Investigating the Effect of Elastane Use on Tailorability and Appearance of Wool and Wool Blend Suiting Fabrics

In this study, the effect of the use of elastane on the tailorability and appearance of 100% wool and different proportions of wool – man-made fiber blended worsted suiting fabrics was investigated. The evaluations were made by means of mechanical properties. Although the amount of elastane used in the weft yarn of elastane-containing fabrics differed in each group, it was observed that the effect of elastane varied mainly depending on the fabric weight. It was seen that the use of elastane increased the bending rigidity for heavy weight (290 g/m2 and above) fabric groups (groups 1 and 6) and negatively affected tailorability due to low shear rigidity for fabrics other than these groups. Except for the group with low fabric weight, all groups were found to improve the appearance in both weft and warp directions. However, it was concluded that fabrics containing 7% or more elastane in the weft may have a seam puckering problem due to low formability in the warp direction. The effect of elastane on extensibility was found to be influenced by fabric density, elastane content and construction in addition to fabric weight. The low fabric density and weight caused excessive extensibility, resulting in very poor tailorability.