A Study of the Shrinkage of Plain Knitted Cotton Fabric, Based on the Structural Changes of the Loop Geometry Due to Yarn Swelling and Deswelling

The structural change of the jersey loop upon yarn swelling is related to the amount of expected laundering shrinkage in cotton jersey fabric by introducing a three-dimen sional loop model. The lengthwise shrinking is explained by the geometry of loop migration and curvature changes upon wetting and drying of the fabric. Also, width wise shrinking is explained by the relationship between wale spacing and yarn diameter. The proposed jersey model explains shrinkage phenomena and also provides a means of estimating stitch length of jersey fabric on the basis of courses per inch, wales per inch, and yarn diameter.