1. Fibres of plant Parthenium hysterophorus, said fibre extracted by a method comprising the steps of (i) sorting of plant stems according to length and thickness, (ii) separating sorted stems of the plant from leafy part, (iii) weighing the separated stems followed by water retting of the separated stems by soaking in water in a large water tank for 2-3 days, (iv) Putting the soaked retted stem on a water absorbing surface to drain off water, (v) weighing soaked stem of step (iv) followed by boiling in water for 10 minutes to 30 minutes, (vi) Putting the boiled stems of step (v) in a retting liquor under pre-determined process conditions, (vii) taking the stems of step (iv) out of the liquor and keeping on a water absorbing surface to drain off the excess water to obtain retted stem, (viii) extracting fibres from the retted stem and overnight soaking the extracted fibres in water, (ix) drying the soaked fibres of step (viii) in shade, wherein said retting liquor comprises one or more commercially available synthetic liquid detergent, one or more alkali solution, one or more commercially available softner in pre-determined ratio in water.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said pre-determined ratio of said synthetic liquid detergent and alkali solution is 1:1.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said pre-determined ratio of synthetic liquid detergent, alkali solution and softner is 3:3:2.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein composition of said liquor comprises Water 30 litres Synthetic liquid detergent 30 ml Alkali solution 30 ml Softner 20 ml

5. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said pre-determined process conditions of step (vi) are temperature ranging from 80o C to 100 o C and time ranging from 10 minutes to 30 minutes.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the fibres are strong, show high moisture regain, hydrophilic in nature, and dissipate static charges.

7. A blended yarn comprising fibres from stems of plant Parthenium hysterophorus as claimed in claim 1 and one or more natural and/or synthetic fibre wherein said blended yarn is strong, fine, shows good moisture regain, air permeability, hydrophilic in nature, and dissipates static charges.

8. The blended yarn as claimed in claim 6, wherein said one or more other natural fibres are selected from cellulosic fibres such as but not limited to cotton, jute or silk; and said one or more other synthetic fibres are selected from but not limited to polyester, rayon, nylon.

9. The blended yarn as claimed in claim 6, wherein said blended yarn comprising Parthenium hysterophorus fibre and polyester fibres in a ratio ranging from 65:35 and 50:50.

10. A fabric developed from a blended yarn of fibre from plant Parthenium hysterophorus and polyester fibres in a ratio ranging from 65:35 and 50:50, said fabric for use in, but not limited to, clothing apparels such as jackets and kurti, medical textiles, home furnishing and the like.

DESC:FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to providing fabric from natural fibre and blended fabric for textile industry. The present invention provides fibres from Parthenium hysterophorus fibre and method to obtain thereof. The invention further provides yarn from Parthenium hysterophorus fibre and blends thereof. The present invention also provides a method to obtain yarn from Parthenium hysterophorus fibre and blends thereof.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The textile industry is the second largest industry that employs people in India. The natural fibre industry employs millions of people around the world, particularly in underdeveloped countries. Use of locally available natural fibres for textile industry would help in livelihood of the people. Further, the benefit of sustainable resources is that they can be regrown in the near future without having a negative impact on global biodiversity.

Natural fibres are in abundance, as they offer us numerous fibrous materials which develop in multiple geographical elevations. Various parts of these lignocellulosic plants, such as the pithy core, leaf, cane, grass, bast, straw, and seeds, are sources of valuable lignocellulosic fibres. They are suitable for applications not only in textiles but also in construction materials, animal and human diets, environment-friendly cosmetics, agro-fine compounds, and also sources of biopolymers and energy.

