Wicking and Drying Behavior of Knitted Cotton Fabrics under Modified Water Drop Test

Both face and back sides of cotton weft-knitted fabrics in five knitting structures (plain, rib, interlock, single pique, and double pique) were investigated based on modified water drop test (methods I and II) in terms of water diffusion time. The water drop height was raised from 1 cm to 20 cm and water drop volume was increase from 0.1 mL to 0.5 mL. The water diffusion time greatly decreased with the variation in water drop height from 0 to 15 cm. Water diffusion time was also influenced by water volume at 0.1–0.2 mL for the different structures and surfaces. It was found that the structures behaved differently, and two surfaces of fabric were capable of asymmetric water absorption property. The face side of single pique and the back side double pique had better water diffusion property. Besides, vertical wicking rate and the drying rate (methods I and II) were also conducted to evaluate the different structures. Although the plain structure was widely used for inner garments in the market, the interlock fabric was recommended in nonsweating conditions due to its poor water spreading and better drying ability, while the single-pique fabric was recommended in heavy sweating conditions due to its better water absorption ratio and faster drying rate.