Impact of Pre-Finishing Process on Comfort Characteristics of Stretchable Cotton Fabric

The comfort characteristics of fabrics (especially thermal insulation and permeability properties) are closely associated with the changes in their structural parameters. The reaction of a stretchable fabric, either after the finishing process or after a mechanical deformation, is higher than the reaction of conventional fabrics. The reaction after the finishing process is usually expressed in terms of density, thickness or mass increase, and in dimensional changes. The structural changes influence thermal insulation and water vapor permeability properties, which are the most important properties associated with the comfort of textiles. This paper focuses on the impact of the pre-finishing process on the comfort characteristics of pure cotton fabrics and of cotton fabrics with elastane in the weft direction in plain and twill weave. The results indicate that after the pre-finishing process (scouring/bleaching) for the analyzed fabrics, water vapor resistance and thermal resistance decrease. These decreases occur due to the structural changes inside the fabrics (warp yarn density and mass increase, whereas thickness decreases).