DEAS 971 : 2019  
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© EAC 2019                                                                                                                               First Edition 2019   
 DRAFT EAST AFRICAN STANDARD  
Textiles  — Fabrics for household curtains and drapery — Specification  
EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY  DEAS 971: 2019  
ii © EAC  2019  – All rights reserved  
 Copyright notice  
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 DEAS 971: 2019  
© EAC 2019  – All rights reserved  iii 
 Foreword  
Development of th e East African Standards has been necessitated by the need for harmonizing requirements 
governing quality of products and services in the East African Community. It is envisaged that through 
harmonized standardization, trade barriers that are encountered w hen goods and services are exchanged 
within the Community will be removed.  
The Community has established an East African Standards Committee  (EASC)  mandated to develop and 
issue East African Standards  (EAS) . The Committee is composed of representatives of  the National 
Standards Bodies in Partner States, together with the representatives from the public and private sector 
organizations  in the community .  
East African Standards are developed through  Technical Committees that are representative of key 
stakeho lders including government, academia, consumer groups, private sector and other interested parties. 
Draft East African Standards are circulated to stakeholders through the National Standards Bodies in the 
Partner States. The comments received are discussed  and incorporated before finalization of standards, in 
accordance with the Principles and procedures for development of East African Standards. XXXXXX.  
East African Standards are subject to review, to keep pace with technological advances. Users of the Eas t 
African Standards are therefore expected to ensure that they always have the latest versions of the standards 
they are implementing .  
The committee responsible  for this document is Technical Committee EASC /TC 061, Textiles, Textile 
products and Accessori es. 
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be subject of patent 
rights. EAC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.  
 DRAFT EAST AFRICAN STANDARD  DEAS 971:2019 
 
