In recent years, the studies of thermal characteristics have gained importance since it is directly related to clothing comfort. One of the ways of achieving clothing comfort is through moisture management of textiles. Moisture management refers to the controlled movement of water vapor and perspiration from the surface of the skin to the atmosphere through the fabric. The aim of this research is to study the thermal comfort characteristics of selected knitted fabrics by analyzing the thermal behavior of moisture management finished (MMF) fabrics, in order to find the suitability of the product for different climatic conditions. The knitted fabrics made from yarns of micro-denier polyester filament, spun polyester, polyester/cotton, filament polyester, and 100% cotton were used for the study. Thermal characteristics such as thermal conductivity, thermal resistance, thermal absorptivity, relative water vapor permeability, and water vapor resistance were analyzed for the MMF fabrics. The test results indicated that the knitted fabrics produced from different nature of yarns have greater influence on thermal characteristics, when they were converted into fabrics. The MMF treatment have significant effect on thermal behavior of micro-denier polyester knitted fabrics with respect to thermal conductivity, thermal absorptivity, water vapor permeability, and water vapor resistance. Among the five fabrics, it was observed that micro-denier polyester fabrics gives faster heat transfer, quicker evaporation of sweat from the skin through the fabric, and also cooler feeling at initial touch.

Clothing comfort is an important aspect for any garment used for sportswear and leisurewear. Every human being sweats during different kinds of activities. An important feature of any fabric is how it transports this water out of the body surface so as to make the wearer feel comfortable. Hence, wetting and wicking properties are critical aspects during wearing of clothes. Polyester micro-fibers have twin characteristics of durability and comfort. The usage of continuous filament micro-denier polyester yarn for sportswear and leisurewear clothing has a practical significance in clothing comfort. In this study, polyester filament yarn were taken and made into single jersey knitted fabrics. Five different fabrics were made from 150 denier polyester yarns constituting different number of filaments, namely, 34 filaments, 48 filaments, 108 filaments, 144 filaments, and 288 filaments. Moisture management finish was applied to the five types of single jersey knitted fabrics and the effect of filament fineness on comfort characteristics of moisture management finished polyester knitted fabrics was analyzed to achieve suitability for making sportswear. From the tests, it was observed that the fabric containing 108 filaments in yarn gives better wetting, higher wicking, and optimum moisture vapor transmission. A new test method was introduced to find out the transverse wicking behavior of the fabrics. Filament fineness and surface area of yarn play a vital role in deciding the comfort characteristics of the fabric, as also moisture management finish treatment which enhances it.

Moisture management can be defined as the controlled movement of water vapor and liquid water (perspiration) from the surface of the skin to the atmosphere through the fabric. Wetting, wicking, and moisture vapor transmission (MVT) properties are the critical aspects for evaluating the comfort performance of textiles. In this study, the effect of stitch length and knit structure on comfort characteristics of moisture management finished knitted fabric that includes wicking, wetting, water absorbency, MVT, and air permeability have been analyzed.

In this article, three test methods are described to measure the water spreading behaviour of textiles such as rate of absorbency and total absorbent capacity. The methods described are manual method, commercial image analysis method using Photoshop and embedded image analysis method using digital signal processor through MATLAB software (EIAS). With these methods the rate of absorbency and total water absorbent capacity were analysed in 12 different knitted/woven fabrics. In order to compare the three test methods, the correlation among the methods were analysed. A very good correlation (more than 0.9) was found between the manual water spreading tests and commercial image analysis method using Photoshop when compared to manual versus EIAS method. Also Photoshop versus EIAS method correlation was found better than manual versus EIAS method.

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