Lyocell fabric samples were pretreated with NaOH and KOH and resin finished. The treated samples were tested to determine the influence of alkali pretreatments on the tenacity, abrasion resistance, and crease recovery of resin-finished lyocell. Alkali pretreatments resulted in a higher surface concentration of the crosslinking reagent in fabrics, leading to lowered crease recovery and abrasion resistance. The pretreatments also exerted a deleterious influence on the tensile strength in resin-finished samples. However, the differential distribution of crosslinking reagent within the textile structure does not appear to be the only factor responsible for the changes observed in substrate properties; other factors also appear to be responsible for the results observed. (c) 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.