Ever wonder how fabric becomes waterproof?

Or why flannel feels so soft? It's because

of fabric finishing and treatments. After many
fabrics are woven, they are taken through
physical and chemical processes to add
certain qualities. For example, they may be
treated to make them softer, water resistant,
or to enhance dye penetration.

Fabric finishing is the general term

for this process. Immediately after
fabric is manufactured, it's raw and
harsh and not yet ready to be made
into fabric goods. At this stage, the
cloth is sometimes called grey
goods and it needs further
refinement. This is where fabric
finishing processes become
important. Generally, the finishing
process includes three basic stages:
washing and drying, stabilizing, and
pressing. In addition, some fabrics Fabric Finishing
are then treated to make them anti-
microbic, water repellent, or flame
retardant
 inished Fabric Inspection: the final product should pass against
ertain norms before the buyer buys it or before it goes for dyeing..
The following test are Done:-

Light fastness
Washing fastness
Perspiration fastness
Rubbing fastness
Heat (sublimation) fastness
Blue wool standard
Grey scale
Flammability
Crease recovery
Water,oil,stain repellent
Anti microbial test
UPF calculation test Textile Laboratory Testing
 FASTNESS TO LIGHT
Light fastness is the degree to which a
colorant resists fading due to light
exposure. Different dyes have different
degrees of resistance to fading by
light.All colourants have some
susceptibility to light damage, simply
because their colors are indications that
they absorb the wavelengths that they
do not reflect.

Watercooled
lightfastness machine

A specimen of textile is exposed to artificial

light source under specified conditions
together with dyed blue standards having
known fading characteristics. The fastness is
evaluated by comparison of the colour Example of fabric with poor
change of the specimen with that of the colour fastness to light
standards under standard viewing
 Washing Fastness Test
The resistance of a material to change in any of
its color characteristics, when subjected to
washing is called fastness to washing.

Fastness to Washing:
In the test, change in color of the textile and
also staining of color on the adjacent fabric are
assessed. A 10 x 4 cm swatch of the coloured
fabric is taken and is sandwiched between two
adjacent fabric and stitched, The sample and
the adjacent fabric are washed together. Five
different types of washing are specified as
different washing methods.
Washing fastness testing by Gyrowash

The solution for washing should be prepared to the required

temperature of washing. The liquor material ratio is 50:1 .
After soaping treatment, remove the specimen, rinse twice in
cold water and then in running cold water under a tap.
Squeeze it and air dry at a temperature not exceeding 60°C.
The change in color and staining is evaluated with the help of
grey scales.
Fastness To Rubbing
Rubbing Fastness Measurement Procedure:
This test is designed to determine It is a step by step method to measure the
the degree of color which may be rubbing fastness properties. Rubbing fastness
of the material is done in dry and wet form
transferred from the surface of a
like the following way.
colored fabric to a specify test  White test cloth is put on to the grating
cloth for rubbing.. and stag by steel wire.
It depends on:  The sample is run twenty times manually
Nature of the Color  for ten seconds. And the rubbing fastness
Depth of the Shade  of the sample cloth and degree of
staining is accessed.
 For rubbing fastness (Wet), the rubbing
cloth is placed in the water and socked
and squeeze. The wet rubbing cloth is
placed on to the grating and stag with
stainless steel wire and run ten times
manually then assesses the attaining on
to the rubbing cloth and the rubbing.
fastness of the sample cloth is accessed.
 Finally, Change of shade of the sample is
measured with grey scale and degree of
staining of the white test cloth is
measured by Staining Scale.
 Fastness to Perspiration Perspirometer

The garments which come into contact with

the body where perspiration is heavy may
suffer serious local discoloration. This test is
intended to determine the resistance of color
of dyed textile to the action of acidic and
alkaline Perspiration.

