The use of the simple air-flow method was capable of providing only the micronaire value (Mc) which is influenced by both fineness and maturity. Considerable work has, therefore, been going on in various research laboratories to modify the air-flow method to make it capable of providing separate estimates of fineness and maturity. The fineness tester has been modified5,6 to obtain independent estimates of fineness and maturity. A separate estimation of fineness would help in deciding the spinning limit of cotton and in getting an accurate prediction of yarn strength from fibre characteristics. The estimates of maturity would help in the detection and avoidance of immature cottons which are prone to neppiness and dyeing problems.

A test specimen is wrinkled under standard atmospheric conditions in a standard wrinkling device under a pre-determined load for a prescribed period of time. The specimen is reconditioned in the standard atmosphere for textile testing and evaluated for appearance by comparison with 3-dimensional reference standards