THE USE OF KES AND FAST INSTRUMENTS

The experience of the Philadelphia College of Textiles and Science with the use of Kawabata Evaluation System for Fabrics (KES‐F) since 1984 and more recently, 1988, with the Fabric Assurance by Simple Testing (FAST) is described. Although previous projects have involved the effect of chemical and mechanical finishing and sponging on the hand and mechanical properties of fabrics, the major emphasis here correlates the processability of fabrics in tailored clothing manufacturing, especially in manually operated overfeed sewing, with the tensile‐elongation and shear properties of these fabrics. It is anticipated that programmable sewing machines will require instructions based on the mechanical properties of the fabrics being processed.