FACTORS AFFECTING THE BENDING STIFFNESS OF TEXTILE FABRICS AND METHODS OF ITS MEASUREMENT: AN ANALYTICAL REVIEW

Bending stiffness largely decides how a textile holds its shape and drapes, yet its  measurement in practice still depends on manual, operator-controlled procedures.  This paper analyses published studies on the factors that change the bending stiffness of fabrics and on the instruments used to determine it in testing laboratories. Reported laboratory data show that repeated laundering of a cellulosic fabric reduced  its bending stiffness by up to 50.5 %, while the degree of polymerisation of cellulose  fell by 34.3 %. Biomodification treatments were reported to soften linen garment  zones several times over.