WHAT IS TEXTILE FINISHING

Chemical finishes should meet the following requirements:

1.Low-cost product and process
2.Stable during storage and application in terms of pH,
temperature and mechanical stress
3.Compatible with other finishes
4.Adaptation to customer requirement and substrate variation
5.Suitable for all kind of fibres and all textile forms such as yarn,
woven or knit fabric, garment, nonwovens, etc.
6.Satisfactory stability during washing and dry cleaning
7.Should not hamper important textile qualities
8.On application should be distributed evenly on the fabric and
fibre surface
9.No yellowing of white goods or colour change of dyed goods.
10.Easy correction of finishing faults
11.Nontoxic and ecofriendly
12.No release of volatile organic compounds
13.Biodegradable
Several important factors are to be considered before
the finalisation of a formulation; a few are as follows:
• The type of textile (fibre composition of the fabric and
its construction)
• The performance requirements (extent of effect and
durability)
• The economics of the formulation
• Availability of machinery and associated process
restrictions
• Procedure requirements
• Environmental consideration
• Compatibility and interactions of finishing
components.
Temporary :
A finish which is not stable and goes off after the first wash is known as
temporary finish and these finishes disappears during subsequent washing
and usage.

Softener is a compound of organic polysiloxane and polymer, which is suitable for soft
finishing of natural fibers such as cotton, wool, silk, hemp and human hair.
Silicone textile finishing auxiliaries have a wide application in textile finishing. The
auxiliary can not only deal with natural fabrics, but also deal with polyester, nylon and
other synthetic fibers. After treatment, fabric is anti-wrinkle, anti-fouling, anti-static,
anti-pilling and plump, soft, elastic and glossy, with a smooth, cool and strong style.
Silicone softening finish can also improve the strength of fiber and reduce abrasion.
Silicone softener is a promising fabric softener, which is also an important additive to
improve product quality and add value in textile dyeing and finishing processing.
 Silicone Softeners features
• Soluble in water, aqueous solution is very stable and in good compatibility.
• The fabric feels soft, smooth and full, and has good drape and puffiness.
• Excellent hygroscopicity and good permeability.
• Moisture absorption and antistatic property.
• It has good resilience and wrinkle resistance.
• Stable working fluid, no demulsification, no floating oil.
• Not easy to get yellowing in high temperature.

Silicone Softeners Classification

① Hydroxy silicone oil
② Amino Silicone oil
③ Epoxy silicone softener
④ Hydrophilic silicone softeners
Current situation of silicone softeners
Most of the domestic fabrics use silicone auxiliaries which is hydrophobic, which makes the wearer stuffy and it is
difficult to wash. Many fabric products often appear the phenomenon of bleaching oil. The traditional hydrophilic
polyether silicone oil has better hydrophilic and water-solubility, but with poor softness and durability.
The effect of different aqueous emulsions of vegetable oils on the wrinkle recovery properties of 100% cotton
fabric.
Six vegetable oils (rapeseed oil, olive oil, coconut oil, safflower oil, linseed oil and modified sunflower oil) with
different fatty acid were used.
The results prove that the fatty acid profile is an important factor affecting the wrinkle recovery properties of
treated cotton fabrics. In general, higher concentrations of the active agent (vegetable oil) provide better wrinkle
properties for treated cotton fabrics.
Wax
Wax are used by the textile industry in four main areas:
•Waterproofing of textile substrates.
•Modifying the frictional properties of fibres, yarns and sewing threads to enhance processability.
•Enhancing the performance of finishing compounds such as softeners, silicones and resins.
•Providing superior fabric properties such as improved flex abrasion resistance, tear strength and sewability.
Polyethylene Wax Emulsion
polyethylene wax emulsion is a soft finishing agent with special function in textile
processing. Its main components are low molecular weight polyethylene (molecular
weight of 1000 ~ 3000), which is also known as polyethylene wax.

Chemical reaction does not occur in the processing, it will not change the color of the
dye and hue or affect the color and freshness of the fabric after finishing.

polyethylene wax has a high melting point and the good flexibility of molecule,
forming a flexible film on the fiber can effectively improve the tear strength and wear
resistance of the fabric.

Having good smoothness, it can significantly reduce the friction coefficient of fiber
surface and improve the sewing of various fabrics in high speed sewing.
（ 2 ）Application

• It is mainly used as an additive to improve certain properties of fabrics

• It is used as a soft smoothing agent for fabric smoothing finishing agent and high
speed sewing thread.
2. Permanent/Durable:

izing, Resin, Water proof, Fire proof etc Soil Release).

