Fabric Finishing: A Comprehensive Guide

Mar

Fabric Finishing – An Overview

What Do We Mean By Fabric Finishing?

A range of mechanical and chemical procedures known as “fabric finishing” are used to knit and woven textiles. This is done to enhance their overall quality and essentially prepare them for sale.

You wouldn’t want to wear raw yarn-dyed woven cotton since it is coarse, has little movement, and doesn’t last very long. The threads are dyed before the cloth is woven.

There are numerous finishing techniques and procedures; we’ll list a few of them here. It is noteworthy that several processes significantly alter unprocessed woven or spun cloth to render it suitable for the textile industry.

Colour, texture—referred to as “hand feel” in the fashion industry—and, more recently, a fabric’s performance and attributes, such as its resistance to UV rays, antibacterial capabilities, and anti-static features, are all major areas of concern for fabric finishing services.

The Different Processes & Stages

The steps and procedures that a fabric must go through to be ready for the market are illustrated here with samples and explanations. The timeline may fluctuate depending on the mill and type of fabric.

Singeing:

It is a mechanical procedure that burns off stray fibre ends to produce a uniformly flat surface for cloth. Man-made fibres can melt and solidify in the heat, whereas cellulose materials like cotton or linen sign readily available.

Washing:

To permit weaving, the warp yarns are treated to remove oils, contaminants, lint, and sizing. This process is frequently referred to as “scouring” when it comes to natural textiles.

Desizing:

A chemical process that reduces the warp yarn’s “size” and improves woven fabrics’ absorbency, dyeability, and printability. To increase weaving production, an agent known as “size” is applied during the weaving stage. This agent must be removed because it functions as a resistance against dye and chemicals in the subsequent steps.

Bleaching:

It is a chemical technique used to get rid of the “natural” colour of fibres, which is typically a yellow tone (think of calico). Bleaching is frequently needed to make fibres more white or to get ready to apply colour.

Mercerising:

This chemical process improves a fabric’s gloss, smoothness, and capacity to absorb dyes and other substances. Mercerising can also be done at the yarn stage. Therefore, it is the stage before the fabric is woven into a cloth.

Drying:

Throughout the finishing process, textiles may be dried multiple times using heat or air to eliminate excess moisture and lessen dampness. Depending on the type of fabric. The actual process will vary, but it will always include specialised machinery and equipment under close supervision.

Stabilisation:

To accomplish a desired result, the fabric is physically subjected to strain, pressure, and/or heat. To minimise shrinkage and guarantee the ideal state for colouring and printing, it has been stabilised.

Enhancing The Feel Or Properties of Fabrics

Fabrics can be further finished to improve their feel or qualities. As there are many various finishes available, we’ll focus on two popular finishes. One for natural fabrics and one for synthetic ones.

Natural textiles, like cotton, are frequently given a mechanical finish known as peaching to give them a softer, more enticing hand feel. The fabric is softly sanded, frequently with the use of automated equipment equipped with rollers that are bristled with grit. With specific chemicals or laundry abrasion, the peaching finish can also occur.

Synthetic Fibres, such as Polyester. Various procedures, including exhaust, pad-dry-cure, coating, spray, and foam techniques, can be used to apply chemical treatments that provide the fabric with anti-microbial finishes. The materials can also be added straight into the fiber-spinning mix.

Conclusion

As this blog has undoubtedly shown, fabric finishing is a highly intricate process that requires numerous processing steps to convert raw fabric into the various fabric properties that we have all grown to enjoy. Pi Cottex wants you to take away from this an essential lesson about how important it is that we continue to use our understanding of fabric manufacturing techniques as we work towards a future of fashion that is more sustainable. This is another reason why upcycling and repurposing the textiles currently in use is so important. If a fabric has undergone many of the aforementioned processes to be viable for the fashion market, it should be used to the fullest extent possible. Which entails reusing it repeatedly until it reaches a point at which it is no longer sufficiently intact to be used. For more information contact the best knitted fabric manufacturers in India.