Special Finishes For Natural Fibers
Bio-polishing removes the protruding fibers of a fabric through the action of an enzyme. Enzymes, such as cellulase for cotton, selectively remove protruding fibers. These enzymes may be deactivated by an increase in temperature.
Mercerisation makes woven cotton fabric stronger, more lustrous, to have better dye affinity, and to be less abrasive.
Raising lifts the surface fibers to improve the softness and warmth, as in flannelette.
Peach Finish subjects the fabric (either cotton or its synthetic blends) to emery wheels, making the surface velvet-like. This is a special finish used mostly in garments.
Fulling or waulking is a method of thickening woollen material to make it more water-resistant.
Decatising to bring dimension stability to woollen fabrics.
Calendering makes one or both surfaces of the fabric smooth and shiny. The fabric is passed to through hot, fast-moving stainless steel cylinders.
Sanforizing or Pre-shrinking prevents a fabric and the produced garment from shrinking after production. This is also a mechanical finish, acquired by feeding the fabric between a roller and rubber blanket, in such a way the rubber blanket compresses the weft threads and imparts compressive shrinkage.
Crease-Resist finish or "wash-and-wear" or "wrinkle-free" finishes are achieved by the addition of a chemical resin finish that makes the fiber take on a quality similar to that of synthetic fibers.
Anti-microbial finish causes a fabric to inhibit the growth of microbes. The humid and warm environment found in textile fibers encourages the growth of the microbes. Infestation by microbes can cause cross-infection by pathogens and the development of odor where the fabric is worn next to skin. In addition, stains and loss of fiber quality of textile substrates can also take place. With an aim to protect the skin of the wearer and the textile substrate itself, an anti-microbial finish is applied to textile materials.
Read more about this topic: Finishing (textiles)
Famous quotes containing the words special, finishes and/or natural:
“History repeats itself, but the special call of an art which has passed away is never reproduced. It is as utterly gone out of the world as the song of a destroyed wild bird.”
—Joseph Conrad (1857–1924)
“Whoever finishes a revolution only halfway, digs his own grave.”
—Georg Büchner (1813–1837)
“The image cannot be dispossessed of a primordial freshness, which idea can never claim. An idea is derivative and tamed. The image is in the natural or wild state, and it has to be discovered there, not put there, obeying its own law and none of ours. We think we can lay hold of image and take it captive, but the docile captive is not the real image but only the idea, which is the image with its character beaten out of it.”
—John Crowe Ransom (1888–1974)