Quantifying the Handle and Sensibility of Woven Silk Fabrics

Abstract

This paper attempts to identify the handle and sensibility of woven silk fabrics for neckties to determine any relationships between them and purchasing preferences. Male and female students evaluate the specimens with a semantic differential scale of handle and sensibility adjectives: twenty-one hand adjectives are grouped as four—“surface sense,” “thermal sense,” “flexibility sense,” and “dryness sense”—and twenty-five sensibility adjectives are grouped as four—“modern,” “classic,” “character,” and “natural”—through factor analysis. Fabrics with a “flat” and “warm” touch result in a classic sensibility, but those that feel “flat” and “cool” represent a modern feeling. The “rough” fabrics with “warm” touch are natural, but those with a “cool” touch show character. Fabrics evaluated as high in handle and purchasing preferences for neckties show a “soft” and “flat” touch, and display modern and classic sensibilities. These relations between handle, sensibility, and fabric type are shown in image diagrams.