Abstract
The study assessed the organoleptic attributes of fabrics sized with starch
extracted from three selected food substances. Specifically the study:
analyzed organoleptic attributes of three samples of fabrics sized with
starch extracted from rice, corn and russet potatoes (local food substances).
Study used experimental design. Starches samples were extracted
following standard procedures. Size solution was prepared following Lata
and Mehta (2012) method. Three different 20ʺx 20ʺ cotton fabric samples
(100% plain white cotton, 100% coloured cotton and cotton blend
(cotton/polyester 60/40%) were prepared. Following standard method,
the fabric samples were sized, allowed to dry, and pressed for organoleptic
evaluation. Data were collected in three phases using rating scales and
analyzed using descriptive statistics. Three null hypotheses were tested
with t-test at 0.05 level of significance. Results show that 100% coloured
cotton organoleptic attributes were the most high of the rice sized samples,
mean ranging from 3.32±0.57 to 4.08±0.79. All the corn sized 100% plain
white and cotton blend sensory attributes were high top. Sweet potatoes
sized coloured cotton was best in crispness (3.48±28), body (3.79±0.94),
odour (3.34±0.68), sharp contour (3.75±0.95) and smoothness (3.19±0.76).
There were no significant differences (p>0.05) in mean responses of
panelists on the organoleptic attributes of all sized fabrics at 0.05 level of
significance. It is recommended that rice, maize and russet potato starches
should be explored for sustainability in 100% cotton and cotton/polyester
blend fabric sizing.