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otton. Given that it’s the most widely used fiber in clothing, you’re probably wearing some right now. We love cotton’s comfortable properties and soft feel. But as everyone who’s ironed a cotton shirt or pants knows, these same properties can make cotton-based fabric particularly prone to wrinkling. That’s why researchers from the National Textile University in Faisalabad, Pakistan, embarked on a study aimed at predicting the best fabric properties for strong, crease-free cotton.

Cloth manufacturing plants strive to create a high-quality, durable product, but the mix of fibers, resins, softeners, and catalysts for perfect cotton fabric requires a fine balance that can be difficult to obtain. The application of resins results in a loss of fabric strength, making cloth more inclined to tearing. So manufacturers add softeners to retain fabric strength—but this promotes wrinkling. Striking the perfect combination for strong and wrinkle-free cotton, without sacrificing softness and comfort, is a tough challenge for textile producers.

National Textile University researchers set out to help producers find the ideal fabric mix by using the design of experiment (DOE) tools in Minitab Statistical Software.

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