Effect of Industrial Washing and Laundering on the Colour Values of Knitted Denim

Abstract

One of the most distinctive features of denim is that the warp yarn is dyed with indigo dye and the weft yarns are not dyed, i.e. white. Although warp yarns dyed with indigo dye are woven with different woven fabric weaves, classical denim fabrics weave are produced with 3/1 Z twill weave. The search for new products in denim has led businesses to produce denim-looking knitted fabrics. Denim-looking knitted garments are subjected to industrial washing at the production phase and repetitive household washing processes in daily life. Repeated washing and drying processes cause changes that can affect user satisfaction in terms of losing the colour of the fabric. Therefore, in this study, the colour values of knitted denim fabrics produced as an alternative to denim fabrics manufactured by traditional methods after various industrial (rinse, enzyme and stone washing) and home washes (5, 10, 20 times) were examined. For this, the CIELab colour system was taken as the basis for colour analysis on a spectrophotometer device. As a result of the washing processes performed on each fabric sample (household washing and rinse, enzyme, stone washing applications), it was observed that there were differences in colour values depending on the fibre type, loop yarn length, fabric construction and washing process.