Abstract
The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of knit structure and knit density (machine tightness factor) on the dimensional properties and K1-4 values of weft-knitted fabrics followed over eleven cycles of mechanical relaxation to provide the basic data for constructing weft-knitted fabrics for outwear with excellent dimensional stability The eighteenth weft-knitted fabrics were produced with different knit structure (1$\times$1 rib, half-cardigan rib, half-milano rib, interlock, single pique, crossmiss interlock) and machine tightness factor (loose, medium, tight) for this study. Dimensional properties such as width, lengh, area shrinkage and dimensional parameter (K) of eighteenth knitted fabrics including thickness and bulk property were measured. The results were as follows; 1. The dimensional behavior of the Ix1 rib and interlock in relaxation cycles was anisotropic, i.e., length shrinkage was usually associated with a width expansion, whereas the other weft-kntted fabrics which have tuck or miss loops in the knit structure behaved isotropically, i.e., length and width shrinkages were usually found. It was proposed that the difference in dimensional behavior between these structures was due to the dissimilar nonrelaxed geometrical shapes of the individual structural units forming these weft-knitted structures. The mechanical relaxation shrinkage of weft-knitted cotton fabrics was dependent on the tightness of construction. For a range of fabrics knitted on this study, an increase in fabric tightness caused a decrease in the length shrinkage of the fabric accompanied by an increase in its width shrinkage.