What Is Ant Fabric?
“Ant fabric”, also known as “ant cloth” or “Qixi local cloth” or “Western road cloth”, is one of the famous local specialties in the history of Qimen County. It is a changed product of knitted loop structure, which is usually made by raising and brushing the front and back of the loop.
Ant cloth uses the principle of bristles for finishing to produce ant effects. Under normal circumstances, only the bottom hair of ant cloth is brushed rather than the looped surface. Sometimes in order to increase the velvet feel of the pile surface, it can also be brushed lightly. And it can’t be shaken, otherwise, the pile loop will destroy the ant effect. The ant cloth only brushes the bottom surface and does not need polar grains, so the back fuzz is thick and thin, long and greasy, soft and fluffy.
Functions of Ant Fabric
Ant cloth products have a very soft feel, good warmth retention, and good air permeability. They are suitable for coats, jackets, thermal seamless underwear, sportswear linings, school uniforms, blankets and other spring, autumn and winter products.
History of Ant Fabric
“Ant cloth” began in the Daoguang and Xianfeng reigns of the Qing Dynasty. This kind of homespun cloth was distributed in Likou. Most villages near Likou produce ant cloth, and Penglong Village is the main one. Because peasant women admire female workers and are good at weaving, they are engaged in spinning and weaving in the rest of the year except for the tea season.
Features of Ant Fabric
Ant cloth is thick and warm, so most people use it to make winter underwear and cotton wool lining.
Another feature of ant cloth is that in terms of color matching, it is interwoven with blue and white yarns. It looks like its ideas are like the shape of ants, which can play a decorative effect. It is simple and generous, dense and orderly. The fabric style is simple and easy to match, and there are many types for people to choose from, so it is also favored by some fashion designers.
Ant cloth has no special requirements on the choice of base cloth, generally cotton or polyester cotton, so the fabric feels softer, and the ant cloth has good abrasion resistance. It can be used to make school bags, table cloths and outerwear.
The dyeability and color fastness of the ant cloth are also very good, so the ant cloth products we have seen are all bright in color. The fabric is washable and does not fade easily, so it is easy to take care of. With many dyeing methods, it is basically composed of two colors of blue and white, giving people a sense of simplicity and beauty.
The price of ant cloth is relatively affordable, and the wholesale price per square meter is generally around ten yuan. Therefore, the overall cost performance of the product is relatively high.
