Effect of using alternate elastic and non-elastic yarns in warp on shrinkage and stretch behavior of bi-stretch woven fabrics

Stretch woven fabrics are known for their elastic and recovery properties. To date, they found many interesting applications from simple jeans to complex fabric structures with functional properties for example bi-stretch auxetic woven fabrics, compressions garments and stretchable textile carriers for healthcare applications. Many studies have been carried out on the physical, mechanical and comfort properties of stretchable knitted and woven fabrics. However, to identify combination of yarns with different stretch properties and other design parameters required to meet multiple objectives in the production and usage of bi-stretch woven fabrics is an area that has been taken up by fabric scientists recently. This study compared the effect of using elastic yarns and alternate elastic and non-elastic yarns in warp on the properties of bi-stretch woven fabrics while using elastic yarns in weft direction. It was found that shrinkage of the fabrics made of elastic yarns was higher along the warp direction as compared to that in weft direction due to shrinkage balancing effect; however, in case of fabrics made of alternate elastic and non-elastic yarns in warp the shrinkage behavior was exact opposite. The comparison of shrinkage for different weave patterns revealed that satin had the highest shrinkage followed by twill and plain, due to least number of interlacements in satin among these three patterns.