Effects of yarn and knitting parameters on the spirality of plain knitted wool fabrics

Spirality is a particularly serious problem for plain knitted fabrics due to asymmetric loops. This study investigates the relationship between the spirality of plain wool knits and various variables. The experimental results show that the twist factor of two-ply wool yarn is the most important factor influencing fabric spirality. Loop length and fiber diameter also show significant effects. In general, increasing the twist factor of two-ply yam, loop length, and fiber diameter increases the angle of spirality. The experimental results demonstrate that relaxation treatment of fabrics in water decreases the angle of spirality. The experimental data also lead to the derivation of empirical equations linking the angle of spirality to the twist factor of two-ply yarn, loop length, and fiber diameter in both the dry relaxed and simulated industrial relaxed states.