ASTM International is one of the largest international standards development and delivery systems in the world.  ASTM International meets the World Trade Organization (WTO) principles for the development of international standards: coherence, consensus, development dimension, effectiveness, impartiality, openness, relevance and transparency.  ASTM standards are accepted and used in research and development, product testing, quality systems and commercial transactions.

A proposed new standard from ASTM International Committee D13 on Textiles will be useful to those involved in the design and evaluation of garments that are meant to fit tight on the body. ASTM WK27572, Test Method for Elastic/Stretch Properties of Textile Materials, is being developed by Subcommittee D13.59 on Fabric Test Methods, General.

“Elongation using a specified load only tells us a part of what we’d like to know,” says Kham Viengkham, materials test engineer, Nike Inc., and a member of D13. “We want to be able to identify the yield point where the material begins to experience permanent deformation or is no longer elastic. This point is useful to designers, product developers and pattern makers for properly sizing garments by utilizing an amount of stretch below a materials yield point. This area can be called the elastic region, where we can better predict the behavior of a material.”

Viengkham says that knowing the yield point of a material will enable designers to avoid garment failures such as sagging, bagging and other fabric deformations. The proposed test method will also allow designers to determine how tight or compressive a garment will feel.

The subcommittee welcomes participation in the ongoing development of ASTM WK27572, particularly from designers who would be using the standard.  Further information can be obtained from ASTM Web site at www.astmnewsroom.org.