International Journal of Clothing Science and Technology

FAST – Fabric Assurance by Simple Testing

Pier Giorgio Minazio
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Pier Giorgio Minazio, (1995),"FAST – Fabric Assurance by Simple Testing", International Journal of Clothing Science and
Technology, Vol. 7 Iss 2/3 pp. 43 - 48
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Herbert Barndt, Fred Fortess, Mel Wiener, J. Cyril Furniss, (1990),"THE USE OF KES AND FAST INSTRUMENTS: IN
PREDICTING PROCESSABILITY OF FABRICS IN SEWING", International Journal of Clothing Science and Technology, Vol.
2 Iss 3 pp. 34-39
A.G. De Boos, A.F. Roczniok, (1996),"Communications: “engineering” the extensibility and formability of wool fabrics to
improve garment appearance", International Journal of Clothing Science and Technology, Vol. 8 Iss 5 pp. 51-59
M.N. Sun, K.P.S. Cheng, (2000),"The quality of fabric knitted from cotton Sirospun1 yarn", International Journal of Clothing
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 FAST – Fabric
FAST – Fabric Assurance by Assurance by
Simple Testing Simple Testing

Pier Giorgio Minazio

International Wool Society (Secretariato Internazionale della Lana), 43
Biella, Italy

Introduction
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Objective measurement has played an important role in the wool-textile

industry. Its uses are many and varied and occur all along the wool-textile
pipeline, from the marketing of raw wool to various processing stages and,
finally, retailers of wool products.
While the objective measurement of raw wool has been widely accepted for
specification and marketing of raw wool, it is only in recent years that the
implementation of fabric objective measurement technology has drawn much
international attention.
Credit for this must be given to Professor Kawabata, who developed the
Kawabata Evaluation System for Fabrics (commonly known as the Kawabata
system or the KES-F system). Fabric objective measurement provides a
scientific means to quantify the quality and performance characteristics of
fabrics. It can be used as a basis for fabric specification, product and process
development, process control, quality assurance and communication between
various industry sectors.

FAST-1 compression meter

The processes of worsted finishing, in particular dry finishing, modify the
surface of a fabric. These modifications are primarily fabric compression, which
occurs during the pressing operations, and the stabilization of the compressed
form (setting), which occurs during decatizing. The degree of fabric
compression and amount of fabric stabilization affect the thickness of the fabric
surface layer and consequently the appearance and handle of a fabric.
The FAST-1 compression meter (Figure 1) has been developed to measure
fabric thickness and, in addition, the variability and the durability of the
thickness of the fabric surface layer. The FAST-1 compression meter is able to
measure fabric thickness to micrometer resolution at two predetermined loads,
and thereby measure the thickness layer. The surface layer is defined as the
difference in fabric thickness at the two predetermined loads.
For determining the durability of the surface layer, the measurements of
fabric thickness are repeated after the fabric has been released. The fabric is International Journal of Clothing
released by steaming on an open Hoffman press for 30 seconds. The increase in Science and Technology,
Vol. 7 No. 2/3, 1995, pp. 43-48.
fabric surface thickness obtained by this process is similar to the increase that © MCB University Press, 0955-6222
 IJCST occurs during the rigours of garment manufacture. The following parameters
7,2/3 are determined by the FAST-1 compression meter:
● fabric thickness at various loads;
● surface layer thickness;
● released surface layer thickness.
44
FAST-2 bending meter
The bending meter, shown in Figure 2, measures two bending properties of a
fabric, namely the fabric bending length which is related to the ability of a
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material to drape, and the fabric bending rigidity which is related to the quality
of stiffness when a fabric is handled.
The bending rigidity is particularly crucial in the tailoring of lightweight
fabrics as a very flexible fabric (low bending rigidity) may cause seam
puckering while a high bending rigidity fabric can be more manageable in
sewing and so produce a flat seam. The bending length (BL) is displayed
automatically, thus the error due to the operator’s judgement is eliminated.

FAST-3 extension meter

During garment making-up, in particular fabric shaping and sewing, the fabric
needs to be stretched to a certain degree to conform to the intended shape. This
ability of a fabric to stretch at low load, or fabric extensibility, is of major
concern to tailors.
The FAST-3 extension meter (Figure 3) is capable of measuring the fabric
extensibility in warp, weft and bias directions over a range of loads, with direct
reading of extension as a percentage of the initial gauge length.

Surface
thickness
Figure 1.
Measuring principle of Fabric
thickness
the FAST-1
compression meter

Bending
length

Figure 2.
Measuring principle of
the FAST-2 bending 41.5°
meter
 FAST – Fabric
Assurance by
Simple Testing

45
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Extension

Figure 3.
Measuring principle of
the FAST-3 extension
meter

The ability of a two-dimensional piece of fabric to form a three-dimensional

garment also depends on how easily the fabric can be sheared in its plane. This
mode of deformation is characterized by the fabric shear rigidity, which can be
estimated from the bias extensibility.
The fabric formability can also be calculated by multiplying the fabric
extensibility with the fabric bending rigidity. This parameter was first
introduced by Lindberg et al. as a measure of the degree of compression
sustainable by a fabric in a certain direction before the fabric buckles. It is
related to the limit of overfeed possible in a seam before seam puckering occurs.
Low levels of formability can lead to difficulties in forming such seams as the
sleeve cap, or any other eased seam. The following parameters are determined
by the FAST-3 extension meter:
● extensibility at various loads;
● bias extensibility;
● shear rigidity;
● formability.

