Abstract
This research compares the difference of each preference segments' subjective hands and sensibilities in order to analyze the correlations among preference, subjective hands, and sensibilities. Preference segments were classified into wool, acrylic, and long stitch length-preferred clusters in previous research. To evaluate the subjective hands and sensibilities of knit fabrics, the 20's and 30's women rated twelve knit fabrics by touching, using a questionnaire with a seven-point semantic differential scale. These twelve knit fabrics were differentiated by controlling the mixture ratio and stitch length using a computer-controlled automatic flat knit machine. The difference of each preference segments' subjective hands and sensibilities was determined using the conjoint analysis. The clusters perceived the subjective hands and sensibilities differently according to preferred constituent characteristics. There was no correlation between surface unevenness and preference in wool-preferred cluster, while there were negative correlations in other clusters. The acrylic-preferred cluster had a preference in coolness compared to other clusters; in addition, the long stitch-preferred cluster preferred flexibility/bulkiness and extensibility than the others. All clusters preferred modem and natural sensibilities that were caused by different constituent characteristics of knit fabrics.
