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Journal of Natural Fibers

ISSN: 1544-0478 (Print) 1544-046X (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/wjnf20

Influence of Yarn Count and Cover Factor on


Mechanical, Comfort, Aesthetic and Hand
Properties of Ladies’ Summer Apparel Fabrics

Fatima Iftikhar, Zulfiqar Ali, Tanveer Hussain, Ahsan Nazir & Dominique C.
Adolphe

To cite this article: Fatima Iftikhar, Zulfiqar Ali, Tanveer Hussain, Ahsan Nazir & Dominique C.
Adolphe (2019): Influence of Yarn Count and Cover Factor on Mechanical, Comfort, Aesthetic
and Hand Properties of Ladies’ Summer Apparel Fabrics, Journal of Natural Fibers, DOI:
10.1080/15440478.2019.1692322

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/15440478.2019.1692322

Published online: 19 Nov 2019.

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JOURNAL OF NATURAL FIBERS
https://doi.org/10.1080/15440478.2019.1692322

Influence of Yarn Count and Cover Factor on Mechanical, Comfort,


Aesthetic and Hand Properties of Ladies’ Summer Apparel Fabrics
Fatima Iftikhara, Zulfiqar Alia, Tanveer Hussaina, Ahsan Nazir a
, and Dominique C. Adolpheb
a
Comfort Textile Research Group, National Textile University, Faisalabad, Pakistan; bEcole Nationale Supérieure
d’Ingénieurs Sud-Alsace (ENSISA), Université de Haute-Alsace (UHA), Mulhouse Cedex, France

ABSTRACT KEYWORDS
Fine cotton fabrics are extremely popular for ladies’ summer apparel in the Cotton; woven fabrics;
Sub-continent, the Middle East and those parts of the world which are thermal comfort;
known for hot and humid summer seasons. The purpose of this study PhabrOmeter; tear strength
was to investigate the mechanical, comfort, and hand properties of fine 关键词
cotton fabrics by systematically varying the fabric cover factor using two of 棉花; 机织物; 热舒适性;
the most commonly used yarn counts. After undergoing the same pre- 溴化计; 撕裂强度
treatment processes, fabric test results revealed improvement in fabric
wrinkle recovery, smoothness, and resilience with increase in cover factor
values from 21 to 26, while deterioration in fabric tear strength, air perme-
ability, moisture management capability, drapability, and softness. It was
also revealed that when fabric tear strength and resilience is a priority,
production of a specific cover-factor fabric with coarser yarn count gives
better results, whereas for better wrinkle recovery, drapability, smoothness,
softness, moisture management capability, and air permeability, production
of the same cover-factor fabric with finer yarns gives more desirable results.

摘要
在亚欧大陆、中东和世界上以炎热潮湿的夏季著称的地区,优质棉织物非
常受女士们夏季服装的欢迎. 本研究的目的是利用两种最常用的纱线数,
系统地改变织物的覆盖系数,以研究细棉织物的机械性能、舒适性和手感.
经过相同的前处理工艺后,织物的测试结果表明,随着覆盖因子值从21增
加到26,织物的起皱回复性、平滑度和弹性都有所提高,而撕裂强度、透
气性、吸湿性、悬垂性和柔软性则有所下降. 研究还表明,当织物的撕裂
强度和弹性是优先考虑的因素时,生产纱线数较粗的特定覆盖系数织物会
获得更好的效果,而为了获得更好的折皱回复性、悬垂性、平滑性、柔软
性、水分管理能力和透气性,用更细的纱线生产相同覆盖系数的织物,可
获得更理想的效果.

Introduction
Comfort and durability are considered two of the most important requirements in all apparels.
Thermo-physiological clothing comfort depends primarily on the fabric air permeability, water
vapor resistance, and moisture management capability in summer. Sensorial comfort depends
mainly upon the fabric softness and resilience. Garment appearance or esthetics is influenced mainly
by its drapability and wrinkle recovery. Garment durability is affected by its fabric strength, and in
case of thin fabrics, good tear strength is more important in offering resistance against ripping due to
contact with any sharp objects or rough surfaces (Kamalha et al. 2013).

CONTACT Zulfiqar Ali drzulfiqarali70@gmail.com Comfort Textile Research Group, National Textile University,
Sheikhupura road, Faisalabad, Pakistan
Color versions of one or more of the figures in the article can be found online at www.tandfonline.com/wjnf.
© 2019 Taylor & Francis
2 F. IFTIKHAR ET AL.

