Title
Dyeing of prewashed and alkali pretreated cotton knitted fabrics with reactive dyes
Authors
DESTALEM MEZGEBO GEBRETSADIK, MIHRET HAILEMARIAM TEKALEGN and NAGENDER SINGH

Received February 4, 2026
Published Volume 60 Issue 5-6 May-June
Keywords knitted cotton fabric, prewashed, Felosan RGN, combined alkali pretreatment, shade percentage, dyed

Abstract
Knitted cotton fabric pretreatment involves the use of various chemicals and auxiliaries to prepare it for dyeing. Samples of knitted single-jersey cotton fabric of 140 GSM were prewashed with Felosan RGN or alkali pretreated by a combined process, and dyed under the same dyeing parameters; both types of samples were then evaluated. For evaluation, CIELab color difference, K/S value, and color (wash, rubbing, light, and perspiration) fastness were tested. Then, the CIELab color difference was assessed for specific shade percentages, for red, blue, black, and trichromatic combination of primary dyes up to 0.5% (light shade), and yellow up to 1.5% (medium shade), and the results were compared to those obtained for pretreated dyed fabrics. In addition, the prewashed dyed samples were characterized by evaluating various fastness properties. The unavoidable cost analysis revealed the appreciable outcomes of the work.