A cleaning article defining an XY plane and a Z direction perpendicular to the plane. The cleaning article has discrete tufts of tow fibers bonded to a carrier sheet by primary bonds. The discrete tufts have secondary bond lines external to the tufts. The secondary bond lines interrupt the Z-direction thickness of the tufts, to provide channels for improved collection and retention of debris from a target surface. The tufts are created by slits between the primary bonds and secondary bonds, which yield plural tuft sizes. The slits may be transversely unequally spaced between adjacent bonds.