DURABILITY AND AESTHETIC PROPERTIES OF KENAF COTTON BLEND FABRICS/

To evaluate the serviceability of a new textile product made of an unc onventional fiber blend, it is important to determine if the fabric me ets the specific standards required for the intended end-use. The valu e-added textile products of interest ate fabrics made of 50/50 kenaf/c otton in the filling direction and 100% cotton in the warp direction, made in sateen,plain, twill, and oxford weaves. The control fabrics ar e of 100% cotton in only the plain and sateen weaves. The fabrics are characterized and compared based on ten of the most common fabric prop erties that affect their performance in everyday use: thread count, th ickness, weight, breaking strength and elongation, dimensional stabili ty, wrinkle recovery, abrasion resistance, tear strength, staining and stain release, and pilling resistance. Breaking strength of the exper imental fabrics compares well with the control fabrics. Elongation at break is greater in the warp direction (19-35%) than in the filling di rection (11-15%), but this difference is not significant. Wrinkle reco very for both fabrics is the same and improves over time. Shrinkage is identical in both fabrics. There is no significant difference in the stiffness of the two fabrics, possibly due to the carding step where k enaf fibers are carded to resemble cotton fibers. Abrasion and pilling resistance are good to excellent. Tear resistance is lower for the ex perimental fabrics compared with the controls, but it does pass the re quirements for both upholstery and apparel fabrics. Kenaf/cotton blend s perform the same or better than 100% cotton in their ability to rele ase waterbased stains, but the oil stain rates between 3 and 4, indica ting a residual stain. Stain resistance can be improved by applying a soil-resistant finish. This study demonstrates that kenaf/cotton blend fabrics meet or exceed the performance requirements for both apparel (i.e., outer wear items such as barn jackets, hunting vests, overalls, and caps) and upholstery fabrics. Additional advantages of the blend fabrics may be luster, interesting texture, and lightness.