Abstract: This paper systematically studies and analyzes the strength, non-iron property, water absorption,

capillary effect and handfeel of alginate fiber/cotton blended fabrics, solves the problems of low strength and poor ironability of alginate/cotton blended fabric, and determines the best processes, i.e., scouring,noniron finishing and soft finishing. By studying the concentration of caustic soda, time and dosage of penetrating agent, the optimal process parameters were determined as follows: the dosage of caustic soda is 20 g/L, and penetrating agent dosage is 8 g/L, after 5 minutes of reaction time, the fabric tensile strength reached 450 N after scouring, and capillary effect reaches 9.4 cm in 30 min, which can meet the requirement of next processes. By studying the resin dosage, catalyst dosage, and torrefied reaction time,the optimal resin dosage is 140 g/L, the catalytic agent dosage is 28 g/L, the torrefied time is 180 s, the non-iron property of the fabric reaches 3.5 grade, and its tensile strength reaches more than 250 N. Finally,the paper carried a research on the effects of different types of softeners on fabric handfeel, hydrophilicity,and capillary effect. It was determined that the soft finishing process with 40 g/L of block-modified amino  silicone oil, and 10 g/L of fatty acid ester softener, the hygroscopic property of the finished fabric can reach 5.4 s, and the capillary effect is over 8.4 cm in 30 minut es.

Key words: alginate fiber; iron free; hygroscopic property; capillary effect; handfeel