Kf38MwC&dq=pilling+collar+cuffs&pg=PA230) . New York: Scribner. p. 230.
ISBN 0-684-81465-X.

10. Fan, Jintu, and Winnie Wing-man Yu, Winnie Yu, L. Hunte (2004). Clothing appearance and fit: science
and technology (http://www.woodheadpublishing.com/en/book.aspx?bookID=646) . Cambridge:
Woodhead Publishing Series in Textiles No. 33. pp. 54–60. ISBN 1-85573-745-0.

Retrieved from
"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?
title=Pill_(textile)&oldid=1058500548"

Last edited 4 months ago by Citation bot