Anti-Pill Finish
Treatment — one of 37 in the glossary
A treatment applied to reduce how readily a fabric forms pills. Most anti-pill finishing is enzymatic — cellulase enzymes remove the short surface fibres that pills form from — sometimes combined with singeing or a resin that binds fibre ends into the yarn. It reduces pilling markedly rather than eliminating it, and on cotton it costs a little fabric strength, because the fibres are being removed rather than tidied away.
Removing what pills form from
A pill is short fibres that worked loose, rolled into a ball, and stayed anchored by longer fibres around them. Take the short fibres away and there is less to form pills from.
That is what enzymatic anti-pill finishing does — cellulase digests the exposed fibre ends so they can be washed off. It is the same chemistry as bio-polishing, applied for this purpose.
On synthetics the approach differs: singeing burns off protruding ends, and heat-setting or a light resin binds them in.
What it costs
On cotton, some tensile and bursting strength, because material is being removed. An over-processed fabric feels excellent and tears easily.
On fleece, the anti-pill treatment can slightly flatten the nap, which is a small loss of loft and therefore of warmth.
And money, which is why anti-pill fleece is a stated feature rather than a default.
Fabric choice beats finish
A finish reduces pilling; construction decides how much there was to begin with. Combed ring spun cotton pills far less than open-end carded, before any treatment.
Blends pill most visibly, because the cotton sheds and the polyester holds the pills in place.
If pilling genuinely matters for a job, choose the yarn first and treat the finish as a bonus.
Common questions
- What is an anti-pill finish?
- A treatment that reduces pilling, usually by using enzymes to remove the short surface fibres pills form from, sometimes with singeing or a binding resin.
- Does anti-pill fleece really not pill?
- It pills much less, not never. The finish removes most of what pills form from; wear eventually raises more.
- Is an anti-pill finish better than choosing a better fabric?
- No. Combed ring spun cotton pills far less than open-end carded before any treatment. Choose the yarn first and treat the finish as a bonus.
See also
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