Felting Shrinkage of Plain-Knitted Wool Fabrics

Abstract

The dependence of felting shrinkage rate upon yarn count, cover factor, shrink proofing level, and severity of washing action has been examined, using plain-knitted wool fabrics. The investigation was a factorial arrangement with 54 combinations of factors for each of two shrink-proofing treatments. The results were subjected to analyses of variance. The felting shrinkage rate was lowered by increasing the cover factor, by increasing the level of shrinkproofing treatment, and by decreasing the severity of washing. Samples made from fine yarn shrank at a lower rate than those of heavier count. There were two significant interactions between the factors for each set of data. These showed that (i) the shrinkage rates of the fabrics made from the fine yarns were more sensitive to change of cover factor than were those of the coarser yams, and (ii) an increased level of shrinkproofing treatment increased the sensitivity of the samples to the severity of the mechanical agitation during washing. The results may be used for predicting shrinkage rates in knitted fabrics. An example is given.