Chapter five: Compression

1.Compression

➢ Compression describes how fabric helps a garment to fit the human form.
➢ The degree of elasticity will be determined by the
type and amount of elastic yarns used
➢ Comfort stretch: 2–5 percent spandex fiber content will provide gentle
compression and remain close to the body, expanding and contracting as the
body moves. Top-weight and bottom-weight knitted and woven fabrics are
commonly available in comfort stretches.
➢ Power stretch: 14–20 percent spandex fiber content will provide “power stretch”
for sustained compression that suppresses the body silhouette and supports
muscles during athletic performance. Undergarments, athletic garments, and
fashion garments intended to showcase the body silhouette all use power stretch
fabrics
➢ Types of compression:
• rigid fabrics compressing the body without elasticity.
• ribbed knitted fabrics that conform to the body because of the knitted
construction.
• elastic yarns woven or knitted into fabrics that sustain fabric surface tension
➢ Caution regarding elasticity in fabrics:There are risks when selecting elastic
fabrics for designs. First, heat exposure to elastic fabrics will diminish or eliminate
the elasticity. Therefore, be sure the design will not be exposed to excessive heat
during the production process or in the consumer’s hands, as the elasticity will be
damaged by heat. Second, comfort stretch fabrics will create a comfortable
garment and will not compress the body. Over time, comfort stretch fabrics will
exhibit diminished elasticity during the life of the garment. Third, spandex fiber
content means the fabric cannot be recycled into new fiber. If a polyester/
spandex blend is selected, note that this fiber blend fabric cannot be recycled into
new fiber

2.Compression with rigid fabrics

➢ Compressing the body using stiff cloth is a traditional method of limiting the
silhouette of the body
➢ Pant yoke:The rigid woven fabric in this pant yoke fits closely to the upper hip,
and the stretchable jersey knit fabric below the piping provides a contrast.
Combining a compression fabric with a drapey fabric is a common design tool for
creating a silhouette.
➢ Denim jeans: Rigid denim is often used to achieve a desired fit. Without
elasticity, the wearer is confined to the fit of the jeans. Some designers only use
 rigid denim because their customers have a feeling of accomplishment if they can
fit into their favorite jeans.
➢ Silk jacquard for cummerbund: Originally a tight-fitting accessory,
cummerbunds use elaborately woven jacquards, often silk fiber, to show off a
man’s waist. This medium-weight rigid silk jacquard fabric is still used in ladies’
corsets and men’s cummerbunds.

3.Ribbed Knits

➢ Ribbed knit fabrics are weft double-knit construction, using knit and purl stitches
in regular alternating rows that produce cross-grain elasticity.
There are two ways to describe a ribbed knit fabric:
➢ Counting rows: 2 x 2 ribbed knit is defined as two rows of knit stitches followed by
two rows of purl stitches in a repeating pattern. 3 x 1 ribbed knit is three rows of
knit stitches followed by one row of purl stitches
➢ Naming fabric: Certain patterns of ribbed knits are recognized as a fabric. Some
fabric names for different ribbed fabrics are “poor boy” or “shaker” knits.
➢ Shaker knit: The shaker knit uses a larger yarn size, often spun wool yarn,
knitted in a compact 1 x 1 ribbed knit. The fabric has good thermal insulation and
usually fits close to the body.
➢ Fine-gauge:knit This soft ribbed knit uses 64 percent bamboo rayon and 36
percent PLA (corn fiber). The fabric is very drapey and not very resilient, so the
design should use the ribbed texture for surface interest and not for elasticity in
fit.
➢ Metallic ribbed knit This 2 x 1 ribbed knit (two knit wales and one purl wale on
the face of the knit) includes metallic monofilament yarn and spun wool yarn. The
tight knit and the natural elasticity of the wool yarn make this fabric fit close to the
body.

4.Elastic ribbed knit banding

➢ Ribbed knit banding is designed to finish the openings of a garment to keep them
close to the body or to provide trim design detailing
➢ Knitted trim is produced two ways:
• Knit fabric is first produced in tubes and then cut into bands of fabric.
• Knit bands that are knitted into specific widths and lengths.
➢ Fine-gauge T-shirt: The knitted trim on this T-shirt uses the same yarn as was
used to create the T-shirt, so the trim matches. Note the way the folded knit trim
expands at the seam line and contracts at the folded edge so the trims will
remain flat against the body.
➢ Ribbed knit collar and cuff: This polo shirt is designed with a ribbed knit collar
trim and sleeve cuffs that match the shirt fabric. The ribbed knit construction
allows the collar to roll easily and the cuffs to stretch and return to their original
shape.
➢ Ribbed knit sleeve: This 4 x 1 ribbed sleeve is from a jacket designed to have
close-fitting sleeves and knit banding at the bottom of the jacket to keep it closed
around the hips.