Figure 1. PhabrOmeter system and load-displacement curve.

Major factors which contribute to the overall fabric strength are fiber and yarn strength, yarn
count, weave design, crimp, and fabric density (Behera and Mishra 2007; Fatahi and Alamdar Yazdi
2010; Jahan 2017). Apparel comfort is the key concern of today’s consumer (Goldman 2005). The air
permeability and the moisture management features of clothing are related to the thermo-
physiological comfort of human body, whereas, fiber type, fineness, fabric weight, yarn count, fabric
density, cover factor, porosity, and other structural parameters can have substantial effects on air,
heat, and moisture resistivity of fabrics (Altas and Sevda 2013; Dinardo 2011; Mechanics et al. 2011).
The judgmental instinct of humans toward clothing by touching the fabric is termed as hand properties,
as interaction of fabric with the skin provokes heat and mechanical perceptions. It is very difficult to define
sensorial comfort because it is the sensitivity of wearer when clothing is worn next to the skin (Pan 2007).
The surface properties of fabric such as softness, smoothness, fullness, and some mechanical instability such
as drape and wrinkling are most important visual and tactile/handle characteristics of fabrics.
There are many purposeful methods available for the evaluation of hand properties of fabrics such as
KES-FB (Kawabata Evaluation System for Fabrics), FAST (Fabrics Analysis by Simple Tests), FTT
(Fabric Touch Tester) and PhabrOmeter (A. Das and Alagirusamy 2011). The PhabrOmeter is one of
the simplest methods for the measurement of resilience, softness, smoothness, drape, relative hand
value, and wrinkle recovery properties (Kan and Lau 2018; Rous et al. 2018; Yim et al. 2017). In
PhabrOmeter testing, the fabric undergoes low stress mechanical properties such as bending, compres-
sion, shear, tensile, and frictional forces during extraction process (Das and Alagirusamy 2010).
Cotton fine woven fabrics are preferred by ladies as summer apparels in Pakistan and other countries of
the sub-continent as well as in Middle East, because of their desirable properties like hand-feel and comfort,
which become more crucial when the weather is hot-dry and sometimes hot-humid. Many research studies
have explored the comfort and hand properties of cotton fabrics for winter and summer seasons. However, to
the best of our information, no study has been reported for the investigation of mechanical, comfort, visual,
and hand properties of fabrics for ladies’ woven summer apparels by systematic variation in fabric cover
factors and yarn counts. This study hopes to give better insight to fabric developers for the optimization of
mechanical, comfort, visual, and sensorial properties of fine cotton fabrics for summer apparel.

Materials and methods


Material
Two 100% cotton combed ring-spun yarns with nominal yarn counts of Ne 80 and Ne 60 were obtained
from a textile-spinning mill. The detailed specifications of the yarns are given in Table 1. The selected yarn
counts represent two of the most commonly used linear densities in ladies’ cotton summer apparel.
JOURNAL OF NATURAL FIBERS 3

Table 1. Specification of Yarn Samples.


Yarn Attributes Units Y1 Y2
Nominal Yarn Count Ne 80 60
Actual Yarn Count Ne 78.5 61
Count C.V % 1.88 1.67
Twist per Inch, TPI Turns/in 34.4 30.3
CV of Twist % 1.5 1.59
USTER Mass Variation, CVm % 14.65 12.75
Total Imperfections, IPI numbers/km 187.65 115.32
USTER Hairiness - 2.58 2.49
Hairiness Standard Deviation, sh - 0.69 0.64
Single End Strength, 5 m/min cN 144.0 171.2
CV of Strength % 8.60 10.26
Single End Elongation, 5 m/min % 4.48 4.23
CV of Elongation % 0.93 0.17
Single End Tenacity, 5 m/min cN/tex 19.51 17.4
CV of Tenacity % 8.60 10.26
Lea Strength lbs 34.4 46.1
CV of Lea Strength % 0.02 0.026
Count Lea Strength Product (CLSP) Hanks 2752 2766

