Patent attributes
A new class of protective fabrics having good ballistic and fragmentary protection also provide wearable drape, softness, and moisture transport, as well as good UV and abrasion resistance and color acceptance, making them comfortable to wear as garment fabrics. The protective fabrics are constructed from yarns having at least 20% ballistic fibers with greater than 12 gpd tenacity. A combined cover factor of between 55% and 80% avoids added stiffness due to yarn distortion at the crossing points. In embodiments, a long-float weave such as twill or satin with reduced crossing point density improves the hand of the fabric, and in some embodiments provides a different character on each face so that a predominantly staple fabric face is in contact with skin of a user, thereby providing better wearing comfort than a plain weave.
