This study focuses on the mechanical properties of weft knits for outerwear as a function of knit structure and density and the relationships between hand, structure, and density. Eighteen weft knits are produced with six different structures (1 × 1 rib, half-cardigan rib, half-milano rib, interlock, single-pique, and crossmiss interlock) and three different densities (loose, medium, tight). The mechanical properties and hand values of the fabrics are measured using the KES-F method. Tensile properties increase for fabrics with a higher density, as do bending and shear properties. Compression values decrease somewhat as knit density increases but differences in compression values are not very large. Surface properties such as softness and smoothness increase with density. Specific findings for tensile properties reveal that the single-pique and the crossmiss interlock can not absorb external stress as much as the 1 × 1 rib and the interlock when stresses are applied in the course direction. Knits with tuck and miss stitches (half- cardigan rib, half-milano rib, single-pique, and crossmiss interlock) have better dimen sional stability than fabrics with only knit stitches. Testing of primary hand values shows increased stiffness and fullness and softness and decreased smoothness as knit density increases. Total hand value increases with knit density. Double knits show higher total hand values than single knits. Half-milano rib and crossmiss interlock structures have the highest total hand values. Based on the tests results and an understanding of current market needs for dimensionally stable fabrics with a soft hand, we conclude that knit structures with combined miss and tuck stitches exhibit properties appropriate for outer wear fabrics for the winter season.

In this study we use 3D scans to measure and analyze lower body measurement change for various active body positions, comparing a standing posture, a 120° knee bend posture, a one pace stepping posture, and a sitting posture with 90° knee bend. Small hemispherical markers identified body landmarks for reliable measurement of the 3D scans. Study participants were 25 females, aged 18 to 24, with hip measurements from 93 cm to 103 cm. We compared the measurements from each posture to a standing posture with feet apart and arms abducted (a modified anthropometric stance commonly used for body scanning). We also tested the reliability of the 3D measurements on active postures. Two types of measurements were compared, 3D scan measurements using virtual tools on the computer screen and traditional manual anthropometric measurements. No significant differences between the two types of measurements were found except for knee height. Selected scan measurements were also repeated three times and found to be reliable. A comparison of scan measurements in the active postures showed significant changes from the standard standing scan posture. The sitting posture showed the most change in measurements. Back center leg length, front center leg length, front waist to hip line depth, front crotch length, back crotch length, knee girth, and hip girth were the items that exhibited the most change in the sitting posture. The measurement of 3D scans provided a reliable and convenient method for comparative measurements between active body positions, which would be impractical to measure using standard anthropometric methods.

Journal of the Operational Research Society (JORS) is the world's longest established OR journal and an official journal of The OR Society. It is the aim of the Journal to present papers which are relevant to practitioners, researchers, teachers, students and consumers of operational research, and which cover the theory, practice, history or methodology of OR.

Three-dimensional body scanning technology was used to analyze fit of women's pants and to measure garment ease at various locations. Special test pants constructed with adjustable Velcro sections were used to provide custom fit for each study participant. Twenty-four subjects, ages 35 to 55, represented three body shape groups (straight, medium, curvy) determined by the hip-to-waist circumferences ratio, and four size groups covering Misses size range 4 to 16. Scans of a subject wearing minimal clothing and of the same subject wearing the test pant, adjusted by the researchers for best fit in a standing position, were compared. The differences between the pant and body scans (ease) were determined for circumference, slice area, surface area, and volume measurements at various locations and analyzed for size and shape dependence. Decrease in percent ease differences with increasing size was observed for several variables; no clear dependence on shape was found. Size dependences were used to propose a way of pattern grading with grade intervals variable by size and body location.

This article presents a framework for considering the relevance of the physical environment to obesity. The authors adopt the notion that the “environment” constitutes the space outside the person and therefore broaden the common conceptualization of the “environment” to encompass a full spectrum from small-scale design elements to large-scale community infrastructure. An energy balance approach is also adopted. The energy balance perspective recognizes the equilibrium of food consumption and energy expenditure, rather than focusing solely on one or the other side of the equation. The authors consider how environmental characteristics present either barriers (that hinder), or supports (that promote) healthy habits. Thus, they describe a range of obesity-related environmental themes that provide opportunities for innovative collaborative research between environmental psychologists and colleagues in fields ranging from apparel design to landscape architecture. Last, conceptual and methodological considerations are briefly presented.

The development of new computer technologies designed to custom-fit apparel has created a need for quantification of apparel fit characteristics. Fit perception and preference data are needed to improve sizing for ready-to-wear and custom-fitted apparel. Tactile responses of subjects to the fit of pants were investigated using an adaptation of an American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) sensory perception test. The test was designed to establish thresholds in apparel fit: that is, the smallest difference in garment dimensions that can be consistently perceived and identified. The test samples for the study were a set of 15 pants, which varied in size, made for each participant from precise computer-generated patterns. Four female experts in apparel fit, who comprised the subject panel, each recorded their responses to these pants compared to a control. Control pants were custom-fitted to each panel member; the remaining pants in each set varied from the control by 0.5 to 1.5 cm at a single location (waist, hips, or crotch length). When the pants were presented in a blind test, the panel perceived differences as small as 0.5 cm in pants waist size from the control. Differences of 1.5 cm were perceptible at the hip and crotch. The subject's level of acceptance of the fit variations in the pants was then judged using a preference test. This test revealed differences among individual subjects in the acceptability of fit variations in waist and crotch dimensions; judgements of the acceptability of hip variations were more consistent among the subjects. Judging from the results of this testing, it is concluded that threshold levels at which fit differences can be perceived can be established for different areas of the body, and that perceptible fit variations can be quite small. This testing also showed that individuals vary in their tolerance for fit variations at different locations on the body.