Waddings for the apparel industry

For waddings, an important fibre feature is crimp. Crimp gives waddings softness,resilience, elasticity, bulk density and retains the wadding's form after washing or dry cleaning. Thinner fibres give more softness and more flexibility but they may penetrate the fabric or lining more easily.

Usually polyester fibres are used for apparel industry waddings. Sometimes other fibres such as viscose or cotton are blended with the polyester, but because they are hydrophilic they absorb more moisture. Fibres may be siliconised or non-siliconised. Silicone gives very soft feeling, and the wadding feels much softer and more elastic than non-siliconised through the fabric. Fibres may be solid or hollow; in some cases the fibres may have several channels (e.g. DuPont Quallofill, four channel or even seven channel). The more channels, the softer the result.

There are two ways to bind the fibres together to produce bulky waddings; adhesive bonding and thermal bonding.

Thermal Insulation is influenced by fibre thickness, mass per square metre and thickness. Thickness is the most significant factor. The greater the thickness, the greater the insulation. When comparing products with the same thickness, the finer the fibres and the greater the mass per square metre, the greater the insulation.