Cotton sewing thread

Katan is said to be a corrupted word for "cotton," but it is also used for hand-sewn and hand-knitted cotton threads, and nowadays it also includes sewing threads made from silk and synthetic fibers, and mainly refers to sewing threads for machine sewing. There are various types of twisted threads, including two-ply and three-ply threads made from two or three single threads, as well as three-ply and three-ply threads called corded threads. All of them use Egyptian cotton or high-quality combed American cotton, and the types vary depending on the finishing process as follows: (1) Grace, in which threads are coated with starch paste containing soap, white wax, and other oils and fats, and then rubbed and polished with sufficient tension using a roller or brush machine to give them a glossy finish. (2) Soft, with no gloss and a flexible paste finish. (3) Mercerized, in which the threads are passed through a caustic soda solution under high tension (sometimes gas-scoring is performed before processing).

The count of cotton katan thread is different from that of regular cotton thread, and is defined by JIS (Japanese Industrial Standards) as follows (N = katan thread count, a = number of ply threads, b = original thread count).

No. 6, No. 8, No. 10, and then in increments of 10 up to No. 120 are used. Depending on the purpose, such as household or industrial use, there are two types: Komamaki, which is wound parallel to the sprouting, and Twill, which is wound in a twill pattern around a paper tube, and the thread length is also diverse. There are various color threads.

[Hiromi Okada]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

カタンはコットンcottonのなまった語といわれるが、綿糸の手縫い糸、手編み糸にも用いられ、現在では広く絹、合繊を材料とした縫い糸をも包括し、主としてミシン用縫い糸をいう。各種の撚(よ)り糸があり、単糸を2本または3本あわせた二子糸、三子糸のほか、コード糸とよばれる二子糸の3本撚り、三子糸の3本撚りがある。いずれもエジプト綿か上質の米綿のコーマ糸を用い、次のような仕上げ加工により種類が異なる。(1)せっけん、白蝋(はくろう)などの油脂を加えたデンプン糊(のり)を施した糸を、ロール機、ブラシ機などで十分に張力を加えて摩擦し、磨きを行って艶(つや)をつけたグレース。(2)艶をつけずに、柔軟な糊仕上げをしたソフト。(3)糸に強い張力をかけながら、カ性ソーダ溶液中を通過させたマーセライズ（加工前にガス焼を行うこともある）。

　綿カタン糸の番手は一般の綿糸の番手と異なり、JIS(ジス)（日本工業規格）では次のように定められている（N＝カタン糸番手、a＝合糸数、b＝原糸番手）。

　6番、8番、10番、その後は10番刻みで120番まで使われる。家庭用、工業用など用途に応じ、スプロールに平行に巻いた駒(こま)巻きと、紙筒に綾(あや)がけに巻いた綾巻きがあり、糸長も多様である。各種色糸がある。

［岡田浩海］

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