Complex or Novelty Yarns

Yarns can be created to have various visual effects. A novelty single yarn could have a slub, or an irregularity in the width and/or degree of twist of the yarn. This is often seen in natural fibres but can also be mimicked in manufactured fibres.

Ply yarns can have a base yarn, combined with one or more effect yarns. Examples of this are bouclé and chenille yarns.

Boucle Fabric — “Boucle fabric” by PKM is marked with Public Domain Mark 1.0.

Novelty Yarn — “Handspun Art Yarn – Shabby Chic with pearls” by ilashdesigns is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Novelty Yarns — image courtesy of Shree Bharathi Manoranjan

Textured Yarns

Most manufactured fibres are thermoplastic and can therefore be heat-set into different textures such as crimped, looped and coiled yarns. These can create fabrics that are soft, warm, and bulky but still light weight.