HANS RAJ MAHILA

MAHA VIDYALAYA

COLLEGE, JALANDHAR

FABRIC FINISHES

BACHELOR OF DESIGN

TECHNICAL THEORY

:

Dr. (Mrs.) RAKHI MEHTA

(Head of Design Department )

What are we going to learn?

• Definition of fabric finishes
• Importance of fabric finishes
• Kinds of finishes based on different ways
• Classification of finishes
• Mechanical finishes
• Chemical finishes
• Special purpose finishes

Definition

In textile manufacturing, a finish is defined as the process that convert the woven or knitted cloth into a usable material and more specifically to any process performed on the fibre, yarn or fabric to improve the appearance, performance, suitability, durability or "hand" (feel) of the finish textile or clothing.

IMPORTANCE OF FINISHES

TO MAKE THE MATERIAL ATTRACTIVE

TO IMPROVE SUITABILITY AND UTILITY

TO PRODUCE VARIETY OF FABRICS

TO GIVE WEIGHT TO THE FABRICS

• To make the material attractive: When yarn and fabric come from the spinner, weaver or knitter they are solid or have strains. So they need cleaning and bleaching for finishing. Sometimes, finishes like, napping is given which removes the strains.

• To improve suitability and utility: There are some fabrics which are not suitable for dress draping because they are lifeless, limp and lack the quality of draping. They cannot keep the shape and style of the garment . Such fabrics need finshes to improve their utilisation power.

• To produce variety: To bring variety, either in the surface, finish like napping, beetling is given or dyeing or printing fabric in different colors and designs are done to produce more variety in fabrics.

• To give weight: Starch or gum is applied to increase the weight of the fabric. Example: weighted silk.

FINISHING MAY BE DONE IN THE MILL WHERE THE FABRIC IS MANUFACTURED OR IT MAY BE DONE AT SPECIAL CENTRES CALLED CONVERTERS.

KINDS OF FINISHING PROCESSES

On the basis of degree of permanence

On the basis of design and sales

On the basis of textile processing

• Finishes are classified as chemical and mechanical.
• Chemical finishes are those in which chemical reactions by the treatment of alkalies acids, bleaches, starches and resins produce a permanent change in the fibre. These are refered to as wet finishes.
• Mechanical finishes cause a physical change only. These are done by copper plates, rollers, brushes and cylinders. These are known as dry finishes.

• Finishes are classified as permanent, durable, semi durable and temporary.
• A permanent finish generally involves a chemical process that changes the fibre structure. So that it will not change subsequently.
• A durable finish may last throughout the life of fabric but its effectiveness diminishes.
• A semi- durable finish will last through several launderings.
• A temporary finish will be removed or reduced when the fabric is laundered .

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• Designs and sales personnal classify the finishes as aesthetic and functions .
• The aesthetic finishes affect the appearance of the fabric.
• The functional ones improve the performance for specific purposes. For example, Crease resistant and water repellent finishes fall under this category.

CLASSIFICATION OF FINISHES

Mechanical Finishes

Mechanical finishes involves the application of physical principles such as friction, temperature, pressure, tension, moisture and heat and many others. These are also known as physical finishes. In mechanical finishes’ process, many machines and mechanical equipments are used for giving finishes to the fabrics.

BEETLING

This process imparts lustre, softness, fineness and leathery feel of the fabric. Originally beetling was done by beating surface of cloth with wooden hammers. But now these are replaced with steel hammers. The cloth revolves around over a huge wooden drum and is pounded with wooden or steel hammers. This pounding might be continued for a period of 30 to 60 hours. It flattens the yarn and makes the weave appear to be less open than it really is. The increased surface area gives more lustre and absorbency. It also smoothens the fabric. Beetling finish is given to cottons and linens. After beetling, cotton looks like linen.

• https://youtu.be/t3ehFglQ3ic

Brushing and Shearing

• Brushing is given to remove all small fibres sticking on the surface of the cloth while the whole process of weaving, knitting or spining. In this process, material is passed through the roller brushes and the material from both sides is cleaned.
• Shearing is done to smoothen the surface as well as to even the pile of the fabric. For giving a carved effect, designs and ground can be cut upto different lengths and depths. The shearing device has revolving blades similar to lawn rollers . The fabric ia automatically finshed in order to remove the sheared ends of the yarns. This can be applied to any fabric.
• https://youtu.be/3H-14jYNThc

CALENDERING

A simple device which simulates the effects of calendaring is the domestic iron. Hot ironing makes garment smooth flat by removing its crinkles and creases. Besides making the fabrics free from creases by calendaring.

