Effect of Hairiness on Fabric Colour Characteristics

Designing the colour appearance of textiles requires taking into account their surface properties, hairiness among others. The villi protruding on the surface not only affect the quality of textile dyeing, but also largely determine its optical properties and the colour phenomenon. The analysis of studies of optical properties shows that the influence of hairiness on the phenomenon of colour is not well understood and that the amount of hairiness at which colour changes become significant for human perception remains indefinable. In this work, we studied the change in colour characteristics depending on the change in the hairiness of woollen fabrics, comparing “yarn – raw fabric”, “yarn – raised fabric”, “raw fabric – raised fabric”. Hairiness was estimated by the hairiness index, which was obtained from the analysis of sample microphotographs of yarn and fabric using software. The value of colour characteristics (lightness, chroma and colour difference) was measured in the CIELAB colour space (1976) using a spectrophotometer. The obtained experimental results showed that the changes in lightness and saturation of textile materials from the index of its hairiness are directly proportional. However, the value of changes is different for raw and napped fabrics, undyed and dyed samples, the initial colour hue and raw material composition also making certain adjustments. This study analysed the colour difference and established the level of variation in hairiness at which the colour mismatch between woollen fabrics becomes visually noticeable. The results of the study can be used to predict the colour and design the optical properties of fabrics for weaving and finishing.