Methods
Fabric manufacturing
The ring-spun yarns were sized on lab scale single-end sizing machine (Model: CCI SS 565 Taiwan)
and warped as per the construction plan on lab-scale single-end warping machine (Model: CCI SW
550 Taiwan). The recipe used for yarn sizing is given in Table 2. Two sets of plain-woven fabrics
(each comprising five fabric samples) were prepared for achieving the same cover factor ranging
from 21 to 26, by varying the yarn counts and fabric densities. The fabric cover factor was calculated
using Peirce formula (Peirce 1937) given in Eq. (1):
Ends Picks
Fabric cover factor ¼ pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
inch
þ pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
inch
ffi (1)
WarpCount WeftCount

The constructional parameters of each fabric set are given in Table 3. The selected fabric construc-
tional parameters represent the most commonly used range of cover factors and fabric densities used
for ladies’ cotton summer apparel.

Table 2. Recipes and Process Conditions.


No. Process Ingredients Recipe
1 Sizing PVA 100g/l
Detergent 2g/l
pH 7
2 De-Sizing Time 30 min.
Temperature 90 ℃
NaOH 8 g/L
Wetting Agent 1 g/L
3 Scouring Sequestering Agent 1 g/L
Time 45 min.
Temperature 90-95 ℃
H2O2 10 g/L
NaOH 5 g/L
Wetting Agent 1 g/L
4 Bleaching Sequestering Agent 1 g/L
Stabilizer 3 g/L
Time 45 min
Temperature 90-95 ℃
4 F. IFTIKHAR ET AL.

Table 3. Specification of Fabric Samples.


End Picks
Fabric Fabric Warp Count Weft Count Per Per Cover Thickness Areal Density (g/
Sets Samples (Ne) (Ne) Inch Inch Factor (mm) m2)
F11 80 80 95 95 21 0.18 58
F12 80 80 100 100 22 0.18 62
Set 1 F13 80 80 105 105 23 0.18 66
F14 80 80 110 110 25 0.18 69
F15 80 80 115 115 26 0.18 72
F21 60 60 80 80 21 0.20 70
F22 60 60 85 85 22 0.20 73
Set 2 F23 60 60 90 90 23 0.20 77
F24 60 60 95 95 25 0.20 81
F25 60 60 100 100 26 0.20 87

Pre-treatment processes
All fabric samples were desized, scoured, and bleached under the same conditions as a single lot. Pilot-scale
jet dyeing machine (Texam P-300, Nagoya Japan, 1992) was used for fabric pre-treatment processes. The
pre-treatment recipes and process conditions are consolidated in Table 2. The samples were rinsed with hot
and cold water after bleaching and treated with acetic acid for neutralization of fabric pH. The fabrics were
dried at 120°C on lab-scale Monfort Stentor machine (VPM-250-A, Tsujii machine manufacturing Co.) All
samples were first pre-conditioned at the temperature of 47 oC and relative humidity of 10–25% for 4 h in
a hot air oven and then conditioned according to BS EN ISO 139:2005 before testing.

Testing
Fabric tear strength. Tear strength is the force required to propagate a tear in fabric under the
quantified load. Fabric specimens were cut by a slit of 20 mm ± 0.5 mm, which was allowed to
propagate by applying force on the Elmendorf Tear Tester to determine the tearing strength
according to standard test method of ASTM D 1424–07. From each sample, five specimens were
prepared in both the warp and weft direction, for calculating the mean values.

Thermo-physiological comfort. From thermo-physiological perspective, important comfort proper-


ties for ladies’ summer apparel include: fabric air permeability, water vapor resistance, and moisture
management. Air permeability of fabric samples was determined according to ISO 9237: 1995 using
air permeability tester (M-O21A, SDL Atlas). The air pressure of 100 Pascal was applied on the
testing head of 20 cm2. The average values were calculated by taking five readings of each sample
in cm3/sec/cm2.
The test method BS EN ISO 11092: 2014 was used to evaluate water vapor resistance (Ret) of
fabric samples on PERMETEST Instrument developed by Prof. Lobus Hes, Czech Republic (Hes
2009). The average values were calculated by taking five readings of each sample.
The overall moisture management capacity (OMMC) of the samples was calculated using Eq. (2)
according to AATCC TM 195:2011.
OMMC ¼ ARB þ R þ SSB (2)
Where, ARB is the absorption rate of bottom surface, R is the one-way transport capability and SSB is
the spreading speed of bottom surface.

