Colour Fastness to Rubbing: Why Fabrics Sometimes Leave Colour on Other Surfaces
A common complaint in textiles is: “The fabric is giving colour.” Sometimes the colour comes out during washing, sometimes during perspiration, and sometimes simply by rubbing. A dark saree rubbing against a light blouse, a printed dupatta staining the neck area, denim leaving blue marks on a bag, or upholstery fabric staining clothing are all examples of poor colour fastness to rubbing.
The Indian Standard IS 766:1988 gives a method for determining the colour fastness of textile materials to rubbing. It applies to textile materials in different forms, including fabrics, yarns, textile floor coverings and pile fabrics. The test is carried out in two ways: dry rubbing and wet rubbing.
What is colour fastness to rubbing?
Colour fastness to rubbing means the resistance of a dyed or printed textile to transfer its colour to another surface when rubbed.
In simple language, it answers one practical question:
If this fabric rubs against another fabric, skin, furniture, or garment part, will it stain it?
This is especially important in deep shades such as black, navy, maroon, red, indigo, bottle green and dark brown. It is also important in printed textiles, pigment prints, denim, sarees, dress materials, upholstery, carpets and pile fabrics.
Why rubbing fastness matters
A fabric may look attractive in the store, but if it stains another garment during use, the customer experiences it as a quality failure. Colour fastness depends not only on the nature and depth of the dye, but also on fibre type and the dyeing or printing method used. The same colouring matter may behave differently on different fibres or when applied by different processes.
For merchandisers, buyers and quality inspectors, this means one important thing:
Colour fastness cannot be assumed only from appearance. It has to be tested.
Principle of the rubbing fastness test
In this test, the textile specimen is rubbed with a standard white cotton rubbing cloth. After rubbing, the staining on the rubbing cloth is assessed using a grey scale for staining. Two tests are made: one using a dry rubbing cloth and another using a wet rubbing cloth.
The idea is very practical. If colour transfers to the white rubbing cloth, the fabric has lower rubbing fastness. If very little colour transfers, the fabric has better rubbing fastness.
Apparatus used
The test requires a rubbing testing device. For pile fabrics, including textile floor coverings, a larger rubbing finger is used: 3.2 cm diameter, with a downward force of 22 N, moving along a 10 cm track.
For all other textiles, a 1.6 cm diameter rubbing finger is used with a downward force of 9 N, again moving along a 10 cm track.
The rubbing cloth is a standard cotton cloth: desized, bleached, without finish, cut into 5 cm × 5 cm squares. A grey scale for evaluating staining is then used to rate the amount of colour transferred.
Preparation of the specimen
For fabrics and textile floor coverings, the specimen should be at least 14 cm × 5 cm. Separate specimens are taken for dry rubbing and wet rubbing.
One specimen is taken with its long direction parallel to the warp, or direction of manufacture, and another parallel to the weft, or at right angles to the direction of manufacture.
This is important because rubbing behaviour may differ in warp and weft directions. In woven fabrics, yarn structure, surface hairiness, floats, finishing and print placement may not be identical in both directions.
For yarn or thread, it may be knitted or woven into fabric, or arranged as parallel strands on a cardboard rectangle to prepare the test specimen.
Dry rubbing test
In the dry rubbing test, a dry rubbing cloth is fixed over the rubbing finger of the testing device. The specimen is rubbed in a straight line along a 10 cm track, 10 times to and fro in 10 seconds.
The force applied depends on the type of textile being tested:
- 22 N for pile fabrics
- 9 N for other textiles
After rubbing, the cotton cloth is examined for staining. Loose dyed fibres pulled out during rubbing should not be mistaken for actual dye staining. The assessment should consider colouration due to staining by dyestuff.
Wet rubbing test
The wet rubbing test is similar, but the rubbing cloth is first wetted with water. The cloth should have about 100% water take-up. After rubbing, the cloth is dried at room temperature and then assessed for staining.
Wet rubbing is often more severe than dry rubbing. Many fabrics that pass dry rubbing may show lower performance in wet rubbing, especially dark shades, pigment prints, indigo-dyed fabrics and poorly after-treated dyed materials.
