Woven Fabric Calculation

Cover Factor

Definition: Cover factor indicates the extent to which the area of a fabric is covered by
one set of threads.

For any fabric there are two cover factors: the warp cover factor and the weft cover
factor. The cloth cover factor is obtained by adding the weft cover factor to the warp
cover.

Calculation: The cover factor in SI units is calculated as:

threads / cm
Cover Factor (SI) X tex
10

Example : Tex=20; threads/cm=28

Cover factor (SI) =(28 x √20)/10 =12.5

Cover Factor (Pierce)

n
Cover Factor (Pierce) = where n= threads/inch and N is cotton count
N

Example Tex=20 count, threads/cm=28

Cotton Count=590.5/20 =29.5’s

Threads/inch =28 x 2.54 =71

Cover Factor (Pierce) =71/√29.5 =12.9

The resultant cover factor between SI units and Pierce is less than 5%.

For any given thread spacing, plain weave has the largest number intersections per unit
area. All other weaves have fewer intersections than plain weave. The likely weavability
of all fabrics woven with the same weave and from similar yarns can be forecast from
their cover factor.

Plain weave fabrics with warp and weft cover factors of 12 in each direction are easy to
weave. Thereafter weaving becomes more difficult and for cover factors of 14+14 fairly
strong weaving machines are required. At a cover factor of 16+16, the plain structure
jams and a very strong loom with heavy beat-up is needed to deform the yarns
sufficiently to obtain a satisfactory beating-up of the weft.
Three cloths with the same cover factor (K=12) woven with yarns of different linear
densities are shown in Table 1. It can be seen that how thread spacing and linear density
have to be adjusted to maintain the required cover factor and how cloth area density and
thickness are affected.

Table 1 Comparison of fabrics with identical warp and weft cover factors woven with
yarns of different linear densities (SI units)

Cloth Threads per cm Linear density Cover factor Weight thickness

n1 n2 N1 N2 K1 K2 (g/m2) mm
A 24 24 25 25 12 12 130 0.28
B 12 12 100 100 12 12 260 0.56
C 6 6 400 400 12 12 520 1.12
Fractional Cover

In fabrics constructed from yarns, cover may be considered as the fraction of the total
fabric area that “covered” by the component yarns. An over-simplification of the idea for
woven fabric is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Fractional Cover

The yarn has a circular cross-section of diameter, d, and adjacent yarns are displaced by a
distance s. The fractional cover is then d/s.

In the ideal model, s will be equal to 1/n, where n is the number of threads per unit
length. The fractional cover could be expressed in terms of d and n

Fractional cover = d X n

Grosberg showed that yarn diameter d=4.44 √(tex/fiber density x 10-3 .

Fractional cover,

Cf=4.44 √(tex/fiber density) x threads/cm x 10-3

Example: What is the fractional cover for the warp in a fabric with 35 ends/cm, woven
from yarn of 30 tex? The fibre density is 1.5 g/cm3.

Cf=4.44 √30/1.5 x 35 x 10-3

Cf=0.695

Ie. 69% is covered by warp yarn.

Total Cover

The total area covered by the fabric (Plain weave) is ABCD. The shaded area is the part
of the total area covered by both yarns, and, because of this, it would not be strictly
accurate merely to add the warp and weft cover values together and quote them as the
total cover.

Figure 1: Unit cell of Plain Fabric

The shaded areas are each d1 x d2 and the total area of the cell is s1 x s2.
By definition, fractional cover, C, =d/s. Hence
d1 = C1s1
d2 =C2s2
d1 d2 = C1s1 C2s2

Expressed as a fraction of total area s1 x s2, the shaded area becomes:

d1 d2 = C1s1 C2s2 / s1 x s2 = C1 C2
The term C1 C2 must be deducted from the sum of C1 and C2, hence

Total fractional cover = C1 + C2 - C1 C2

Example:
A plain cotton fabric is woven to the following details: warp: 20 tex, 28 ends/cm;
Weft: 35 tex, 25 picks/cm (density of cotton 1.52 g/cm3)
What is the total cover factor?

Warp cover: C1=4.44x √20/1.52 x 28 x 10-3 =0.451;

Weft cover : C2=4.44x √35/1.52 x 25 x 10-3=0.533

Total fractional cover is C1 + C2 - C1 C2 =0.451 + 0.533 – 0.451x0.533 =0.744

Theoretically, about 74% of the total area of this cotton sheeting is therefore covered by
yarn.