Mechanical and in-use properties of nonwoven fabrics made of bicomponent microfilament PET/PA fibers

As nonwovens have advantages like low cost and tunable properties, their implementation to apparels can create advantages. Weakness of nonwoven fabrics for apparel applications arises from their low mechanical properties and drape. However, their properties can be designed by changing the raw materials and production methods. Bicomponent fiber spinning combined with hydroentangling can create advantages by forming microfilaments within the fabric structure, in this regard. Therefore, in this study, nonwoven fabrics of polyester:polyamide 6 (PET/PA6) bicomponent fibers exposed to hydroentangling were tested for their mechanical and in-use properties in order to reveal their usability as apparel fabrics. Results show that mechanical properties of samples reached to a certain level compared to a woven reference fabric. Also, their breathability properties are better than the woven competitor. However, bending and drape properties still require improvements to be used for leisure wear. Apparel models with lower drapes can be selected for nonwoven fabric applications.</div

Comparison of sewn fabric bending rigidities: effects of different stitch types and seam directions

Sewing quality is an important factor that contributes to the overall quality of an end-product. Sewing quality compromises different components such as bending, seam strength, seam slippage, elasticity etc. Among these components, bending has a special importance because of causing changes in appearance. sensorial comfort and drape of a garment. Therefore, in this study, effects of stitch type and seam direction on the bending rigidities of sewn fabrics were evaluated and compared. A polyester woven fabric which is suitable for sportswear was sewn with three basic stitch types (lock stitch, chain stitch and overlock stitch), in 5 different directions (warp, weft, 30 degrees 45 degrees and 60 degrees angles). As reference, samples without stitches were tested, too. Bending properties of samples were determined via heart loop method. According to the results, sewing increased the fabric bending rigidity The degree of bending rigidity increment was dependent on the stitch type. Highest bending rigidity values were obtained for overlock stitched samples those were approximately 4 times higher when compared to non-sewn reference samples. Thickness of sewn parts was in accordance with the bending rigidity results. For oriented seams, bias sewing especially for 45 degrees oriented samples, showed the most advantageous bending results. This study showed the usability of heart loop method for sewn samples via consistent results for different stitch types and seam directions

Effects of Different Stitch Types and Stitch Combinations on the Seam Bursting Strength and Seam Strength of Workwear

Workwears are produced to protect the wearer against occupational or environmental hazards. One ofthe shared properties of several workwear types is resisting external forces during occupation. As forworkwear fabrics, the seams of the workwear should be strong enough to resist uniaxial or multiaxialforces to maintain the properties in the cut and sewn parts of the garment. Therefore, in this study,effects of different stitch types and their combinations on the workwear seam strength and burstingstrength were evaluated. According to results, a 2-step failure was observed at the seam strength testsof samples those contained stitch combinations. Here, the main function of the second stitch row wasto form a safety stitch rather than increasing the overall performance. Contrarily, usage of stitchcombinations obviously contributed to the seam bursting strengths. In this case, the stitch rowsresponded to the bursting forces together therefore the bursting failures occurred in 1-step.</p

Effects of wetting and compression/recovering time on the compressional behaviour of sanitary napkin layers

Sanitary napkins are technical textile products which are used by women. They are designed as layered structures to fulfil several end-use properties at the same time. One of the most important properties of sanitary napkins is absorption property and this is widely studied in the literature. On the other hand, formability and sensorial comfort of sanitary napkins are of great importance but they are ignored during scientific researches. During daily life, women sit or sleep for certain time intervals and their sanitary napkins are exposed to compressional forces. If the sanitary napkin will squeeze and not recover, this can result with poor sensorial comfort and low formability. Also, wetting of sanitary napkins during usage can worsen the compressional properties. Therefore in this study, effect of wetting and compression/recovering time on the compressional behaviours of sanitary napkins was evaluated. Study was focused on separate sanitary napkin layers in order to detect the most problematic layers. Two compression times and four recovering times were applied to samples for compression tests. Also, sanitary napkin layers were characterised by scanning electron microscopy, unit mass, thickness and bending measurements. According to results, top sheet layer was the most compressible layer in dry and wet states. This is expected to give a soft and resilience sense to the sanitary napkin. Absorbent layer was responsible for low compressibility of sanitary napkins under different compression/recovering times. Bending rigidity of absorbent layer was the highest in dry state but it exhibited a dramatic decrement after wetting

Comparison of Cantilever, Heart Loop and Circular Bending Test Methods in Determining the Bending Behaviours of Sewn Woven Polyester Fabrics

Fabrics are cut and sewn to form 3-dimensional end-products. Bending rigidity is one of the properties that should be interpreted for sewn fabrics as it can affect drape, appearance and sensorial comfort of a garment. In the literature, there are several methods to measure the bending behaviours of fabrics. Parallelly, a variety of tests were employed for bending rigidity of sewn samples but their comparability for sewn samples are not known. In this study, 3 simple and standard test methods were used to compare the bending behaviours of fabrics with plied edge seams. For the tests, a sample set was prepared by using plain and twill woven polyester fabrics those were suitable for casual wear and sportswear. The fabrics were sewn with 3 different stitch types using 2 different stitch densities. Analysis results showed that, circular bend method had no or low correlation with cantilever and heart loop methods. Also any difference between the different types of sewn samples could not be detected by this method. In contrast, results of cantilever and heart loop methods showed low to moderate positive correlations for the bending lentghs and bending rigidities of samples