Abstract
Each cotton fiber is a unicellular hair collected from the seed of cotton plant. The fiber contains many convolutions along its length. Mercer was the first to suggest caustic soda treatment of cotton in commercial application. Mercerization has been commercially used since Lowe's suggestion to endow cotton with increased strength and affinity for dyes with additional properties such as fabric touch or luster. In this study, cotton fabric specimens were mercerized to investigate the changes in physical and mechanical properties pertaining to the hand or touch of fabrics. Physical properties were measured using the KES(Kawabata Evaluation System).