The Effect of Seaming on Cloth Shrinkage During Finishing Treatment of Denim Garments

Abstract

The principal purpose of this work is to study the dimensional stability of cloth upon seaming, particularly after finishing treatments. This study is carried out on denim blue jean fabrics with different structures which are transformed into pants. Various types of assembling are used, such as safety stitch, felled seam and lockstitch. The sewing operation is carried out with the same parameters: the stitch type, stitch density per centimeter, and sewing thread count and composition. The garment shrinkage is influenced by several parameters, such as the type of assembling and the industrial finishing treatment. The results show that the type of industrial seaming, resin treatment and special treatment as well as their succession has a significant effect on garment shrinkage. There is more shrinkage in the garment assembled with a flat-felled seam than that with a safety stitch. The difference can reach 57.8% if the garment is treated with mixed methods, such as washing and chemical special treatment. Moreover, the shrinkage measured on the waist or hem is less than that measured on the legs. Finally, the shrinkage due to the type of assembling in the warp direction is more than that in the weft direction.