Examination of hairiness changes due to washing in knitted fabrics using a random walk approach

The relaxation of knitted fabrics is usually described in terms of dimensional changes of knitted loop widths and heights or fabric widths and heights, respectively. Due to washing, however, additional changes in the optical appearance and the haptic properties of a knitted fabric can occur, such as a change in the regularity or the hairiness. This article uses the random walk statistical approach to estimate the structural complexity of knitted fabrics directly after production and up to 10 washing cycles and shows that the Hurst exponent, resulting from the random walk process, is partly related to the cover factor of the knitted fabrics under investigation; however, it depicts significant contributions of the hairiness. Thus, this novel approach offers a quantitative measure of structural changes in knitted fabrics that cannot be described by cover factor or dimensional changes.