[ L Y C R A or S P A N D E X ]

SPANDEX IS LYCRA

INVENTOR - American Scientist

Joseph C.Shivers

Year of Invention - 1959

LYCRA is a man-made elastane fiber. Never used alone, but always blended with other fibers, it has unique stretch and recovery properties. LYCRA fiber adds comfort, fit, shape retention, durability and freedom of movement. This is achieved thanks to the unique properties of the fiber, which can be stretched up to seven times its initial length before springing back to the original position once tension is released.

Any natural or man-made fibers can be mixed with LYCRA fiber. Very small amounts of LYCRA can transform the performance of a fabric – the amount of LYCRA fiber in a material can be as little as 2%. There are various ways of integrating LYCRA with other fibers to provide fabrics for all needs.

The use of LYCRA in Technical Textiles is a open challenge