The pills are formed only during wear ,wash and tear due to abrasion affectingap

pearance, touch and handle of fabrics. The mechanism of pilling goes through the
following four stages:
1. Fuzz formation on fabric surface.
2. Entanglement of fibers in the fuzz with each other.
3. Densification of these entanglements into small balls called pill.
4. Shedding away of pills.

4. Factors Affecting Pill Formation :

Pills build up is affected by Number of protruding fibre ends
Fibre linear density
Fibre length
Fibre cross sectional shape
Fibre strength modulus
Friction Yarn twist levels
Fabric construction
Dyeing
Finishing

Fibre Parameters:
1. Stages in life span of pills: surfacing of fibres Entangling of surfaced fibr
es Wearing-off or build from fabric. In a fabric construction, the physical and
mechanical properties of fibre determine the rate of above stages. Breaking stre
ngth of fibres determines the limit of applied force during surfacing of fibres.
Fibre Parameters
Fibre Parameters:
Fibre linear density cross section modulus, bending rigidity and elongation dete
rmine the degree of entanglement. Fibre breaking strength and abrasion resistanc
e control the pill break off rate. 2. Fibre type Fuzz tendency of various fibres
is given in Table. Dacron (Polyester) and nylon fibres show high pill formation
due to high strength and abrasion resistance. Fibre Parameters
Fibre Parameters:
Orlon (acrylic) show high tendency of pill buildup than viscose due to higher ab
rasion resistance. In general, pills are removed during wear by the breakage of
anchoring fibres. Above the minimum strength, abrasion resistance is the control
ling factor in pill wear-off. Due to different surface finishes on man-made fibr
es, pill formation may differ. Fibre Parameters
PowerPoint Presentation:
Fibres Flex life Cycles Tenacity Modulus Friction (mg) Fuzz (mg) gf /den gf / te
x gf /den gf / tex Nylon 26,000 4.5 0.50 6 0.67 0.29 6.0 Viscose 70 2.6 0.29 69
7.66 0.22 4.4 Dacron 13,000 3.9 0.43 29 3.22 0.35 3.1 Orlon 1,870 2.2 0.24 52 5.
77 0.35 3.1 Wool 3,620 1.4 0.16 24 2.66 0.15 0.4 Acetate 20 1.4 0.16 13 1.44 0.3
0 0.4 Table 2. Fuzz Tendency of Various Textile Fibres
Fibre Parameters:
3. Fibre length No pill formation generally takes place in long continuous filam
ent fibre. Longer staple in yarns show low pilling tendency. Variation in length
of constituent fibres in blend yarns give more tendency to pill formation 4. Fi

bre friction and cross section Coarser fibres have low tendency to pill. Finenes
s of individual fibres in blended yarn should be more or less equal to each othe
r to avoid pilling. Fibre Parameters
Fibre Parameters:
Circular cross section of fibres with smooth surfaces give more pilling Pilling
tendency falls with an increased flatness of fibres. 5. Fibre tenacity and bendi
ng resistance Weaker fibres with lower bending resistance give lower pilling. 6.
Inter fibre friction High inter fibre friction reduces pilling. 7. Fibre crimp
Higher fibre crimp increases pilling. Fibre Parameters
Yarn Parameters:
1. Yarn type If ring-spun, rotor-spun and airjet -spun yarns are compared, airje
t yarn is the most pill resistant, and rotor-spun is the least. (Fig 8, 9, 10 &
Table 3) The difference is spinning systems cannot be over come by changing mate
rial properties.
2. Yarn Count Finer the count lower the pilling. Yarn Parameters
Yarn Parameters:
3. Twist Higher the twist lower the pilling. Increased twist level of yarn conta
ining synthetic fibres above the standard values can reduce pilling. At higher t
wist level pilling decreases at all production speeds. 4. Blend Lower the conten
t of synthetic fibres in blended yarn lower the pilling Intimate blending may gi
ve lower pilling Yarn Parameters
Yarn Parameters:
5. Yarn hairiness Lower the hairiness, low is the pilling (Table 4) 6. Yarn Doub
ling Double yarns give low pilling in fabrics Yarn Parameters
PowerPoint Presentation:
Cotton Variety Fibre Length (mm) 2.5% span length Mean number of pills/Unit Area
4 31.6 15 Table 4: Effect of length on hairiness of b
Varalakshmi 37.3 5 Sankar
lends
Fabric Parameters:
1. Fabric type Knitted fabrics pill more as compared to woven fabrics Pilling re
duces by increasing yarn twist level and tightness factors of fabrics. 2. Fabric
cover factor Compact fabrics give low pilling. Soft and fuzzy surface pill more
. Reduced length of floats reduces pilling Fabric Parameters
Fabric Parameters:
3. Fabric structure Plain fabric show lower pilling than twill and satin fabrics
due to more interlacing and short cross lengths. 4. Fabric weight An increase i
n fabric weight reduces pilling tendency. Fabric Parameters
Dyeing and Finishing Parameters:
Singeing reduces pilling Shearing and cropping reduces pilling in polyester/wool
fabrics. Heat-setting at higher temperature for suitable duration reduces pilli
ng. The cellulosic materials in super steam for heat setting should be preferred
for reduction in pilling. Low heat setting temperature for longer duration in p
olyester/cotton fabric reduces pilling Effect of heat setting of a polyester fab