• It is possible to raise the luster of the fabric, make it compact by closing the threads, impart a soft feel and ‘thready’ or linen like appearance to it.
• It reduces the yarn slippage as well as thickness of the fabric by varying the calendaring operation.
• The need of calendaring arises mainly because the fabric when it is wet processed and dried, is in the least lustrous state and its surface is not smooth because of presence of highly crimped and wavy threads. To meet this need the fabric is passed between the rollers or bawls of a machine termed ‘Calender’ and this mechanical process is called calendering.
• https://youtu.be/X07XXMllnhc

TENTERING

• The tentering process helps in straightening out the edges and the weaves of the fabric and makes it even in the width. For this purpose, tenter frame is employed. Pins or clips grip the fabric automatically from bith the selvedges as the fabric is fed to the tenter frame.
• The distance between the two discs of the frame can be adjusted to the appropriate width of the fabric. Creases and wrinkles are pulled out and the weaves are made staight as the fabric moves along the frame. The drying is done by machines, which either radiate heat from steam pipes or below hot air through the fabric.
• https://youtu.be/qeQ6mSjSC-E

Glazing

• https://youtu.be/h3-k_9wEHNg

• Glazing imparts a smooth, stiff, highly polished surface to such fabrics as chintz. It is achieved by applying such stiffeners as starch, glue, shellac, or resin to the fabric and then passing it through smooth, hot rollers that generate friction.
• Resins are now widely employed to impart permanent glaze. Ciré (from the French word for waxed) is a similar process applied to rayons and silks by the application of wax followed by hot calendering, producing a metallic high gloss.
• Ciré finishes can be achieved without a sizing substance in acetates, which are thermoplastic (e.g., can be softened by heat), by the application of heat.
• Polishing, used to impart sheen to cottons without making them as stiff as glazed types, is usually achieved by mercerizing the fabric and then passing it through friction rollers

NAPPING

• Napping is a raised surface on a textile that is a result of brushing loose staple fibers out of the fabric structure. It may also refer to the surface texture on pile-weave fabrics. The nap makes the fabric feel softer and traps air that serves as insulation.
• The nap is typically brushed in one direction on fabrics such as corduroy, velvet, velveteen, and flannel. Light reflects off the surface of the fabric according to the direction of the nap and produces unique aesthetic qualities on pile-weave fabrics.
• This aspect is important in garment construction, because if the garment pattern pieces are not laid out correctly, the end product will appear to be constructed out of fabrics of different colors.

• https://youtu.be/gX5t1YN_Nu4

Sanforizing

• Sanforizing is one of the process to produce unshrinkable fabrics in which the stretched threads in the fabric are reconstructed without impairing their finish. This process has enabled the manufacturers to gaurantee that the finished product will not get shrink or stretched after washing.
• Briefly, in this process the letgh contraction is brought about by passing the puckered cloth between the blanket and the surface of a steam heated smooth metal cylinder. As the fabric passes around this cylinder, it is set and smoothened in its cosed up stage and the fabric becomes unshrinkable.

• https://youtu.be/b9qPccCaOXU

SPECIAL PURPOSE FINISHES

Special purpose finishes are also known as functional finishes, that are applied to the fabric to enhance the performance in a specific area. These finishes are added to the product cost. Their impact or performance may be difficult for consumers to recognize and the effects of some finishes may be invisible or beyond consumer’s recognizition or perception, especially at the time of purchase.

Fume fading resistant finishes are used on dye-fiber combinations that are suspectible to fading when exposed to atmospheric fumes or pollutant.�The most common problem is with acetate dyed with disperse dyes. Of course, this problem disappears in which mass pigmentation is not economical, fume-fading resistant finishes of tertiary amines and borax are used. �The finish is also known as antifume fading finish and atmospheric fading protective finish. They are used primarily for furnishing fabrics, especially draperies.

Fume Fading Finish

Biological Control Finish

• Moth and carpet beetles damage protein fibres such as wool. In addition, insects may damage other fibres if soil is present. More than 100 species of insects and spiders, including silverfish, crickets and cockroaches have been known to damage textiles.
• In most cases, an insect infestation problem develops when there is soil as a food source and under proper environmental conditions. Manufactured fibres are not immune, but natural fibres are most likely to get damaged by insects.
• Insects and moth control finishes are also known as fumigants, insecticides, insect repellent finishes and other terms that imply resistance to a specific insect pest such as silverfish or moth.

