Abstract:

The article presents research results on selected properties of knitted products made of alpaca wool and other raw materials. Special attention was paid to properties defining thermal comfort. The material studied were weft-knitted fabrics made of four different yarns: cotton, PAN, sheep wool and alpaca wool. All knitted fabrics were made with different stitches in five variants on a computer controlled knitting machine – Stoll CHS 530 HP. Warmth retention was evaluated using an Alambeta device. The properties tested were as follows: thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity, thermal absorption, thermal resistance and air permeability. Results concerning the functional properties of the knitted fabrics made of alpaca wool were compared with those obtained for other materials. Generally knitted fabrics made of alpaca wool were positively evaluated.