What is Fabric Shrinkage?

Fabric shrinkage is a common phenomenon that the defect of the fabric which is subjected to home laundering procedures. To determine the quality of the fabric, shrinkage is an important element which is needed to consider. There are many elements to affect the dimensional changes of the fabrics such as the washing temperature,  rinse temperature, dying procedures, etc.

Scope and Purpose of Fabrics Shrinkage Test

The shrinkage rate of textiles is an important item which must be tested in the textile industry of every country at present. At present, the countries with different standards of shrinkage rate of textiles carry out their own standards.

This testing method is suitable for the size change of woven fabric and knitted fabric after multiple household washing, and the shrinkage of various textiles after washing by conventional household washing method is detected.

Marking

Place the specimen on the measuring table and make at least three pairs of marks on it in both length and width directions. Ensure that the distance between the marks of each pair is at least 350mm, that no mark is less than 50mm from the edges of the specimen and that the measuring points are regularly spaced across the specimen.

Test Method

Lay the specimen flat on the smooth, flat surface and remove wrinkles without stretching the specimen. Place the ruler on the specimen, taking care to avoid distortion of the specimen. Record the distance between the pairs of marks to the nearest 1mm. Flatten the wrinkled specimen by the instrument so that the measurement does not cause deviation.

Report Content

The change rate of the dimension in the direction of length and the width direction, taking the average value of each measurement.

Describe the laundry conditions used, including water level, water temperature, and laundry procedure.

Describe the dry conditions used, including drying procedures and temperature.

Explain the appearance change of the test sample after washing.