Abstract
In order to investigate the effect of the size of the stitch to the function and appearance of the fabrics for Japanese style clothes, Kimono, various fabrics for Japanese style clothes were sewn by plain stitch (JIS L 120 type 204) with various sizes from 2.1 to 6.3 mm of stitches, using four kinds of sewing threads. In this paper, the function of the seams of the sewn fabrics was evaluated by the repeating extension under the constant strain condition and stress-elongation experimental tests using a Tensilon tensile tester.
1) The stress of the sewn fabrics after the repeating extension under the constant strain generally decreases. The stress variations of the sewn silk fabrics after the repeating extension are larger than those of the sewn cotton fabrics and further, in the sewing threads, the stress variations of the silk and polyester filament threads are larger than those of the silk and cotton spun threads. The larger the size of the stitch, the larger the stress variation.
2) As compared with the ultimate strength for the sewn controlled fabrics, those for the sewn fabrics after repeating extension under the constant strain are increased, and the smaller the size of the stitch, the larger the increase of the ultimate strength.
As mentioned above, practically, from the functional viewpoint, the behaviors of the sewn fabrics with the small sizes of stitches are superior to those of the large sizes, especially in the case of silk and polyester filament threads. Therefore, it is desirable to select the small stitches, but, it must be paid attention that from the viewpoint of appearance, the slight damages of the woven threads near a seam are found on the thin fabric such as silk fabric (ex, Habutae).