Working Procedure :
Thoroughly wet one composite sample in a solution of PH8.0 at the liquor
ratio of 20:1.
Allow it to remain in this solution at room temperature for 30min. pour off
the solution and place the composite sample between two glasses plates
measuring about 7.5×6.5cm under a force of about 4.5kg. 
Treat the other sample in the same way but with the solution at PH 5.5.
Place the apparatus containing the samples in the oven for 4 hour at
37±2C˚
Separate the sample from the white cloth and dry them apart in air at the
temperature not exceeding 60C˚.
Assess the change in colour of the specimen and the staining of the white
cloth with the greigh scale. 
 Heat color fastness refers to the ability to
HEAT FASTNESS. keep original color of dyed fabrics under
conditions of different heat. Heat color
fastness test can be done in dry, tide, wet
environment, which depends on the use
of textiles. The machine using in heat
color fastness test is Ironing Sublimation
Color Fastness Tester. When testing,
dyed sample pasting with one or two
prescribed adjacent fabric contact closely
with heating device, heated in a certain
Determination of color fastness Against Hot Pressing time under specified temperature and
pressure.
Dry pressing means dry sample is pressed in heating device with prescribed
temperature and pressure in a certain time; tide pressing means dry sample is
pressed in heating device with prescribed temperature and pressure in a certain
time after it is covered by a wet cotton adjacent fabric; wet pressing means wet
sample is pressed in heating device with prescribed temperature and pressure in a
certain time after it is covered by a wet cotton adjacent fabric. Discoloration of
sample and staining of adjacent fabric are measured by gray cards..
CREASE RECOVERY
Crease recovery is a measure of creases resistance,
specified quantitatively in terms of crease recovery
angle. To measure this, the popular instrument is Shirley
crease recovery tester. The instrument consists of a
circular dial which carries the clamp for holding the
specimen. Directly under the centre of the dial there is a
knife edge and an index line for measuring the recovery
angle. Crease recovery is determined depending upon
this recovery angle. If the angle is 0o then recovery is
zero and if the angle is 180o then recovery is full. Crease
recovery depends on the construction, twist of yarn,
pressure, time etc. Usually crease recovery is more in
warp way than in weft way. This is because warp yarns
are well in quality, strength, treated with sizing kept in
more tension during weaving etc.
Procedure:
The specimen is cut by template and carefully creased by folding in half.
The crease is imparted on fabric by placing it between two glass plates and adding to 500gm
weight on it.
After 1 min the weight is removed and the creased fabric  is clamped on the instrument.
Then it is allowed to recover from the crease. The recovery time may vary to suit particular
creases.
 Usually it is 1 min.
When crease recovers the dial of the instrument is rotated to keep the free edge of the specimen
inline with the knife edge.
The recovery angle is read from the engraved scale.
In this way 10 tests are done in warp way and 10 for weft way.
 ANTI MICROBIAL TEST

Antimicrobial agents are added to

textiles to provide protection
against microorganisms.
Antimicrobial incorporated textiles
prevent infections by harmful microorganism.
Antibacterial Test with E. coli and S. aureus

Antimicrobial agents are useful textile additives and have become more
and more common in today's products. They provide textiles with
remarkable resistance to odors caused by microorganisms, often without
detracting from the appearance or feel of the fabric. With the social rise of
more active lifestyles, the demand for fabrics with this specific
technonology has become greater than ever. Not only is this key in the
sports and commercial world, but even more important in the medical
world. Some powerful antimicrobial textiles may prevent infections by
killing contaminants of public health concern, such as MRSA, should
they be deposited on the fabric. The AATCC 100 test method is the most
commonly chosen test and has become the industry standard for
antimicrobial fabric performance in the United States.
SUMMARY OF THE AATCC 100 TEST METHOD
The test microorganism is grown in liquid culture.
The concentration of the test microorganism is standardized.
The microbial culture is diluted in a sterile nutritive solution.
Control and test fabric swatches are inoculated with microorganisms.
The inoculation is performed such that the microbial suspension touches
only the fabric (see original method for details).
Bacteria levels on both control and test fabrics are determined
at "time zero" by elution in a large volume of neutralizing broth,
followed by dilution and plating.
A control is run to verify that the
neutralization/elution method effectively
neutralizes the antimicrobial
agent in the fabric.
Additional inoculated control and test
fabrics are allowed to incubate,
undisturbed in sealed jars, for 24 hours.
After incubation, microbial concentrations
are determined.
Reduction of microorganisms relative
to initial concentrations and the control
fabric is calculated.
Water Repellent Finishes:
The easy wetting of textiles is very important for its processing as well as in a large number of its end
uses. Higher repellency or poor wetting with water and oil as well as resistance to staining are
essential for various end uses in clothing, home and technical textiles .The textile materials are modified
to have a wide range of resistance to fit the varying demands of the users for the intended purpose.
The oldest repellent finish meant repellency to water. The purpose of this finish is that the drops of
water should not spread on the surface of the textile and should not wet the fabric.