Fabric hand properties. The significance of fabric hand or sensorial comfort cannot be under-
estimated in case of ladies’ apparel. The PhabrOmeter instrument measures some important fabric
sensory attributes. It was developed by Dr. Ning Pan and his coworkers at Nu Cybertek, Inc. in
California, USA. The working principle of instrument is based on nozzle extraction method used to
evaluate the handle properties of fabric objectively. Three circular specimens of 100 cm2 from each
JOURNAL OF NATURAL FIBERS 5

fabric sample were extracted through the particularly designed nozzle. The additional test plates of
weight (i.e., 453.6 gm) were added in relation to fabric linear density. Through fabric deformation
process, the fabric specimen undergoes low stress mechanical forces such as bending, friction,
compression, tensile, and shears, similar to stresses occurred when a consumer handles the fabric
(Das, Majumdar, and Gupta 2016; Pan 2007). The load-displacement curve is generated which holds
all the information for the fabric hand attributes including (stiffness, softness, smoothness, drape,
wrinkle recovery, and relative hand value) according to standard test method AATCC TM 202.

Results and discussion


Fabric tear strength
Tear strength has considerably higher significance than the tensile strength, in case of thin cotton fabrics used
in ladies’ summer apparel. Tear strength is the force required to propagate a tear or cut in a fabric under
specific force. The tear strength of the two sets of fabrics both in warp and weft directions are depicted in
Figure 2a,b. Unintuitively, the tear strength of fabric reduced with increase in fabric cover factor both in warp
and weft directions of the fabric. Increase in cover factor beyond 21 has shown negative influence on fabric
tear strength. This may be due to decrease in the inter-yarn slippage, reducing mutual support between
individual yarns under the stroke of tearing force (Eltahan 2018). In fabrics with lower cover factor, yarns can
initially slip and move past to support each other under the influence of tearing force, rather than ripping
straightaway. It can be noticed from the regression equations given in Figure 2a,b that one unit increase in
fabric cover factor results in approximately 0.35 N to 0.55 N decrease in fabric tear strength values.
Ease of yarn mobility with the fabric structure and individual yarn strength are two major factors that affect
fabric tear strength. As expected, the fabrics produced with coarser yarn counts (Ne 60, set 2) have higher tear
strength than those made from finer yarns (Ne 80, set 1) due to higher single-end yarn strength. With the same
cover factor, fabrics produced from Ne 60 yarns exhibited around 2–3 N higher tear strength values as
compared to those made from Ne 80 yarns. This difference of tear strength is statistically significant with
P value of 0.002. If we compare the tenacity of the constituent yarns given in Table 1, Ne 80 yarn has higher
tenacity (19.51cN/tex) as compared to Ne 60 yarn (17.4 cN/tex). But if we compare the single-end strength, Ne
60 yarn has higher strength (171.2 cN) as compared to Ne 80 yarn (144 cN). It implies that amongst fabrics of
the same cover factor, those made from yarns of higher single-end strength result in better fabric tear strength
rather than those made from finer yarns of higher tenacity. Hence, for the same cover factor fabrics, single-end
yarn strength is the key factor in determining the fabric tear strength rather than the yarn tenacity. Lea strength
and count-lea strength product (CLSP) is also higher for yarns with higher single-end yarn strength (Table 1).
At any moment while the fabric is tearing, the tearing force is largely resisted by single yarns in
succession, one yarn breaking before the next. Coarser yarns with higher number of fibers per cross-
section and having better individual yarn strength, offer more resistance to tearing force applied on
the fabric as compared to finer yarns with lower number of fibers per cross-section and having lower
individual yarn strength. Yarns at right angles to the direction of the tear usually break one by one in
succession, with the coarser/stronger yarns offering higher resistance to the tearing force.

Fabric comfort properties


Air permeability (AP)
Air permeability is one of the most important fabric properties affecting thermo-physiological
comfort of summer apparel. Air permeability is defined as the rate of airflow passing perpendicularly
through a specified fabric area under a prescribed air pressure differential between the two surfaces
of a material. It depends on yarn properties and fabric structural parameters such as cover factor,
density, and thickness. The influence of cover factor on air permeability is depicted in Figure 3. Air
permeability of fabric decreases, almost in a linear fashion, with the increase in fabric cover factor.
Cover factor defines the tightness or looseness of the fabric structure. The tighter structure has
6 F. IFTIKHAR ET AL.

