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Teenagers especially, girls always loved to wear tight fitting garments, which are also known as skin hugging garments. But today surprisingly even boys
don't want to be left behind as far as fashion is concerned. They too prefer wearing body hugging T- shirts to show their broad shoulders and slim waist.
These fabrics are known as Lycra material in the local and export market. But very few of them know it as Spandex.
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Spandex is a synthetic fibre, which is segmented from polyurethane and formed through spinnerets either by melt extrusions or by solvent spinning. Fabrics
are however not made entirely of spandex fibre. Instead these threads are frequently made in combination with other fibres. As far as the performance of
the fabric is concerned it is excellent due to the construction and finishings given to the fabric.
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The characteristic of this fabric is that it does not reach the breaking point until after the fibre has been stretched to its maximum length. The great flexibility
of spandex fibre further adds to their serviceability and durability. The prime characteristic of this fibre is its elasticity and its holding power.
The garment looks flat, neat in appearance due to rapid shape recovery since it is highly flexible and resilient. Since it is very light in weight it is easy to carry
when one is traveling and it also gives a very good drape ability.
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Spandex fibres have a very low absorbency. Swimsuits are therefore made of this material so that the body does not get wet and it is unaffected by
seawater. White colour lycras generally become yellow if kept for longer time so bleaching is advised. Unlike cotton, lycra fabrics don't shrink. Have you ever
heard a fabric grow? Usually, lycra fabrics do expand, in other words due to regular wearing this material loses its elasticity. This means that there is a
growth in the fabric. Since lycra is very sensitive to heat one should take care while ironing. Since it does not absorb water very fast, fungus does not affect
it. Insects like moth don't attack this fabric because they cannot digest the fibre. Lycra has excellent affinity for dyeing. Due to which it is available in many
colours. According to the specifications all the spandex fibres have good resistance to degradation by perspiration. It is easy to handle fabric because of its
qualities like quick drying, elastic fibres and if stained you can wash it with a mild detergent.
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Keeping these qualities in mind designers prefer making garment from lycra and since it is easy to handle there is a lot of demand of garment made of lycra in
the local as well as the export market. Ready garments available in the market are swimsuits, sports wear, stockings and ready made saree blouses.
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