NON-SHRINK FINISH

Evening Post, Volume CXXXVI, Issue 73, 23 September 1943, Page 8

NON-SHRINK FINISH

TREATMENT OF WOOLLENS

P.A. DUNEDIN, This Day. At a meeting of the New Zealand Wool Manufacturers' Rerearch Association in Dunedin today an account was given by the Director, Professor F. G. Soper, of the progress made by various New Zealand woollen mills towards non-shrink finish of woollens. It was explained that in the research association laboratories, which are housed in the chemistry department of the University of Otago, standard shrinkage tests are carried out in special apparatus which demonstrates the effect of 20 average washes twelve months previously. Knitted material, i.e., underwear, showed considerable variations of shrinkage in the test.

The mills are now using an improvement of a method which has been employed in this country for a number of years and in the majority of cases the shrinkage in the standard test is now well within "the limits required in the British specification for unshrinkability. Such an improvement represents a very great increase in the useful life of garments.

Among processes mentioned by Professor Sqper was the Woolindra's process, which, he said, was well recognised to give highly uniform treatment and would still further lengthen the useful life of woollen garments. This process would shortly be in commercial operation. Other non-shrink processes had been considered and some were still under investigation. Different non-shrink processes gave a slightly different surface finish to the wool fibre and some were more desirable for certain uses than others.

The Wellington Harbour Board at its meeting last night granted £500 towards the funds of the National Art Gallery and Dominion Museum as its contribution for the current year.