Multivariate Studies of Mechanical Properties for Wool and Cotton Fabrics

In this study, the mechanical properties of fifty-eight light-weight wool/wool-blend fabrics and twenty medium to heavy-weight cotton denim fabrics were analyzed by multi-dimensional techniques of principal component analysis. The technique reduced the dataset of wool/wool-blend fabrics into seven components and explained 86% of the population variance. For the cotton denim fabrics, the dataset was reduced into five components and explained 95% of the population variance. Fabric surface properties and fabric bending and shear properties were the most important properties to explain the fabric stiffness hardness and tailorability for these two fabric classes. The results show how multivariate statistical analysis techniques of fabric mechanical and surface property data for two very different groups of fabrics can provide a basis for the specification and control of fabric quality along the textile and apparel supply chain. These reduced datasets with the most important component extracted first and the least important component extracted last, allow the supply chain members to focus directly on the key factors for product design and development.