Physical properties of nonwoven and woven felted fabrics
Abstract
Purpose
The use of nonwoven fabrics in garment has been, up to now, purely functional and hidden from view. In fact, their uses have been limited to garment interlining in the apparel industry. Felted structures from wool have been limited to the craft market for the production of art and craft objects of decoration. This paper aims to compare the mechanical and thermo-physical comfort properties of a woven wool, a felted wool fabric, a felted wool/polyester and two non-woven synthetic fabrics for apparel use.
Design/methodology/approach
Fabric samples were sourced locally. Five fabric samples were selected: one woolen woven, one felted woven, one polyester/wool non-woven and two non-woven synthetic fabrics. The wool fabric was felted by mechanical action using the Wascator FOM 71P machine. All fabric samples were conditioned before they were tested for their mechanical and thermal comfort properties as per standard test methods.
Findings
The comparative study of the mechanical and thermal properties of the five fabric samples have been successfully investigated as textile materials for commercial garments. In terms of fabric stiffness, drape and handle, the two non-woven synthetic fabrics were, in general, poorer than the woven wool and the felted woven wool fabrics. The synthetic non-woven fabrics also performed poorly in terms of serviceability. But it was found that the nonwoven synthetic fabrics were best suited when thermal insulation is required and were found to be better than the woven felted wool fabric of comparative weight per unit area.
Originality/value
The value of this study is that it demonstrates the scope of felted woolen structures and other synthetic nonwovens fabrics as usable materials, in part or in full, in the development of apparel for winter wear especially in cold environments and where aesthetic appeal is secondary.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank Mr Raj Gunnoo and Mrs Leena Jeebun, Technical Staff of the Fibre Technology Department of the Mauritius Standard Bureau and Mr Arvind Balloo, Technical Staff of the Department of Applied Sustainability and Enterprise Development, University of Mauritius, for their assistance.
Citation
Kistamah, N., Hes, L. and Rajmun, K. (2017), "Physical properties of nonwoven and woven felted fabrics", Research Journal of Textile and Apparel, Vol. 21 No. 3, pp. 178-187. https://doi.org/10.1108/RJTA-02-2017-0005
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2017, Emerald Publishing Limited