Crease Resistant Finishes are applied to cellulose fibres (cotton, linen and rayon) that wrinkle easily. Permanent
Press fabrics have crease resistant finishes that resist wrinkling and also help to maintain creases and pleats
throughout wearing and cleaning.

• Oil and Water Proofing:

Waterproof Finishes allows no water to penetrate, but tend to be uncomfortable because they trap moisture to
the body. Recently, fabrics have been developed that are waterproof, yet are also breathable that is more
comfortable.
Anti-microbial finishes:
With the increasing use synthetic fibbers for carpets and other materials in
public places, anti-microbial finishes have assumed importance. Anti microbial
finish Eco-friendly anti microbial finishing agent for cotton fabrics & Garments.
Useful for eliminating bacterial growth due to sweat.
Water-Repellent Finishes:
Water-repellent finishes resist wetting. If the fabric becomes very wet, water
will eventually pass through. Applied to fabrics found in raincoats, all-weather
coats, hats, capes, umbrellas and shower curtains.
Mercerization
Mercerization is a finishing treatment of cotton with a strong caustic alkaline
solution in order to improve the luster, hard and other properties
Effect of Mercerization:
1.Improve Luster.
2. Increase ability to absorb dye.
3. Improve reaction with a verity of chemicals.
4. Improve stability of form.
5. Improve strength/elongation.
6. Improve smoothness.
7. It has been shown that the increase in the luster occurs because of an
effect. The cotton fiber is convoluted. The cross-sectional shape changes
beacause of swelling.it becomes circular.

Factors Of Mercirization:-
1.Twaddle
2.Temperature
3.Tension
4.Time
(1) Twaddle (Concentration of NaOH):
If the concentration of NaOH is increased above 56oTw improvement in luster
will be attained but if it is decrease below 48o Tw. The quality of luster
will begin to be adversely affected
(2)Temprature:
High degree of luster is attained at temperature 18-20oC. As the temperature
is increased the quality of luster is adversely affected but on lowering the
temperature no improvement in the luster is obtained.

(3) Tension:
For acquiring better luster the material must be stretch to its original dimension
(both in warp and weft direction during mercerization). If the material is allowed
to shrink during mercerizing then quality of luster will be impaired on the other
hand if the material is stretched more no improvement in luster is achieved.

(4) Time:
The optimum time for mercerizing is 30-60 seconds by increasing the duration
of time no applicable improvement in the quality of mercerization can
be achieved but if the time limit is less than 30 seconds in the quality
of mercerization will be improved.
REACTIVE SOFTNER
REACTIVE SOFTNER is a special type of reactive softener which gives smooth, soft feel as well as 
body to a certain extent to cotton and blended fabrics. It gives water-repellent feel when used with 
polyvinyl acetate emulsions and other resins. This product can replace costly softeners like silicone 
emulsions and octadecyl ethylene urea based softener
I. PHYSICAL PROPERTIES :
1. Main component : fatty acid amide and amine derivatives with surfactants.
2. Appearance : Creamish paste
3. Ionic activity : Non- ionic
4. pH (1% aq soln) : 7
5. Solubility : Easily dispersible in hot and cold water.
6. Compatibility : Compatible to hard water, all anionic, cationic
and non-ionic finishing agents.
II. FEATURES :
1. REACTIVE SOFTNER imparts full and smooth handle to all kind of fabrics.
2. REACTIVE SOFTNER provides excellent washing fastness properties.
It reacts with cellulose in presence of catalyst and high temperature to impact supple handle and 
water repellency to the treated fabric.
3. Textile fabrics treated with REACTIVE SOFTNER show improved tear strength and abrasion 
resistance.
4. Being non-ionic in nature, this softener can be used with other non-ionic and cationic softeners 
and also with other finishing ingredients like acrylic emulsions, polyvinyl acetate emulsion, etc.
Parchmentising is a textile finishing treatment for cellulose fabric, mainly cotton and flax,
which stiffens the fabric and imparts a degree of translucency.
 SILK- INTRODUCTION
* Silk has remained the “Queen of fibers ” over the years for its elegant textile qualities wear comfort and aesthetic look.

* Silk fiber is defined as a smooth ,lustrous and elastic filament of small diameter ,which is recovered from the cocoons made
by the caterpillars for protection during the somnolent period when they are changing into moths . It is the only natural
filament that man does not have to spin before it can be used for textile fabrics, but not only to double and twist the long
continuous strand.

* Silk is prized for its luster ,sheen and hand . The popularity of this “Queen of fibers ” is mainly because of the finishing it is
subjected to.
PROPERTIES OF SILK FABRICS
Silk is one of the popular fabrics for apparel because of its unique properties.