ric under tnesion at different temperature is given in table 5 Dyeing and Finish
ing Parameters
PowerPoint Presentation:
Heat Setting Temperature ( o C ) Pill/Unit Area Heat-set only Boiled-off and Hea
t-set Control 6.5 10.2 120 - 9.9 140 11.9 8.6 160 11.6 7.8 180 7.8 7.1 200 8.5 5
.2 220 5.0 6.4 Table 5: Fuzz tendency of heat-set fabrics
5. Control of Pilling :
Selecting the correct raw materials (fibre). Manufacturing yarn through proper p
ill resistant steps Constructing fabrics with suitable parameters Using finishin
g and dyeing techniques for reducing pilling Pilling on finished fabric is on th
e average 85% less than in grey state. In polyester/ cotton fabric singeing, she
aring and cropping and heat setting reduces pilling tendency. Enzyme treatment g
iven low pilling i.e. Bio-polishing. 5. Control of Pilling

Fabric handling and pilling performance are two key

characteristics to be considered by the buyers of
polyester / viscose blended fabrics. The choice of softeners
is of paramount importance as the pilling performance of
a fabric is one of the major requirements of customers
along with the fabric handle. In this study, it was
concluded that certain softeners, which decrease ?bre-to?bre friction by internal lubrication, such as nonionic
organo-modi?ed silicone microemulsions and amino
functional polysiloxanes, result in a decrease in fabric
pilling performance. Furthermore, as far as polyester /
viscose blended fabrics are concerned, sanforising
treatment also results in an increase in pilling propensity.
Fabric fuzziness is a property which affects the appearance, handle, thermal ins
ulation and
other fabric features; it also leads to pilling that is a serious problem for th
e apparel industry.
fabric fuzziness with
increase of viscose ratio has ascending trend in
different abrasion cycles.
The abrasion resistance of a fa
upon many factors, including fib
structure and size, fabric weig
fabric finishes including lubri
agents, and the type of abradant
The comparison between the mean of fabrics
fuzziness in whole of abrasion cycles shows that
the fabrics with 87.5% viscose content has most
fuzziness, that is not significantly different from
the fabrics with 50%, 75% and 100% viscose
content. Also the fabrics with 0 and 12.5% viscose
ratio have the least amount of fuzziness. This
shows that fabrics with higher viscose ratio
generate more fuzziness.

The results show that the fabrics including more

viscose content tend to have more fuzziness in
various stages of abrasion. This is in accord with
surface and mechanical characteristics of polyester
and viscose fibers reported in the literature. Also
the fabrics with 50/50 polyester/viscose show high
fuzziness before abrasion and after the second
stage. This may be because of fibers interaction in
yarn structure.