Evaluation of Bending Length, Rigidity and Modulus of Woven and Knitted Fabrics

Performance evaluation of textile materials is necessary to determine the use of an end-product. Woven and knitted materials are the most preferred manufacturing techniques due to their certain characteristics suitable for apparel and upholstery. The present study aims at determining the bending length, rigidity and modulus of fabrics through standardized test procedures to measure the draping behaviour of an end product. The results identified the phenomenon that specimens manufactured with woven fabrics were better in drapability compared with knitted fabrics. Moreover, it was identified that type of fiber also plays an important role in determining the stiffness of fabrics such as silk fiber showed excellent results. A comprehensive comparison was made between various types of fabrics. The study can be helpful for textile producers to make amendments to their construction parameters to present acceptable stiffness and draping qualities of fabrics to the end consumers.