Method and apparatus for coloring tow and colored tow produced therefrom

Abstract

A method is disclosed for applying color to continuous synthetic fibers in the form of tow comprising the steps of first spreading the tow into a flattened sheet, applying color in a first predetermined design pattern to one side of the sheet so as to impregnate the color into the depth of the sheet to a given depth, and then applying color in a second predetermined design pattern to the other side of the sheet so as to impregnate the color into the depth of the sheet from the other side. The thus treated tow is suitable for forming into blended yarn, commonly known as "heather". An apparatus is also disclosed for accomplishing the above treatment and continuous fibers in the form of tow having intermittent portions of said fibers colored are also disclosed.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.