The demand for natural fibres for fabric manufacturing has increased since the industrial revolution, and now-a-days consumption rate of natural fibres is much higher than the production rate. To overcome this issue, many cellulosic fibres are currently used in the textile industry. In India, there are many plants having potential for natural fibre, such as Himalayan giant nettle, hemp, bhimal, bamboo, agave, sunn hemp, ramie, and gajar ghas etc.
In textile industry, to create high quality products, fibre blending has been done, to impart preferable characteristics as strength or durability, to reduce cost by combining expensive fibres with less costly types or to achieve special colour or texture effects. If blending is done carefully the good qualities of the fibres are emphasized minimizing the poor qualities. The properties of fibres blended are combined and made into a modified state in the blended fabric. Synthetic fibres when blended with cellulosic fibres, contributes more strength, wrinkle resistance and shape retention, whereas cellulosic fibres produce comfort as it provides absorbency and heat conduction. Thus, the blend combines the power of synthetic and comfort of cellulose who want apparel and home furnishings that perform better and look and feel good for longer.

Parthenium hysterophorus (gajar ghas) is a natural fibre and also its production is environment friendly, as it does not require chemicals to grow or for its irrigation. Parthenium fibre may reduce dependency on other natural fibre and compete with other natural fibres in the terms of availability. Parthenium hysterophorus is an annual herbaceous plant of the Asteraceae family that matures rapidly and has many branches. It offers numerous benefits in a different field. The plant has a wide range of pharmacological and medicinal properties and also various industrial and other uses. Parthenium plant is also useful in biogas, biofuel, and paper production and the waste left after the production can also be utilized for manure formation.

Recently efforts are being made by the researchers for extraction of fibre from Parthenium hysterophorus plant for textile purpose to meet the growing demands of eco-friendly fibres. Parthenium hysterophorus fibre can be blended with other fibres to improve aesthetic properties and functionality of the textile fabrics and also break the monotony of the textile market. However, there is no industrially applicable textile fabric from Parthenium hysterophorus or its blends for use in textile industry.

Appusamy, A. M. et. al. (2018) “Experimental studies on mechanical properties and characterization of Parthenium short fibre reinforced polymer matrix composites”; International Journal of Engineering and Advanced Technology, focuses on enhancement of properties like high strength to weight ratio, non-toxic, dimensional stability, ease of availability, decomposable and affordability of Parthenium short fibre composites as a reinforcement in polymer matrix. From the results, it was observed that the concentrated PMC gives better result as compared with other specimens. Addition of the natural fibre in the polymer matrix composite exhibits superior mechanical properties is evident from the research. Fibre volume fraction is significantly influencing on mechanical properties in specific, increase of flexural strength. The developed material gives better tailor-made properties and it will be an
alternative material for an automotive application.

Basu, A. et. al. ((2019) “Value added products from natural fibres of Indian Himalayan region”; International Journal of Engineering Research & Technology, suggests good possibility of producing high value textile products using Pine needles which are abundantly available as plant waste and can help improve the economy of Indian Himalayan region. Flax fibre produced in India can replace the use of imported flax fibre, thereby, reducing import of the same and generating income for the people living in the Himalayan region.

Kaur, M. et. al. (2014) “Effects and management of Parthenium hysterophorus: A weed of global significance”; International Scholarly Research Notices, concludes that the noxious P. hysterophorus grows in a wide variety of habitats and causes changes in above ground vegetation as well as in below ground soil nutrients. Appropriate methods for the management of P. hysterophorus are necessary to avoid potential threats to biodiversity and economic losses. The efficient and environment-friendly alternative to other time-consuming, costly, toxic, physical, and chemical methods is the use of biological control through allelopathy, insects and fungal pathogens. Nevertheless the weed has not been completely checked and is still creating nuisance in both Australia and India, and more needs to be done by scientists, agriculturists, and government to work jointly for managing this troublesome weed.

Vijay, R. et. al. (2019) “Characterization of alkali-treated and untreated natural fibres from the stem of Parthenium hysterophorus”; Journal of Natural Fibers, deals with the characterization of Parthenium hysterophorus fibers (PHF) extracted from its stem by manual retting process. Then, extracted fibers were alkali-treated, and its characteristics were compared with untreated one. The various behaviors of the alkali-treated and untreated PHF was studied using physical-chemical analysis, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, Thermogravimetric analysis, Tensile test, and Scanning Electron Microscopy. Results showed that alkali-treated PHF showed an increase in cellulose content by 8.9% than untreated PHF while the char residue was 38.5%. It also showed a better crystalline index, surface characteristics, and good tensile strength.

