INTRODUCTION TO FABRIC, GARMENT FINISHING

FINISHING
Application on woven, knitted, nonwoven textiles To enhance the aesthetic function To enhance performance properties Modification of appearance, behavior or appearance & behavior

Ends
To make the fabric more attarctive, lustrous by operations like calendering, schreinering, optical whitening. Modifying the feel of fabric by softening, stiffening, peaching, etc. To cover faults in the original fabric eg. By starch finishing. Improving wear qualities of fabric by making it shrink resistant (sanforising cotton or non-felting wool), crease resistant (by incorporating suitable resins), or free from pills and soiling (by anti pilling or soil release finishing)

Ends

To make garments hold their shape and enable them to be worn without ironing, e.g. Dura Press finishing Imparting special properties to fabric for specific end uses e.g. water proofing, flame proofing, moth proofing To set the texture of certain fabrics and make others dimensionally stable e.g. by crabbing of wool, heat setting synthetic fibre fabrics To produce stronger and more durable fabrics such as seat covers of cars (Coating, Bonding, Laminating) To produce novelty effects e.g. Organdie fabrics by parchmentising.

Classification of Finishes
Some finishes are routinely given to fabrics before dyeing or final processing but referred to as steps in fabric preparation Mechanical Chemical Mechanical & Chemical

Classification of Finishes
Permanent e.g. exploiting properties of heat sensitive fibres Durable Temporary Renewable

Finish Application
Padding - Drying Curing Efforts to minimise energy spent on Drying Most expensive part of finishing Low wet pick up techniques Mangles that squeeze of water Suction driers Centrifuges that spin off water before drying

Drying
Heated Cylinders (not for pile fabrics) Radio frequency Hot Air in a Tentering Machine Hot cylinder drying followed by a tentering machine.

Fabric Preparation
Spinnability of fibres - Natural Lubrication Cotton & Cotton Blends 1. Singeing 2. Desizing 3. Scouring 4. Bleaching 5. Mercerization

Fabric Preparation
Silk 1. De-gumming 2. Bleaching Wool 1. Carbonizing 2. Scouring 3. Fulling 4. Bleaching

Basic Finishes: Modifying Appearance

Optical Brighteners Delustering

Calendering

Calendering
The domestic Iron Lustre, Compactness, Linen-like appearance Fabric after wet processing is in the least lustrous state with highly crimped and wavy threads Fabric passed between rollers or bowls of a machine termed Calender and this mechanical process is called calendering.

The Machine
Soft bowls: Wood, compressed cotton, paper 2. Hard surface bowls: Polished metal like steel, cast iron 3. Heated by steam 4. Geared to prevent slippage 5. One soft bowl against a hard bowl 6. Calender Nips 7. Multibowl calender
1.

3, 5, 7 or 10 bowls are used in a multibowl calender arranged in a definite order GLAZING or Friction Calendering a) Higher gloss b) Greater closing up of threads c) Speed differential: Top bowl 1.5 to 2 times the speed of lower bowls d) Generally 3-bowl calender used e) Bottom bowl: cast iron, Middle: compressed cotton, Top bowl: chilled iron f) Top & bottom: compressed cotton, Middle: steel for light friction finish g) 4 bowl: cast iron, cotton, chilled iron, cotton h) For linings, shirtings, printed cloth, book cloth. i) Fastness to washing j) Permanent with resins

 a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h.

i. j.

Schreiner calender Embossing fine lines Silk finish Principal: lusture of fabrics greatly increased if fibres on the surface are aligned parellel to each other Such embossing achieved by engravings of 50-200 lines per cm Lines not to sharp as to damage cotton 2 bowl, Top steel, lower compressed paper Pressure of 100 tons or more Cotton bowl at a skew to give enhanced brilliancy 3-bowl, paper-engraved-paper Spun Glass finish with Schreinering + Friction calendering

Linings that are not washed Temporary or permanent finish CIREING: a) High surface polish b) Wet Look c) Natural fabrics given cire effects with waxes or thermoplastic resins d) Heat sensitive fabics given a permanent cire finish as thermoplastic fibres fuse slightly under heat of rollers.