Ø Silk is most luxurious fabric

Ø the most comfortable fabric
Ø the most absorbent of fabrics (equal to wool)
Ø the best fabric for drape
Ø the best fabric for color
Ø capable of the greatest luster
Ø having the finest "hand" etc.
These are some of the factors which make the fabric more popular. The fabric is cool in summer and warm in winter.
 Characteristics of Silk Fabrics
•Composition: The silk fibre is chiefly composed of 80% of fibroin, which is protein in nature and 20% of sericin, which is
otherwise called as silk gum.

•Strength : Silk as a fibre, has good tensile strength, which allows it to withstand great pulling pressure. Silk is the
strongest natural fibre and has moderate abrasion resistance. The strength of the thrown yarns is mainly due to the
continuous length of the fibre. Spun silk yarn though strong is weaker than thrown silk filaments.

•Elasticity : Silk fibre is an elastic fibre and may be stretched from 1/7 to 1/5 of its original length before breaking. It tends
to return to its original size but gradually loses little of its elasticity. This would mean that the fabric would be less sagging
and less binding resulting in the wearers comfort.
•Resilience: Silk fabrics retain their shape and have moderate resistance to wrinkling. Fabrics that are made from short –
staple spun silk have less resilience.

•Drapability: Silk has a liability and suppleness that, aided by its elasticity and resilience, gives it excellent drapability

•Heat Conductivity: Silk is a protein fibre and is a non-conductor of heat similar to that of wool. This makes silk suitable
for winter apparel.
•Absorbency: Silk fabrics being protein in nature have good absorbency. The absorptive
capacity of the silk fabric makes comfortable apparel even for warmer atmosphere. Fabrics
made from silk are comfortable in the summer and warm in the winter. Silk fibre can generally
absorb about 11 percent of its weight in moisture, but the range varies from 10 percent to as
much as 30 percent. This property is also a major factor in silk’s ability to be printed and dyed
easily.
•Cleanliness and Washability: Silk fabric does not attract dirt because of its smooth surface.
The dirt, which gathers can be easily removed by washing or dry cleaning. It is often
recommended for the silk garments to be dry-cleaned. Silk fabrics should always be washed
with a mild soap and strong agitation in washing machine should be avoided.
•Reaction to Bleaches: Silk, like wool, is deteriorated with chlorine bleaches like sodium
hypochlorite (NaOCl bleaches). However, mild bleach of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) or sodium
per borate may be used for silk.
•Shrinkage: Silk fabrics are subjected only to normal shrinkage which can be restored by
ironing. Crepe effect fabrics shrink considerably in washing, but careful ironing with a
moderately hot iron will restore the fabric to its original size.
•Effect of Heat Silk is sensitive to heat and begins to decompose at 330° F (165° C). The silk
fabrics thus have to be ironed when damp.
Effect of Light: Silk fabric weakens on exposure to sun light. Raw silks are more resistant to
light than degummed silk.
•Resistance to Mildew: Silks will not mildew unless left for sometime in a damp state or under the extreme conditions of
tropical dampness.
•Resistance to Insects: Silk may be attacked by the larvae or clothe moths or carpet beetles.

•Reaction to Alkalis: Silk is not as sensitive as wool to alkalis, but it can be damaged if the concentration and the
temperature are high. A mild soap or detergent in lukewarm water is thus advisable.

•Reaction to Acids: Concentrated mineral acids will dissolve silk faster than wool. Organic acids do not harm silk.

•Affinity for Dyes: Silk has good absorbency and thus has good affinity for dyes. Dyed silk is fast to colour under most
conditions, but its resistance to light is unsatisfactory.

•Resistance to Perspiration: Perspiration and sunlight weakens and yellows silk fabrics. The silk itself deteriorates and the
colour is affected causing staining. Garments worn next to the skin should be washed or other wise cleaned after each
wearing.
 CLASSIFICATION OF SILK
There are four types of natural silk which are commercially known and produced in the world. Among them mulberry silk is the most important and contributes as
much as 90 per cent of world production, therefore, the term "silk" in general refers to the silk of the mulberry silkworm. Three other commercially important types
fall into the category of non-mulberry silks namely: Eri silk; Tasar silk; and Muga silk. There are also other types of non-mulberry silk, which are mostly wild and
exploited in Africa and Asia, are Anaphe silk, Fagara silk, Coan silk, Mussel silk and Spider silk.

