Textile Finishing

Finishing has been defined by Textile Institute as ‘Descriptive of processes, physical or chemical, applied to a substrate to produce a desired effect.’ Finishing encompasses chemical or mechanical treatments performed on fiber, yam, or fabric to improve appearance, texture, or performance.

Mechanical Finishing

• Heatsetting

• Brushing and napping

• Softening, Calendering, or ironing

• Optical finishing

• Shearing

• Compacting

Chemical Finishing

• Softener

• Anionic, cationic, nonionic, silicone

• Durable press / resin finish

• Water repellency

• Stain Resistance

• Soil Release

• Fire Retardancy

• Antimicrobial finishes

• Slow release of fragrance and odor absorption

Terminology

Antimicrobial Agent (AM): A chemical compound that either destroys or inhibits the growth of microscopic and submicroscopic organisms.

Calender: A machine in which heavy rollers rotate in contact under pressure; used to smooth and flatten fabric, to close the intersections between the yarns, and to confer a surface glaze.

Coated fabric: A material composed of two or more layers, at least one of which is a textile fabric and at least one of which is a substantially continuous polymeric layer.

Cross-linking: The creation of chemical bonds between polymer molecules to form a three-dimensional polymeric network, e.g., in a fiber. This generally restricts swelling, inhibits solubility and alters elastic recovery.

Curing: A process following application of a finish to textile fabrics in which appropriate conditions are used to effect a chemical reaction.

Durable press (permanent press): A finishing treatment designed to impart to a textile material or garment the retention of specific contours including defined creases and pleats resistant to normal usage, washing or dry cleaning.

Flame Retardant (FR): A substance used to impart improved flame resistance to a material.

Flame Resistance¹: The property of a material whereby flaming combustion is slowed, terminated or prevented.

Flammability: The ability of a material or product to burn with a flame under specified test conditions.

Fleece: A general term for any plain weft-knitted fabric which has been brushed or raised on one or both sides. A specific term for a plain, weft-knitted fabric with a ground yarn in which a yarn of low twist, laid-in and secured by a binder (yarn), appears on the back of the fabric and may be brushed or raised.

Foam finishing: The application of one or more liquid chemical finishes in the form of a foam to a textile material with the advantage of low wet pick-up.

Hydrophilic: Water loving; having a high degree of moisture absorption or attraction.

Hydrophobic: Water repelling; having a low degree of moisture absorption or attraction.

Limiting Oxygen Index (LOI): The minimum concentration of oxygen in a mixture of oxygen and nitrogen that will just support combustion of a material under specified test conditions.

Moisture Regain: The moisture in a material determined under prescribed conditions and expressed as a percentage of the weight of the moisture-free specimen.

Resiliency: Ability of a fabric to return to its original shape after compressing, bending or other deformation.

Sanforizing®: Commercial process in which a fabric is caused to shrink in length, e.g., by controlled compression

Soil Release: A textile finish which makes it easier to remove soiling or stains by ordinary domestic washing.

Spectroscopy: The branch of physics concerned with the production, measurement, and interpretation of electromagnetic spectra arising from either emission or absorption of radiant energy by various substances.

Surfactant: An agent, soluble or dispersible in a liquid, which decreases the surface tension of the liquid; contraction of “surface-active agent”

Stenter: An open-width fabric-finishing machine in which the selvedges are held by a pair of endless traveling chains maintaining tension; used for drying, heat setting, fixing dyes and finishes, and controlling fabric width.

Waterproof: Ability of a fabric to be fully resistant to penetration by water.

Wet pick-up: The weight of liquor taken up by a given weight of fabric after impregnation, spraying, or coating

Wicking: The passage of liquids along or through a textile material or along the interstices formed by the textile element and coating polymer of a coated fabric.

Wrinkle recovery: A laboratory test to measure the angle (degrees) of recovery from wrinkling or creasing.

1 Flame resistance can be an inherent property of the basic material or it may be imparted by a specific treatment. The degree of flame resistance exhibited by a material during testing may vary with test conditions.