© EAC 2019  – All rights reserved  1 
 Textiles  — Fabrics for household curtains and drapery — Specification  
1 Scope   
This draft East African  Standard  specifies  performance  requirements  of fabrics  for curtains  and drapery.  It 
covers  all knit, lace,  stitch -bonded,  foam  back  and woven  fabrics  to be used  in the manufacture  of curtains  
and drapery.  It is applicable  to all fabrics  except  those  made  of glass.  Except  where  otherwise  indicated,  
these  requirements  also apply  to fabrics  for window blinds  
2 Normative references   
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all  of their content constitutes 
requirements of this document.  For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, 
the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.  
EAS 237, Methods for the determinat ion of colourfastness of textile  materials to washing  
EAS 239-1, Method  for determination  of colour  fastness  of textile  materials  to rubbing  — Part 1: Dry and wet 
method  
EAS 243, Textiles — Tests for colour fastness — Colour fastness to light: Daylight  
ISO 105-B01, Textiles — Tests for colour fastness — Colour fastness to light: Daylight  
ISO 105-B02, Textiles  — Tests  for colour  fastness  — Colour  fastness  to artificial  light:  Xenon  arc fading  lamp  
test 
ISO 105 -C06, Textiles — Tests for colour fastness — Colour fastness to domestic and commercial  laundering  
ISO 105 -D01,  Textiles — Tests for colour fastness — Colour fastness to dry cleaning  
ISO 105 -X12, Textiles —Tests for colour fastness — Colour fastness to rubbing  
ISO 3071, Textiles — Determination of pH of the aqueous extract  
ISO 3175 (all parts), Textiles — Professional care, dry  cleaning and wet  cleaning of fabrics and garments  
ISO 3758, Textiles — Care labelling code using symbols  
ISO 3801, Textiles — Woven fabrics — Determination of  mass per unit length and mass per  unit area  
ISO 6330,  Textiles — Domestic washing  and drying procedure for textile  testing  
ISO 6941,  Textile  fabrics  — Burning  behaviour  — Measurement  of flame  spread  properties  of vertically  
oriented specimens  
ISO 9073 -1, Textiles — Test method s for nonwovens — Part 1: Determination  of mass per unit area  DEAS 971: 2019  
2 © EAC  2019  – All rights reserved  
 ISO 9073 -5, Textiles  — Test methods  for nonwovens  — Part 5: Determination  of resistance  to mechanical  
penetration (Ball burst procedure)  
ISO 9073 -18, Textiles — Test methods for nonwovens — Part 18: Determination of breaking strength and  
elongation of nonwoven materials using the grab tensile test  
ISO 10528, Textiles  – Commercial  laundering procedure for textile fabrics  prior to flammability  testing  
ISO 12138, Textiles  – Domestic  laundering procedures for textile  fabrics prior to flammabilit y testing  
ISO 13015,  Woven  fabrics — Widthway distortion — Determination of  the skew percentage  
ISO 13934 -1, Textiles — Tensile properties of fabrics — Part 1: Determination of maximum force and 
elongation at maximum force using the strip method  
ISO 13937 -4, Textiles — Tear properties of fabrics — Part 4: Determination of tear force of tongue -shaped 
test specimens (Double tear test ) 
 Terms and definitions   
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.  
ISO and IEC maintain ter minological databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:  
— ISO Online browsing platform: available at http://www.iso.org/obp  
3.1 
flame resistance  
property of materials  or combinations  of component  materials  that restricts  flame  propagation  of the textiles  
3.2 
crocking  
rubbing off of  colour as  a result of  improper dyeing,  poor penetration, or  poor fixation  
3.3 
non woven fabrics  
textile fabrics produced  directly  from webs  or batts  of fibres  by mechani cal entanglement  or adhesive  
bounding, fusing  or interlocking  
3.4 
lace 
fine openwork  fabric  with a ground  of mesh  or net on which  patterns  may be worked  at the same  time 
as the ground or applied  later, and  which is made  of yarns, by looping, twisting or  knitting  
3.5 
drapery  
cloth  (hung) arranged  in loose  folds 
3.6 
skew  
cloth condition in which the warp and weft yarns, although  they go straight are not at right angles to each other  
3.7 
bonded  fabrics  
non woven  textile  fabrics  produced  directly  from one or more webs  of fibres  held together  with a bonding  
material  DEAS 971: 2019  
© EAC 2019  – All rights reserved  3 
 3.8 
stitch bounded fabric  
fabric  produced  by bonding  together  fibre batt or series  of laid yarns  by sewing  or stitching  along  the length  
direction  
3.9 
knitting  
method of fabric manufacture  by intermes hing of loops (interloping) of yarns  
4 Requirements  
4.1 General  requirements  
4.1.1  For a fabric  to carry  the claim  that it is cleanable  both by washing  and by dry cleaning,  it shall meet  
the washing  and dry cleaning  requirements  for colour  fastness  and for dimensional  stability.  Where  it is 
supplied  with restrictions  regarding  cleaning,  it need  not meet  the requirements  excluded  by such  restrictions.  
Any restricted serviceability  shall be indicated in the instructions  concerning care.  
4.1.2  The fabrics  shall be of inherently  flame  resistant  fibre or treated  with a flame  retardant,  preferably  by 
polymer  formulations.  The fabric  shall comply  with the requirements  for flame  resistance  as specified  in 4.2.2  
and labelled in accordance  with 5.2.  
NOTE: The  polymer  formulations  are aqueous  treatments  that are squeezed  onto a fabric.  They  are more  durable  
than saline  treatments.  
4.2 Specific requirements  
4.2.1  Fabrics intended for manufacture  of curtains and drapery shall meet all of the requirements listed in  
Table  1. 
Table 1 — Specifications  
Characteristics  Specifications  Test methods  
Colour fastness  to artificial  light (xenon arc)  , min 5  ISO 105-B02 
Colour fastness  to dry cleaning, min  
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
ISO 105-D01  Color change  4 
 Staining  4 
Colour fastness to  launde ring, min   
 
4 ISO 105-C06 
 Shade change  
 Staining  3 
Colour fastness  to crocking  (rubbing),  min  
 
4  
 Dry EAS 239-1 
ISO 105-X12  Wet 3 
Dimensional change after 5 laundering (width and  length)  at 60 
°C normal , % Mean dimensional  change ≤ 3 ISO 6330  
Dimensional change after 3 dry cleaning (width and length), % Mean dimensional  change ≤ 3 ISO 3175  (all 
parts)  
Breaking strength   in both directions,  N min  
 
67  
ISO 13934 -1  Woven  DEAS 971: 2019  
4 © EAC  2019  – All rights reserved  
  Foam  back, stitch  bonded, ( non-woven ) 89 ISO 9073 -18 
Tear strength (to ngue tear),  in both directions, N, min   
 
4.4 ISO 13937 -4 
 Sheer (woven)  
 Foam  back, stitch  bonded, ( non-woven ) 6.7 
Bursting strength (ball burst) – knit and lace  only,  kPa, min  138 ISO 9073 -5 
Mass per unit area, g/m2  
 
35  
 
 Knit and  lace 
 Woven  75 ISO 3801  
ISO 9073 -1  Non-woven,  (foam back,  stitch bonded)  100 
pH value  6 to 7.5  ISO 3071  
NOTE  The requirements  for dimensional  stability  do not apply to window  blind  materials.  
 