However, no significant research has been conducted to provide Parthenium hysterophorus fibre for use in textile industry.

The present invention aims to provide to Parthenium hysterophorus fibre and process to obtain thereof. The invention also provides fabric from Parthenium hysterophorus fibre and its blended yarn and blended fabric for textile industry.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
Some of the objects of the present disclosure, which at least one embodiment herein satisfies are as listed herein below.
The main object of the present invention is to provide natural fibre from Parthenium hysterophorus.

Another object of the present invention is to provide yarn and fabric from natural fibre of Parthenium hysterophorus.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide blended fabric of natural fibre from Parthenium hysterophorus with other one or more other natural fibres and/or synthetic fibres.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a method to obtain natural fibre from Parthenium hysterophorus.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide fabric from natural fibre of Parthenium hysterophorus and blend thereof with other one or more natural fibres and/or synthetic fibres.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended by way of embodiments and examples. Such alterations and further modifications in the present invention, and such further applications of the principles of the invention as would normally occur to those skilled in the art are to be construed as being within the scope of the present invention.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the summary of the invention provided herein is exemplary and explanatory of the invention and are not intended to be restrictive thereof. Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by those skilled in the art to which this invention belongs. The composition, process, methods, and examples provided herein are only illustrative and not intended to be limiting.

The terms "comprises", "comprising", or any other variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process or method that comprises a list of steps does not include only those steps but may include other steps not expressly listed or inherent to such a process or method. Similarly, one or more steps of method or components preceded by "comprises... a" does not, without more constraints, preclude the existence of other, steps or components. Appearances of the phrase "in a preferred embodiment”, “in an embodiment", “in another embodiment” and similar language throughout this specification may, but not necessarily do, all refer to the same embodiment.

Accordingly, the present invention provides natural fibre from Parthenium hysterophorus. The fibre is then used to prepare yarn and fabric. The natural fibre from Parthenium hysterophorus is also blended with one or more natural fibres to obtain blended fibres of desired quality and characteristics.

The invention also provides a method to obtain natural fibre from Parthenium hysterophorus and its fabric or blends thereof with one or more other natural fibres or synthetic fibres.

In a preferred embodiment, the natural fibre is obtained from the stem of Parthenium hysterophorus.

In another embodiment, the one or more other natural fibres are cellulosic fibres such as, but not limited to, cotton, jute, silk.

In another embodiment, the one or more other synthetic fibres are selected from, , but not limited to, polyester, rayon, nylon.

The fibres from the Parthenium hysterophorus are extracted by retting process. The stem portion of the Parthenium hysterophorus is dipped into the water for 5-7 days and 150-250 gm of alkali are added. After 7 days the bark is removed easily. The degumming and scouring process are carried out on remaining retted stem to obtain the fibre.

The extracted fibres are analyzed for physical and chemical properties. The fibres are then developed into yarn and are woven as fabric for use in textile industry.

One or more other natural fibres are selected for blending with the extracted natural fibres of Parthenium hysterophorus. The selected one or more other natural fibres are blended with the extracted natural fibres of Parthenium hysterophorus in specific ratio to develop blended yarn. The blended yarn can be woven into blended fabric for use in textile industry.

The fabric is dyed using natural dyes and dyeing performance is evaluated. The fabric from Parthenium hysterophorus fibres and the blended fabrics are evaluated for their acceptability.

In an embodiment, the workable ratio of P. hysterophorus fibres and other fibres in blended yarn is in the range from 65:35 to 50:50.

The one count yarn of Parthenium hysterophorus fabric and blended fabric is prepared and examined for different fibre, yarn, and fabric properties and percentage moisture regain.