Multicoloured fabrics
When testing multicoloured textiles, the specimen should be positioned so that all colours in the design are rubbed during the test. If the colour areas are large enough, separate specimens may be taken and each colour assessed separately.
This point is very useful for printed sarees, dress materials, dupattas and furnishing fabrics. A single rubbing result may not represent the whole design if one colour is fast and another colour is weak.
Rating and reporting
The staining of the rubbing cotton cloth is assessed using the grey scale for staining. The report should give numerical ratings separately for dry staining and wet staining, and for each direction of manufacture.
| Test condition | Direction | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Dry rubbing | Warp direction | 4–5 |
| Dry rubbing | Weft direction | 4 |
| Wet rubbing | Warp direction | 3 |
| Wet rubbing | Weft direction | 2–3 |
In general interpretation, a higher grey scale rating indicates less staining and better fastness, while a lower rating indicates more staining and poorer fastness.
Special problem in pile fabrics
Pile fabrics can create a difficulty known as haloing, where heavier staining appears around the circumference of the stained area. The larger 3.2 cm rubbing finger can reduce haloing in many pile fabrics, although assessment may still be difficult for high-pile fabrics.
This is relevant for carpets, velvets, towels, blankets and certain upholstery fabrics. Their raised surface behaves differently from flat woven or knitted fabrics.
Practical meaning for textile buyers and merchandisers
For a buyer, rubbing fastness is not just a laboratory number. It has direct customer implications.
A dark saree with poor rubbing fastness can stain a blouse. A printed dupatta can stain the neck or kurta. A dark upholstery fabric can stain light garments. A poor pigment print can leave colour on hands. Denim with poor rubbing fastness can stain bags, shoes and car seats.
Therefore, rubbing fastness should be checked carefully in:
- Dark dyed fabrics
- Indigo and denim-like fabrics
- Pigment printed fabrics
- Sarees with strong contrast colours
- Upholstery and home textile fabrics
- Pile fabrics and carpets
- Fabrics expected to rub against skin or lighter garments
Common mistakes in understanding rubbing fastness
One mistake is to think that only washing fastness matters. A fabric may not bleed badly in washing but may still stain during rubbing.
Another mistake is to look only at dry rubbing. Wet rubbing is equally important because garments are often used in humid conditions, during perspiration, or after partial wetting.
A third mistake is to test only one part of a multicoloured fabric. In printed textiles, each colour may behave differently.
A fourth mistake is to ignore direction. Warp-way and weft-way rubbing results may differ, especially in fabrics with surface texture, floats or pile.
Knowledge nugget
Rubbing fastness is a surface-performance test. It tells us how well the colour is held on the textile surface when mechanical friction is applied.
This is why rubbing fastness is often a problem in dark shades, pigment prints and fabrics where dye fixation, washing-off or finishing has not been properly controlled.
Conclusion
The rubbing fastness test is one of the most practical colour fastness tests in textiles. It simulates a real-life action: one surface rubbing against another.
IS 766:1988 standardizes this test by defining the specimen size, rubbing cloth, rubbing force, rubbing distance, number of strokes, dry and wet conditions, and method of assessment.
For students, it teaches how laboratory testing connects to consumer use. For merchandisers and buyers, it gives a simple but powerful quality checkpoint. And for manufacturers, it reminds us that colour is not only about beauty — it is also about durability in actual use.
Suggested visuals to accompany this article
- Colour Fastness to Rubbing Test Overview: A labelled diagram showing fabric specimen, white rubbing cloth, rubbing finger, rubbing direction and grey scale assessment.
- Dry vs Wet Rubbing Fastness: A comparison visual showing dry rubbing cloth and wetted rubbing cloth, with examples of lighter and heavier staining.
- Grey Scale Interpretation Chart: A simple educational chart explaining that rating 5 means no or negligible staining, while rating 1 means heavy staining.
Source
Based on IS 766:1988, Indian Standard method for determination of colour fastness of textile materials to rubbing.
General disclaimer
This article is written for educational and general understanding purposes only. The explanations simplify the testing method for students, merchandisers and textile professionals. For official testing, certification, dispute resolution, legal compliance or commercial acceptance, the original relevant Indian Standard and accredited laboratory procedures should be referred to.
