Mechanics of Elastic Performance of Textile Materials

is said to have good draping qualities when the configuration is pleasing to the eye. Obviously, then, the word &dquo;drape&dquo; is a qualitative term. The textile industry realizes the importance of understanding the phenomenon of drape and is anxious to be able to measure it quantitatively. Numerous &dquo;drape tests&dquo; have been reported in the literature, but none have presented any correlation between the data obtained and subjective evaluations. This is largely because of the failure to realize that drape may not be determined conclusively by those tests which involve two-dimensional distortions of the fabric samples. (These