Influence of softening treatments on hand value of woven fabrics produced from Indian wool and their blends

Abstract

The effect of different softening treatments on low stress mechanical properties and hand values of fabrics produced from Indian wool and their blends has been studied. The extensibility, tensile resilience and coefficient of friction of the fabrics significantly (p>0.05) increase after softening treatments, whereas the bending and shear rigidities and their hysteresis, and compressional resilience reduce. The Koshi (stiffness) values of wool and wool blended fabrics decrease by 5-10% of that of untreated fabrics after softening treatments. However, the Numeri (smoothness) and Fukurami (fullness and softness) values increase by 10-40%. The fabrics treated with cationic and amino silicone softeners show total hand value (THV) higher than that of untreated fabrics; THV increases by 5-20% and 10-20% for winter suit and jacket application respectively. The amino silicone softener is more effective than cationic softener.