Seam pucker indicators and their dependence upon the parameters of a sewing machine

Purpose - The paper aims to establish and introduce seam pucker assessment indicators and their dependence upon the fabric characteristics and parameters of a sewing machine.Design methodology approach - Seams pucker defect is specific to garment from lightweight fabrics, therefore the investigation was performed with this kind of fabrics. The structure and friction properties of fabrics were determined. The influence of rotational frequency of the main shaft (varied from 200 till 2,300 min−1) and pressing force (from 25 till 85 N) on seam pucker was analysed. The seam pucker was evaluated by characteristic of sharpness calculated as ratio of pucker height and length.Findings - Analysis of the obtained results allows stating that pucker sharpness increases with growing rotational frequency of the main shaft and decreases, increasing pressing force. On the basis of correlation analysis, the relationship between proposed new indicator of seam pucker evaluation and parameters of sewing machine was sought. The obtained result demonstrates that in most cases the relative pucker coefficient is dependent upon rotational frequency of the main shaft: increasing rotational frequency also leads to higher pucker coefficient. The linear relationship between the pucker coefficient and pressing force was not observed.Practical implications - This investigation has practical implications in the clothing and other nearly related industries. In the paper, results involved with evaluation of seam pucker are presented.Originality value - The research showed that in order to define seam pucker more comprehensive, it is necessary to evaluate not only ratio of pucker height and length, but also the quantity of puckers as well as their propagation. Considering to this, the new criterion for seam pucker evaluation was proposed.