Durable Press Reference for cotton and polyester/cotton fabrics

A Durable Press (DP) finish of NuDURA PRESS® was applied on light and medium weight cotton and polyester/cotton (65/35) fabrics after dyeing and in a single bath process of combined dyeing and finishing. The DP formulation consisted of low formaldehyde durable press agent with polysiloxane softener, applied by the pad-dry-cure method in a manufacturing process at the textile mill. The finished fabrics have improved properties of wrinkle resistance and draping quality. The wrinkle resistance was determined by the wrinkle recovery angle (WRA) and appearance, while that of the draping quality by the stiffness and drape coefficient. A Durable Press Reference (DPR) was formulated using values of wrinkle resistance and draping quality. The DPR for finished fabrics after dyeing was 3.46 to 7.15, while that in a single bath process of combined dyeing and finishing was 3.39 to 6.04, differently for each fabric. The DPR formula can be used to evaluate objectively the DP performances of fabrics.

I. Introduction

Cotton and blended polyester/cotton fabrics require Durable Press (DP) finish to improve the wrinkle resistance and draping quality of fabrics. These properties are used in the formulation of Durable Press Reference (DPR) to objectively evaluate the DP performances of finished fabrics.