Sensory and Instrumental Techniques Evaluating the Effect of Structure Parameters on the Tactile Properties of Knitted Fabrics

Abstract

In the present study, the effects of structure and process parameters on the tactile properties of cotton‐knitted fabrics had been investigated. The examined parameters were elastane plating, count of yarns and English gauge of knitting machine. The tactile quality was measured using sensory analysis and instrumental techniques. The obtained results showed that the variations of the production parameters induce a significant effect on 11 sensory attributes assessed by a French‐trained panel. Compression and surface properties, measured by the Kawabata Evaluation System are affected too by these variations. Using principal component analysis, the correlation between instrumental data and sensory scores had highlighted compression resilience, geometrical and frictional roughness as significant parameters. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS The practical issue of the research presented in this article is to provide to textile and garment manufacturers the existed relationship between production parameters and the tactile properties of knitted fabrics. Although several studies on the tactile properties of woven fabrics were performed, a lack in the investigations intertwining tactile characteristics of knits from instrumental and sensory techniques has been noted. The correlation between the sensory attributes, assessed by a French‐trained panel, and the compression and surface properties measured by the Kawabata Evaluation System is established.

Physical origin of a complicated tactile sensation: ‘ shittori feel'

“…Smooth feel showed a strong negative correlation with surface roughness R a when a 10× objective lens was used (correlation coefficient = −0.769). Previous studies have suggested that a smooth feel is perceived when the variation of the frictional force with respect to the average frictional force is small [33–35]. Figure 9 shows the relationship between smooth feel, surface roughness and friction variation value.…”

Sensory evaluation and instrumental measurements to determine tactile properties of wool fabrics

“…Sensory analysis has been reported to detect significant differences, as determined by yarn count, yarn torsion and fabric tightness. 38 Jeguirim et al 22 pointed out that the more the yarn is coarse, the more the fabric is thick, heavy, rigid and less soft. Among fabrics obtained from Tuscan wools, Panama, Diagonale-8 and Diagonale-5 had a statistically significant lower grittiness as compared to Drap-3 and Lisca pesce-10.…”

“…37 PCA has been already applied in studies on textiles. 22,25,39 This statistical technique offers a simple and reliable way to examine the correlations between variables. Furthermore, PCA allows a reduction in the dimension number of the representation.…”

“…In addition, this instrumental approach has some limitations, because determining the relationship between instrumental measurements and the consumers' perception is not simple. 22 Therefore, the sensory evaluation method becomes essential to characterize the tactile feeling as a consumer evaluation.…”

“…Correlation between tactile properties and instrumental approaches has been studied in relation to the effect of structure parameters on the tactile properties of knitted fabrics 22 and the effect of processes, such as laundering 24 and finishing treatments, on cotton fabrics. 22,25,26 Fabric comfort has also been approached through integrated studies of sensory and mechanical measurements. 27,28 In addition, several attempts have been made to model the relationship between tactile sensory attributes of fabrics and their instrumental measurements by methods based on intelligent techniques (neural networks, fuzzy logic.…”