New equipment for NFC

The Natural Fibre Company has invested in new equipment to increase the range of services offered to
commercial yarn businesses, crafts-people and smallholders.

Based at Launceston in Cornwall, NFC has added a steamer and garneting card machine plus wet and needle felting equipment.

Yarn steaming helps reduce kinking in the high-quality twisted commercial yarn used for weaving and sock making.

The steamer was acquired second-hand from a London-based business that was closing. It allows NFC to increase the quality of those yarns which need a high twist to add strength when they are used under tension in weaving looms and sock-knitting machines.

NFC’s garneting card machine has come from The Woolly Shepherd in Devon. It will be used to process new wool and also to re-cycle waste yarns and materials, which would otherwise be sent to landfill, to make fluff suitable for stuffing cushions and upholstery.

As well as producing high quality felt, the company can now use all grades and kinds of wool as cushion stuffing. This machine can also be used to de-hair alpaca fibre.

As wool is fire retardant and also retains its shape, it is ideal as stuffing material. NFC can now further reduce waste, help the environment and add value to otherwise unusable wool.

In addition to adding a service for its existing customers, the garneting machine will be used to make stuffing for the cushions for Olympic athletes in the Woolsack project (www.woolsack.org).

The garneting machine also has a batt roller which can create flat pieces of pre-fabric from wool, to make into needle or wet felt. Both the felting machines were also bought from The Woolly Shepherd.

These machines collectively enable all grades of wool to be made into a wide range of non-woven fabrics, from craft materials to quilting wadding to yurt liners or numnahs which are used to ease the fit of a horse saddle.

NFC is making samples and standard lengths of felt and can also provide facilities for people to use the felting machines for their own products.