Abstract
Chitosan treatment of textile fabrics has been studied to improve fabric characteristics and functions. Natural dyestuffs have been more actively employed in environment-conscious finishing products. In this study, chitosan treated cotton and nylon fabrics were prepared for dyeing with a few natural dyestuffs. These were Caesalpina sappan, Gardenia jasminoides, and cochineal in the form of powder. Hand-related physical and mechanical properties and luster characteristics were examined using the KES-FB series instruments and a set of luster measuring equipment. The chitosan treatment seemed to be more effective in terms of increasing stiffness for cotton fabric. Since cotton fibers have more -OH groups in the molecules, they provide more linkage sites with the chitosan than the nylon 6 fibers do.
