Abstract

Understanding the properties of leathers associated with garment construction provides valuable inputs for the design and fabrication of leather garments. Drape is one such important property. In this study, drape coefficient and the number of nodes were measured for goat suede leathers from four different firms and compared with mechanical properties which influence garment construction, such as softness, flexural rigidity, initial tensile modulus, formability, weight and thickness. The mean drape coefficient ranges between 20.8 and 40.4% and the number of nodes varies from 6 to 8 for the selected goat suede leathers from four different firms. Softness, flexural rigidity, formability, thickness and weight have been shown to influence the drape parameters such as drape coefficient and the number of nodes significantly.

The results of this study can be used as a basic tool for leather selection to facilitate the design and construction of garments.