Heather spun yarns and fabrics, and methods for producing the same

Abstract

A spun heather yarn includes first pre-colored staple fibers comprising first polyester fibers dyed with a first cationic dyestuff, and second pre-colored staple fibers comprising second polyester fibers dyed with a second cationic dyestuff. A knitted heather fabric includes a plurality of the spun heather yarns knitted together to form the knitted heather fabric. The first and/or second pre-colored staple fibers may have contrasting colors. A method of manufacturing a spun heather yarn includes preparing a plurality of first pre-colored staple fibers by dyeing first uncolored staple fibers using a first cationic dyestuff, preparing a plurality of second pre-colored staple fibers by separately dyeing second uncolored staple fibers using a second cationic dyestuff, and spinning the first and second pre-colored staple fibers together to form the spun heather yarn. The spun heather yarns may then be knitted together to form a heather fabric.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.