Fabric handle and Drape

By
Dr.Gurumurthy.B.R
E-mail : voguru1@gmail.com

Drape
The term used to describe the way a fabric
hangs under its own weight determines
how good a garment looks in use
It differs from fabric to fabric and depends on
end use
A particular value cannot be classified as
either good or bad
The multidirectional curvature formed is
dependent on shear property and bending
stiffness

 critically important, in fact essential,

property of a textile fabric and
onewhich distinguishes it from other
materials, such as paper or steel, is
itsability to undergo large,
recoverable draping deformation by
buckling gracefullyinto rounded folds
of single and double curvature.

 It is this characteristicthat plays a

critical role in the fit, body
conformation and wear comfort
ofgarments and when translating
three-dimensional (3D) body shapes
intotwo-dimensional (2D) patterns
and vice versa.

 According to the Textile Termsand

Definitions of the Textile Institute, "Drape
is defined as the ability of afabric to
hang limply in graceful folds, e.g. the
sinusoidal-type folds of acurtain or skirt.
It refers to the fabric shape as it hangs
under its own weight;Cusick defined the
drape of a fabric as a deformation of the
fabric producedby gravity when only part
of the fabric is directly supported.

 Drape, togetherwith the effect of

seams, determines the way in which
a garment mouldsitself to the shape
of the body, this being a critical
factor in comfort andaestheticrelated aspects of a garment and its
fit.

 Ayada and Niwa showedthat the

visual beauty and total quality of
gathered skirts are closely relatedto
the fabric mechanical properties of
bending, shear and fabric weight
andcan be described by the
parameters of formability, elastic
potential and drape

 Drape, in which the fabric shearing

properties play a dominant role, is
alsoa critically important parameter in
the application of body scanning ,
masscustomisation,computer-aided
designand computer-aided
manufacturing(CAD-CAM)and
automaticpattern makingto clothing
design and manufacturing.

 The most significant developments in recent

years have beenthe empirical prediction and
modelling of drape as well as the move
towards3D design, simulation and virtual
modelling (3D virtual prototyping)
whichenables the designer to drape and
validate their design onto a computer
generatedmanikin or one built off a body scan
of a fit model, taking intoaccount technical
information, fabric type, colour, drape and
stretch as wellas the effect of seams.

 Transforming 2D patterns into a 3D

configurationthat follows a body
surface (and vice versa), of
necessity, involves modellingthe
fabric physical properties such as
drape

Measurement of Drape
Fabric drape characteristics and behaviour are
manifested in the appearanceand fit of the
garment and are usually assessed subjectively.
Nevertheless,considerable research and
development has been directed to the
routineobjective measurement and
characterisation of drape and to relate drape,
so measured, to objectively measured fabric
mechanical properties, notablybending
stiffness and shear stiffness.

 Chung presented a detailed review ofstudies

on drape, both static and dynamic, on both
unseamed and seamedfabrics, and
investigated the effect of seam allowance,
type and position nonwoven fabric drape.
She found that bending length increased
with the insertionof a vertical seam, while
drape coefficient increased with the addition
ofradial seams; increasing the seam
allowance had little effect.

 The highestdrape coefficient

occurred with the circular seam
located just out of thepedestal.
Schenk developed a new method to
measure the effect ofseam stiffness
on the stiffness of adjacent fabrics

Cusick drape meter

 Drape Co-efficient (D)

= (Mass of shaded area / Total mass
of paper ring)
x 100

 Pioneering work was carried out by

Chuetal who developed a methodof
measuring drape by means of the F.R.L.
Drapemeter, quantifying drape asa
dimensionless drape coefficient (DC%).
Cusick subsequently developedwhat has
become known as Cusicks drapemeter
(Fig.) and which is stillthe standard and
most common method of measuring
drape.

 It has a parallellight source that causes

the shape of the draped fabric to be
projected onto acircular paper disc.
The drape of a fabric is popularly defined
as the area ofthe annular ring covered
by the vertical projection of the draped
fabricexpressed as a percentage of the
area of the flat annular ring of fabric,
thisbeing termed the drape coefficient.

 In practice, the contour of the

shadowis often traced onto the
paper and cut out for weighing.
Cusick definedthe drape coefficient
(DC%) as the weight of the paper of
the drape shadow(W2) expressed as
a percentage of the paper weight
(W1) of the area of thefull annular
ringDC% = W2/W1 100

 The higher the drape coefficient the

stiffer is the fabric.
At least two specimens should be
used, the fabric being tested both
ways up so that a total of six
measurements are made on the
same specimen.

 There are three diameters of

specimen that can be used:
A 24cm for limp fabrics; drape
coefficient below 30% with the
30cmsample;
B 30cm for medium fabrics;
C 36cm for stiff fabrics; drape
coefficient above 85% with the 30cm
sample

Factors affecting fabric

drape