The purpose of this work is the permanent, i.e., wash-resistant, improvement of the hand of polyester microfilament fabrics obtained by two kinds of abrasive sanding. Controlled wear is provided, and modifications of the surface state of a twill fabric are characterized during a complete tribologic study of three specific textile wear systems. Modifications of the surface state, transverse compression properties, and hairiness are then measured at different steps of the treatment. Results provide the basis for a matrix formalization of the evolution of tribologic phenomena when the size and density of abrasive particles, the real contact area between particles, and the worn fabric and sliding wear distance change. c . Sanding, a well-known process in the textile industry, creates hairiness to confer softness. Korner et al. [6] reported that the objectives of sanding are to create a soft handle, velvet or suede-like, producing volume and a fine hairiness without destroying the fabric structure. This process is currently used on cotton fabrics. However, adapting conditions of wear as a function of the treated fabric is the main difficulty of this treatment. At the moment, control of sanding is completely empirical in industrial processes. Ashkenazi [I] ] reported a lamentable absence of clear-cut definitions. Even if customer specifications about the quality of a fabric's finish are not directly related to this, they play a major role here. To produce sanded fabrics, it is necessary to make many trials on a sanding machine with the same fabric. To control sanding conditions during this kind of treatment, the user [4,8] has large numbers of parameters to adjust (Figure 1 ), such as the number of working organs, the speed and direction of rotation of the working organs, the design of the working organs (rolls with emery slats or emery cylinders), the dimensions of the abrasive particles of the abrasive material, the adjustment FIGURE 1. Four working organs on a sanding machine.