Dyed 2GT polyester-spandex circular-knit fabrics and method of making same

1 . Knit elastic fabric with staining grade numbers of 4.0 or higher, as measured by staining of multifiber test fabrics in AATCC Test Method 61-1996-2A, said knit fabric comprising polyethylene terephthalate and spandex, said knit fabric dyed with disperse dyes comprising azo or anthraquinone molecular groups.

2 . The knit fabric of claim 1 , wherein the fabric has a basis weight in the range from about 160 to about 330 g/m 2 , and an elongation in the length direction of about 80% or more.

3 . The knit fabric of claim 2 , wherein the elongation in the length direction ranges from about 80% to about 130%.

4 . The knit fabric of claim 2 , wherein the spandex content by weight ranges from about 4% to about 15%, and the shrinkage of said fabric after washing and drying at laundering conditions is about 3% or less in the fabric length and width directions.

5 . The knit fabric of claim 1 wherein the fabric has a basis weight in the range from about 160 to about 330 g/m 2 , and an elongation in the length direction of about 80% or more.

6 . The circular knit fabric of claim 5 , wherein the elongation in the length direction ranges from about 80% to about 130%.

7 . The circular knit fabric of claim 5 , wherein the spandex content by weight ranges from about 4% to about 15%, and the shrinkage of said fabric after washing and drying at laundering conditions is about 3% or less in the fabric length and width directions.

8 . A garment made from the dyed circular knit, single jersey elastic fabric of claim 1 .

9 . A method for making dyed, circular-knit single-jersey elastic fabric with staining grade numbers of 4.0 or higher, as measured by staining of multifiber test fabrics in AATCC Method 61-1996-2A, wherein the fabric is knit with hard yarn of polyethylene terephthalate or blends thereof and with plated bare spandex yarn, said method comprising:

a) controlling the feed of the spandex yarn in the knitting process so that the spandex yarn is drafted no more than about 2.5× its original length;

b) dyeing the fabric in an aqueous dye liquor of azo- or anthraquinone-based disperse dyes at temperatures below about 135 degrees Centigrade;

c) reduction-cleaning the fabric after dyeing to remove dye from the surface of the fibers in the fabric; and

d) drying the fabric in an oven at oven temperature below about 130 degrees C.

10 . The method of claim 9 , wherein bare spandex yarns of decitex ranging from about 17 to about 44 are plated in every course with one or more spun or continuous filament yarns, or blends thereof, of decitex ranging from about 55 to about 165, and wherein the knit stitch length and the polyethylene terephthalate yarn decitex are selected so that the knit cover factor ranges from about 1.1 to about 1.6.

11 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the knit cover factor ranges from about 1.2 to about 1.4 and the decitex per filament of the polyethylene terephthalate fibers ranges from about 0.05 to about 3.5

12 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the fabric dyeing step comprises contacting the fabric with dye in a jet dye machine and the fabric drying step comprises drying the fabric in a tenter oven.

13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the temperature of the drying oven ranges from about 120 to about 125 degrees C.

14 . A dyed, circular-knit single-jersey elastic fabric with staining grade numbers of 4.0 or higher as measured by staining of multifiber test fabrics in AATCC Method 61-1996-2A, made by the method of claim 11 .

15 . Dyed, circular-knit single-jersey elastic fabric with staining grade numbers of 4.0 or higher as measured by staining of multifiber test fabrics in AATCC Method 61-1996-2A, made by the method of claim 11 .

16 . A garment made from the dyed circular knit, single jersey elastic fabric of claim 14.