Lycra for Garment Fit and Size

Fabrics for apparels are constructed either by weaving or knitting using innovative methods and technology in fiber and fabric manufacture. This research was designed to study physical properties of woven and knitted Lycra blends with different geometry and use them for garment construction to see the garment fit with stretch and recovery property of Lycra and location of seams with larger body sizes. Woven Lycra blends showed additional advantage of allowing sewers to more closely fit a pattern and be very comfortable. It imparted a great level of stretch and dimensional recovery, adding comfort and wrinkle resistance to the garments. Knit Lycra blends were as comfortable and more of dimensionally stable fabrics. The fiber blend and fabric structure have great impact on the fit the garments that impart comfort, aesthetic appeal and flexibility to the wearer of various size groups. Limited range of stretch with woven construction actually needs to have individual garment size developed with marginal ease for comfortable body activities. Knitted garments with higher elastic property can fit the wearers of many larger sizes. Placement of seam in garment construction for body contour as aesthetic parameter and stretch and recovery property as performance parameter would be useful especially when many sizes are expected to fit in one size. On the basis of the study, predictions for standardization of sizes to accommodate range of body sizes could be done for construction of garments even with different styles.