CREPING PROCESS UTILIZING LOW TEMPERATURE-CURING ADHESIVE

A method of increasing the wet strength of a creped sheet, which method involves providing a sheet (36) which includes cellulosic fibers, which sheet has a first side and a second side; applying (50) a low temperature-curing latex adhesive binder composition (58 ) to the first side of the sheet (36) in a fine, spaced-apart pattern occupying from about 20 to about 50 percent of the surface area of the sheet; adhering the first side of the sheet (36) to a creping surface; and creping the sheet from the creping surface. The binder composition (58) is adapted t o adhere the sheet to the creping surface (60) and includes a functional group-containing latex, a functional group-reactive crosslinking agent, and a volatile base. in addition, the creping surface (60) is heated at a temperature no greater than about 100.degree.C. The low temperature-curing latex adhesive binder composition (58) is adapted to have cured to a level, by the time the sheet is remove from the creping surface, which imparts to the creped sheet a cross-direction wet tensile strength which is at least about 50 percent that of an identical creped sheet which has bee n heated at about 150 .degree.C for three minutes, in which the cross-direction wet tensile is tested in accordance with TAPPI TM Test Methods T494om-88 and T456om-87.In addition, the cross-direction wet tensile strength of the creped sheet is at least about 40 grams per centimeter.