EFFECT OF FINISHING AGENTS ON STIFFNESS AND DRAPE OF KHADI FABRIC FOR THEIR UTILITY IN GARMENT DESIGNING * Ms Noopur Sonee, ** Dr. Sunanda Khanna & ***Dr. Suman Pant * Guest Lecturer **Associate Prof. & Head Dept. of Textile & Clothing Institute of Home Science Dr. B.R.Ambedkar University Agra. ***Professor & Head Dept. of Textiles & Clothing Banasthali University, Rajasthan 91+749753631, 91+9411463743 Nupursoni23@gmail.com, sunanda_khanna@yahoo.com ABSTRACT Pattern and styles of garment keep on changing from time to time with changing fashion trend and also with new developments in textiles. As the ultimate appearance of garment is influenced by stiffness or drape properties of fabrics, these are utilized for creating new styles in garment. Although all these properties depend upon fabric geometry, these can be improved by finishing application. Cotton khadi s hand limits its use for designing apparels of limited style. The study has been undertaken to modify the stiffness and drape characteristics of cotton khadi and its blend fabrics by application of starch and resins. The study was undertaken to observe the effect of starch (arrowroot) and resin (synthetic polymer based resin silicone) on stiffness and drape of khadi cotton & polykhadi. Effect of 3 concentration of finishing agents was observed on thick, medium and fine thickness of cotton khadi & one thickness (medium) of polykhadi on stiffness and drape, and analyzed statistically. Modification in drape after application of finishing agents was utilized for designing of skirts. It was found that alteration in softness or stiffness of the fabric on starch and polymer resin application depends, to an extent upon amount of finish used. Bending stiffness of cotton khadi fabrics fine, medium and thick as well as polykhadi blend increased markedly on increasing the concentration of arrowroot respectively 1%, 15% & 2%. On the other hand silicone finish decreased stiffness marginally in weft but increased in warp directions in case of thick and medium thickness of cotton khadi but in case of fine cotton khadi fabric and polykhadi fabric, decreased in stiffness in both directions on application of silicone. Percent drape coefficient of fabrics finished with arrowroot increased as a result of increase in stiffness. In case of silicone drape coefficient decreased continuously on increasing the concentration 1%, 15% & 2% on polykhadi. Significant difference in stiffness and drape of fabrics of different thickness was found. Introduction Khadi, a hand spun and hand woven fabric, is made from cotton, wool, silk and their blends. There are many attributes associated with khadi particularly with cotton khadi. It keeps the wearer warm in winter and cool in summer. Its woven structure allows ample amount of air to pass across and around the body. It also has good absorbency. It is hundred percent natural and therefore, not harmful to skin. Moreover its texture provides unique look and feel to the khadi that makes it stand out in the sea of fabrics at disposal of consumers. Acc. to Ritu Kumar (1993), khadi makes wearer look different whereas machine woven fabrics are uniform and appear monotonous and lifeless. Drapability, the ability of a fabric to fall under its own weight into wavy folds. A unique behavior that provides graceful aesthetic effects in garments. Drape of fabric depends on fabric properties like stiffness, flexural rigidity, weight and thickness etc. On the other hand, stiffness, an attribute of fabric
hand, is one of the important factors determining draping quality. Stiffness of fabric itself depends upon components of textile fabric like fiber type, yarn structure and fabric structure. If fabric stiffness or softness, and drape of khadi fabric are altered by the application of finishing agents, its use can be much enhanced in designing garment of different styles. The present study is a step in this direction. Application of starch is the traditional technique to provide stiffness, firmness, smoothness & body to fabric. Now-a-days thermoplastic synthetic polymers are also being used for the purpose. Silicone is a thermoplastic polymer based resin, influencing stiffness of fabric in different ways. Objectives 1. To observe the effect of starch on stiffness and drape of cotton khadi & its blend 2. To study the effect of resin on stiffness and drape of cotton khadi & its blend 3. Development of designs of skirts & observe the effect of finishing agents on drape of designed skirts Methodology 1. Selection of fabric Cotton khadi of varying thickness and weight were available in the market. Thickness gauze of Heal s was used to determine thickness and then fabric of three thicknesses thick, medium & fine were selected for the study. Polykhadi blend fabric had very limited variety available and only one of medium thickness was selected for the study. 