Figure 2. (a) Comparison of Warp Tear Strength for fabric samples of set 1 & set 2. (b) Comparison of Weft Tear Strength for fabric
samples of set 1 & set 2.

higher cover factor due to more warp and weft thread density and less number of pores within fabric
cross-section so ultimately lower air permeability. It is evident from the slopes of the regression
equations given in Figure 3 that with one unit increase in fabric cover factor, there is approximately
a decrease of 20 to 22 cm3/sec/cm2 air permeability of the fabric, the negative slope of set 1 fabrics
being slightly greater than that of set 2 fabrics.
Fabrics produced from finer yarns (set 1) have higher air permeability values as compared to those
made from coarser yarns (set 2). For the same cover factor, fabrics produced from finer yarns have, on
average, around 14 cm3/sec/cm2 (~17%) higher air permeability as compared to coarser yarn fabrics. This
difference is statistically significant with P value of 0.003, which is less than 0.05. This may be due to lower
thickness of finer yarn fabrics as compared to that of coarser yarn fabrics (Tastan et al. 2017).

Water vapor resistance (Ret)


The transmission of perspiration moisture vapors through the fabric is also an important attribute
affecting comfort in summer clothing. The values of water vapor resistance of all the fabrics produced in
this study ranged from 1.5 to 2.9 m2 Pa/W. The analysis of variance was done by using One-way ANOVA
statistical method through Minitab software to assess the significant difference between input and
JOURNAL OF NATURAL FIBERS 7

Figure 3. Comparison of Air Permeability for fabric samples of set 1 & set 2.

response variables. The tested fabrics in this study did not show any statistically significant difference
(P-value = 0.604 > 0.05) for water vapor resistance. Furthermore, Ret values of all the samples fall in “very
good” rating range as defined by the Hohenstein Institute Germany in Table 4 (Relji et al. 2016).

Overall moisture management capability (OMMC)


Overall moisture management capability (OMMC) is the ability of clothing to transport liquid moisture/
perspiration away from the skin to the clothing’s outer surface. The moisture management performance of
fabric is better when the value of OMMC is high. For this study, the OMMC results are showed in Figure 4. It
can be noticed that OMMC is decreased with increase in the fabric cover factor. The higher number of yarns
present per unit area in the higher cover-factor fabric decreases the porosity and hence reduces the liquid
transportation through capillary action (Wardiningsih and Troynikov 2012). Nevertheless, the decrease in
OMMC per unit increase in cover fabric within the same set of fabrics produced with the same yarn count is
not very sharp as indicated by rather small slopes of the regression equations.
However, for same cover factor, the OMMC values of set 1 fabric produced with Ne 80 yarns were
around 60% higher on average, as compared to those of set 2 fabrics produced with Ne 60 yarns.
This difference of OMMC is highly significant as per statistical analysis with P value of 0.000. It
might be due to lower fabric thickness and higher number of inter-yarn capillaries per unit area of
fabrics produced with finer yarn counts (Azeem et al. 2017).

Fabric hand properties


Resilience
The resilience of two sets of fabrics is depicted in Figure 5. The resilience is defined as the recovery
of fabric to its original shape after the elimination of external forces. The fabric is more resilient
when value of resilience is high. From Figure 5, it can be observed that the resilience of fabrics is

Table 4. Ret Comfort Rating System.


Rating Ret Value Description
Very Good 0–6 Extremely breathable and comfortable at a higher level of activity
Good 7–13 Very breathable and comfortable at a moderate rate of activity
Satisfactory 14–20 Breathable but uncomfortable at a higher level of activity
Un-Satisfactory 21–30 Slightly breathable, giving moderate comfort at a low rate of activity
Very 31+ Not breathable and uncomfortable, with a short tolerance time
Un-Satisfactory
8 F. IFTIKHAR ET AL.

Figure 4. Comparison of OMMC for fabric samples of set 1 & set 2.

Figure 5. Comparison of Resilience for fabric samples of set 1 & set 2.

increased with the increase in cover factor. Increase in cover factor of finer yarn fabrics (set 1) does
not result in as sharp increase in resilience as that in case of coarser yarn fabrics (set 2). Coarser
yarns seem to contribute more to fabric resilience than the finer yarns. It could be due to the
presence of higher number of fibers per cross- section in the coarser yarn as compared to those in
the finer yarn.
The resilience values of set 2 fabrics were around 20% higher on average than set 1 fabrics. This
difference of resilience value is highly significant as per ANOVA analysis with P value of 0.000. It
might be due to that finer yarn with lower yarn diameter result in lower fabric thickness leading to
lower fabric resilience (Nilgün et al. 2014).

