Nowadays, most elastic fabrics
use nylon or polyester fabrics.
So, what is the difference between them?
To figure it out, let's first talk about
the properties of polyester yarn and nylon yarn.
Polyester Yarn Properties:
Polyester yarn is a common kind of
chemical fiber yarn used as
raw material in the textile industry.
Its biggest advantage is that it has good
wrinkle resistance and shape retention,
so it is suitable for outerwear. Generally,
fabrics woven with polyester yarn have
the following properties:
#1 Strength & Elasticity:
Polyester fabric has high strength
and elastic recovery ability. Therefore,
it is durable, anti-wrinkle, and ironing-free.
#2 Hygroscopicity:
Polyester fabric has poor hygroscopicity,
which causes a sense of stuffiness to the wearer.
At the same time,
it is easy to be charged with static electricity
and easy to get dust,
which affects its appearance and comfort.
However, it is very easy to dry after washing,
and the wet strength hardly drops. Meanwhile,
it does not deform,
having a good wash and wear property.
#3 Heat Resistance:
Polyester is the best heat-resistant fabric
among synthetic fabrics.
It is thermoplastic and can be made into
pleated skirts with long-lasting pleats.
However, polyester fabrics have poor melting
resistance and are prone to forming holes
in the presence of soot and sparks.
Therefore, try to avoid contact with cigarette butts,
sparks, etc. when wearing garment made
of polyester.
#4 Light Fastness:
The light Fastness of polyester
fabric is pretty good.
Except that it is worse than acrylic fiber,
its light fastness is better than natural fiber fabric.
Especially the light fastness behind the glass
is very good, almost on par with acrylic fabric.
#5 Chemical Stability:
Polyester fabric has good resistance to
various chemicals.
It's acid-resistant but not alkali resistant,
while anti-mold and anti-insect.
#6 Appearance & Feel:
The appearance of polyester yarn fabric is
darker than nylon yarn,
and the hand feel is rougher than nylon,
and there are obvious marks after nails are scraped.
#7 Price:
The average price of polyester DTY
in the past 10 years has been around
9,000 yuan/ton.
Nylon yarn Properties:
Nylon yarn is known for
its excellent wear resistance.
It is not only the best choice for down
jackets and mountaineering clothes,
but also is often blended or interwoven
with other fibers to improve the
strength and fastness of the fabric.
The fabric woven with nylon yarn has
the following characteristics:
#1 Strength & Elasticity:
Nylon yarn has high strength,
good impact resistance.
The fabric mainly made of
nylon yarn is light and good elasticity.
High strength and abrasion resistance
are the biggest advantages of nylon yarn.
#2 Hygroscopicity:
Nylon yarn has general hygroscopicity.
However, compared with polyester yarn,
nylon yarn has better hygroscopicity
than polyester yarn and has antistatic properties,
which makes it meet the requirements
of mines and their mechanical applications.
#3 Heat Resistance:
Nylon has a low melting point,
so its heat resistance is not very good.
It is mostly used in knitting and silk
industries to blend or interweave with other fibers.
When using nylon fabric,
need to pay attention to the temperature.
#4 Light Fastness:
The biggest disadvantage of nylon is
that it has poor sunlight resistance.
It will turn yellow after prolonged exposure to
sunlight and decrease its strength.
Therefore, when using nylon fabrics,
light is generally one of the most important
factors to consider.
#5 Chemical Stability:
Nylon has good chemical stability,
alkali resistance but not acid resistance.
Meanwhile, it has excellent fatigue resistance
and deformation resistance.
#6 Appearance & Feel:
Nylon yarn feels very silky,
and the traces of nails are not obvious
after scratching.
#7 Price:
The average price of nylon DTY in the
past 10 years has been around 19,000 yuan/ton.