The blended fabric is examined for physical characteristics such as, but not limited to,
fibre tenacity, diameter, length, stress-strain behaviour, fineness, and crimp in different blend ratio.

The Parthenium fibres and its blends with natural cellulosic fibres to produce fabrics may gain popularity due to increase in consumer’s demand for organic and eco-friendly fabrics. The developed fabric may produce suitable fabric for the manufacturing of jackets, apparels, rugs, etc. The Parthenium fibres and its blends with natural cellulosic fibres may provide better results in various aspects, such as, aesthetic appeal, comfortable, breathability and many more. On the other hand, if parthenium fibre is blended with synthetic fibre, the developed fabric may result in cost effectiveness, better dimension stability, etc.

Various objects, features, aspects and advantages of the inventive subject matter will become more apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments, along with the accompanying drawing figures.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION WITH NON-LIMITING EMBODIMENTS AND EXAMPLES
The following is a detailed description of embodiments of the disclosure depicted in the accompanying drawings. The embodiments are in such detail as to clearly communicate the disclosure. However, the amount of detail offered is not intended to limit the anticipated variations of embodiments; on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims.

In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present invention. It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that embodiments of the present invention may be practiced without some of these specific details.

Embodiments of the present disclosure relates to a method of extraction of fibre from plant of Parthenium hysterophorus. The method comprises the steps of separating stems of the plant from leafy part, water retting of separated stems, washing of retted stem, extracting fibres from the retted stem, drying the fibres.

The plants are sorted according to length and thickness of stem. The stems of the sorted plants are separated from leafy part of the plant. The separated stems are collected and weighed. The weighed stems are retted in water. For retting, the weighed stems have been soaked in water in a large water tank for 2-3 days. The stems get softened by soaking. The soaked stems are kept on water absorbing surface such as jute sacking to allow the extra water to drain off to obtain soaked stems. The soaked are then again weighed and put in boiling in water for 10 minutes to 30 minutes. The boiling is done to swell and soften the impurities like gum, dirt.

A retting liquor is prepared, comprising (i) water, (ii) commercially available synthetic liquid detergent such as Ezee (Godrej) (iii) alkali solution such as Sodium Hydroxide, and a commercially available softner, such as Comfort (Wipro). The synthetic liquid detergent and alkali solution are taken in 1:1 ratio.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the liquor comprises synthetic liquid detergent, alkali solution, softner in a ratio of 3:3:2 in water.

In an embodiment, for 6 kg boiled stems, the liquor comprises
Water 30 litres
Synthetic liquid detergent 30 ml
Alkali solution 30 ml
Softner 20 ml

The boiled stems are put in liquor for a period of 10 minutes to 30 minutes at a temperature ranging from 80o C to 100 o C to make them free of gum, dirt and other impurities. Then the stems are taken out of liquor and again kept on a water absorbing surface such as jute sacking to drain off the excess water to obtain retted stem.

The fibres are extracted from the retted stem manually. Individual fibre is extracted manually (scraping method). The extracted fibres are soaked in water overnight, excess water is removed and then fibres are dried in shade to obtain dried fibres. The dried fibres are strong, show high moisture regain, hydrophilic in nature, and dissipates static charges.

In an embodiment of the present invention, yarn is made from the dried fibres of P. hysterophorus.

In an embodiment, blended yarn is prepared by blending P. hysterophorus fibres with one or more natural fibres and/or synthetic fibres in a workable ratio.

In an embodiment, the one or more other natural fibres are selected from cellulosic fibres such as but not limited to cotton, jute or silk.

In an embodiment, the one or more other synthetic fibres are selected from but not limited to polyester, rayon, nylon.

The Parthenium hysterophorus fibres are evaluated for fibre diameter, length, moisture regain, fineness, strength and crimp as the fibre properties determine the behavior of the textiles at all stage of processing and manufacturing, performance characteristics of yarn and fabric in use. Further, in case of blending with other fibers, all the fibres should be compatible to each other.