Surface Finishes
Calendering 1. Simple Calendering 2. Glazing: Friction Calendering, e.g. 3. Cireing: The Wet Look 4. Embossing 5. Schreinering

Basic Finishes: Modifying Hand/Texture

Stiffening 1. Sizing 2. Permanent Stiffening of Cottons (Parchmentising) 3. Weighting of silk 4. Softening

Beetling Napping & Sueding Brushing Shearing Flocking Burn out Designs Plisse Designs Acid Designs Enzyme Treatment: Bio Polishing, Enzyme washing in Denim (Cellulase enzymes)

THE WET LOOK

THE CIRE FABRIC

Suede

Beetled Linen

Raising

Sanforising

Shrinkage, 1st to 5th wash Relaxation shrinkage Compressive Shrinkage Elastic thick blanket-passed over a roller of a smaller diameter Outer surface elongates outer surface > inner surface Shrinking by an amount of a-b Heat setting for knits-VH-Tric-O-Dry, Sanfor-Knit

Sanforising Machine

PRINCIPLE

Sanforising
By sanforising, shrinkage by laundering reduced to 0.75 % or less Marketing cotton & linen garments as non-shrink Resin treatment for Rayons: Ureaformaldehyde, melamine-formaldehyde Crease resistant + Non shrink Rayon

Setting of Woollen Fabrics

CRABBING, POTTING, DECATISING

Crabbing
Woolen fabrics contain latent strains or tension developed during spinning , weaving or knitting process. Uncontrolled release of these strains lead to distortions uneven patterns and shrinkage. E.g. crows foot, cockling, uneven shrinkage Crabbing is a process which eliminates these problems.

Crabbing

Fabric wound on a perforated beam under tension so that tension on the inner part > Tension on the outside Tension to be uniform and not too much No creases Fabric passed in open width through boiling water on a perforated beam The beam rotates in the boiling water for about 10 mins. Process repeated multiple times Inner surface now becomes outer surface and thus uniform treatment ensured. Boiling water + dil. Ammonia (at PpH 9.2, max effect of setting reached)

Crabbing
The cloth is held firmly and tightly to avoid wrinkling Repetition of the treatment with increased pressure results in setting the cloth and the finish.

Decatizing
Crabbing and potting use boiling water to set the fabric In Decatising only steam is used This is a process of setting woolen materials at various stages of the production of woolen fabrics and garments. Essentially this is a stressrelaxation process.

Decatizing
The chemical changes taking place during setting of wool involve thioldisulhide exhange. Wool fibres contain a small quantity of thiol group (-SH) which can be increased by reaction of wool , i.e disulhide bond ( -S-S), with a reducing agent or by action of hot water , steam or alkalies

Decating or Decatizing or Blowing

Decating or Decatizing is a shrinking treatment that is sometimes used instead of London Shrinking. Decatizing is faster and gives reasonable protection against further shrinking. There are two types of Decatizing Dry and wet Decatizing.

Dry Decating
If the luster is to be set that fabric is wound under tension on a perforated roller that is then placed in a preheated equipment (roller) with a vaccum system. Steam is first forced from the inside of the roller through the layers of fabrics for two to three minutes ; then the process is reversed. The fabric is them removed and cooled by air. Can be used for cotton, rayon etc.

Wet Decatizing
If the luster is to be increased , the fabric, wound under tension on a perforated roller , is placed in hot water at 140 to 212F (60-100C) that is first forced through the roller and fabric and then reversed. The cloth is then removed cooled with cold water or cold air , and dried.

London Shrinking

This is a superior preshrinking treatments given to better-quality wool fabrics. It is cold-water process by which the cloth is interleaved with wet blankets, dried slowly for twenty four hours , and then set under 3500 pounds per square inch.

Milling

Milling is a process essential in woolen manufacture to give fullness and body to the material. Without milling the fabric will not have good strength and draping quality.

Felting

Felting is the process of making felts from fibers which are formed into a compact mass by pressure , and thus make a fabric without the process of spinning and weaving

Milling
Milling should be regarded as process , and the felting the resulting phenomenon. Controlled felting is milling.

Fulling or Milling

After the weaving process, woolen and worsted gray goods are placed in warm, soapy water and are pounded and twisted to make the wool fibers interlock . This application of heat moisture and pressure , followed by a cold rinse , is called fulling .

Fulling or Millling
Fulling produces desired shrinkage and gives the fabric additional thickness and a firmer, fuller texture. The longer the fulling operation , the greater the shrinkage with consequent increase in fabric strength

Milling
Milling is carried out in 3 ways 1. Low grade woollen are milled in grease, because if such material is first scoured, it would loose weight by removal of short length fibers. During the process , cloth is treated with sodium carbonate solution where soap is formed as reaction of fatty acid.

Milling
2. Worsted and high quality woolen are milled with soap and surfactant as foam booster. 3. Acid Milling : Milling in acid ( Sulphuric acid) gives a better cloth without significant cloth damage, cloth may have slightly harsh handle and further softener treatment is required.

Reference
Understanding Textiles: Tortora & Collier Textile Finishing: J T Marsh Textile Finishing: R S Prayag Textile Fiber to Fabric: Corbmann