Milliken + Co

Terry S Taylor

Franklin Sadler Love, Iii

Karen H Stavrakas

Randy G Meeks

Joseph L Alexander

The invention relates to a process of forming a nonwoven fabric with microsponges comprising obtaining a nonwoven base comprising fibers having a first side and a second side and having a weight of greater than about 2 oz/yd, stitching the nonwoven base with a stitching yarn in elongated spaced apart rows of stitches, the rows of stitching having a stitch shape factor greater than 0.54 wherein the stitching yarn has a tenacity greater than 1 gf/denier. Next, a plurality of microsponges is formed by impinging the first side of the stitched nonwoven fabric with a collimated fluid stream with from about 100 to 200 joules per gram while supporting the stitched nonwoven fabric on a supporting member having areas impervious to the collimated fluid and pores in the supporting member which are pervious to the collimated fluid. The pores of the supporting member have a pore shape factor value of at least the stitch shape factor value of the rows of stitches and the ratio of the distance between the rows of stitches to the average width of the pores is from about 3:2 to 5:2. Also disclosed are the product made by the process and the article.

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Inman, SC, United States of America

Terry S Taylor