Durable Creasing of Wrinkle Resistant Cotton1

Abstract

Research is under way at the Southern Regional Research Laboratory to improve cotton by resin treatment to strengthen its competitive position with respect to other fibers. In preliminary stages of the work, garments were finished using improved formulations and improved methods of curing which yielded garments which are truly wash and wear in that they may be machine laundered, dried, and worn without ironing. Attention is now being concentrated on attempting to perfect a finish aimed particularly at men's "no muss" summer weight dress cotton suits and slacks, an 180 million square yard per year market of which cotton now holds only about 11%. In the phase of the work reported here, both fundamental and practical studies have been conducted on a "recuring" process, proposed by the National Cotton Council of America, in which cotton goods, already treated with resin and cured, are made into garments and aftercured by careful introduction of catalyst. The creases, pleats, cuffs, and so forth are then set by heat curing. Creases so introduced are not as durable to laundering as those which can be set in the fabric on an initial cure, but they compare favorably with those found in worsted wool garments. Two possible mechanisms for the recuring process are suggested and evidence in favor of each hypothesis is given. Results on the recuring of both laboratory and commercially resin-treated cotton fabrics are reported.