Selected Properties of Predominantly Cotton Staple-Core Knitted Fabrics

Abstract

This study of single-jersey knit fabrics is the first to examine the basic properties of staple-core knits. Prior studies revealed certain functional and aesthetic advantages of woven staple-core fabrics when compared to 100% cotton or intimate-blend fabrics of the same construction. In this study, nominal 20s count staple-core yams have been spun on a ring spinning frame that incorporates patented modifications. The staple-core yams contain a high tenacity polyester core and a cotton sheath comprising two-thirds of the yam. The fabrics are knitted on a single-feed jersey knitter with a 88.9 mm (3.5-inch) diameter, 20-gauge cylinder. Fabric properties are examined after five home-laundering cycles, in the greige state, after scouring, and after scouring and heat setting. The staple-core knits are stronger, less permeable, and significantly more abrasion resistant than the cotton controls. They also show less differential shrinkage and look consistently better than the controls after laundering. Greater spirality is evident in the greige staple-core knits than in the cotton knits, but the skewness of all fabrics decreases with additional processing. Skewness is substantially eliminated by substituting S- for Z-twist staple-core yam. Relaxed S-twist staple-core fabrics are also denser and greatly more abrasion resistant than comparable Z-twist knits. This suggests that a reduction of yam torque might further improve the superior properties and performance of staple-core knits. Additional study is required to optimize heat setting procedures and provide meaningful discussion of the dimensional stability of staple- core knit fabrics.