An object of the present invention is to provide a modification method capable of affording animal hair having an anti-pilling property through simple treatment.

The present invention provides a method for modifying animal hair, including a reduction treatment step of treating animal hair with a reduction treatment liquid containing a reducing agent under a neutral or weakly alkaline condition, and an enzyme treatment step of treating the animal hair subjected to the reduction treatment with an enzyme treatment liquid containing a water-soluble protein and a transglutaminase.

A fiber-treating agent, where the fiber-treating agent is a one part fiber-treating agent including a single composition or a multiple-part fiber-treating agent including a plurality of compositions. The fiber-treating agent contains the following components (A) to (C) in a total composition thereof, and where, for the one-part fiber-treating agent, a part or all of the components (A) and (B) is optionally a condensate formed from the components: (A): a compound having a structure wherein a methylol group is bonded to each of two nitrogen atoms in the compound, (B): a phenolic compound having an electron donating group on at least one of meta-positions and a hydrogen atom on at least one of ortho-positions and a para-position, wherein the electron donating group on the meta-position optionally forms, together with adjacent carbon atoms, a benzene ring optionally substituted with a hydroxy group, and (C): water.

In alternative embodiments, provided are biomaterials comprising hydrated, or hydrated and dried, orb-weaving spider aciniform (AC) prey-wrapping silks, or orb-weaving spider aciniform (AC) prey-wrapping silks that have been substantially converted into -sheet aggregates or -sheet nanocrystallite structures, which can be fabricated into products of manufacture, or films, fibers or threads, including fibers or threads woven into textiles or cloths. In alternative embodiments, provided are hydrated, or hydrated and dried, orb-weaving spider aciniform (AC) prey-wrapping silks, or orb-weaving spider aciniform (AC) prey-wrapping silks, substantially comprising -sheet aggregates or B-sheet nanocrystallite structures, and products of manufacture, or fibers or threads, comprising these -sheet aggregate-comprising silks or -sheet nanocrystallite structures. In alternative embodiments, provided are methods for making hydrated, or hydrated and dried, orb-weaving spider aciniform (AC) prey-wrapping silks, or orb-weaving spider aciniform (AC) prey-wrapping silks, substantially comprising -sheet aggregates or -sheet nanocrystallite structures.

A method of making an antimicrobial textile comprising TiO.sub.2 nanoparticles is described. The TiO.sub.2 nanoparticles are immobilized by first treating a textile with a base, and then contacting with TiO.sub.2 nanoparticles in a solution of an alcohol and acid. The textile may be subsequently irradiated with UV light prior to use. The antimicrobial textile shows high effectiveness against the growth and proliferation of microorganisms transmitted within indoor environments.

The Improved Sock is made of yarns knitted to include a foot portion and a calf portion, with graduated compression on an individual's foot from the foot to the calf. The yarns can include wool and alpaca fibers. A substantial proportion of wool and/or alpaca are on the inside of the sock so as to be in direct contact with the skin and wound. The Improved Sock provides absorption and wicking of inflammatory mediators, bacteria and biofilm and necrotic exudate from the foot and leg. The Improved Sock has AgNP shapes electrostatically bonded to the yarn. At least 30% of the mass of the AgNP shapes attached to the fibers have a shape selected from the group including truncated triangular plates (a triangle with the corners rounded off), triangular prisms, and/or discs. The Improved Sock functions as a unique wound dressing with the sock in direct contact with the wound.

Chemical compositions and techniques for treating wool (and other animal hair-based) fabrics, and in particular for unshrinking wool fabrics and garments.

A welding process may be configured to convert a substrate into a welded substrate by applying a process solvent to the substrate, wherein the process solvent interrupts one or more intermolecular force between one or more component in the substrate. The substrate may be configured as a natural fiber, such as cellulose, hemicelluloses, and silk. The process solvent may be configured as an ionic-liquid based solvent and the welded substrate may be a congealed network after the process solvent has been adequately swollen and/or mobilized the substrate. A welding process may be configured such that individual fibers of a substrate are not fully dissolved such that material in the fiber core may be left in the native state by controlling process variables. The welding process fibers may have a tenacity 10% or 20% greater or a diameter 25% less than that of a cellulosic-based yarn substrate.

A natural fabric or textile product is coated and protected with a waterproofing composition comprising a crosslinking polyvinyl acetate (XPVAc or x-PVAc) emulsion polymer or adhesive applied and cured as a first coating layer or a primer and a coating layer of acrylic, alkyd, asphalt, emulsion polymer isocyanate, epoxy, lacquer, latex, polyurethane, urethane, or vinyl ester coated over the cured crosslinking polyvinyl acetate as a second coating layer or a topcoat. The natural fabric product is fabricated by weaving, knitting or felting the fibers, yarns or threads of vegetable or plant fibers from cotton, sisal, kenaf, hemp, jute, flax, reed, sugarcane, ramie, henequen, raffia, nettle, milkweeds, palm, coir, grass, Spanish moss, New Zealand flax, kapok, sugarcane, bamboo, or wood, or those of the protein fibers from wool, silk, spider threads, sea silk, or the combination thereof.

Disclosed is a method of preparing a knitting yarn having a water-repellent function, including providing a knitting yarn in the form of a skein or a cone, washing the provided yarn to remove impurities and oil therefrom, coating the washed yarn with a water-repellent agent by spraying a water repellent solution containing the water-repellent agent at a predetermined pressure, dehydrating and drying the coated yarn, and fixing the water-repellent agent to the yarn by applying heat to the dried yarn.

A method of treating a material, the method comprising contacting the material with a composition comprising an amine salt of a carboxylic acid wherein the carboxylic acid has 4 to 10 carbon atoms.