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Sewing Needle Penetration Forces and Elastane Fiber Damage during the
Sewing of Cotton/Elastane Woven Fabrics

Article in Textile Research Journal · August 2005

DOI: 10.1177/0040517505057640

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 Textile Research
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Sewing Needle Penetration Forces and Elastane Fiber Damage during the Sewing of
Cotton/Elastane Woven Fabrics
Ayca Gurarda and Binnaz Meric
Textile Research Journal 2005 75: 628
DOI: 10.1177/0040517505057640

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628 TEXTILE RESEARCH JOURNAL

Sewing Needle Penetration Forces and Elastane Fiber Damage during

the Sewing of Cotton/Elastane Woven Fabrics
AYCA GURARDA1 AND BINNAZ MERIC
Department of Textile Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, Uludag University, Bursa, Turkey

ABSTRACT
This paper presents an experimental study of the effects of elastane draw ratio,
pre-setting temperature and finishing process on the penetration forces of a sewing needle
and damage to the elastane fibre during the sewing of cotton/elastane woven fabrics. Seam
strength and seam opening strength of the fabrics were also determined for assessment of
seam performance. In this study three fabric types with three different elastane weft yarn
draw ratios were taken as samples for the experiments. As the first step a pre-setting
process was applied to all three types of fabric at two different temperatures and at the
finishing process half of the samples were treated with silicone and the other half were
washed only. In total, 12 samples having different specifications were obtained. For these
fabrics, nylon/elastane air-covered yarn was used as the weft yarn and cotton yarn as the
warp yarn. Seam strength, seam opening strength, needle penetration forces and “needle
damage index” were determined for these fabric samples. The needle penetration forces
were between 100 and 140 cN and the “needle damage index” values were between 20 and
42%. Photographs were taken with an optical microscope and a scanning electron
microscope to show the elastane fiber damage during the sewing.

Garments made from elastic woven fabrics allow easy Needle penetration damage is characterized using a
body movements, they fit well and keep their shape, and needle damage index value [1].
they are comfortable to wear. The decisive factor when The quantitative value of the penetration force is im-
processing elastic fabrics is the correct setting of the portant to the process of determining the sewing damage
sewing parameters. There are two basic problems in the that can appear in the sewing process on the fabric and is
seam operation of elastic fabrics: one is insufficient elas- an important influence on the quality of the garments [4].
ticity of the seams and the other is damage to the elas- Seam damage caused by the needle penetrating
tane. through the fabric can create severe problems when
When the needle penetrates the fabric, there are two attempting to sew the fabric. The risk for seam damage
basic causes of elastane damage. The needle penetration depends on fabric and sewing parameters [8]. The most
damages the elastane yarn or pulls it out of the fabric. important parameters that have an influence on the seam
The elastane yarn is not sufficiently bound in the fabric damage of the elastic woven fabrics are:
and latitudinal strain pulls it out of fabric along the seam.
The quality and performance of a sewn garment de- fabric construction (fibre content, yarn construction,
pends on various factors such as seam strength, slippage, structure, tightness);
puckering, appearance and yarn severance. Needle pen- chemical treatments of the fabric ( softeness, dyes, fin-
etration force is another important factor affecting the ishes, washing);
efficiency of a sewn garment [3, 7]. needle thickness and design;
The penetration force of the sewing needle is a quan- sewing machine settings (presser foot design and pres-
titative measure of the damage which appears in the sure, sewing speed); and
garment as a result of the sewing process [4]. A high sewing threads
penetration force means that the fabric has a high resis-
tance and so there is a high risk of damage. When elastane has been used in the woven fabrics, the
elastane draw ratio and pre-setting temperature must be
carefully controlled. The elastic recovery increases when
1
To whom correspondence should be addressed: tel.: ⫹90 224 442
81 76/ ext: 31243, fax: ⫹90 224 442 80 21; e-mail: aycagur the draw ratio of the elastane increases; especially for a
@uludag.edu.tr draw ratio of 3.5 in the elastic core-spun yarn [9].

Textile Res. J. 75(8), 628 – 633 (2005) DOI: 10.1177/0040517505057640 © 2005 SAGE Publications www.sagepublications.com

