A method is provided for conditioning a tubular knitted fabric. The method includes the step of placing on a supported member a tubular knitted fabric formed of yarns, the yarns having fibers of a high cotton content. The layers of the fabric are arranged in overlying layered relation, each layer having an outer surface. The fabric is traversed at a preselected rate while subjecting the outer surfaces of the overlying layers to jets of fluid at pressures of about 40 bar absolute or lower. The fibers forming the overlying layers do not interlock the overlying layers and are separable by subsequent fabric finishing or laundering.