ANTI-SLIP FINISHES

• Anti-slip finishes are used on low-count, smooth surfaced fabrics. When fabrics are treated with resins, stretched and dyes under tension, the yarns are bonded at their interlacing points. Anti- slip finishes reduce seam slippage and fraying.
• Seam slippage occurs when the yarns near the seam, slide away from the stitching line. Thus, in the area next to the seam, only one set of yarns is seen. Slippage is especially noticeable where warp and filing yarns differ in color. Areas that have experienced seam slippage have poor abrassion and an unacceptable appearance. In some cases, seams can ravel completely. Anti- slip finishes are also called slip-resistant or nonslip finishes. The most effective and durable finishes are resins of urea or melamine formal dehyde.

Anti-static finishes

• The tendency to accumulate static charge can be decreased by increasing the fabric conductivity and / or reducing the frictional forces by applying suitable lubricating agents. The hygroscopic finishes can be used to increase the fabric conductivity. Some examples of non-durable antistatic finishes include polyethylene glycol and polyethylene oxide compounds.

Antistatic finish is used for the removal in synthetic fibers of the unwanted effects of electrostatic charge produced during production and wear of fabrics and knits. Electrostatic charge causes an undesirable adhesive power and a resultant shabbiness. It is applied by means of an anti-static chemical treatment, the effect of which may be temporary or permanent.

PILLING- RESISTANT FINISH:

• Piling resistant finish maximize the possibility that tiny ball of fiber bits will accumulate on a fabrics surface.
• Fabrics are exposed to short- waveling ultraviolet radiation and then immersed in a mild oxidation solution surface fiber ends are thus weakened and much less likely to form pills.
• In this experimental finish, siroflash is used on wool and cotton blends.

CHEMICAL FINISHES

Chemical finishing can be defined as the use of chemicals to achieve a desired fabric property. Chemical finishing, also referred to as 'wet' finishing, includes processes that change the chemical composition of the fabrics that they are applied to.

Chemical finishes are usually applied to fabric by petting, followed by drying or curing. Involves passing fabrics through in an aqueous bath containing a finish chemicals. Wet finishing usually consists of a pad-dry-cure sequence.

MERCERIZING

• In this process cotton fabrics are exposed to strong alkali solution under specific conditions whuch provides silky lustre, increased strength and beautiful sheen to the cloth.
• It also increases the affinity of the cloth For dyes and coloring materials. The mercerization consists of holding the fabric with 18-20% caustic soda solution fir 1-2mm at room temperature followed by stretching of the cloth, thereafter the caustic soda is washed out and excess alkali neutralizes with dilute acids while the cloth is still under tension.
• This produces a permanent change in the structure of cotton fibres and provides stability to their weaves.
• Sometimes fancy and decorative effects like ‘Puckered’ effects are produced by treating certain areas of cotton while others are left untreated. The treated areas shrink, causing the untreated areas to pucker.
• https://youtu.be/ZAkbha40730

Crease Resistant Finish

• This is also referred to as wrinkle resistant finish and is given to prevent deformation of the fabric by undesirable and intentionally introduced folds.
• The crease resistance is largely decided by the construction and the fibre content of the fabrics but this is also achieved by the specific finishes which keeps the fabric flat and strong.
• Such finishes play significant roles in crease recovery of the fabric and are mostly given to cotton, linen and rayons having low resiliency than the problem of thermoplastic fibres.
• In this process finishing is obtained by use of different types of resins.
• https://youtu.be/axBzkYwDazA

Water proof finish

• Waterproof finish is commonly used in the world of fashionand textile . It is a finish which make fabric waterproof and no water can penetrate into the fabrics.
• To make fabrics waterproof these are coated with pyroxylin. This make fabric resistant to water and impervious to air. But this has been supplemented by the use of direct resins.
• Resins drived from polymerization of vinyl acetate are made soluble in certain solvents and spread over the fabric and then kept at high temperature.
• Waterprrof fabrics are cheapr to produce. It is a permanent finish.
• https://youtu.be/rcZwa_ah7h4

WATER REPELLENT

• A water repellent fabric is resistant to wetting but if water comes with enough force It will penetrate the fabric. Water repelling is dependant on surface tension and fabric penetrability.
• To make the fabric water repellent, wax emulsion, metallic soaps and other surface active agents are used.
• Wax emulsions and metallic soap do not give permanent finish which is easily removed during washing.
• Surface active agents give a permanent finish which can withstand several, laundering and dry cleanings without losing its wayer repellent property. It also depends upon the construction of weave.
• Closer the weave, greater the resistance to water penetration. This finish is applied on poplin, rayon and cotton.

THANK YOU