USE OF BLENDED RAMIE (Boehmeria nivea) FIBRES FOR FURNISHING MATERIAL

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Date
1989
Journal Title
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ACHARYA N.G. RANGA AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY, RAJENDRANAGAR, HYDERABAD
Abstract
One of the oldest textile fibre known is ramie (Boehmeria nivea). This fibre, superior in essential textile properties, has apparently failed to attract attention due to the diff iculty in producing it on commercial basis. But now these problems have been solved and nothing stands in the way of increasing the use of ramie and its goods. Many studies are being undertaken to study the utility of this fibre in order to diversify its uses. Hence the present study was undertaken to study the use of this fibre in blending with polypropylene for . furnishing material. The objective of the study was to study the consumer acceptability, serviceability and cost of ramie blends with 100 percent ramie and polypropylene. It was assμmed that ramie blended fabrics would give better qualities than 100 percent fabrics.Degummed ramie was blended with dyed polypropylene in spinning stage, was spun into 10s count in the following blend proportions and· woven into plain weave on handloom. Ramie Polypropylene (In Percent) (In Percent) 100 0 80 20 60 .. 40 40 60 20 80 o· 100 The study was carried out by dividing the work into two parts, mainly subjective evaluation and laboratory tests. For subjective evaluation, a questionnaire was developed to evaluate the over all appearance, texture, stiffness, lustre, drapability and order of preference for all the six fabrics by . . the consumers. The laboratory test was conducted at yarn and fabric stages. The results obtained from all these tests were analysed I tabulated and discussed. The cost of the fabrics were also estimated. The results obtained from subjective evaluation indicated that the blended fabrics were preferred in all the characteristics than the 100 percent fabrics. Among the blends, 20 percent ramie fabric scored highest rank in all the characteristics. This may be due to the . darker shade of dyed polypropylene, as dark colour fabrics show less dirt and exhibit better overall appearance. The' laboratory test results also confirmed the results obtained from subjective evaluation. In the yarn test, 100 percent ramie was stronger than its blends and the strength was decreasing as its ~fibre content was decreasing. The strength of 100 percent ramie was same as ·that of 100 percent · polypropylene. But the blend of 20 percent ramie showed higher strength than 100 percent ramie. The blended yarns were also more even when compared to 100 percent yarns. For fabric tests also, the blended fabrics scored more in all the properties, such as abrasion resistance, tear strength, crease recover~ · angle and stiffness, compared to 100 percent fabrics. Among the blends 20 percent ramie fabric showed better qualities in all the characteristics tested followed by other blends. Eventhough the cost of 100 percent ramie was low, the cost of 20 percent ramie was the highest because of its mo~e weight per square meter of the fabric. The cost of the ramie blends would decrease when produced in larger quantities. Therefore it can be concluded that ramie blends for furnishing material would be an additional dimension to its use as it is economical, excellent in visual and performance qualities to give this fibre a position it needs in the textile field.
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Keywords
BLENDED, RAMIE, Boehmeria, nivea, FIBRES, FURNISHING, MATERIAL,
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