## 2 Materials and Methods  
Previous studies [6; 14; 15; 16] suggest a definition of hand feel based on the physiomechanical properties of textiles. This is in accordance with the physical sensation of the fabric--a person's somatic senses are defined by the receptor and nervous system. There are many types of receptors in the skin: mechanoreceptors, which feel pressure; thermoreceptors, which feel the temperature; nociceptors, which feel pain. Mechanoreceptors are stimulated at the time of touch and are distributed throughout the human body, with the participation of pain receptors that inform the brain of excessive irritation (thus detecting too sharp, irritating textiles), while thermoreceptors are stimulated by changes in temperature.  
The quality and performance characteristics of fabrics are related to their low-stress mechanical, surface, and dimensional properties. The experimental errors involved in the measurement of these properties are known to be much smaller than the errors involved in a subjective assessment of fabric quality attributes, especially those made by individual judges [16]. [PERSON] et.al [17] proposed that properties are linked to known methods of measuring the various physical properties involved (see Figure 1). [PERSON] et.al. [6], on the other hand, point to the close connection between fabric hand and the comfort of the human-clothing system and define four components of hand-feel assessment.  
The key elements in subjective hand evaluation may be defined as (adapted from [2]):  
* The judges, particularly their expertise or semiexpertise.
* The criteria of judgment, the choice of descriptors for fabric attributes (can differ from fabric to fabric).  
Figure 1: Diagram of linked fabric properties (adapted from [17]).  
* The assessment conditions, seen or unseen, controlled temperature, and relative humidity (or simulated non-specific environment as in the shop).
* The assessment technique, free or specified fabric, manipulation technique for assessment of given attributes (teaching of hand actions to the experts involved).
* The method of ranking or scaling the assessment, rank order, graded standards, magnitude, and estimation ([PERSON]'s scale range).
* Analyses of results, the relative importance of individual descriptors for end-use, and concordance between descriptors.  
Based on the literature review and experimental experience, the design of the study is developed in several stages, where the hand feel of the selected textile set is evaluated step by step (see Figure 2).  
Fabrics are first selected, then reference fabrics are defined, and hand actions are performed. Then, experts/semixperts are given the opportunity to perform an overall evaluation (in Figure 2 and the text, the overall evaluation is related to a subjective evaluation of softness, namely, it refers to a personal feeling about the general properties of the fabric. In the paper, it is called overall (overall) and/or softness evaluation). Data processing during the experiment shows a close relationship between the evaluation of all selected descriptor pairs, but it is worth keeping them, since in the two-step decision-making process it is easier for experts to perform an overall evaluation, thus achieving higher concordance in expert evaluation.  
In addition to the study, to confirm that consumers' ratings are similar to those that can be assessed by a panel of experts in certain circumstances, a study was conducted during a textile exhibition, where visitors, mostly active in the textile sector (professional audience), were offered five different fabrics and asked to rate the fabrics according to felt softness.