True mercerising is expensive. When the buyer wants the mercerised look at a lower cost, we create it in the dye house: singeing, a hot alkaline start, and no softener at the end.
At a glance
SingeingClean, glossy surface
80°C × 20 minHot loading
No softenerCrisp hand
FixingUnload with fixing
Mercerised knit fabric has two things buyers like: a glossy surface and a slightly crisp, firm hand. Mercerising with caustic under tension is expensive, so for a lower price point we build a mercerise look in the normal dyeing process instead. The fabric is not mercerised; it is made to look and feel close to it.
- Mercerised fabric costs a lot. Fake mercerising gives the mercerised effect: a glossy look and a slightly hard, crisp quality.
- The fabric is singed to clean the surface completely. It gets no softener: we unload it with fixing, so the fabric feels a little hard.
The route
Fake mercerised knit fabric process
Step by step
- Singe the fabric so the surface is completely clean. That is where most of the gloss comes from.
- Load hot: 80°C for 20 minutes with a wetting agent (about 1–2 g/L), a demineralising agent (about 1 g/L) and caustic (3 g/L).
- Normal scouring.
- A good enzyme treatment for a clean face.
- Normal reactive dyeing.
- Fixing, then unload without softener, so the fabric keeps a crisp hand.
For the real process, see mercerised knit fabric dyeing.
Textile engineer with 14+ years in dyeing and fabric development. He writes every guide on Dyeing Solution from real production work. Full profile