FAST-4 dimensional stability test

Low dimensional stability of fabrics is one of the main causes of poor
appearance in garments. The change in fabric dimensions can occur during the
garment making or later during wear as the fabric is subjected to changing
humidity conditions including steaming. This change is controlled by the
amount of relaxation shrinkage and hygral expansion in a fabric. Relaxation
shrinkage is caused by the recovery of fibres strained during manufacturing,
 IJCST while hygral expansion or contraction is caused by the swelling or deswelling
7,2/3 of hygroscopic fibres.
High levels of relaxation shrinkage can cause puckering of fused panels and
discrepancies from intended garment size. On the other hand, insufficient
relaxation shrinkage results in an unsatisfactory joint at the junction of the
sleeve and shoulder region of the garment because the cloth at the head of the
46 sleeve must shrink during steaming.
Large hygral expansion can cause seam puckering, poor matching of
patterns at seams, waviness and buckling during pleating and an overall lack
of “balance” in the garment.
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In the FAST-4 dimensional stability test (Figure 4), the fabric specimen is
dried to zero regain to measure its dry dimensions (L1), then soaked in water to
measure its wet relaxed dimensions (L2). The specimen is then redried to
measure its final dry dimensions (L3). The relaxation shrinkage and hygral
expansion are then calculated.
The FAST-4 dimensional stability test has the advantage of not requiring a
conditioned laboratory. The testing time is reduced to less than one hour in
contrast to the conventional one-day test. Its simplicity and precision are attractive
for in-house product development and quality control in the textile trade.

Summary of the properties

A summary of the five properties measured by FAST is as follows:
(1) Compression:
● fabric thickness;
● fabric surface thickness;
● released surface thickness;
(2) Bending:
● bending length;
● bending rigidity;

RS = 100 L1 - L3
L1
Fabric dimension

HE = 100 L2 - L3
L3

Drying
Soaking

Figure 4. Drying
Schematic diagram L1 L2 L3
of the FAST-4
dimensional stability
test procedure Time
 (3) Tensile: FAST – Fabric
● extensibility; Assurance by
● formability; Simple Testing
(4) Shear: shear rigidity;
(5) Dimensional stability:
● relaxation shrinkage; 47
● hygral expansion.
The FAST control chart is shown in Figure 5.
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Units
Fusing Pleating Sizing
RS–1
Relaxation –1 0 1 2 3 4 5 %
shrinkage RS–2

Wool/polyester Pleating-puckering
HE–1
Hygral –2 –1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 %
expansion HE–2

Pucker
F–1
Formability 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0 1.1 mm2
F–2

Overfeed moulding Check matching laying-up

1 2 3 4 5 %
E100–1
Extensibility
E100–2 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 %

Cutting Stiff
B–1
Bending 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 µNm
rigidity B–2

Laying-up Moulding sleeve insertion

Shear 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 N/m

rigidity G

Lean Full
Thickness T mm
0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4
Smooth
Surface ST mm
thickness 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2

Released STR mm
surface 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2
thickness Light Heavy
Weight W 150 200 250 300 350
g/m2 Figure 5.
FAST control chart
 IJCST Pressing performance
7,2/3 In addition to the aforementioned properties measured by FAST, a new
property was discovered a few years ago and now represents an upgrading of
FAST technology.
This property has been named pressing performance (PP). The garment
appearance is largely imparted by the final pressing operation and it is
48 therefore important to be able to predict the seam pressing performance of a
fabric prior to cutting, so that remedial measures can be taken when required.
It has been confirmed that the ability of a seam to be pressed flat is not
directly related to other fabric properties, but can be modified during finishing.
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Fabric PP can be predicted by forming a crease in a sample of fabric and

measuring the recovery rate of the crease angle under a standard atmosphere.
Because a conventional garment press is not suitable for use in a standard test
method owing to a large amount of variability in steam conditions between
presses, an alternative method of setting the crease has been developed. The
principle of this test has already been approved by the International Wool
Textile Organisation (IWTO) as the IWTO Draft TM A2 “Crease pressing
performance test”. Work carried out with CSIRO, a Biella weaver and extensive
trials done with a maker-up in Italy has confirmed the results of these studies
and has also shown that a low crease angle is a necessary condition for a
pressed seam with a good appearance.

Prediction of final appearance

Pressing performance crease angle as measured by the test method, and
formability appear to be the two most important factors which influence the
final appearance of the garment. The new pressing performance test was found
to be able to predict the propensity of a fabric to produce blown seams after
pressing.
Seam blowing is when the pressed seam in a garment does not remain flat
but has a rounded or “blown” appearance.
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