Mulberry silk
Mulberry silk

Bulk of the commercial silk produced in the world

comes from this variety and often generally refers to
mulberry silk. Mulberry silk comes from the
silkworm, Bombyx mori L which solely feeds on the
leaves of mulberry plant. These silkworms are
completely domesticated and reared indoors. Mulberry
silk contributes to around 90 percent of the world silk
production.
 Tasar silk Eri silk
The tasar silkworms belong to the genus Antheraea
and they are all wild silkworms. There are many These belong to either of two species namely Samia
varieties such as the Chinese tasar silkworm Antherae ricini and Philosamia ricini. P.ricini (also called as castor silkworm) is
pernyi Guerin which produces the largest quantity of a domesticated one reared on castor oil plant leaves to produce a white
or brick-red silk popularly known as Eri silk.
non-mulberry silk in the world

Some other categories of

non mulberry silk are:-
Muga silk Ø Anaphe silk
The muga silkworms (Antheraea assamensis) also belong to the Ø Fagara silk
same genus as tasar worms, but produce an unusual golden-yellow
silk thread which is very attractive and strong. These are found only
Ø Coan silk
in the state of Assam, India and feed on Persea bombycina and Ø Mussel silk
Litsaea monopetala leaves and those of other species. Ø Spider silk
 FUNDAMENTALS OF SILK FINISHING
v The finish must take into account demand of silky handle and also draping of the material.

v The right combination depending on the article,and the order in which the finishing machines were used were
mainly responsible for the final result.

v The wash and wear trend is now becoming more important in the silk , which can be achieved with the use of
softeners , elastomers and synthetic resins.

v The drawbacks of the properties of this fibre are rectified and improved by finishing techniques .

v Finishing operations serve the purpose of the functional performance of fabric,

v The most demanded in recent interest is in getting soil –resistant ,flame retardant silk.
Another interesting area in this context is the antimicrobial finishing in order to maintain hygiene and freshness
MECHANICAL FINISHING
Silk can withstand various mechanical finishes which are as follows

1.)CALENDERING
This is a technique used to influence the handle and appearance of the
fabric .
* In most of the cases silk is only calendared in the cold stage, which
produces a soft handle, With a hot calendaring higher lusture is
obtained but it has to be determined in each case in order to prevent
negative influence.

* It is mainly used for taffeta like woven with a smooth character and
for serge articles (e.g. Pongee twill )
2.) DECATIZING

q Decatizing mainly imparts dimensional stability to the textile

fabrics .

q Also creases are removed and the fabric is smoothened .Here the
principle involved is controlled relaxation of strains stored in a
fabric.

q The fabric along with a felt are rolled in open width on to a

perforated cylinder and subjected to super heated steam .Here it
is important that the wool felt used should not be so hard that the
silk fabric is not pressed flat.

q Discontinuous decatizing machine is more commonly used

machine today but continuous decatizing equipment is also found
in which felt calendars might be used.
3.) STENTERING
Main objectives of stentering :

a)Drying the goods by means of hot air.

b)Bringing them to desired width.

c)Producing the desired feel in finished goods by the suitable application of heat in
conjunction with or without special motions being applied to the cloth.

* The goods are stretched upon a stenter in such a way as to straighten out and produce the
necessary width with a minimum of chemical strain. They are then dried by the means of
hot air. In this way, the fixing of the dressing occurs while the cloth has a desired width
and form.Further by regulation of the temperature and therefore the rate of drying
combined with a motion known as “swissing” which is given to the cloth ,the nature of
the final “feel” and the elasticity can be controlled.

* Earlier for silk finishing a stenter operating with hot air was sufficient to dry the fabric
but nowadays it requires curing frames with temperature upto 150 degree C,since various
elastomers and resins are being used.
3.)TAMPONING
Tamponing is a treatment, which leads to improve optical
appearance.
* Silk is sensitive to the mechanical friction it is subjected to in the various
stages of treatment .Even after taking greatest precautions it is likely that the
silk fabric may develop chafe marks.
* The attempt is then made to produce optical improvement on the fabric so that
it is acceptable further.
This is achieved by applying extremely fine film of oil evenly on both sides of
the fabric .Thus the chafe marks become less visible.
* Earlier only faulty portions of fabric were treated by hand with tamponing
cushion.
* Nowadays machines exist which apply evenly to the fabric a fine film of oil
homogeneously distributed on several rollers.
4.)BREAKING
Breaking machine is used to impart a particularly soft handle mainly when
calendaring is not sufficient .
Two types of machines are available :
* BUTTON : Here the piece is passed several times rapidly to and fro over small
rollers studded with brass buttons.
* KNIFE : Here the fabric is drawn over the edges of slanted knives.
The button-breaking machine is older one and recently this is replaced by knife
breakers .
5.)STREAMING OR SHRINKING

