Role of heat setting and finishing treatment on mechanical properties and hand behavior of stretch fabric

This research deals with the effect of heat setting on mechanical properties of the woven fabrics containing spandex. The heat setting treatment given to stretchable fabrics is an important factor in deciding the eventual mechanical comfort properties of the garment. However, finishing treatment also influence fabric mechanical properties as well as hand behavior of the fabric. In this research, the relative potential of both finishing treatment and heat setting process were investigated in order to set appropriate and cost effective finishing route to cotton stretch woven fabric. A total of three woven samples were produced using the same construction parameters. The 100% cotton warp yarns spun on open end spinning system were used. The weft yarns were the cotton wrapped spandex-core spun yarns. The different processing routes were followed to study the effect of heat setting and finishing process. The fabrics without heat set exhibits higher values for all mechanical properties required for clothing i.e. higher elongation, lesser growth, higher tensile and tear strength, and larger crease recovery angle without any remarkable increase in shrinkage potential both in warp and weft directions. The fabrics without heat set exhibits higher total hand value than heat set treated fabrics for summer wear application. Very limited research studies have been reported with respect to the stretch fabrics. Therefore, a novel attempt has been made in this research work to investigate the role of important processes like heat setting and finishing on the behavioral properties of ‘stretch woven fabric’.