Quality Assessment of Socks Produced from Viscose and Lyocell Fibers.

Most casual socks are produced from cotton and are usually combined with synthetic fibers. The suitability of viscose and lyocell fibers for knitting socks needs to be investigated further. Therefore, three series of plain socks were produced, composed in the largest content from single-spun viscose or lyocell yarns fully plated with texturized polyamide 6.6 multifilament yarn. The quality of three types of main yarns manufactured by ring, open-end rotor, and air-jet spinning processes and two types of polyamide plating yarns used in the production of socks were assessed together with the structural, usage, and comfort quality of the socks before and after simulating household laundering. In comparison with cotton socks produced from ring-spun yarns under the same conditions, the results showed that viscose and lyocell socks have better moisture absorption and breathability, comparable dimensional stability, and lower abrasion resistance; lyocell socks have lower thermal resistance; and viscose socks are less prone to surface pilling after wet pretreatment.

Usage Durability and Comfort Properties of Socks Made from Differently Spun Modal and Micro Modal Yarns.

Socks, being a necessary item of clothing, must be comfortable and maintain their quality throughout their life. Since the applicability of modal fibers and microfibers, as well as yarns produced using unconventional processes, in sock knitting has been insufficiently researched, this paper evaluated three groups of medium sized socks knitted in a plain single jersey pattern produced with the highest percentage of ring, rotor and air-jet spun modal or micro modal yarns of the same linear density in full plating with different textured polyamide 6.6 yarns compared to conventional cotton socks. The sock quality was evaluated through an investigation of the physical properties, wear resistance and dimensional stability, as well as the water vapor absorption, air permeability and thermal resistance using the thermal foot model before and after five repeated washing and drying cycles, according to the proposed methodology. The results showed that the fiber fineness, the structure of the differently spun yarns and the sock plain knits, the polyamide content and the implementation of the pretreatment of the socks had an influence on the obtained results. The socks made from modal and micro modal yarns differed in their properties. Compared to cotton socks, they have better comfort properties, a generally better pilling resistance and, after pretreatment, a comparable abrasion resistance.