/ A R Y U356 SOULTURE Properties and Serviceability of Selected Household and Clothing Fabrics Bibliography and Review of Research Findings 1928-1951 AGRICULTURE INFORMATION BULLETIN No. 147 MAY 1956 U. S. Department of Agriculture Washington, D. C. CONTENTS Page Introduction 1 Household textiles. 2 Blanketing _-__ 2 Curtaining ^^_ :._ 4 Damask, table. 6 Sheeting, cotton, bleached and un- bleached -- 9 Toweling 13 Upholstery fabrics.., _.. 18 Clothing fabrics -■-.-.-^.. 22 References 37 Appendix. Tables of fabric properties 41 Index to fabrics 126 ACKNOWLEDGMENT The authors express their appreciation to Ruth O'Brien for assistance in the prep- aration of the sections on specifications and serviceability of fabrics, and to Elinora Johnson Williams, Mary E. Fajen, and Janet Turner Straiisky for assistance in various phases of the study. For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U. S. Government Printing Office Washington 25, D. C. - Price 60 cents Properties and Serviceability of Selected Household and Clothing Fabrics Bibliography and Review of Research Findings, 1928-5P By HAZEL M. FLETCHER and S. HELEN KOBEETS :^^ Clothing and Housing Research Branch, Agricultural Research Service INTRODUCTION Research on the properties and serviceability of Since it was difficult in some cases for consumers fabrics has been developed largely in response to to understand the technical terms necessary on the needs of household and institutional buyers the labels that gave construction details, research for information on which to base then: selections. was developed looking toward the establishment Household buyers are continually seeking means of a simple grading system or classification based of judging quality in relation to price. Purchasing on minimum specifications for each grade. Ke- agents of hotels, dormitories/and other institu- search workers, through the analyses of large tions want facts as to how long various types of numbers of products and as many serviceability upholstery, bedding, and towels of different tests as possible, sought to set up such grades and quaUties will last. Moreover, in time of war or specifications and get them adopted by national other ernergency, those responsible for the use of organizations or by individual manufacturers or productive resources need to know which fabrics retailers. Among the standards or specifications are most useful and durable so that available that have been developed are those published fiber, labor, and manufacturing facilities can by the American Society for Testing Materials be allocated wisely. (ASTM), the American Standards Association, Data accumulated during the past 25 years and the American Home Economics Association. from laboratory studies and occasional studies of Some of them have been based on minimum performance-in-use by the U. S. Department of specifications and fabric classifications which the Agriculture and other research organizations former Bureau of Home Economics of the U. S. have provided a sounder basis for more informa- Department of Agriculture recommended as a tive labeling and have enabled home economists result of its laboratory and serviceability studies. and others concerned with consumer goods to For certain fabrics, Federal Specifications have recommend consumer standards or specifications also been published which define the qualities for certain fabrics. considered satisfactory for Government purchase. Early textile research on fiber composition Thus some progress has been made. However, emphasized the need for labeling fabrics with a review of published data shows that sufficient their fiber content. This practice was initiated research has not yet been done to provide the voluntarily by some manufacturers and retailers data on textile performance that make it possible on a limited scale during the 1920's and ultimately to identify the type of fabric that will best meet culminated in Federal Trade Commission rules specific home or institutional needs. Probably the for labeling rayon, acetate, silk, and linen and in greatest deterrent to progress in evaluating fabrics Federal legislation making mandatory the labeling froni the consumer-use standpoint is the lack of of wool. serviceability studies and of the correlation of the Later as it became evident that properties other findings from these and laboratory research. In than fiber content were important measures of order to predict textile performance accurately, quality, research workers extended their analyses many more in-service tests should be conducted of textiles to other indicators of wearing quality, along with laboratory determinations of the such as weight, thread count (yarns per inch), fabrics^ physical properties so that relationships and amount of sizing. As an outgrowth of this between them can be determined. Also needing research and public interest spearheaded by such more thorough study is the geometry or construc- organizations as the American Home Economics tion of the fabric, since this determines in large Association (AHEA), some labeling of textiles measure the