2. Collection of preliminary data (a) Weight- Weight of the selected fabrics was taken using electronic balance. (b) Thread count - Thread count was taken with the help of magnifying glass. (c) Stiffness- Stiffness of samples was tested on EC-31 Eureka stiffness tester of Eureka Instrument Company. (d) Drapability- Drapability was tested through Drape meter. 3. Pretreatment (a) Desizing- Cotton khadi and poly-khadi fabrics were treated with dilute sulphuric acid with a concentration of 5-1 gm/lt at a temperature of 4ºC for 3-4 hours for desizing. After that the fabrics were rinsed thoroughly under tap water. (b) Scouring- Cotton khadi fabrics were treated at 1ºC temperature for 3 minutes, and polykhadi fabric was treated at 8ºC temperature for 3 minutes in a solution containing 5 gm/ lt detergent and 2 gm/ lt sodium carbonate. After that the fabrics were rinsed thoroughly under tap water and dried. 4. Treatment with stiffening agents Process: 1 st step: The fabric samples were immersed in the finish solution for 1 minutes to achieve better impregnation. 2 nd step: The fabric samples were passed between two rollers to squeeze out air and to force liquor inside material, excess liquor being sent back along the samples. In case of arrowroot starch solution the fabrics were dried at room temperature and in case of silicone resin finish the fabrics were dried and then cured at 12 ºC in an oven for 5 minutes.
Bending length (cm) Finishes were applied individually on three types of cotton khadi and one poly-khadi blend fabrics. Finish was applied individually by hot method with three concentrations respectively 1%, 15% and 2% in case of starch and respectively 2%, 3% & 4% in silicone case. The material liquor ratio was taken 1:3. After the application of starch and resins in different concentration wet pick up% and add on% of finishing agents were calculated. Pick up percentage is the amount of solution that a fabric picks up along with the stiffening agent. Add on percentage is defined as the ratio on add on of the fabric to the original weight of the fabric expressed in percentage. This procedure was repeated for each concentration of finish applied. 5. Collection of data after treatment After applying both finishes (arrowroot & silicone) on different thickness of cotton khadi fabrics and polykhadi fabric, stiffness was measured by employing Eureka stiffness tester and drapability by a drape meter was constructed as directed by Chu et al. 6. Treatment of skirts with finishing A skirt is a garment, which drapes straight from the hip line forming series of waviness around hemline. It is thus easy to assess the drape of the garment at hemlines. Two skirts were designed incorporating different designing features. To study the Effect of finishing agents on drape of designed skirts, arrowroot and silicone were applied below hipline of skirts. Finishes were applied by spray method and dried at 5-6 C temperature and then steamed iron for 1 minute. For simplicity of consumer application, curing was replaced by steam ironing. Finished skirts were draped on dress form, drape of skirt was studied. Result & Discussion 3 2 1 % 1% 15% 2% Thick Medium Fine Concentration of starch Fig.1: Effect of varying concentration of arrowroot on stiffness of cotton khadi fabric
% Drape coefficient Bending length (cm) % Drape coefficient As is evident from fig.1, Increase in stiffness of thick fabric is highest among all the three types of cotton khadi fabrics was found. Effect of concentration of arrowroot on stiffness was also found significant at 5% and 1% level. Interaction between thickness and concentration was found significant. Thus both the factors significantly affected the stiffness of cotton khadi. 1 8 6 4 2 % 1%15%2% Thick Medium Fine Concentration of starch Fig.2: Effect of varying concentration of arrowroot on drape of cotton khadi fabric It is cleared from the fig.2 that arrowroot starch treated cotton khadi fabrics exhibit increased drape coefficient as compared to the control sample. Effect of concentration of arrowroot on drapability was found to be significant at 5% and 1% level. 