The main parameters that determine the resistance of a

fabric to wetting are:
•The chemical nature of the fibre surfaces (for example,
presence of polar or non-polar groups);
•The geometry and roughness of the fibre surfaces (for
example, longitudinal striations, fissures, crenulations
and so on, and modified cross-sections that promote
wicking);
•The nature of the capillary spacings in the fabric (for
example, inter-fibre and inter-yarn capillary spaces).

Oil and Water Repellency Test Method:

There are three main types of test methods available for assessing the water repellency of the
specimen,
which should be suitably preconditioned prior to testing under standardized conditions:
•Class I spray tests for assessing rain impact
•Class II hydrostatic pressure tests, which measure water penetration
•Class III sorption of water due to immersion of specimen in water
Class I: Spray tests to simulate exposure to rain:
In the AATCC Test Method 22, Water-Repellency: Spray Test, water is showered on the fabric specimen,
which has been preconditioned for 4 h prior to testing, producing a wetted pattern. A rating will be given
by comparison of the wetted pattern to standard chart pictures.
The sample fabric is mounted on the embroidery hoop and fixed on the
instrument at 45o.
•Now the beaker is filled with 250 cc water and poured on the funnel.
•The water is showered through spray nozzle on the fabric.
•After spraying has finished the sample holder is removed and the surplus
water removed by tapping the frame 6 times against a solid object,
with the face of the sample facing the solid object.
•The water repellency is assessed from the spray rating chart.
•Spray tests should be made and the nearest rating assigned to each,
since no interpolation is allowed, i.e. a rating for a specimen cannot be 75.
•The mean of the 5 ratings is taken as the result. 
This is a rapid, simple method, which is technically equivalent to ISO 4920 and BS EN 24920.

The AATCC Test Method 35, Water Resistance: Rain Test assesses fabric
performance when it is sprayed with rain water as well as the pressure due to
the rain’s impact. This test is applicable to all type of fabrics whether treated
with a water repellent chemical or not. The test specimen is conditioned at a
relative humidity of 65% ± 2% and a temperature of 21°C ± 1°C for at least 4 h.
The specimen is placed on a weighed blotter and water is showered on it when it
is placed in the rain tester for 5 min. In this test method, rain impact can be
varied by changing the height of the water from 60 to 240 cm. At the end, the
blotter will be weighed again to assess the quantity of water that has leaked
through the fabric. The fabric performance is assessed by various parameters by
determining the maximum pressure where no penetration is observed, the effect
of a change in pressure on fabric penetration, and the least pressure required for
penetration of 5 g of water onto the tested specimen.
UPF (Ultraviolet Protection Factor)

It is used to indicate the UV shielding performance of

sun protection for fabric products. The UPF value
represents the ratio of time for sunburn by UV
radiation with and without the protection of the fabric
material or product. For example, if skin is irradiated V-750 UV-
by ultraviolet light in 10 minutes without protection, it Visible
takes 500 minutes to obtain the equivalent  amount of Spectrophotometer
sunburn using the cloth product (50 UPF x 10 min).

The UPF can be calculated using the

following equation:
where E(λ) is the CIE reference erythema dose
spectrum, S(λ) is the radiation intensity distribution of
sunlight, and T(λ) is the diffuse transmittance spectrum
(%).
To calculate the UPF rating, the transmittance
spectrum at more than four different wavelengths is
measured for the sample
where t  is the value which provides 0.5% of the border value of
k,a

probability of one side in the t distribution, a is the probability of one side

(0.005), and k is the degree of freedom (n-1). If the UPF rating is smaller than
the minimum of each UPF, the calculated value is rounded down by 5. If the
UPF rating is more than 50, the UPF rating is defined at 50+.
UVA transmittance is calculated by the
equation below using the average
transmittance
from 315 to 410 nm:

UVB transmittance is calculated by the

equation below
using the average transmittance from
290 to 315 nm:
The UPF Measurement program can objectively compare the performance of the
ultraviolet shielding as a result of the numerical calculation of the UV shielding
perform of the fabric products. Aside from the AS/NZS 4399:2016 standard, the
following standards are also included: BS EN 13758-1:2002, AATCC Test Method
183:2010, and GBT18830:2009.

