GB1510631A - Shaping of fabrics - Google Patents

Abstract

1510631 Finishing fabrics WIRA 14 July 1975 [26 April 1974 14 Sept 1974] 18265/74 and 40150/74 Heading D1S Fabrics containing or comprising yarns of fibres and/or filaments which are shrinkable by a treatment process are shaped by applying the treatment process to the fabric and restraining the shrinkage of the fabric in some part or parts of the fabric as compared to the shrinkage of the remaining part(s). In one aspect, the fabric is knitted or woven and comprises or contains yarns which, upon treating under zero tension, shrink in length by at least 15%, and which upon treating, while held at constant length, exert a tension of at least 0.1 g/tex. Preferably, the shrinkable fibres and/or filaments are of high-shrinkage polyester or stretch-set acrylics and are such that the shrinkage does not develop below 100‹C so that conventional finishing, e.g. dyeing, can be undergone without shrinkage occurring prior to the shaping stage. Heating may be accomplished by steam, e.g. the fabric is steamed in an autoclave for 2 minutes in saturated steam at 120‹C and 1¢ atmospheres pressure. Alternatively, heating may be by a hot gas, e.g. hot air, or by radiant or dielectric heating, moisture being applied before or during heating. In a second aspect, the shrinkable fibres and/or filaments are polymeric and shrinkable when treated with a suitable swelling solvent having a cohesive energy density similar to that of the fibres and/or filaments. Methylene chloride is a suitable swelling solvent for polyester fibres. Preferably, the fabric is stabilized in the three-dimensional shaped form by maintaining it in the desired shape and continuing to subject it to the treatment process until the residual shrinkage potential has been dissipated. A setting and/or a stabilizing agent may be applied to the fabric before, during or after the treatment process. The shrinkage of the part(s) of the fabric may be restrained by clamping means and a three-dimensionally contoured former or, if the fabric is produced in, or shaped into, the form of a tube or cone, the clamping means may be dispensed with and the fabric shrinkage at least partially restrained by the fabric being shrunk onto a contoured former. The yarns of the fabric may incorporate non-shrinkable fibres and/or filaments. The fabric may be attached face-to-face with a second fabric so that, as the shrinkable fabric is shaped, the second fabric is also shaped to a certain extent.