When talking about covered yarn, one talks basically about elastane yarns that have at least one more yarn wrapped around. Covering however is not exclusively applied to elastane, sometimes also fine wires are covered.
There are two purposes of covering a yarn: one needs an elasticity which normal textile yarn cannot provide while one would still like to keep the apperance of the textile yarn. This is the case for covering elastane where most often a textile Polyester / Polyamide / ... is wrapped around the elastane core.The advantages of functional yarns over classic ones

Functional yarn is responsible for the development of a whole range of new clothing categories that have not been known before. One of those categories is the entire line of athletic clothing, from warm-up clothes made from water-repellent fabric to stretchable sportswear that doesn’t falter and snaps back into shape when fast, dynamic movements are performed. The textiles worn by athletes in all kinds of sports often come with a range of other advantages apart from their elasticity and all of those have been made possible by the use of specialized yarns.Quick-dry fabrics – also called sweat-wicking of moisture-management fabrics – do just so. They help people feel fresh in any condition, reduce the visibility of sweat patches, and better regulate body temperature. As more people recognize the great potential of these fabrics, manufacturers and scientists have brought to life new types and started to test new applications. But no two quick-dry fabrics are the same! Here is all you need to know about selecting the right sweat-wicking fabric for your products.season. The idea of a self-warming yarn intrigued us all. (Clearly Red Heart knows marketing!)

Heat Wave yarn is called “self-warming,” but technically it’s sun-warmed. The Heat Wave yarn promise is that it will be much warmer than a traditional yarn of the same weight and fiber. This yarn purportedly heats up 12° warmer than other yarns when it’s exposed to sunlight, even on cloudy days.Well, It didn’t because of a few tips and tricks I learned. Here’s what you need to know before making one.

The first and most important thing you will need to know is the yarn type. Yarns used for swimming and lounging would require a thing called Spandex!

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If you have never heard of Spandex, Spandex is an elastic synthetic fiber, also known as Lycra. Stronger and more durable than natural rubber.

Elastane fabric is made of natural and synthetic fibers to provide that stretch and recovery that you need in a swimsuit.

Cool right! That’s why this is so important to look for yarns with elastane to maintain the shape and to provide that extra stretch.

But remember not all spandex yarn works the same. It would have to be light preferably below category 3 like a DK or lightweight yarn.