Elastic fabric including elastic fiber and hard yarn and methods for making

Abstract

Methods for making stretch fabric having stretch between 10% to 45% in the weft and/or warp direction are disclosed. A corespun composite elastomeric yarn is produced either (a) by low draft (2.7× or below) core-spinning of the elastomeric yarn, or (b) by pretreating the corespun composite yarn in steam or heated water at temperatures of at least 110° C. to reduce yarn power before dyeing or weaving. The fabric with such corespun composite elastomeric yarn in the weft meets end-use specifications without heat-setting.

1 . A method for making a stretch fabric, comprising: 
 (a) core-spinning an elastomeric fiber and a hard fiber to form a composite core-spun elastomeric yarn, wherein the elastomeric fiber is drafted to no more than about 3.5× of its original length during core-spin covering; and    (b) weaving a fabric with the composite core-spun yarn in at least one of the weft and the warp; and    (c) further processing the fabric.    
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein step (c) in conducted without heat-setting.  
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the elastomeric fiber is drafted to no more than about 3.2× of its original length during core-spin covering.  
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the elastomeric fiber is drafted to no more than about 2.7× of its original length during core-spin covering.  
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the elastomeric fiber is bare spandex yarn from about 11 to about 156 dtex.  
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the elastomeric fiber is bare spandex yarn from about 11 to about 44 dtex.  
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the hard fiber is a hard yarn with a yarn count from about 10 to about 80 Ne.  
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the hard fiber is a hard yarn with a yarn count from about 10 to about 80 Ne  
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the hard yarn is cotton.  
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the elastomeric fiber is a bare spandex yarn from 17 to 78 dtex, the hard fiber is a hard yarn with yarn count from 7 to 60 Ne, and the spandex yarn is drafted no more than 2.5× its original length during core-spin covering.  
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the elastomeric fiber is bare spandex from about 17 to about 33 dtex and the hard fiber is a hard yarn with yarn count from about 30 to about 60 Ne.  
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein one elastomeric composition yarn can be used for every 7 hard yarns or fewer in the warp or weft direction.  
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein further processing comprises one or more steps selected from the group consisting of: cleaning, bleaching, dyeing, drying, compacting, sanforizing, singeing, de-sizing, mercerizing, and any combination of such steps.  
     
     
         14 . A stretch fabric made by the method of  claim 1   
     
     
         15 . The fabric of  claim 14 , wherein the Fabric Cover Factor is between about 45% to about 70% in warp direction and from about 30% to about 50% in weft direction  
     
     
         16 . The fabric of  claim 14 , wherein the elongation in the weft or warp direction is from about 10% to about 45%.  
     
     
         17 . The fabric of  claim 14 , having a weave pattern selected from the group consisting of: plain, 2/1 twill, 3/1 twill, oxford, poplin, dobby, sateen, and satin.  
     
     
         18 . The fabric of  claim 14 , wherein the elastomeric fiber is spandex, and the fabric contains from 1% to 5% by weight, based on the total fabric weight per square meter of spandex.  
     
     
         19 . A garment formed from the stretch fabric of  claim 14 .  
     
     
         20 . A method for making a stretch shirting fabric, comprising: 
 (a) core-spinning an elastomeric fiber and a hard fiber to form a composite core-spun elastomeric yarn;    (b) pretreating the composite corespun elastomeric yarn with hot water or steam at a temperature of at least 110° C. before dyeing or weaving;    (c) weaving a shirting fabric with the composite core-spun yarn in the weft direction; and    (d) further processing the fabric without heat-setting.    
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein the pretreatment is with steam in an autoclave at a temperature of from 110° C. to 140° C. for 6 to 60 minutes.  
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein the pretreatment is with hot water in a yarn package dyer at a temperature of from 110° C. to 140° C. for 5 to 30 minutes.  
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein the elastomeric fiber is bare spandex yarn from 22 to 156 dtex and the hard fiber is a hard yarn with yarn count from 5 to 80 Ne.  
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein the elastomeric fiber is bare spandex yarn from 44 to 78 dtex and the hard fiber is a hard yarn with yarn count from 7 to 60 Ne.  
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 24 , wherein the hard yarn is cotton.  
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein one elastomeric composition yarn can be used for every 7 hard yarns or fewer in the warp or weft direction.  
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein further processing comprises one or more steps selected from the group consisting of: cleaning, bleaching, dyeing, drying, compacting, sanforizing, singeing, de-sizing, mercerizing, and any combination of such steps.  
     
     
         28 . A stretch fabric made by the method of  claim 20 .  
     
     
         29 . The fabric of  claim 28 , wherein the Fabric Cover Factor is between about 45% and about 70%.  
     
     
         30 . The fabric of  claim 28 , wherein the elongation in the weft or warp direction is from about 10% to about 45%.  
     
     
         31 . The fabric of  claim 28 , having a weave pattern selected from the group consisting of: plain, 2/1 twill, 3/1 twill, oxford, poplin, dobby, sateen, and satin.  
     
     
         32 . The fabric of  claim 28 , wherein the elastomeric fiber is spandex, and the fabric contains from 0.2% to 5% by weight, based on the total fabric weight per square meter of spandex.  
     
     
         33 . A garment formed from the stretch fabric of  claim 28 .  
     
     
         34 . An article comprising a fabric comprising a core-spun combination yarn including an elastomeric fiber and a hard fiber, wherein the elastomeric fiber is drafted to no more than about 3.5× of its original length during core-spin covering and said fabric is woven.  
     
     
         35 . The article of  claim 34 , wherein said elastomeric fiber has a denier of about 44 dtex or less.  
     
     
         36 . The article of  claim 34 , wherein said elastomeric fiber has a denier of about 33 dtex or less and said elastomeric fiber is drafted to no more than about 3.2× of its original length during core-spin covering.  
     
     
         37 . The article of  claim 36 , wherein said elastomeric fiber has a denier of about 22 dtex or less.  
     
     
         38 . The article of  claim 34 , wherein said elastomeric fiber has a denier of about 22 dtex or less and said elastomeric fiber is drafted to no more than about 2.7× of its original length during core-spin covering.  
     
     
         39 . The article of  claim 34 , wherein said fabric is heat set at a temperature of less than about 180° C. for about 45 seconds or fewer.  
     
     
         40 . The article of  claim 34 , wherein said fabric is not heat set.  
     
     
         41 . The article of  claim 34 , wherein the fabric has elongation in the warp or weft direction from about 10% to about 45%,