Dimensional Stability of Wool Cloth and Measurement of Relaxation Potential

The following three types of dimensional change in wool cloth are discussed— (1) Relaxation shrinkage, which is irreversible and is caused by the release of latent strains in the cloth. (2) Hygral change, which is the reversible change in dimensions occurring when the regain of wool cloth changes. (3) Press shrinkage caused by pressing cloth in a locked steam press. A new method of measuring steam-relaxation shrinkage is described. This is more appropriate than water soaking as a guide to performance in garment manufacture. Finally, high-temperature decatising is described, and its effects on the properties of the cloth are discussed.