W. CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa., April 30, 2010 — A proposed new standard from ASTM International Committee
D13 on Textiles will be useful to those involved in the design and evaluation of garments that are
meant to fit tight on the body.
The proposed new standard, ASTM WK27572, Test Method for Elastic/Stretch Properties of
Textile Materials, is being developed by Subcommittee D13.59 on Fabric Test Methods, General.
“Elongation using a specified load only tells us a part of what we’d like to know,” says Kham
Viengkham, materials test engineer, Nike Inc., and a member of D13. “We want to be able to identify
the yield point where the material begins to experience permanent deformation or is no longer
elastic. This point is useful to designers, product developers and pattern makers for properly
sizing garments by utilizing an amount of stretch below a materials yield point. This area can be
called the elastic region, where we can better predict the behavior of a material.”
Viengkham says that knowing the yield point of a material will enable designers to avoid
garment failures such as sagging, bagging and other fabric deformations. The proposed test method
will also allow designers to determine how tight or compressive a garment will feel.
The subcommittee welcomes participation in the ongoing development of ASTM WK27572,
particularly from designers who would be using the standard. ASTM International welcomes and
encourages participation in the development of its standards. For more information on becoming an
ASTM member, visit
http://www.astm.org/JOIN.
ASTM International is one of the largest international standards development and delivery
systems in the world. ASTM International meets the World Trade Organization (WTO) principles
for the development of international standards: coherence, consensus, development dimension,
effectiveness, impartiality, openness, relevance and transparency. ASTM standards are
accepted and used in research and development, product testing, quality systems and commercial
transactions.
Press release courtesy of ASTM International
Posted on May 4, 2010
