Posted on 03/17/2012 4:41:30 PM PDT by RegulatorCountry
I've got a very successful westernwear product that my company manufactures in the United States. Sparkle is very popular and even a necessity with at least some of the line. Our customer is thrilled with the work we've done and is in the process of greatly expanding the line. They can't keep it in stock.
The problem is, we cannot locate a better metallic yarn than just your standard Lurex. It's scratchy, yarn breaks are a problem during manufacturing, so profitability takes a hit whenever we use it. We've tried coverd nylon, no improvement. We've tried importing sheen yarn, but it doesn't sparkle enough. Jeweled heatseals don't work within the cost of goods target.
FReepers know everything. I'm hoping somebody has helpful knowledge here, too.
It's admittedly a longshot, but I'm at my wit's end and a whole lot of Made In America business might be riding on it. Customer has ditched a Chinese product in our favor due to innovation, responsiveness and product quality. Westernwear buyers lean much more toward support of domestic products as well.
When you say “yarn,” do you mean something like nylon crocheting thread, only metallic? Or soft baby blanket yarn, only metallic?
i used to buy yarn from red heart. i dont know if they’ll have what you want, but the link is below. :)
http://www.redheart.com/finder/yarn
The yarn of the product itself is two ends of 30/1 (thirty singles) cotton, with lycra for shape retention and smooth fit. The Lurex is purely being used for decorative pattern.
There are shimmer yarns that might work, but I'm having a difficult time getting at a source. Our yarn buyer is very old school and regards all this as a pain. I'm wanting to see the program succeed since I incepted it, designed it and convinced a very traditional customer to step outside their comfort zone and give it a try. That they did and it's going gangbusters, but we have this one issue that needs to be resolved. We can continue on as is, but profitability increasingly becomes a problem as quantity increases and unit cost declines.
Thanks, I’ll look into it.
Too bad we can’t use those, due to weight and not being wound on a cone. They have some beautiful stuff.
Sent you a private reply to your e mail box. Contact for close friend of mine who is a strong conservative. Her business is “yarn”. Will be the only call you need to make.
Have you looked at Kreinek dot com. I know they have 1000 meter cones of metallic embroidery thread that is 42% nylon, 36% polyester, 22% viscose that I often use to ply with my handspun yarns to add sparkle.
DMC, Sulky, Madeira and Melrose are all brand names that produce metallic embroidery threads. Maybe one of them produces a thread or yarn that would suit your needs.
Sparkle is really big in the handknitting yarn market right now. Where are those yarn manufactures getting their metallics from? I doubt most of them are producing it themselves, but rather ordering it custom from mills in Turkey.
The two most recent I’ve stocked in my retail yarn shop are Red Heart Stardust which is a sock yarn and Premier Yarns Spangle which is a sport weight chainette. It’s very soft and really stands out. I recently finished knitting a shrug using it as a carry along with a bulky wool for a shop model and it’s gorgeous.
Thank you for a very informative reply. I’ll certainly give it a close look.
The other is Huntingdon Yarn Mills in suburban Philadelphia.
Between these two and a few others, I'll find what I need if it exists.
Thanks so much for your help, all of you.
Correction, Sildorex USA.
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