5.Comfort stretch: top weights

➢ Comfort stretch makes precise fitting problems less important, as the wearer is
now familiar with and wants comfort stretch fabrics.
➢ Elastic yarns are now sophisticated in their construction, allowing for finer elastic
yarns that do not feel like nonabsorbent manufactured fiber
➢ Yarns now combine the absorbency comfort of a natural fiber with the functional
characteristic of an elastic fiber
➢ Very lightweight fabrics can now be elastic, using high-twist mechanical elastic
yarns or textured multifilament mechanical elastic yarns, or complex elastic yarns
using spandex monofilament fiber combined with other fiber and yarns.
➢ Other lightweight fabrics can be elastic using bare, shiny, monofilament spandex
yarn, knitted into the back side of a jersey that will not be noticeable to the wearer
or to the eye.
➢ Most top-weight fabrics are one-way (one grain line stretching only) stretch,
usually cross-grain stretch. The elastic yarns are sometimes bulky compared to
the nonelastic yarns also being used, so in top-weight fabrics, bulky yarns are
mostly undesirable.
➢ Cotton stretch jersey: Jersey is knitted while a bare elastic monofilament yarn
is “laid in” on the back side of the jersey. This is a common way of adding
elasticity to a jersey fabric. The elastic yarn is nearly invisible unless the fabric is
stretched and the shine of the elastic yarn can be seen.
➢ Stretch broadcloth: Lightweight broadcloth weave fabrics are often used for
women’s fashion blouses and tops. This yarn-dyed stripe fabric has 2 percent
complex, spandex plied yarn in the weft direction, allowing for a slight elasticity.
These woven top-weight fabrics are mostly weft-direction stretch only.
➢ Rayon stretch jersey: This fashion weft-knit jersey is 96 percent rayon and 4
percent spandex. The rayon yarn is extremely soft and drapey, and the spandex
yarn adds elasticity and wrinkle resistance. This is a yarn-dyed stripe pattern.
The black color is a very deep black because rayon absorbs deep color dyes
very well.

6.Comfort stretch: casual woven fabrics

➢ Casual comfort stretch woven fabrics are always cotton blends or fabrics that
appear to be cotton-fiber blends.
➢ Elasticity is achieved by weaving complex elastic yarns into the fabric.
 How to describe a stretch fabric’s ability to stretch:
➢ One-way stretch: Elastic yarns are only in one grain line direction, so the fabric
stretches on one grain line. Some textile mills call this fabric two-way stretch
because the fabric expands and then contracts.
➢ Two-way stretch: Elastic yarns are woven in both warp and weft directions, so the
fabric stretches on both grain lines. Some textile mills call this fabric four-way
stretch because the fabric expands and then contracts in both warp and weft
➢ Stretch wool gabardine: Menswear wool gabardine with elastic stretch yarns
added provides resilient suits for the workplace that are more comfortable to
wear than traditional worsted wool suits. Face and back are the same.
➢ Dobby weave suiting: This interesting novelty weave suiting fabric has stretch
for a good fit and resiliency. The twill-weave back side uses absorbent rayon
yarns, whereas the plain-weave face uses nylon yarns. There is 6 percent
spandex fiber, because this is a two-way stretch fabric
➢ Stretch tropical suiting: Lightweight tropical, used in worsted wool and
polyester/rayon blends, is used for suits for hot weather. Adding 2 percent elastic
yarns in the weft direction only will add resilience to a suit which, in hot weather
clothing, is not always possible.

7.Comfort stretch: double knits

➢ Double knits, which can be produced in a wide variety of fabrics and garments,
have given knit designers a more consistent fabric quality that sustains the
garment silhouette.
➢ Adding spandex to double-knit fabrics has increased customer satisfaction with
knitted fabrics and encouraged designers to select more knitted fabrics for their
apparel.
➢ Double-knit fabrics of all types can be enhanced by adding elastic yarns
➢ Elastic fleece knit: This fleece fabric is elastic and can be used for close-fitting
designs. Fleece fabrics are usually bulky and loose fitting, but the addition of
spandex changes its character. Fiber content is 97 percent polyester and 3
percent spandex.
➢ Elastic ribbed knit trim: The ribbed collar and side panels on this fleece top,
whose function is to keep the garment openings close around the body, work
better when elastic yarn is added. The ribbed trim fiber content is 97 percent
polyester and 3 percent spandex.
➢ Stretch sock cuff: This sock cuff has laid-in bare elastic yarn on the back side to
help keep the sock from slipping down when worn. The spandex yarn in the top
of the cuff gently grips the ankle. Fiber content is 98 percent cotton and 2 percent
spandex.
➢ Comfort stretch dress and sweater:This medium-weight, comfort stretch,
double-knit dress (left) has enough weight to support the white trim on the front
and the edging on the skirt. The elasticity of the medium-weight knit fabric fits the
body well and adds weight to the silhouette. Adding a little elasticity to the
medium weight sweater weft knit (inset) gives additional resilience and life to the
design to “remember” the garment silhouette.