A statistical analysis of low-stress mechanical properties of warp-knitted fabrics

Fabric hand is an indispensable characteristic for the selection of fabric and product development and the buying consideration for manufacturers and consumers. However, there is little comprehensive work on the hand feel property of warp-knitted fabrics due to the mainstream natural fibers (cotton, wool and silk) and other fabric structures (woven, weft-knitted and nonwoven). The increasing potential for the wide variety of applications and development of warp-knitted fabrics is not only because its fabric hand gives better determination for fabric marketing, but also because it provides extensive scope for fabric performance and appearance. This paper reports an experimental study on the integrated fabric hand behavior of a series of warp-knitted fabrics made for various apparel applications, such as sportswear, lingerie and leisure wear. These 105 fabrics were produced by varying different physical parameters, including fabric weight and fabric thickness. The Kawabata Evaluation System for Fabric (KES-F) was employed to obtain the fabric hand properties (primary hand value and total hand value) related with stiffness, smoothness and softness. All low-stress mechanical properties and fabric hand values from the testing results were used to verify the applicability of the KES-F on warp-knitted fabrics and to analyze the relationships of fabric parameters and hand characteristics. The results indicate that the KES-F is an appropriate tool to measure the hand attributes of warp-knitted samples, and moderate correlations between physical properties and mechanical behavior were found.