Investigation of Thermo-Physiological Comfort and Mechanical Properties of Fine Cotton Fabrics for Ladies’ Summer Apparel

Fine cotton fabrics such as “Lawns” for ladies’ apparel are extremely popular in the subcontinent and all those parts of the world where summers are scorching and the subsequent rainy seasons quite hot and humid. The required fabrics should neither be too thin to be weak nor too thick to be uncomfortable. The main objective of this study was to investigate thermo-physiological comfort and mechanical properties of cotton fabrics ranging from approx. 50 to 80 g/m2 areal densities (GSM) using 80, 70, 60, and 50 Ne yarn counts and to determine optimum fabric parameters for good fabric comfort and strength. Fabric of a specific areal density could be developed either by using coarser yarn counts with lower number of ends and picks per inch or by using finer yarn counts with higher number of ends and picks per inch. Results show that fabric of a specific areal density produced from coarser yarns with lower number of ends and picks results in better fabric air permeability and better tear strength, as compared to that made from finer yarns with higher number of ends and picks per inch. However, fabric thermal and water vapor resistance are not significantly affected by either approach used for the range of fabrics produced in this study. Based on response surface optimization, the optimum fabric parameters were found to be 60 Ne warp count, 50 Ne weft count, 90 ends/inch and 50 picks/inch for simultaneously achieving good fabric air permeability and strength properties.