An investigation of tenun Pahang Diraja performance using alternative yarns / Engku Liyana Zafirah Engku Mohd Suhaimi

An investigation on the properties of Tenun Pahang Diraja performances using alternative yams was conducted. The studies were made in order to evaluate whether the Tenun Pahang Diraja could be produced economically and at the same time maintain the fabric quality. Traditional Tenun Pahang Diraja uses silk for both warp and weft. In this project, five (5) types of alternative yams were selected to weave the fabrics which were modal (2nd generation rayon) and tencel (3rd generation rayon), bamboo yam and coolmax yam and polyester yam. The reasons to use the yams were due to the advantages offered and lower yam cost compared to silk. These yams were woven with two variations, one with the alternative yams as weft while maintaining the silk warp and the other with both warp and weft using the alternative yams. A total of 12 types of textile test procedures were done on the Tenun Pahang Diraja and two (2) tests on the yams. The testing on the fabrics can be divided into four (4) properties with three (3) on fabric measurements, two (2) on strength properties, two (2) on surface properties and another three (3) on handle properties. These include yam count, single yam strength, fabric mass, thickness, thread density, abrasion, pilling, tearing strength, tensile strength, drapability, crease recovery angle and stiffness. Overall, it can be concluded that a blend of silk with other fibers such as silk/Coolmax®, silk/polyester and 100% of using alternatives yams such as 100%) bamboo, 100%) modal yams can be used as the alternatives to replace 100%> silk Tenun Pahang fabric. These yams are much cheaper than silk, which can reduce the total cost of Tenun Pahang Diraja fabric.