we have determined the effects of structure on the strength properties of fabrics woven from twistless cotton yarns. the twistless yarns were prepared on a wrap spinning machine, which produces twistless staple fiber yarns held together by a fine multifilament wrap. the experimental yarns were spun with a water soluble polyvinyl alcohol wrap, which was removed during wet processing after the yarns were woven into fabric as filling. yarns were produced from both normal and high strength cottons. generally the results showed that for normal fabrics of average density, strength properties of the twistless-yarn fabrics were comparable to those woven of ring spun yarns. looser constructions of the twistless-yarn fabrics were weaker than comparable ring spun fabrics, however. the twistless-yarn fabrics had better flat abrasion resistance and lower air permeability. fabrics produced from the high strength cotton were consistently stronger than those from the normal strength variety, regardless of yarn type. (author abstract) 8 refs