A GARMENT HAVING RECOVERABLE STRETCH PROPERTIES AND PROCESSES FOR ITS PRODUCTION

摘要

A garment having recoverable stretch properties is made from a fabric woven from warp and/or weft yarns of normally inelastic lyocell yarns which have a crimped configuration which is set-in and which imparts a stretch in the warp and/or weft direction of the fabric of at least 15 per cent with a stretch recovery of at least 90 per cent. An uncreased garment having such recoverable stretch properties is produced by holding the garment in an unconstrained and uncreased condition, for example by suspending it from a hanger, and immersing it successively in a bath of swelling agent such as sodium hydroxide solution to develop the crimp and then in a wash bath to set the crimp. An arrangement of creasescan be set into such a garment by trying it into a bundle before the swelling and crimp-setting steps, and this procedure may also be applied to a garment knitted from normally inelastic lyocell yarns.