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AUGUST 2005 629

The setting process of elastane usually requires a dry- sewing thread (ticket number 80) made of 100% PES
ing temperature of 180°C. In cases in which application was used for the upper and lower thread at lockstitch and
of the setting process occurs at a higher temperature, the the sewing rate was 5 stitches cm⫺1. The code number of
fabric loses its recoverability and the structure of the the needle was 90/14.
elastane fibers begins to change. The test to measure the “needle-related damage due to
Generally, in the seam operation, finishing with sili- sewing in woven fabric” was made according to ASTM
cone reduces the friction between the fabric and the D1908-89. Equation (1) was used to calculate the needle
needle. Consequently, the needle penetration force and damage index for each specimen [1].
damage to the fabric is also decreased.
In this study the effect on the needle penetration forces ND% ⫽ 100共N y /Pn 兲 (1)
and needle damage index of elastane draw ratio, pre- where ND % is the needle damage index due to fusing,
setting temperature and silicone were investigated for severance or deflection (%);, Ny is the number of yarns
cotton/elastane woven fabrics. Seam strength and seam damaged in the direction evaluated; and Pn is the number
opening strength were also determined for the seam of needle penetrations.
performance. The test of “needle penetration force” was made with
a L&M Sewability Tester (John Godrich). The needle
Experimental penetration action in the L&M sewability tester is 100
Cotton/elastane weft stretch fabrics were woven with r.p.m. and the test is normally run without sewing
the weft yarn of 70/40 denier nylon/ elastane air-covered thread [6].
yarn and the warp yarn of 16 Ne cotton ring spun yarn. The L&M sewability test determines the force re-
The draw ratios of the elastane were 2.704, 3.204 and quired for a 90’s ball point needle to penetrate a fabric
3.4, respectively. The ratio of elastane was 2–3% and the and a total of 100 penetrations are made. A threshold
weave was twill 2/1. At the first step, a pre-fixation value was determined based on the fabric mass per unit
process was applied to the fabric samples at temperatures area. In this study, the threshold value was 100 cN and
of 185 and 195°C and then the dyeing and finishing the average force to penetrate the fabric was recorded.
processes were applied. At the finishing process half of The number of high recordings which exceed the thresh-
the fabric samples were treated with silicone and the old value, which is called the “sewability value”, was
other half were only washed. Therefore, 12 different also recorded.
fabric samples with different specifications were ob- Photographs were taken with an optical microscope
tained. Table I shows the properties of the fabrics used. and a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Optical mi-
The tests carried out during the study are described in croscopic analysis was carried out using an automatic
the following paragraphs. The tests of “seam strength” Trinocüler Stereo Zoom Microscope (Olympus SZ 6045
and “seam opening” were carried out according to BS Model). Scanning electron microscopic analysis was car-
3320 using a Titan Universal Strength Tester [2]. A ried out using a JEOL-FEG-Scanning Electron Micro-
scope/INCA-EDS.
Costat was used for all statistical procedures. The
TABLE I. The properties of fabrics used. results were evaluated by analysis of variance (anova)
and Student–Newman–Keuls (SNK) test. Anovas were
Density applied to data to understand the statistical importance of
(thread cm⫺1)
Thickness Weight parameters on seam strength, seam opening strength and
No Fabric code* Weave Warp Weft (mm) (g m⫺2) needle damage index. All test results were assessed at
1 C1S1T1 Twill 40 33 0.595 202 significant levels of ␣ ⱕ 0.05.
2 C2S1T1 Twill 40 33 0.607 204
3 C3S1T1 Twill 40 33 0.610 197
4 C1S2T1 Twill 40 33 0.605 200 Results and Discussion
5 C2S2T1 Twill 40 33 0.602 204
6 C3S2T1 Twill 40 33 0.566 200 All test results were evaluated separately as described
7 C1S1T2 Twill 40 33 0.586 200 in the following sections.
8 C2S1T2 Twill 40 33 0.571 202
9 C3S1T2 Twill 40 33 0.599 198
10 C1S2T2 Twill 40 33 0.614 201 SEAM STRENGTH AND SEAM OPENING STRENGTH
11 C2S2T2 Twill 40 33 0.609 201 RESULTS
12 C3S2T2 Twill 40 33 0.596 201

*C, draw ratio, C1: 3.204, C2: 3.4, C3: 2.704; S1, finished with The SNK results show that no significant effects of
silicone; S2, washed only; T1, 185°C; T2, 195°C. finishing, pre-setting temperature and elastane draw ratio

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630 TEXTILE RESEARCH JOURNAL

in the warp direction seam strength were seen. On the fabrics. The figures show that there was a significant
other hand, there was an effect associated with the fin- effect of finishing process in the warp and weft needle
ishing process in the weft direction seam strength. penetration forces. As can be seen from the figures,
The silicone finish has a positive effect in the weft silicone treatment reduced the penetration forces. The
direction seam strength. Generally; in the seam opera- figures show that there were no significant effects of
tion, silicone reduces the friction between fabric and pre-setting temperatures and draw ratio in the warp and
needle. Figure 1 shows the results of seam strength in the weft needle penetration forces.
weft direction of the fabrics and silicone finish increased
the seam strength.

FIGURE 1. The variation of weft direction seam strength

according to the draw ratio.

