Prediction of Finished Relaxed Dimensions of Cotton Knits— The Starfish Project

Abstract

Shrinkage of 20 different cotton knit fabrics was followed over ten cycles of relaxation using two methods of relaxation. The first method used a standard washing and tumble drying procedure, while the second used washing for only the first cycle; for the second and subsequent cycles, fabrics were merely wet out by rinsing before tumble drying. The two methods returned essentially the same shrinkage results within experimental error. Evidence was found for at least two separate underlying relaxation processes. In the length direction, the two processes are complementary, resulting in gradual progressive shrinkage. In the width direction, the two processes apparently worked in opposite senses, leading to greater uncertainty in the results and no marked trend in shrinkage over a number of cycles. The simplified rinse and tumble procedure has been adopted as the standard relaxation method for the Starfish project. At least five cycles seem to be necessary to approximate the fully relaxed state.