Abstract

Leather, when used as the primary component of clothing, requires specific care in design linked to the specific traits of individual hide types and their mechanical properties. This study attempts, with reference to the specific properties of leather, to explore the impact of nappa leather clothings’ mechanical properties on the characteristics of its use.

This research work deals with a mechanical properties analysis of sheep- and pigskin nappa leather clothing. Particular emphasis is placed on handle, the tensile, elastic and shear properties, as well as bending characteristics and design abilities and/or drape of the leather. Special emphasis is placed on the comparative analysis of pigand sheepskin nappa leather clothing.

The survey involved 31 skins of various nappa clothing sheepskin designed for outer garments which were divided into three groups by weight and by mass and four groups of nappa clothing pigskin. Three of the groups of nappa pigskin differed in the method of finishing, whereas the fourth group included washable nappa pigskin. All of the groups of nappa leather clothing analysed were tested for their interrelationships on the important parameters of mechanical properties typical of an individual hide group. In parallel with analysis of the mechanical properties of the nappa leather used, the effects of mass and bending rigidity on the nappa leathers’ drape were also explored. “Mass” here is used in the sense of mass/unit area and is expressed in gm-2.

Based on an analysis of the results obtained for individual parameters of the nappa pigskin’s mechanical properties, it was established that there is no substantial deviation in the properties concerned from the values for nappa sheepskin.