1.8 1.7 1.6 1.5 1.4 1.3 % 2% 3% 4% Thick Medium fine Concentration of resin Fig.3: Effect of varying concentration of silicone on stiffness of cotton khadi fabric According to the fig.3 Stiffness of thick cotton khadi fabric increased in warp direction up to 2%. It decreased when concentration of silicone was increased to 3% and then it increased. Cotton khadi fabric of medium thickness stiffness increased up to 2% concentration of silicone. Stiffness of fine cotton khadi fabric reduced continuously up to 4% concentration. Effect of thickness on stiffness was significant at 5% and 1% level. 8 6 4 2 % 2% 3% 4% Thick Medium fine Concentration of resin Fig.4: Effect of varying concentration of silicone on drape of cotton khadi fabric
Bending length (cm) % Drape coefficient Bending length (cm) According to the fig.4, the drape coefficient of thick and medium fabric increased upto 2% & 3% but decreased on application of 4%. Effect of thickness on drapability was significant at 5% and 1% level. 6 4 2 Blend % 1% 15% 2% Concentration of starch Fig.5: Effect of varying concentration of arrowroot on stiffness of poly khadi fabric According to fig.5 bending length (stiffness) increased continuously in warp as well as in weft direction on increasing the concentration but increase in weft direction was less 95 9 85 8 75 7 % 1% 15% 2% Blend Concentration of starch Fig.6: Effect of varying concentration of arrowroot on drape of poly khadi fabric According to fig.6, % drape coefficient was found continuously increasing on increasing the concentration of arrowroot. 2 1.95 1.9 1.85 1.8 1.75 Blend % 2% 3% 4% Concentration of resin Fig.7: Effect of varying concentration of silicone on stiffness of poly khadi It is clear from the fig.7 that the bending length (stiffness) decreased continuously in both directions on increasing the concentration of silicone
% Drape coefficient 1 8 6 4 2 % 2% 3% 4% Blend Concentration of resin Fig.8: Effect of varying concentration of silicone on drape of poly khadi fabric According to fig.8 drapability decreased on application of silicone finish which made the fabric softer than the control sample. EFFECT OF FINISH ON DRAPE OF DESIGNED GARMENTS (SKIRTS) Before treatment After treatment Controlled skirt 1 skirt 2 finished with arrowroot Skirt 1, basic fitted skirt with knife pleats at hip level hang straight from hipline up to the hemline. Two firm folds observed below the hipline at hem level. Little flare on one side is observed. (In skirt 2) after application of finish below hipline level, draped area has increased.
Controlled skirt 3 skirt 4 finished with silicone (skirt-3), this is an umbrella skirt which falls in symmetrical folds. Nodes are deep. After finishing, skirt 4 is showing less no. of folds as compared to control. This is due to the more penetration of finish. Drape area has also increased. Conclusion On the basis of this study it is concluded that finishing agents can also be successfully used to influence drape effect in garments. Silhouette of garment can be changed according to change in fashion trend through application of finish. Reference Booth, J.E.Principles of Textile Testing, 3rd ed. Newness-Butterworth: London, 1968. Chaudhary, C.K. Prediction of Drape Co-efficient By Weaving Parameter. Unpublished Master s Thesis, Faculty of Technology and Engineering, M.S.Univesity, Vadodara, (198). Chu, C.C, Cummings, C.L. and Teixeria, N.A. Mechanics of Elastics Performance of Textile Materials-The development of drapemeter. Textile Research Journal.2, 539, (195). Chu, C.C., M.M. Platt and Hangburger. Investigation of the Factors Affecting the Drapability Of Fabrics. Textile Research Journal. 3, 66, (196). Cusick, et.al. Physical Properties of Some Commercial Non-Woven Fabrics-The Use Of Drapemeter For Investigating The Properties Of Non-Woven Fabrics. Journal of Textile Institute, 54.52, (1963). Cusick, G.E. The Dependence of Fabric Drape on Bending And Shear Stiffness, Journal of Textile Institute 56.52, (1965). Ghosh P, Samanta A.K. &Das D, Effect of Silicone Of Selective Pretreatments And Different Post Treatments on Jute-Viscose Upholstery Fabric, Indian Journal of Fiber & Textile Research, 19(12): 277-285 (1994). Goswami C. Bhuvenesh, Anand ji wala D. Rajesh, Hall M. Devid, Textile Sizing by Marcel Dekker,154-155,(24).