Thermal Comfort Properties of 100% Cashmere Knitted Fabrics

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to investigate the effects of knitting type (plain, rib, purl), knitting tightness (three different loop lengths), and plied-yarn (single-ply, two-ply and three-ply) on the thermal comfort properties of cashmere knitted fabrics. Thermal comfort properties of the sample fabrics were measured using Alambeta, Permetest, Textest 3300. Subsequently, the results were statistically evaluated with SPSS program. The findings of this research revealed that the knitting type, knitting tightness and plied-yarn usage significantly affect certain thermal comfort properties of cashmere knitted fabrics. Specifically, the plain knitted fabric exhibits the lowest thermal resistance value and the highest relative water vapor permeability value. The loose knitted fabric demonstrates the highest air permeability, while the fabric knitted with single-ply yarn has the lowest thermal conductivity and thermal resistance values, as well as the highest relative water vapor permeability and air permeability values.