For this purpose horizontal screen steamers or shrinking

machines are used.
* They produce shrinkage and relaxation of the fabric .
Crepe like fabrics often appear too flat .The goods
coming from previous treatments are many times in ,
insufficiently relaxed state.
* In the screen streamer ,the fabric is laid with steam
below,on which the fabric can relax.
 Chemical Finishing
Weighting -
It is well known that silk loses 20 to 25 % weight during degumming because of removal of sericin. Weighting which is
also called as charging is carried out by treatment with chemicals.Weighting which is also called as charging is carried
out by treatment with chemicals.
a) To compensate for this loss in weight.
b) To impart fuller hand bulk and a greater filling capacity.
c) To Improve drapeability (ability of fabric to hangs gracefully around its own weight).
d) For better wash and wear behaviour.
The various procedures that help in giving weighing as follows :

1. VEGETABLE WEIGHTING : This process is hardly used today .It was often combined with colours such as
logwood for black.White silk threads were weighted mainly with tannins or special plant extracts (Persian berries)
20 MINERAL WEIGHTING: Mineral weighting is still the classic method ,using tin(IV) chloride (Pink salt)
Phosphate–Silicate. This is carried out in stages ,which are repeated once , or several times , depending on weight
increase desired.
3. WEIGHING BY GRAFTING (polymer weighting): Presently polymer “grafting” treatment is becoming
popular . With this kind of weighting it has become easy to give the percent content ,calculated on the present
weight.
3.)SOFTENING
Silk develops the extra ordinary properties with the application of softeners and also lubricants . These softeners
help to improve the following:
a) Hand b) Drape c) Cutting d) Sewability e)Desirable qualities in silk
The softness and stiffness in a fabric are basically a manifestation of inter- fibre and inter –yarn friction .If this
friction is reduced the fabric develops a soft handle .However , to achieve good durable softness one may have
to focus on to chemical softeners .
In this category organic and silicone based products are common .
Some typical softeners used are :
a)Oil , waxes and fats.
b)Cationics –formulations based on imidazolines , fatty amine ethoxylates .
c)Anionics – sulphates or sulphonates of stearates , oleates,palmitates ,fatty alcohols etc.
d)Non –ionic – polyoxyethylene glycols ,polyethoxylated esters of long chain alcohols ,acids ,glycerides ,oils
and waxes.
e)Silicone emulsion –polydimethyl siloxane , polymethyl hydrogen siloxane ,amino silicones etc.
f)Polyethylene emulsion .
The current trend is to use the epoxy derivatives of silicones to get softness coupled with crease and non-
yellowing.
All the above softeners can be applied by pad-dry , pad-dry-cure or by exhaust techniques.
4.)ANTISTATIC FINISHING
When silk is grafted with monomers to modify certain properties the problem of static charge arises.
Otherwise static charge build upon the silk is moderate .The static charge on styrene grated silk
increases with increasing styrene content .This is checked by the antistatic compositions, which are
classified as:
a ) Statdissipatants
b ) Statresistants

The statdissipating agents function by increasing the hygroscopicity of polymer species .In case of
silk ,certain water soluble vinyl monomers in treatment with certain acids give good statdissipatant
effect .Further, conductivity is found to increase by the depositing of certain metallic particles.
Also ,statdissipatants effect is obtained by rendering, the conducting silk fibre by coating it with metallic
silver. The statresistants ,function by reducing the fibre-fibre ,fibre-metal friction and the friction
action is mainly because of lubrication .The certain basic lubricants like mineral oil and butyl
stearate are used.
It has been observed that when natural silk was grafted with vapour of
hexafluoropropylene ,vinyl chloride, acrulonitrite ,it was found that water
repellency , oil repellency ,mineral acid resistance and photostability of
natural silk increases.
These repellents are applied by pad-dry-cure process and also by exhaust
process .
UV absorbers are based on formulations like :
a)Derivates of 2-hydroxy benzophenone (I) b)Phenylesters and saicylates (III and IV)
c)Derivatives of 2-(2’ –hydroxyphenyl)-benzotriazole (II) d)Substituted cinnamic acid derivatives (V)
Selection of the type and concentration of UV absorbers depend upon:
a)Composition of substrate. b)Thickness of the sample c)Colour requirements d)Processing conditions.
They are generally used at concentration of 1% and can be applied by exhaustion method from dye bath (acid
dyes or disperse colours )