Viscose is not a common fabric like cotton. When one touches this fabric, it can give a feeling of a mixture of cotton and silk because it feels like both fluffy and soft. Viscose yarns are actually made from cellulose basis. This is also a manmade fibre but this is not a synthetic one like polyester because it is actually made from natural materials.
Viscose lycra is definitely a fabric which has a bit of lycra mixed in it. Viscose has become popular over the time because this fibre is a bit stretchy as because sometimes spandex was also added to it. This fabric is also heavily processed.
Here, the syrup like viscose solution is prepared first then it is forced through the spinneret into an acid bat which contains sodium sulphate and sulphuric acid. This gives birth to strings of filaments which are stretched on wheels in order to strengthen them. From these fine filaments comes the cellulose. The swelling index of this fibre is thus much higher than the cotton fabric. Here, the swelling process happens quickly. These viscose yarns then form a fabric that can endure dyes really well. So, one can use wide variety of colours on this fabric. It has a lustre in it and so it also looks very bright when colours are added to it. So if one wants something very bold and colourful in their dress material then they must go for the viscose fabric.
Here are a few things to remember about this fabric:
- They can tend to tear when they are included in the regular dyeing process.
- If one wets this fabric for a very long time then there can be some spots created on it. If it happens once, then the process to remove it can be very difficult. This is not cotton where spots can be removed easily.
- If this fabric gets oddly dyed somehow then it can be very difficult to remove.
- The fabric strength of viscose can be reduced if they are not maintained well in pressure and temperature.
Actually viscose dyeing process follows the same pattern just like the cotton spandex fabric. When it comes to the viscose and lycra fabric then this is the dying process that is followed by the manufacturers:
In the very first step, there is a detergent wash of the fabric during the dyeing and then water is released in the next step. Then the labelling of the fabric happens which can increase the pH of the same. After that, salt wash happens before a specific colour is picked in order to dye the fabric and used to mix with. After that the acid wash takes placer to release the colour mixing water. Finally the colour fixing happens if needed before slitting and heat settings. Once the fabric is ready for cutting then one can finalize of the colour shading of it.
These are the steps that are followed before one can use the finished product for further cloth making.