In an embodiment of the present invention, polyester fibres show diameter and length compatibility for blending with P. hysterophorus fibre. Properties of Parthenium hysterophorus and Polyester fibres have been tested. P. hysterophorus fibres and polyester fibres have been blended in many ratio.

In an embodiment, the workable ratio of P. hysterophorus fibres and polyester fibres in blended yarn is in the range from 65:35 to 50:50. The blended yarns have been tested for various yarn properties.

The blended yarn is evaluated for yarn count, yarn twist, breaking force of yarn, elongation at break of yarns and unevenness of yarn. The blended yarn is strong, fine, show good moisture regain, air permeability, hydrophilic in nature, and dissipates static charges.

Evaluation of Fibres
Fibre diameter: The average fibre diameter of Parthenium fiber is evaluated and compared with Polyester fiber. The data are presented in Table 1:
Table 1: Fibre diameter
Sr. no. Sample code Mean fiber diameter (micron) CV%
1 PAF1(Parthenium fiber) 119.70 29.34
2 POF2 (Polyester fiber) 18.12 1.10
The data reveal that diameter of Parthenium fibre is found to be 119.70 microns with 29.3% co-efficient of variation. The co-efficient of fibre diameter influences the bending stiffness, handle and draping characteristics. The average diameter of Polyester fibre is 18.12 microns with 1.10 co-efficient of variations. Thus, Parthenium fibre is coarser than polyester fibre.
The statistical analysis for fibre diameter has been computed. Students t-test has been conducted to find out significant difference between two independent variables i.e., Parthenium fibre diameter and Polyester fibre diameter. Significant difference between the two at 0.1 level has been found (t= 299.95).

Length of fibers: The length of Parthenium fiber is evaluated and compared with Polyester fiber. The data are presented in Table 2:
Table 2: Fibre length
Sr. no. Sample code Mean fiber length (cm) CV%
1 PAF1(Parthenium fiber) 45.33 22.66
2 P0F2 (polyester fiber) 6.0 1.2
The data given in the above table 2 depicts that the length of Parthenium fibre is 45.33cm with 22.66 % co-efficient of variation. The co-efficient of variation percent of length is found more in Parthenium than Polyester fibre. The high value of co-efficient of variation suggests that a lot of variation exists in the length of Parthenium fibre. It may be due to the fact that it is natural fibre.

T- ratio has been calculated to find out whether mean length of parthenium fibre is equal or not. It is found that there is significant difference between the two at 0.1 level of significance. The value of t is found to be 111.35.

Moisture regain of fiber: The moisture regain of Parthenium fibres is determined and the data are given in Table 3:
Table 3: Moisture regain
Sr. no. Sample code Moisture regains % CV %
1 PAF1 (Parthenium fiber) 10.68% 1.21
2 POF2 (Polyester fiber) 3.83% 1.43
Moisture Regain value of Parthenium fibre is found to be 10.68%. It can be deduced from the above table that Parthenium fibre has more moisture regain % than polyester fibre. It may be due to difference in morphology or polymer structure (crystallinity) of the two fibres. Difference between mean moisture regain of fibre is found to be significant at 0.01 level.

Fineness of fibers: Table 4 reveals that Parthenium fibre is finer than Polyester fibre with co-efficient of variation 23.64 % and 1.10% respectively.
Table 4: Fineness of fibres
Sr. no. Sample code Fiber Fineness (Denier) CV%
1 PAF1 (Parthenium fiber) 192.40 23.64
2 POF2 (Polyester fiber) 3.18 1.10

Strength of fibers: Table 5 shows that mean strength of Parthenium fibre was 9.70 with 5.86% of elongation, while strength of Polyester fibre is 6.0 with 1.2% of elongation.
Table 5: Strength of fibres
Sr. no. Sample code Single fiber strength (gf) Elongation%
1 PAF1(Parthenium fiber) 9.70 5.86
2 POF2 (Polyester fiber) 6.0 1.2

