“…A very old and effective finishing is mercerization, which is defined as the treatment of cellulose or cellulose polyester blends with caustic soda, ammonia, or ammonium salt concentrated solution 1, 4. Depending on the temperature, the work may last from a few minutes to several days at a time, with or without tension 1, 4–11. During this finishing, the fibers do not lose their identity, but some important changes take place, such as swelling, an increase of the amorphous region with a consequent decrease of the crystalline one, and a simultaneous change of the geometry of the crystallites from parallel cellulose I to antiparallel cellulose II 1, 12–18.…”