Effect of Fabric Structure on Fabric Properties

Effect of Woven Fabric Structure on Fabric Properties

1. Tensile Strength: The more the crimp the less the strength. Other things being equal, plain weave fabrics which have the highest crimp have the lowest strength.

2. Extensibility: The more crimp there is in the yarn the more extensible is the fabric, therefor longer the floats, the less extensible is the fabric.

3. Surface Friction: Whether surface is smooth or rough. Long floats produce smooth fabrics with low crimp levels.

4. Tear Strength: In case of tensile loading, all the yarns in the direction of the loading share the load. In tear loading only one, two or at most few yarns share the load. In tight constructions, the movement of the yarn is restricted during loading and yarn will be presented to the load one by one; this results in a low tearing strength. Loose open constructions allow more freedom for the yarns to move and group together, thus presenting bundles of yarns to the tearing load, in consequence the tear strength is high. Designs which have group of yarns woven together such as rib or basket will have hight tear strength.

5. Abrasion Resistance: The most important factors are the crimp levels and the height of the crowns caused by the crimp. The greater the number of crowns/area or the greater the area of each crown, the less will be the stress concentration on the crowns and this leads to a high abrasion resistance. The longer the floats the larger the area of contact between the yarn and the abraidant and the higher the abrasion resistance.

6. Drape: Heavy fabrics from coarse yarns and dense constructions have poor drape characteristics. Fabrics with long floats in the weave permit the yarns to move freely; this reduces the bending and shear resistance of the fabric, leading to a better drape behaviour.

7. Crease Resistance: A plain woven fabric with a high fabric count puts a heavy strain on the fibres and limits the recovery of the fabric. The longer the floats, the higher will be the crease resistance of the fabric.

Bengal Kantha

In the sphere of folk textiles the needlework quilts of Bengal and Bihar form a group of some of the most interesting cloths of the subcontinent. They are known as Kanthas in Bengal and Sujanis in Bihar. In the past they were made for family use or as gifts, out of cast-off saris or dhotis.

Saris and Dhotis in Bihar and Bengal are predominantly white, sometimes with a border in black or red, or blue and red, sometimes with the addition of yellow or green. Three or four sections of Saris or Dhotis are laid on top of each other and then quilted. The simple running stitch used in quilting produces an embroidery-like design whose details are filled with satin and stem stitch. Threads are taken from the colored borders of the saris for thies purpose.

http://handloomsofindia.com/blue-maroon-kantha-embroidered-tussar-silk-saree.html

The conventional pattern of Bengal Kanthas has a lotus medallion in the centre ( symbolising the universe) and four "buttis", or trees, at the corners. The rest of the field is then embroidered wih all manner of motifs: birds, fish, animals and people, with domestic scenes mixed with religious and allegorical figures.

Inspiration for these motifs lies in the 'Alpana' designs which are drawn out on the floor and doorstep in Bengal at festival times.

Kanthas were used eariler as winter quilts covers and wraps for books and valuables, as mats for ceremonial purposes. Kantha making for home consumption in Bengal died out for about the end of the first quarter of the twentieth century due to the usual pressures of industrialisation. The main centres for Kantha amking were in East Bengal, now Bangladesh, where it has now been revived. Here embroidered quilted hangings are made with new cloth to some of the old designs,bestof them expressing some of the lively views of nature of old classics. These new Kanthas are aimed at export and tourist markets.
 

Tie and Dye Ikat textiles

It is a derivation of the Malay word "Mengikat" means 'to tie' or 'to bind'. This technique entails tying and dyeing the warp and weft before weaving. Bundles of threads are meticulously arranged to a prepared design and bound with impermeable yarn or rubber band so that as the yarn is dyed with a range of color, the areas protected from each dye are resisted. Within the subcontinent the clothes produced by this yarn resist work are called tie-and-dye, bandha, patola, chitka and telia rumal.

Fibres Used: Cotton and Silk

Motifs used: The motif used in any traditional Ikat designs may include lotus flowers, creeping vine (lata, geese, deer, elephant), conch shell or fish. In traditional Orissan style, the end piece may contain, in dozens of Ikat patterned bands of different sizes with various levels of patterning complexities ranging from elephants and lions standing by trees to simple triables and dashes. Motifs of Andhrapradesh Ikat sarees are modern, abstrat, modernist and geometric.

Technique: IN orissa very thin yarn is used, which helps in achieveing fine, detailed and curvilinear patterns. Orissan Ikats are woven on counterbalance flyshuttles treadle looms, the structure resting on the ground over the edge of the weavers' pit. The shedding mechanism hangs from the ceiling and the warps to be wound on to a cloth beam or run over a beam and tied in the roof space out of the way. In AP the warps are tied ready, for dyeing at their full length whereas the weft are tied in groups on a frame fanning out to from the segment of a circle from a central peg. Only  two or three threads are used from a cluster on a rectangle.

Places: Orissa, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh.

Compact Yarn

Compact Yarn in a compacted ring yarn with low hairiness. In this a perforated drum is fitted at the delivery end of the ring spinning machine, which in combination with partial vacuum, bundle or compact the fibres after drafting.









This will lead to :

- Reduced hairiness
- Increase in yarn strength upto 20%
- Higher spin-out limits
- Reduced Sizing ( about 30%)
- Great running on loom ( efficiency increase by over 10%)
- Glossier appearance of yarn
- Homogenous Dyeing

The gains are greater from yarn counts of 30s or more.

( For more information please refer to this newsletter for compact yarn)