Woven Fabric Analysis

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Woven Fabric Analysis

• Dr. Jimmy Lam
• Institute of Textiles Clothing

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What you can find from a woven fabric

• Believe it or not, you can find at least ten
  items from a piece of fabric.
• What are they?

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Information from a woven fabric

• Weave (structure)
• Order of coloring in warp and weft (if
  applicable)
• Sett ends (warp) and picks (weft) per cm
• Yarn particulars
• Counts (tex)
• Twist per cm
• S or Z twist
• Single or fold yarn

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Information from a woven fabric (2)

1. Crimp in warp and weft
2. Width of warp in reed
3. Warp length for a given finished fabric length
   (m)
4. Weight of fabric per unit area (gm/sq. m)
5. Type of material for both warp and weft
6. Type of finishing applied
7. Other factors tensile strength, resistance to
   abrasion, drape, shower resistance, color fastness

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Items Units
Weave, drawing-in and lifting plan -
Fabric width Cm
Warp density Ends/cm
Weft density Picks/cm
Warping (Colour pattern) -
Wefting (Colour pattern) -
Warp crimp
Weft crimp
Warp count material Tex
Weft count material Tex
Fabric weight Gm/sq. m
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Face and back of woven fabric

• In defining which is the face or back of woven
  fabric, it is mainly accorded to type of
  material, yarn count, arranging of yarn, dyeing
  and printing, weave pattern, finishing effect.
  Typical for fabric surface are
• Smoother
• Soft handle
• The face with solid jacquard pattern, pattern
  weave or printed weave
• It is always with higher warp float proportion of
  fabric
• Fabric with special effects, the effects usually
  appears on the face.

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Distinguish of warp and weft (1)
Warp Weft
With reed mark No reed mark
End spacing is more uniform Pick spacing is more irregular
Higher tension Lower tension
Parallel to selvedge -
Higher sett (ends/cm) Lower sett (picks/cm)
Higher strength Lower strength than warp
If folded yarn is used, warp is always with fold yarn Weft is single yarn
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Distinguish of warp and weft (2)
Warp Weft
If both are with same yarn, warp is finer, higher twist, with longer staple yarn Weft is coarser, lower in twist, shorter in staple
Usually sized No sizing
Warp is Z twist Weft is S twist
Usually lower crimp Higher crimp
For stripes of fancy yarn, introduced in warp -
For leno (selvedge), threads are warp -
For cotton twill, twill run up from left to right when warp is vertical -
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Finding crimp and yarn count

• Crimp(extended length) (sample length)
  x100 (sample length)
• For yarn count, it is determined through the
  weight of specific length and then calculate the
  count.
• Yarn count (tex) yarn weight (gm) per 1000
  meter.

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Yarn count (tex)Calculation

• Total length no. of yarn sample x length of each
  sample
• Weight of these samplesby directed weight and
  unit in gm.
• Weight of 1 km in length by calculation in gm
• Yarn count weight in 1 km in length and unit in
  tex
• Example
• No of yarn sample taken12
• Length of each yarn sample6 cm
• Total yarn length(12x6)100 m 0.72m
• Weight of these samples 0.060gm
• Weight of 1 km in length(1000 x 0.06)0.72
  83.3gm
• Therefore, yarn count 83.3 tex

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Fabric WeightCalculation

• This is done by calculation of fabric size 1 m x
  1 m.
• The formula for warp weight
• Warp weight (gm/sq m.) ends/cm x 100 x tex x
  (1warp crimp) 1000
• The formula for weft weight
• Weft weight (gm/sq m.) picks/cm x 100 x tex x
  (1weft crimp) 1000
• Fabric Weight (gm/sq. m) warp weight weft
  weight

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Fabric weight classification
Weight Range Typical examples
Sheer 0-50 g/m2 (0-1/2 oz/yd2) Lingerie, womens hosiery, sheer cutrains
Light 50-150 g/m2 (1-4 1/2 oz/yd2) Top weight, shirts, blouses, dresses, linings
Medium 150-300 g/m2 (4 1/2 9 oz/yd2) Bottom weight, shirts, suits, sports denim, terry towels
Medium-Heavy 300-600 g/m2 (9-18 oz/yd2) Bull denim, workwear, best terry towels, overcoats
Heavy 600 g/m2 (18 oz/yd2) and up Winter coats, upholstery, mats, carpets
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Satin Sateen Weaves

• In these weaves, the warp faced ones are termed
  as satin and those of weft faced are termed as
  sateen weave.
• For either one, the interlacing points of two
  adjacent threads are so arranged that each only
  has one interlacing point and then floats across
  the width of the repeat.
• The results with a maximum degree of lustre and
  smoothness of no prominent weave features.
• Also, such arrangement of interlacing points of
  threads with each other lets them with much
  freedom, and therefore, more close packing of
  threads is possible

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Sateen of repeat number of 8
Which moves number is not possible, why?
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Sateen Weave

• For M1 and 7, weaves of opposite twill lines are
  formed
• For M2,4, and 6, some threads are without any
  interlacing points
• For M3 and 5, regular sateen weaves, with the
  above mentioned features are formed.

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Rules for the Move Number of Sateen Weave

• Some rules should be followed in the construction
  of regular satin or sateen weaves
• The selected move number should not be either one
  or one less than repeat number of weave or with
  a common factor of the repeat number

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Examples of Sateen Move Number
Repeat No Move no. excluded Possible move no.
5 1,4 2,3
6 1,2,3,4,5 None
7 1,6 2,3,4,5
8 1,2,4,6,7 3,5
9 1,3,6,8 2,4,5,7
10 1,2,4,5,6,8,9 3,7
11 1,10 2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9
15 1,3,5,6,9,10,12,14 2,4,8,11,13
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Sateen Repeat NumberPossible Move Number
Repeat 5, Possible M2 and3
Repeat 7, Possible move M2,3,4 or 5
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Sateen Repeat NumberPossible Move Number
Repeat9, M2, 4 or 5
Repeat10, M3 or 7
Repeat11, M3 or 7
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Irregular Satin Sateen
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Discussion

• What information you can have from a piece of
  woven fabric?
• Discuss the sateen weave and the rules for sateen
  movement?