During sport activities active wear is exposed to moisture and strain which can influence the
dimensional changes of garments. For that reason, an experimental work was introduced to examine
influence of knit pattern on dimensional stability and moisture content of knitted fabrics intended for
active wear. Modified FAST 4 method was used for determination of Relaxation Shrinkage and
Hygral Expansion of nine knitted fabrics knitted in three knit pattern groups (interlock, pique and rib
knit). It has been established that knit pattern has an impact on dimension stability parameters of
knitted fabrics. For knitted fabrics knitted in interlock pattern, negative values of Relaxation
Shrinkage were recorded both in the wale and course direction. The density of knitted fabrics had the
greatest influence on Hygral Expansion values. For pique knitted fabrics, it was found that the yarn
parameters had the significant influence on the dimensional stability parameters. For samples in pique
knit pattern, positive Hygral Expansion values were recorded in the course direction, while in the
wale direction there was no change with the exception of the sample K5-P where 0.4% was recorded.
In the case of knitted fabrics in rib knit pattern, negative Relaxation Shrinkage values were recorded
with the exception of the sample K9-R, while Hygral Expansion values were positive and inversely
proportional to the density. Moisture content of knitted fabrics in interlock pattern range from 1.12%
to 1.31%, in pique from 1.07% to 4.02% and rip knit from 0.91% to 3.37%.