Crimp of fibers: Table 6 shows that the crimps percentage in Parthenium fibre is 0.52. Polyester fibre is a manmade fibre and does not have natural crimps but crimps can be imparted to it by texturing process.
Table 6: Crimp of fibres
Sr. no. Sample code Fiber crimp/inch CV%
1 PAF1 (PARTHENIUM FIBER) 0.52 -
2 POF2 (POLYESTER FIBER) NIL NIL

Evaluation of yarn
The yarn has been made by blending of Parthenium fibre and Polyester fibre is workable ratio. The workable ratio of Parthenium fibre and polyester fibre in blended yarn ranges from 50:50 to 65:35.
Yarn count: Table 7 shows the yarn count pure as well as blended yarns. The yarn count in blended yarn ranges from ranges from 6.25 Ne to 9.66 Ne.
Table 7: Yarn count
Sr. no. Sample code Yarn count (Ne) CV%
1 Polyester 10.20 2.3
2 PAF1 50: POF2 50 6.25 4.7
3 PAF1 65: POF2 35 9.66 2.6

The ratio of Parthenium 65: Polyester 35 yields finer yarn. The coefficient of variation was maximum for Parthenium 50 : Polyester 50 blended yarn.

It has been found that there is significant difference in yarn count of yarn at one percent level of significance (F= 2863.31).

Yarn twist: The yarn twist data are presented in Table 8 below. The twist per inch of blended yarn ranges from 34.77 to 39.77 with 9.82 and 7.56 co- efficient of variation. The maximum amount of twist is for PAF50: PO50 (39.77 TPI). The possible reason could be higher twist multiplier (4.1 t.m) for 50:50 yarn than other yarns.
The co-efficient of variation % of PAF65: POF35 is more than PAF50: POF50.

One-way ANOVA is calculated to see the effect of blend ratio on yarn twist. The results are found significant at one percent level of significance (F= 18.924)

Table 8: Yarn twist
Sr. no. Sample code Yarn Twist (TPI) CV% Twist Direction
1 Polyester 35.45 4.67 Z
2 PAF1 50: P0F2 50 39.77 9.82 Z
3 PAF1 65: POF2 35 34.57 7.56 Z
Breaking force of yarn: The data in Table 9 reveals the breaking force of polyester and blended yarn. The yarn of 100 percent pure polyester fibre showed maximum breaking force. It is clear from the above table that in case of Blending 50 PAF: 50 POF, yarn showed maximum breaking force as compared to blended yarn of 65 Parthenium 65: Polyester35.

One way ANOVA is calculated to see the effect of blend ratio on the breaking force of yarn. It was found that there is significant difference at one percent level of significance between breaking force. (F= 601.72)
Table 9: Breaking force of yarn
Sr. no. Sample code Breaking Force (g/tex) RKm(g/tex) CV% of RKm
1 Polyester 920 39.34 20.5
2 PAF1 50: POF2 50 571.6 5.42 30.76
3 PAF1 65: POF2 35 405.5 6.63 29.1

Elongation at break of yarns: Data in Table 10 reveal that the polyester fibre shows 15.34% elongation which is more than other blended yarn. The 50 Parthenium:50 Polyester blended yarn shows the 14.72 % elongation and 10.71 % of 65 Parthenium:35 Polyester blended yarn. There is significant difference in elongation of yarn at one percent level of significance. (F=241.71)
Table 10: Elongation at break of yarns
Sr. no. Sample code Elongation % CV%
1 Polyester 15. 34 13.54
2 PAF1 50: POF2 50 14.72 24.02
3 PAF1 65: POF2 35 10.71 23.2

Unevenness of yarn: The variation in yarn fineness is dealt with by yarn evenness. Table 11 shows that Parthenium 65: Polyester 35 blended yarns show maximum unevenness whereas Polyester 100% fibre showed minimum percent of unevenness. Not much difference was found in unevenness percentage of both the blended yarns.
There is significant difference in yarn unevenness at one percent level of significance. (F=13.73)
Table 11: Unevenness of yarn
Sr. no. Sample code Unevenness % CV%
1 Polyester 10.3 0.1
2 PAF1 50: POF2 50 11.32 1.2
PAF1 65: POF35 11.77 1.0

The fabric made up of blended yarn of Parthenium fiber and Polyester fiber is used in, but not limited to, clothing apparels such as jackets and kurti, medical textiles, home furnishing and the like.

