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What is fabric shrinkage?

2022-07-28

1. Shrinkage rate of fabric

The shrinkage rate of a fabric refers to the percentage of shrinkage of the fabric after washing or soaking. Generally speaking, fabrics with a high shrinkage rate are synthetic fibers and their blends, followed by wool and linen fabrics. Cotton fabrics are in the middle with a high shrinkage rate, while viscose fibers, artificial cotton, and artificial wool fabrics have a higher shrinkage rate.

2. Factors causing shrinkage in fabrics

(1) The shrinkage rate varies depending on the raw materials of the fabric. Generally speaking, fibers with high hygroscopicity expand, increase in diameter, shorten in length, and increase in shrinkage after immersion in water. If some viscose fibers have a water absorption rate of up to 13%, while synthetic fiber fabrics have poor moisture absorption, their shrinkage rate is small.

(2) The density of the fabric varies, and the shrinkage rate also varies. If the density in the longitude and latitude directions is similar, the shrinkage rate in the longitude and latitude directions is also similar. A fabric with high warp density will experience greater warp shrinkage, while a fabric with higher weft density than warp density will experience greater warp shrinkage.

(3) The shrinkage rate of fabrics varies depending on the thickness of the yarn count. The shrinkage rate of fabrics with coarse yarn count is higher, while that of fabrics with fine yarn count is lower.

(4) The shrinkage rate varies depending on the production process of the fabric. Generally speaking, during the weaving and dyeing and finishing process of fabrics, the fibers need to be stretched multiple times, and the processing time is long. The shrinkage rate of fabrics with higher applied tension is higher, and vice versa.

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