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The thermal comfort properties of different knitted fabric structures made from modal, polypropylene and micro denier polyester were studied for volleyball sportswear. Eleven knitted fabrics were produced, in which three samples were single jersey, two plated and six bi-layer knitted structures. The air permeability, water vapour permeability, thermal conductivity, wicking and drying ability of bi-layer knitted fabric made up of polypropylene as the inner layer and modal as the outer layer with one tuck point of repeat were found to be higher as compared to other bi-layer, plated and single jersey structures. Both theobjective and subjective results show that bi-layer knitted fabric with polypropylene as the inner layer and modal as the outer layer with one tuck point of repeat is mostly suitablefor sportswear. The results are discussed together with multivariate ANOVA test results ata 95% significance level.

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Thermo-physiological comfort of the fabric is attained through the ability of managing heat and transmission of sensible and insensible perspiration. An investigation on influence of tri-layer knitted structure on thermal comfort characteristics of layered knitted fabrics was carried out. Three tri-layer knitted structures were developed in which inner layer was made up of micro-fibre polyester and outer layer was made up of modal yarn. The yarn used in the middle layer was changed to either micro-fibre polyester or polyester or acrylic yarn. The thermal comfort characteristics such as thermal conductivity, air permeability, water vapour permeability, wicking, moisture absorbency, drying rate and moisture management properties have been analysed. Wear trial was conducted for shuttle badminton players and they were ranked using thermal environment subjective judgement scale. Tri-layer knitted structure with micro-fibre polyester in the inner and middle layer and modal in the outer layer showed better thermal comfort characteristics both by objective evaluation and wear trial method compared to polyester or acrylic in the middle layer and is preferable for shuttle badminton sportswear.

Thermo-physiological comfort of the fabric is achieved through the ability to manage heat and transmit sensible and insensible perspiration through the fabric. Ergonomic comfort aspects of sports clothing can be improved by enhancing the moisture management properties of knitted fabrics. Double-face knitted structures were developed by selecting the right type of material for the top and bottom layer. In this paper, the moisture management properties of four double-face knitted fabrics with hydrophobic fibre in the top layer (Polypropylene and micro-fibre polyester) and hydrophilic fibre in the bottom layer (Bamboo) were studied to find out the suitability for sportswear. The subjective perception was carried out using thermal state parameters and was correlated with Overall Moisture Management Capacity (OMMC). Double-face fabric knitted with micro-fibre polyester in the top layer and bamboo in the bottom layer has excellent moisture management properties which seem suitable for next-to-skin application. However, micro-fibre polyester (20%)/polypropylene (20%) yarns in the top layer on account of polypropylene due to its dry feel shows good OMMC followed by micro-fibre polyester in the top layer. Univariate analysis of variance with a confidence level of 95% showed that all the moisture management indices are statistically significant.