Woven fabrics

摘要

In a woven fabric having stretch characteristics due to yarn crimp in the fabric which has been fixed by a heat treatment in fabric form, the stretch characteristics are imparted in that direction, i.e. in the warp or weft, in which a crimped filament yarn, as hereinafter defined, has been incorporated and in which the yarns in the other direction have substantially no yarn crimp and preferably contain a major proportion of thermoplastic fibres, e.g. polyethylene terephthalate fibres. The crimped yarns consist of thermoplastic synthetic linear polymer filament yarns which impart at least 15% stretch in a suitably woven fabric and which have been subjected to a crimping operation as a result of which the yarns, having an initial denier of 40-250, develop crimp and bulk in woven fabric form during finishing operations. The yarns are capable of shrinking at least 15-50% or more when placed in boiling water for one minute and simultaneously develop crimp and bulk by curling up. Subsequently, on applying a load of 0.04 g.p.d., the yarn will retract 90-100% on removal of the load. Specified yarns are nylon, polyester, e.g. polyethylene terephthalate or a copolymer of polyethylene terephthalate with up to 10% of another polyester, and polyacrylonitrile or a copolymer thereof with up to 20% of another polymer. The woven fabric is overfed or relaxed by 5-20% in that direction in which the crimped filament yarns are situated, e.g. when entering a stenter, and stretching the fabric 4-15% in the other direction to bring about yarn crimp interchange. The fabric is heatset for a suitable time and at a suitable temperature and then allowed to cool. The treatment superimposes yarn crimp on filament crimp. The treated fabric can be elongated by at least 15% in the direction of the crimped filament yarns under a load which must be below the elastic limit of the yarn crimp and does not cause fibre rupture and this elongation is recoverable by at least 85%. Textile lubricants containing silicones may be used on the surfaces of the fabric yarns. Stretch may be imparted on apparatus identical with that described in Specification 983,968. A fabric may be given a crease-resisting treatment at a first temperature of at least 30 DEG C. below the melting point, followed by one of the stretch-imparting treatments at a second temperature of at least 60 DEG C. below the melting point; the first and second temperatures may be equal. A durable pleat can be subsequently inserted in a garment made from the fabric at a third, lower, temperature on a Hoffman press.