Influence of the sample dimension and yarn type on the washing relaxation process of knitted fabrics

While tailoring a garment or a technical textile, relaxation processes of a knitted fabric after production have to be taken into account. Such dimensional changes can occur during a long time of dry relaxation, during wet relaxation, or during washing relaxation, the latter having the strongest influence on a fabric. Besides fabric construction and yam material, the dimensions of a knitted fabric also strongly influence the relaxation process.This paper shows a detailed analysis of the first 50 washing cycles for different fabric dimensions and yam parameters, comparing conventional yams and a conductive yam used in sensory technologies. Stitch width in different locations in fabric samples were considered for analyzing the relaxation behavior.