The data show that the P. hysterophorus fiber is stronger than Polyester fiber. The length of P. hysterophorus fiber is more than Polyester fiber. The numbers of crimps per inch of P. hysterophorus fiber is more than Polyester fiber. Not much of difference was found in crimp % of both the fibers. Percent moisture regain of Parthenium is higher than Polyester fiber.

Thus, the P. hysterophorus fiber has improved yarn strength, yarn count, fineness and other properties of blended yarns. Addition of P. hysterophorus has increased strength of blended yarn, fineness, and other properties of yarn which enhanced the quality parameters of blended yarns.

While the foregoing describes various embodiments of the invention, other and further embodiments of the invention may be devised without departing from the basic scope thereof. The scope of the invention is determined by the claims that follow. The invention is not limited to the described embodiments, versions or examples, which are included to enable a person having ordinary skill in the art to make and use the invention when combined with information and knowledge available to the person having ordinary skill in the art.
,CLAIMS:WE CLAIM:
1. Fibres of plant Parthenium hysterophorus, said fibre extracted by a method comprising the steps of
(i) sorting of plant stems according to length and thickness,
(ii) separating sorted stems of the plant from leafy part,
(iii) weighing the separated stems followed by water retting of the separated stems by soaking in water in a large water tank for 2-3 days,
(iv) Putting the soaked retted stem on a water absorbing surface to drain off water,
(v) weighing soaked stem of step (iv) followed by boiling in water for 10 minutes to 30 minutes,
(vi) Putting the boiled stems of step (v) in a retting liquor under pre-determined process conditions,
(vii) taking the stems of step (iv) out of the liquor and keeping on a water absorbing surface to drain off the excess water to obtain retted stem,
(viii) extracting fibres from the retted stem and overnight soaking the extracted fibres in water,
(ix) drying the soaked fibres of step (viii) in shade,
wherein said retting liquor comprises one or more commercially available synthetic liquid detergent, one or more alkali solution, one or more commercially available softner in pre-determined ratio in water.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said pre-determined ratio of said synthetic liquid detergent and alkali solution is 1:1.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said pre-determined ratio of synthetic liquid detergent, alkali solution and softner is 3:3:2.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein composition of said liquor comprises
Water 30 litres
Synthetic liquid detergent 30 ml
Alkali solution 30 ml
Softner 20 ml

5. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said pre-determined process conditions of step (vi) are temperature ranging from 80o C to 100 o C and time ranging from 10 minutes to 30 minutes.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the fibres are strong, show high moisture regain, hydrophilic in nature, and dissipate static charges.

7. A blended yarn comprising fibres from stems of plant Parthenium hysterophorus as claimed in claim 1 and one or more natural and/or synthetic fibre wherein said blended yarn is strong, fine, shows good moisture regain, air permeability, hydrophilic in nature, and dissipates static charges.

8. The blended yarn as claimed in claim 6, wherein said one or more other natural fibres are selected from cellulosic fibres such as but not limited to cotton, jute or silk; and said one or more other synthetic fibres are selected from but not limited to polyester, rayon, nylon.

9. The blended yarn as claimed in claim 6, wherein said blended yarn comprising Parthenium hysterophorus fibre and polyester fibres in a ratio ranging from 65:35 and 50:50.

10. A fabric developed from a blended yarn of fibre from plant Parthenium hysterophorus and polyester fibres in a ratio ranging from 65:35 and 50:50, said fabric for use in, but not limited to, clothing apparels such as jackets and kurti, medical textiles, home furnishing and the like.