Transmittance spectrum of the t-shirt (red),

sports shirt (blue), and arm cover (green). Fluorescence spectra of t-shirt.
  Grey Scale for Change in Colour
Grey Scale for color change indicates
the amount of fading or color alteration
with environmental exposure or
washing and grey scale for staining
indicates the amount of staining of
adjacent materials that occurs with
washing of a specimen.

The loss of color using the grey change scale is

evaluated by comparison to five pairs of grey
standards. One half of each standard is always of
identical chroma to the starting specimen.The
second half ranges from the starting chroma(no
loss of color) to white(loss of all color).The amount
of contrast between the treated and untreated
fabric is related to one of the standard pairs to
yield the grey scale rating.On this scale,5 indicated
the next to no color was lost,and 1 indicates that
most color was lost.
  Blue Wool Standard for Change in Colour
By using the Blue Wool Standards it is possible
to estimate the lightfastness of a dyed fabric
or paint.It can give us a very good idea of how
much exposure to light the material will stand
in any situation. The blue wool standards have
been adopted since as ISO(International
Organisation for Standardisation)
Recommendation R105 and British Standards
BS1006(1961),so that sample cards are readily
Bluewoolstandards– available.
ISO105B02 test.
Each card contains 8 specially prepared blue dyeings on wool.
They are so chosen that standard number 2 takes roughly twice a long to
be perceptibly faded as standard 1,standard 3 roughly twice as long as
standard 2,abd so on through the standard 8.
To rate the lighgtfastness of our material we expose it together with a card
of Blue Wool Standards and from time to time check both our material and
the standards for first sign of fading.
Process gets easy if one half of each patch of color is covered with an
opaque card throughout the test.
FLAMMABILITY
Flammability Flameproof
fabrics are absolutely
necessary for protective
clothing in many industrial
processes where chances of
inflammable fabrics being
ignited are high. In
domestic sphere many
serious and tragic accidents
are the results of clothing
catching fire.
A flammable fabric is one which propagates flame, i.e.
It continues to burn after the igniting flame has been removed.
Flameproof: A flame proof fabric is one which doesn’t propagate
flame, i.e. any flame goes out quickly when the igniting flame is
with-drawn.
 Factors Affecting Flame Resistance
Flame resistance rating: The time in
seconds necessary for the propagation of
flame in a vertical strip of 100 inch.

Flame resistant: A flame resistant fabric

is one whose flame resistance rating is
high, i.e. above 150. Some definition and
terms relating flammability
Inherently flame proof material: A
material that has not been subjected to
any flameproof processing's yet it has the
flame-proofing ability.
Durably flame-proof material: The
ability of a flameproof material to retain
its flame proof quality even after being
Nylons and Terylene(polyester), submitted to washing treatments.
both are thermoplastic fibres, shrink
Fibre content: The flame resistance of a
from the flame and tend no to ignite.
Although some stiffening treatments fabric is partly dependent on the fibre
and certain dyes can may result in from which it is made. Cellulosic like as
the ignition of nylon and terylene. cotton, flax, viscose rayon give fabrics of
low flame resistance. Wool fabrics are
difficult to ignite.
 LOI(Limiting Oxygen Index)
It is the minimum concentration of oxygen,
expressed as a percentage, that will
support combustion of a polymer/fabric.
It is measured by passing a mixture
of oxygen and nitrogen over a burning
specimen, and reducing the oxygen level
until a critical level is reached.
The advanced LOI Limiting Oxygen
Index Chamber accurately determines the
relative flammability of plastics and other
materials.

LOI = (O2/ O2+ N2 ) * 100

Vertical flammability test

Measureable Parameters
 Occuring of flashing
 After flame (s)
 After glow (s)
 Char length (mm)
 45° Flammability test
Fabric should be 150 mm* 40mm
•Burner position should be perpendicular to the
fabric
•Gap between the upper surface of the burner
and the fabric should be 8mm
•Flame height 16mm
•Contact of the flame 1 s
Weighed cotton thread is attached 127mm
above the point of ignition Measureable
parameter: Time (s) to burnt 127mm in warp and weft
way

Horizontal flammability test

Sample size for clamping should be 5.1 cm* 30cm
•Exposed area of sample to flame: 12inch* 2inch
•Flame height is 38mm
•Flame contact time: 12s
Measureable parameters
1.Burning rate (mm/s)
2.After flame (s)
3.After glow (s)
Thank
You
By ~
Sneha Mahto
Suyash Prakash
Aryan Rathore