Sensory attributes of knitted fabrics intended for next-to-skin clothing

• Published in: Journal of the Textile Institute Vol. 114; no. 5; pp. 757 - 762
• Main Authors: Salopek Čubrić, Ivana, Čubrić, Goran, Majumdar, Abhijit
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Manchester Taylor & Francis 04.05.2023; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Age; ANOVA; attributes; Cotton; Cotton fabrics; Evaluation; Fabrics; knitted fabric; Roughness; sensory; Sensory perception; Sex; Smoothness; Softness; Stiffness; Synthetic fibers; Textile composites; Textiles; Yarns
• ISSN: 0040-5000; 1754-2340
• DOI: 10.1080/00405000.2022.2075654

Most of consumer purchases of textiles are driven by visual appeal and sensory perception. The objective of this study is to determine the effect of knitted material on the perception of fabrics' attributes among evaluators having a different profiles. Five important bipolar attributes, namely stiffness-softness, roughness-smoothness, non-stretchable-stretchable, thin-thick, non-fullness-fullness are evaluated. Elastane blended fabrics are perceived to be stretchable but low in fullness. Fabrics made from synthetic fibres are rated to be softer and smoother than cotton fabrics. The influence of age and sex of the assessors on the sensory perception are analyzed through two-way ANOVA. The sensory perception of roughness-smoothness, followed by thinness-thickness, seems to be most influenced by the sex and age of assessors. Among the fabrics, the sensory perception of non-finished cotton fabric varies greatly with the sex and age of the assessors. However, 100% cotton fabrics made from finer cotton yarns receive consistent ratings from the assessors.