4.2.2  The requirement flame resistance shall be as follows:  
a) ISO 6941  shall be used  to evaluate  flammability  properties.  In case  a manufacturer  claim  an 
alternative  method,  the manufacturer  shall demonstrate  that such  a metho d is technically  equivalent  
or better to the one specified; and  
b) When  tested  in accordance  with ISO 6941,  the average  time to sever  the upper  trip thread  for all 
specimens  shall not be less than 10 seconds.  
NOTE : Except  where  specified  that testing  after an approved  cleansing  or wetting  procedure  is unnecessary,  all 
samples  for the flammability  test shall be subjected  to the appropriate  procedure  specified  in ISO 10528  or ISO 12138  as 
appropriate. It is unnecessary to test such samples  before  the cleansing p rocedure.  
5 Labelling  
5.1 Each  roll of fabric  shall have  a label  securely  attached  in such  a way that it can be retained  with the roll 
indicating  the following  information.  For fabrics  supplied  against  a certain  pattern,  the information  shall be 
available with the pattern:  
a) name and address of the  manufacturer  or distributor or other means of identification;  
b) fibre content of the fabric;  
c) dimensions or size (length  and width);  
d) the statement  ‘Flammability complies with the requirements of 4.2.2 of this standard ’; 
e) lot number or batch number;  
f) appropriate  care labelling  symbol  for instructions  concerning  care,  including  cleansing  of the curtain,  
drape or blind to be manufactured from the fabric  in accordance with ISO 3758 ; and 
g) any other marking  as the  contract or o rder may direct  
5.2 The information  on the nature  of flame -retardant -treatment  given  shall be provided  either  in the form of 
a label or  as a separate certificate accompanying each treated  fabric. Because flame -retardant  treatments can  
be removed  either  by dry-cleaning  or laundering,  the information  on flame -retardant -treatment  shall include  
the following:  DEAS 971: 2019  
© EAC 2019  – All rights reserved  5 
 a) type of flame retardant treatment;  
b) specified period for flame resistance;  
c) certain laundering  conditions; and  
d) specified number  of dry cleanings.  
6 Assessme nt of compliance  
6.1 Lot 
6.1.1  The quantity  of curtains  and drapery  fabrics  of the same  type and quality  delivered  to one buyer  
against one dispatch note  shall constitute  a lot.  
The conformity  of the lot to the  requirements  of the standards shall be  determ ined on the basis  of tests carried  
out on the samples  selected from the lot.  
6.1.2  Unless otherwise agreed upon between the buyer and the manufacturer, the number of pieces to be 
selected at random from a lot shall be in accordance with Table 2. The pieces  shall be selected from at least 
10 % of the bales, an equal number of pieces, as far as possible, being at random from each bale.  
Table  2 — Sample size  
Number  of pieces in a lot Sample  size (number  of 
pieces  to be 
selected)  Sub-sample  (test samples)  
Up to 100  10 5 
101 to 300  15 6 
301to 500  25 7 
501 to 800  35 8 
801 to 1300  50 9 
1301and  above  75 10 
 
6.2 Test specimens  
Where  not prescribed  in the relevant  test method  indicated  against  each  parameter  in Table  1, the test 
specimens  shall be taken at  points as  widely dispersed as possible  throughout the available test samples . 
6.3 Criteria  of compliance  
The lot shall be declared  as conforming  to specification  for various  characteristics  referred  in Table  1, if for 
each  of the characteristics,  the mean  values of the test results  on all the individual  specimens  are found  to be 
within  limits  of the specification.  Failing  of a sample  on account  of any of the characteristics  shall mean  
rejection of the full  lot 
 DEAS 971: 2019  
6 © EAC  2019  – All rights reserved  
 Bibliography  
[1] BS 5867 1980:  Specifications for fabrics for curtains and drapes,  Part 1, General  requirements  
[2]  ASTM D3691  /D3691M  - 09 Standard  Performance  Specification  for Woven,  Lace,  
and Knit Household Curtain and  Drapery Fabrics  
[3] NFPA 701 - Flame resistant  textiles  and fibres  
 DEAS 971: 2019   
 
© EAC 2019 – All rights reserved