Process for point-bonding organic fibers

A process for making a point-bonded nonwoven fabric, said process being characterized by simultaneously heating and compressing spaced, discrete areas of a nonwoven web of bondable, synthetic, organic fibers, said web containing an attenuating bonding liquid, said liquid being a liquid which, under the bonding conditions employed, provides a fabric having higher strip tenacity than obtained in the absence of such liquid under otherwise equivalent conditions and which, when employed in excess of a peak bonding quantity, provides fabric of lower bending modulus than obtained using a peak bonding quantity under otherwise equivalent conditions, and the quantity of said liquid, the temperature, the compressive force and the time of exposure of the web thereto being correlated to effect bonding of web fibers in said spaced, discrete areas, thereby forming a point-bonded nonwoven fabric and the quantity of said liquid being sufficiently in excess of the peak bonding quantity thereof to provide a nonwoven fabric having a bending modulus at least 20% lower than that of a fabric prepared using a peak bonding quantity of said liquid under otherwise equivalent conditions.