Fabric Drape

Fabric drape is the shape/fall of fabric under its own weight. It is fabric's ability to deform when suspended under its
own weight under specified conditions. Measurement of a fabric’s drape assesses its ability to hang in graceful curves.
Fabric drape defines how a garment adapts to the shape of the human body. From an aesthetic point of view, fabric
importance
drape is a very important factor that defines/affects the final look and appearance of a garment along with color, luster,
and texture. So, it is important to the designer.

Draping Quality
The draping qualities required from a fabric will differ depending on its end use-
1. Knitted fabrics are relatively floppy and garments made from them will tend to follow the body contours.
2. Woven fabrics are stiffer than knitted fabrics, so they are used in tailored clothing where the fabric hangs away
from the body and disguises its contours.
3. Uses such as curtains, tablecloths or women’s clothing need to exhibit good drape shape and appearance.
So, drape quality values are not classified as good or bad. Good draping leads to the fitting of a fabric over a surface
without undesirable wrinkling or tearing.
FactorsFabric drapability is related to the bending stiffness of fabric and depends upon various factors such as fiber content,
affectingyarn type, fabric structure/design and fabric finishing.
drapability
Method for Testing Fabric Drapability
Fabric drape can be checked/measured by different methods, such as
1. Fabric research liberating method (FRL) drape meter
2. Peirce’s cantilever method
3. 3D body scanner
4. CUSICK drape test method
The most used and simplest method is CUSICK drape test.

CUSICK Drape Test method

Cusick and Chu et al. made a great contribution to the practical measurement of fabric drape. The current standard so-
called drapemeter is the result of their effort. The advantage of this method over the cantilever is – it is capable to test
the three-dimensional drape feature, and it can thus differentiate between the paper and a textile fabric.
Sample:
There are 3 standard sizes of circular fabric sample diameter used for different fabrics to measure the fabric drape.
1. 24 cm for limp fabrics (gives drape coefficient <30% with a sample size of 30 cm)
2. 30 cm for medium fabrics
3. 36 cm for stiffer fabrics. (gives drape coefficient 85%< with a sample size of 30 cm)
Procedure:
The drape coefficient is calculated by using a very simple method described by Cusick using a simple instrument - the
CUSICK drape tester. Tge drapemeter measures drape-coefficient.
1. The samples are cut according to the above dimensions. platform
2. The samples are placed on a 18” dia (radius r – smaller than sample) circular rigid support disk (pedestal) of the
CUSICK drape tester.
3. The fabric deforms, resulting in a number of folds around the disk.
4. A parallel light beam casts shadow from draped sample onto a ring/circular highly uniform translucent paper of
radius R which is placed/supported on the glass screen of the tester.

5. The area of shadow (As) is measured and compared with the area of the sample (AD) and that of the supporting
platform (Ad). The drape coefficient F is defined as:
Factors Used to Describe Drape Quality of Fabric
1. drape coefficient F
2. number of folds/nodes developed by draping the circular fabric sample on the pedestal
3. node dimensions
The drape coefficient F is the main parameter for describing the fabric drape. Drape coefficient is the ratio of projected
area to specimen’s original area. The drape coefficient gives an objective description of the deformation, although it is
not a complete description. It describes the degree of drape and drape shape (configuration, modality).
a) A lower F value means better drapability, softer fabric, fabric is softer, easy deformation of fabric.
b) The higher the drape coefficient (F), the stiffer the fabric is.
The drape coefficient is relevant to the drapability of fabrics but is not sufficient for characterizing drape formation.
Fabrics with the same drape coefficients may form different drape shapes. Hence other parameters such as number of
nodes/folds and node dimensions are also used to describe the drape quality.

Drape Formation Process: NgDvS

The drape formation process is experimentally found to consist of three stages (Mizutani et al.)-
1. node generation (node appearance in the early stage)
2. development (drapes growing from these nodes)
3. stabilization (static stabilized drapes)
The generation of nodes and the development process must be considered in relation to the mechanical properties of the
fabrics.