Stretch, stretch, hold and return to the starting position. No, we are not giving advice regarding any stretching exercise. We are talking about elastane fabric. This elastane fabric is so stretchy that it remains the same as it is even after stretching it several times! In the fashion industry, this elastane fabric is famous for its stretchiness. Many dresses require this kind of fabric for the nice fittings.
So, today we will discuss elastane fabric. We will let you know all the properties and backgrounds of the elastane fabric. So, now just go through the whole article to learn properly.
Elastane is a generic term that refers to branded textiles like Lycra. The fundamental feature of this fabric(also known as spandex), is its amazing elasticity. While elastane, Lycra, and spandex are all the same material, in continental Europe, regional versions of the name “elastane” most typically used to refer to this type of fabric.
This textile is made of polyurethane, a long-chain polymer that is also known as a polyether-polyurea copolymer in technical circles. Elastane is a completely synthetic fabric that is made without the use of any biological components and does not occur in nature.
Otto Bayer and his colleagues developed polyurethane at the IG Farben lab in Leverkusen. Then it quickly transformed into a range of plastics. Polyurethane was developed as a replacement for rubber, which was only accessible from particular types of trees and thus was susceptible to price changes and was often difficult to come by.
Foam made from polyurethane remains a popular shock and heat insulator to this day. During World War II, they used it as coatings on fighter planes. DuPont branded their elastane under the name “Lycra,” and they put it to use in apparel and industrial applications.
There is a wide range usage of toxic chemicals in the production of this fabric. If these chemicals didn’t dispose of properly, they could damage the local environment.
Most of the world’s spandex made using the solution dry spinning process. Dry spinning involves mixing macroglycol with a diisocyanate monomer in a special type of reaction vessel. This creates a prepolymer, which serves as the basis for elastane fabric.
This cell spins to produce fibers and cure the elastane material. These fibers then heated within a nitrogen and solvent gas solution. This causes a chemical reaction that forms the liquid polymer into solid strands.
These fibers then transferred to a spool, and now they are ready to dye into fibers.
Elastane is one of the most commonly used materials in consumer apparel, but it isn’t for making plastics in general. You will easily find this fabric in almost every kind of form-fitting underwear for men and women.
Small amounts of elastane fabric commonly found in almost every form of the boxer brief, panty, and bra on the market; while this fabric does not make up a major percentage of the final product, they include this to give the stretchiness. This fabric is usually always present in the waistband.
The material elastane is very popular in sportswear of any kind, including yoga pants, bike shorts, swimwear, hiking gear, and sports bras. This material is also an integral part of the motion capture suits that used in the film industry for 3D film effects.
Because of its flexibility, the elastane has a higher value than similar synthetic materials like polyester and rayon. This fabric’s manufacturing process is also relatively time-consuming, which adds to its cost.
The price of elastane, like other textiles, directly affected by market changes; the more elastane in supply, the lower the price per yard, and the price rises inversely when there is less of this fabric in supply. The global supply of elastane fabric is largely stable at the moment, but future market swings could result in unexpected price hikes or decreases.
