In this study we looked into an existing textile baby stroller seat and investigated whether there can be any advantage in changing the material to a spacer fabric from perspectives such as functionality, comfort, and sustainability. The subject of 3D knitting, and advanced knitting is being researched more and more because of its versatility in producing and changing parameters of knitted high quality products, but there is a lack of studies done on comfort for children when it comes to knitted spacer fabrics and not many studies have been done on spacer fabrics used for baby seats in strollers or other types of seats for children. A reason for further development and research in the area of 3D knitting is that it could be giving products a better appearance, functionality or potential for more sustainable pro-duction which could lead to better possibilities of producing more attractive advanced textile products. This could in turn make the producer more attractive among customers as well as stand out more amongst competitors on the market. Recently there has been attention on the use of warp knitted spacer fabrics in the application of cushioning to protect against impact. Thermoregulation, compression, air permeability and good energy absorption are some characteristics of spacer fabrics which are being further investigated in this study (Gokarneshan 2015). Another reason for further investigation of spacer fabrics, and their good cushioning properties, in child products is that it was shown in a previous study that children who are transported in carriers for bicycles are exposed to more vibration compared to children who are transported in automotive rides (Rothhamel 2023). A reason for examining the possibilities of replacing polyurethane foam with spacer fabric is that PU foams generally have lower air permeability in com-bination with higher heat resistance which can lead to problems regarding comfort. (Gokarneshan 2015). Testing of different spacer fabric samples was carried out based on air permeability, burst strength, and moisture management. These tests were then evaluated to determine the optimal parameters of a spacer fabric for increased comfort and functionality in an outdoor child product. Other tests that were carried out were specific tests for child products such bite test, finger probe test, and pulling test to examine the safety of each sample. We concluded that the optimal spacer fabric should be constructed of polyester rather than cotton to have as good wicking properties as possible. The fabric should have one side of the spacer fabric that does not consist of mesh so that the requirements from the finger probe test will be fulfilled. The other side of the spacer fabric should be constructed of a mesh structure to ensure good properties of air permeability. The holes should, however, not be too big since this might be less comfortable against the skin. The mesh structure recommended for this purpose is a hexagonal mesh which results in both good permeability of both water and air flow. The fabric should also be constructed with a multifilament for the spacer yarn for safety reasons.

Tillsammans med företaget Houdini Sportswear har det här projektets ämne och avgränsningar tagits fram. Houdini är ett svenskt klädföretag som designar friluftskläder av hög kvalitet och med stort fokus på funktion och komfort. De letar ständigt efter nya lösningar för utveckling kring smartare materialval, förbättrad funktion och komfort och mindre materialåtgång. I det här projektet vill Houdini undersöka hur man kan utveckla förhållandet mellan värmeisolering och vikt i flatstickade textila strukturer. Genom att öka textilens värmeisolerande förmåga med fokus på minskad vikt kan både materialåtgång och ökad funktion och komfort nås. En av de viktigaste faktorerna som bidrar till hög värmeisolerande förmåga är mängden instängd stilla luft i den textila strukturen. En tät ytstruktur och mycket volym med många luftfickor är därför intressant för att behålla och immobilisera luften i varan. Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur justeringar av parametrar i en distanstextil, stickad på flatstickmaskin påverkar den värmeisolerande förmågan. Tillsammans med Houdini har en viktbegränsning satts på 400 g/m2 och genom hela studien används endast en typ av ullgarn med garngrovlek Nm 48/2 för att skapa en vara som är i monomaterial och som relativt lätt kan brytas ner.   För att testa den värmeisolerande förmågan hos textilier idag använder Houdini och flera andra företag standardiserade testmetoder. På forskningsinstitutet Swerea IVF finns möjligheten att testa sina textilier med vald testmetod. Dessa metoder är dock otillgängliga och kräver avancerad utrustning som kan försvåra processen och ta lång tid. Studiens syfte är därför även att ta fram och jämföra en egen, mer lättillgänglig, framtagen testmetod för värmeisolering med två standardiserade testmetoder, SS-­ISO 5085-­1:2004 och ISO 11092:2014, för att se om och hur resultaten varierar mellan dem.   En förstudie genomförs där olika bindningar och två egna testmetoder för värmeisolering tas fram. En av testmetoderna och en distanstextil utvecklas vidare i huvudstudien. Fokus ligger på variationer av distanstrådens masklängd och placering. Samtliga prover från huvudstudien testas på den egna testmetoden och vissa utvalda prover testas på de två nämnda standardiserade testmetoderna på Swerea IVF. Sedan görs en jämförelse mellan resultaten.   Resultatet visar att det inte finns något tydligt samband mellan ökad masklängd och ökad värmeisoleringsförmåga. Däremot kan vissa slutsatser dras om att ökade intervaller av distanstrådens placering kan öka den värmeisolerande förmågan. Detta ökar dock även vikten. Resultat från mätningar med tre olika testmetoder visar att rangordningen av provers värmeisolerande förmåga skiljer sig mellan de olika metoderna. Den egna testmetoden bör därför vidareutvecklas men anses ändå ha potential för att jämföra provers värmeisolerande förmåga. / This study is a collaboration with the sportswear company Houdini Sportswear. They are looking for new ways to improve function and comfort in their garments with less material waste and choosing more sustainable materials. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between heat and weight in flat bed knitted spacer structures and what parameters that affects it. By creating a material with high heat insulating properties and with focus on reducing the weight it is possible to reduce the material waste and to achieve an improved function. One of the most important factors contributing to high insulation value is the amount of entrapped still air within the textile structure. This project therefore investigates how the stitch length and the placement of the spacer thread can affect the amount of air within the structure and thereby the thermal insulation. Together with Houdini a weight limit has been set to 400 g/m2 and only one type of wool yarn is used throughout the project in order to make a mono-­material fabric that can more easily degrade.   When measuring the thermal insulation properties of a fabric standardized methods are often used. These might have advanced equipment and be hard to access.The second aim of this project is therefore to develop a more accessible test method for measurement of thermal insulation in textiles and also to compare the results from the own method with the results from two standardized methods.   A pre study is made where different structures and two own developed test methods are being investigated. One of the test methods and a spacer binding is further developed in the main study where focus lies on reproducibility of the tests, and variations of the spacer thread stitch length and placement. All of the samples from the main study is tested on the own developed test method and some chosen samples are tested on two standardized test methods: ISO 5085-­1:2004 and ISO 11092:2014 at the Swedish research institute Swerea IVF. A comparison is made between the results from the three methods.   The results show that tests with our own developed test method has not been able to show a clear relationship between heat insulation and the changes of parameters in different textiles. Although, the samples that have been tested indicate that there might be a relationship between high heat insulating properties when the spacer thread is knitting more frequently. When comparing the results from the three different test methods the own developed method show different raking from the two standardized methods. The own developed test method should therefore be further developed. But still, after discussion with Valter Dejke, researcher at Swerea IVF, and Sibel Okcabol, quality manager at Swerea IVF, it is believed that the own test method could be used for comparing thermal insulating properties between textiles.