usefulness of the fabric. giving information concerning their construction As a guide to textile research workers and others was introduced in the 1930's. Thus many concerned with the development of consumer manufacturmg and retail firms labeled sheets as standards for textiles, the results of selected to thread count, tensile strength, weight, and investigations of quality and serviceability of amount of sizing. textiles have been brought together in this pubfica- 1 Submitted for publication July 6, 1955. I tion and organized into reference form. The glossaries. The studies reviewed show that data studies included are limited to those from State are most extensive for broadcloth, percale, sheet- agricnltm'al experiment stations, colleges, universi- ing, and toweling made of cotton, and for ties, and the former Bureau of Human Nutrition blanketing made of cotton and wool. Data are and Home Economics, U. S. Department of sparse for other staple materials such as serges, Agriculture, since the published data are largely print cloth made of manufactured fibers, and from these sources. With few exceptions graduate blends of manufactured and natural fibers. For theses and unpublished data have not been the most part the fabrics have been studied as included. they appeared on the retail market ; few have been In separate sections of the text, each devoted to of known history. However, few studies have a so-called staple fabric, findings of widely been made in which cloth has been subjected to scattered studies are described, and in correspond- actual wear. ing appendix tables the basic data reported on Any standards or specifications suggested by fabric properties are tabulated for ready reference. Thus it can be seen how extensive or how sparse the American Standards Association, the American are the data for each fabric and in what areas Society for Testing Materials, or by individual further research is needed. Fabrics are arranged investigations are also discussed under the appro- alphabetically by names most commonly found in priate fabric. HOUSEHOLD TEXTILES Fabrics used for bedding and other household nated by weight and fiber composition. The types purposes have been given more study by textile and properties are given in table 1. laboratories than have clothing materials, largely The Government purchases blankets of three because they are also important items in hotels, types by specification (112): hospitals, and other types of institutions. Pur- Type I: All cotton. chasing agents engaged in large quantity buying Type II: Cotton warp and wool or reprocessed have stimulated research on quality comparisons wool filling. in an effort to obtain facts essential to the formu- Type III: Blended nylon-wool-rayon-cot ton and lation of specifications which wñl insure satis- other fibers. factory service. Physical requirements for the three types defined in Federal Specification DDD-B-421b are given Blanketing in table 2. Data on the physical properties of household SERVICEABILITY OF BLANKETS.-—Resistance to blankets and their reaction to cleaning have been in-service wear, although important, is more diffi- accumulating since the early 1930's. Appendix cult to obtain than measurements of physical table 42 presents findings on more than 250 house- properties because of the time required to com- hold blankets, most of them made of wool and plete such experiments. Only 7 of the blanketings cotton, arranged in order of weight per square listed in appendix table 42 were studied in service. yard. Some effort has been made to obtain data on the Properties commonly listed for all fabrics, such length of service of blankets of known composition. as weight, thickness, and strength, are included, In the late 1930% the U. S. Bureau of Home as well as thermal transmission, air permeability Economics and the U. S. Bureau of Animal In- and resilience, which are of particular interest in dustry studied the serviceability of 63 blankets the case of blankets. made of 4 fabrics of wools from purebred fiocks The data for blankets in table 42 reveal that of Corriedale and Rambouillet sheep maintained the weight and thickness of approximately 95 at the experiment station of the U. S. Department percent of the following groups exceed weight and of Agriculture at Dubois, Idaho (33), thickness as indicated: Three blends of virgin wool—(1) 1 part fine^ All-wool blankets—8.5 ounces per square yard and 0.070 and 1 part ^i blood; (2) 2 parts % blood and 1 part inch. Yi blood; and (3) 1 part % blood and 2 parts re- Wool and cotton mixtures—6.5 ounces per square yard worked wool^—and reworked wool were used. and 0.070 inch. The reworked wools were from good white knits. All-cotton blankets—4,0 ounces per square yard and 0.030 inch. Data on the properties of the new blankets are included in appendix table 42. SPECIFICATIONS FOR BLANKETS.—In 1940 the The blankets were put into service as coverings American Society for Testing Materials issued for patients in the postoperative ward of a veterans^ Tentative Specifications for All Wool, All Cotton, hospital in Washington, D.