Softness
The softness is defined as the property of fabric, which is opposite to stiffness. It can also be
described as the reverse of firmness or hardness. The fabric is softer when value of softness will be
JOURNAL OF NATURAL FIBERS 9

high. Figure 6 shows that softness is decreased with the increase in fabric cover factor. However,
decrease in softness remains below 1 unit with per unit increase in fabric cover factor.
From Figure 6, it can also be observed that the softness values of set 1 fabrics are higher than set 2
fabrics. However, the difference is just around 2% on average, which may not seem practically
significant. However, it is significant statistically by analysis of variance (i.e., P-value = 0.014 < 0.05).

Smoothness
A smooth fabric surface provides a bigger contact area with the skin, while a more rough fabric
surface has less contact area. Therefore, a smoother fabric surface provides a cooler feeling. The
fabric is smoother when value of smoothness will be high. From Figure 7, it can be observed that
smoothness of fabrics is increased around one unit with one unit increase in fabric cover factor. The
smoothness values of set 1 fabrics seems a little higher due to less waviness of finer yarn during
interlacement than set 2 fabrics. This difference of smoothness is insignificant since the P value is
0.435. The results of yarn crimp (mean crimp %age of set 1 is 9.5% while for set 2 is 14%) also justify
this finding. However, the difference seems to be too little to be perceptible with real hand-feeling.

Figure 6. Comparison of Softness for fabric samples of set 1 & set 2.

Figure 7. Comparison of Smoothness for fabric samples of set 1 & set 2.


10 F. IFTIKHAR ET AL.

Drape
Drape is the fabric’s ability to bend when it is subjected under its own weight. The drape of two set
of fabrics are depicted in Figure 8. The property of drape depends on bending stiffness of fabric.
Drape coefficient of fabrics is increased with the increase of cover factor. As the cover factor is
increased then the stiffness of fabric is also increased; so drapability of fabric will be reduced (Jeong
and Phillips 1998). Higher is the drape coefficient of fabric; lower will be the drapability. It can be
revealed from results that the drape coefficient of set 1 fabrics were higher than set 2 fabrics. This
difference of drape values is insignificant when they are analyzed statistically with P value of 0.09. It
may be because the plain coarser fabric (set 2) with loose structure has higher drapability due to
lower bending rigidity. Simultaneously, the drapability of fabric is reduced in case it was produced
from finer yarn (set 1) with higher twist because increased twist in yarn enhanced the fabric stiffness
(Choudhary and Bansal 2017).

Wrinkle recovery
The creases on fabric surface due to the action of stresses, which disturb the morphology and
appearance, can be defined as the wrinkling behavior of fabric. The recovery of fabric from wrinkling
is related to viscoelasticity and friction between fibers within yarn structure. The wrinkle recovery of
fabric has increased with the increase in cover factor (Figure 9). From Figure 9, it can also be noticed

Figure 8. Comparison of Drape Coefficient for fabric samples of set 1 & set 2.

Figure 9. Comparison of Wrinkle Recovery Rate for fabric samples of set 1 & set 2.
JOURNAL OF NATURAL FIBERS 11

that set 1 fabrics, on average, have 14% higher wrinkle recovery than set 2 fabrics. This difference of
wrinkle recovery values is statistically significant with P value of 0.001. This may be because of the
more inter-fiber friction due to high twist and tightness of fibers within finer yarn structure as
compared to coarser yarn.

Conclusions
Increase in cover factor of ladies’ cotton summer apparel fabrics, from 21 to 26, leads to decrease in fabric
tear strength, air permeability, moisture management capability, drapability, and softness. However,
fabric wrinkle recovery, smoothness, and resilience improve with increase in cover factor values from 21
to 26. For a same specific cover factor between 21–26, fabrics produced with finer yarn counts give better
wrinkle recovery, drapability, smoothness, softness, moisture management capability, and air perme-
ability; whereas fabrics produced with coarser yarn counts give better tear strength and resilience.

ORCID
Ahsan Nazir http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5141-3767

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