The SNK results indicated no significant effects of

finishing and pre-setting temperature on seam opening
strength in either the warp or weft directions. Figure 2
shows the variation of opening strength of the yarns and
that silicone reduced the opening strength. This can be
explained on the basis of silicone reducing the friction
between the threads of the fabrics. The application of
silicone to the elastic fabrics promoted seam perfor-
FIGURE 3. The variation of needle penetration forces in the (a) warp
mance. and (b) weft directions according to the draw ratio.

The sewability values in the warp direction were 68%

for the samples that were only washed and 40% for the
samples that were treated with silicone.
If the penetration force did not exceed the set level of
100 cN, then the sewability value was set to zero, and
sewability was considered to be very good. When sew-
ability values ranged between 0 and 10%, the fabric
sewability was considered good; between 10 and 20%
sewability was considered to be only fair even though no
great difficulties arose during sewing. In the present
study sewability values in the warp that were only
FIGURE 2. The variation of weft seam opening strength
according to the draw ratio. washed [6].
The weft direction penetration forces were higher than
those in the warp direction, because the warp density was
NEEDLE PENETRATION FORCE RESULTS
greater than the weft density.
Figure 3a and b show the variation of the needle The needle penetration force for a woven fabric de-
penetration forces in the warp and weft directions of the pends on the following parameters: needle diameter and

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AUGUST 2005 631

surface angle; warp and weft spacing, dimensions;,

crimp height and bending rigidity; and friction coeffi-
cients for both thread–thread and thread–needle [5].
In the present study the fabric samples which were
only washed had high sewability values. Silicone re-
duced the friction coefficient between thread–thread and
thread–needle so that needle penetration forces de-
creased.

NEEDLE DAMAGE INDEX RESULTS

As can be seen from Figure 4, the needle damage

index values in the weft direction of the samples that
were treated with silicone at 185°C pre-setting tempera-
ture were between 20 and 25% and the samples that were FIGURE 5. Appearance of the lockstitch on the fabric C3S2T1.
washed only at the same pre-setting temperature were
between 35 and 42%. For every 100 perforations of the
needle, between 20 and 42 yarns were damaged.

FIGURE 6. Appearance of the needle perforation in the warp direction

FIGURE 4. The variation of needle damage index values in the weft of the fabric C1S2T2.
direction, according to the draw ratio.

The SNK results show that the 185°C pre-setting The nylon/elastane weft yarns which were damaged
temperature increased the weft direction needle damage by the needle were examined using a scanning electron
index and that treatment with silicone reduced it. microscope.
Seam damage is the result of high friction between the Figures 7a– c and 8a– c show that the sewing needle
needle and the fabric and dense fabrics are especially damaged the weft yarns at different positions during
sensitive to sewing damage [6]. Silicone reduces the sewing.
friction between the needle and the fabric. In Figure 7a, breakage of both elastane and nylon
filaments can be observed at the damaged weft yarn.
Elastane fibre is the only thick fiber among the nylon
OPTICAL AND SEM MICROSCOPIC STUDIES
filaments. In Figure 7b and c the broken sections of the
An optical microscopic study of the fabrics showed elastane fibre are shown. At the breakage point of the
that the damage was mainly concentrated at the penetra- elastane, deformations related to thermal damage caused
tion point of the needle in the stitch. Figure 5 shows an by the needle can be observed. In Figure 8a the damage
optical microscopic picture of the lockstitch on the fabric that occurred at the nylon/elastane weft yarn of another
sample. Figure 6 shows the penetration point of the sample can be seen. In Figure 8b and c, the breakage of
needle on the fabric. Yarns in contact with the needle at elastane can be seen in the yarn.
the penetration point were also broken or damaged, as The microscopic pictures of nylon and elastane fibres
can be seen in Figures 5 and 6. are similar to each other and thickness is the only dif-

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632 TEXTILE RESEARCH JOURNAL

FIGURE 7. (a) Broken fibres at the damaged nylon/elastane weft yarn FIGURE 8. (a) Broken fibres at the damaged nylon/elastane weft yarn
of fabric C3S2T1. (b), (c) Broken elastane at the damaged nylon/ of fabric C2S2T2. (b), (c) Broken elastane at the damaged nylon/
elastane weft yarn of fabric C3S2T1: (b) ⫻250; (c) ⫻750. elastane weft yarn of fabric C2S2T2: (b) ⫻500; (c) ⫻750.

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AUGUST 2005 633

ference between them. Due to the thermal damage in the ACKNOWLEDGMENT

broken sections, the nylon filaments were melted.
When fabric composition includes synthetic fibres, We gratefully acknowledge the support for this work
friction between the needle and synthetic fibres may lead by the Technicare Services Limited in England and its
to fabric damage or yarn breakage or a partial melting of technical director Pam J. Sharrott. We are also grateful to
the synthetic fibre [6]. John Godrich for his help during this study.

Conclusions Literature Cited

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seam performance, needle penetration force and elastane
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