In the textile industry, pubescence is undesirable. If the hairiness of the yarn exceeds certain limits, it causes breaks when passing through the needles, even during weaving of the fabric, and an excessive hairy appearance appears in the woven fabric. Various tests have shown that there is a direct relationship between hairiness and pilling. As the hairiness value of the yarn increases, the pilling tendency of the fabric also increases.

Knitted fabrics are denser than woven fabrics, and there are wider gaps between the fibers and the fibers are easier to surface. Therefore, pilling is less common in knitted fabrics.

Dyestuffs applied to fabrics and materials used in the finishing of fabrics that give fabric softening and lubricating properties, such as silicone and derivatives, increase the tendency to pilling in fabrics.

In contrast, processes applied to provide polyester, polyamide, and mixtures thereof with dimensional stability reduce the tendency to pilling. High temperature steaming also reduces pilling tendency. Likewise, pilling is less common in polyester fabrics where crease-free finish is applied when washing-resistant materials are used.

Among the many tests that determine pilling tendency, the elastomeric pad base method (Elastomeric Pad) is also suitable. This method is applied to all kinds of woven and knitted fabrics. During the test, the sample fabric is rubbed on the elastomeric pad with a special mechanical character.

For the physical tests performed in the authorized laboratories, many standards published by domestic and foreign organizations are complied with. In this context, pilling tests made by Elastomeric Pad method are based on the following standard:

• ASTM D 3514 Standard test method for pilling resistance and other related surface changes of textile fabrics: Elastomeric Pad

In order to achieve high quality and reliable results, laboratories have to have a solid infrastructure and a strong staff.