Textile

For other uses, see Textile (disambiguation).

A variety of fabric. From the right: evenweave cotton, velvet, printed cotton, calico, felt, satin, silk, hessian, polycotton.

A textile (often called cloth or fabric) is a flexible artificial material made up of a network of natural or artificial fibres (thread or yarn). formed by weaving or knitting (textiles), or pressed into felt. The words fabric and material are commonly used in the textile assembly trades such as tailoring and dressmaking, as synonyms for cloth. However, they are words with much more general meanings. The term is also used to describe a particular type of hardback book binding, originally meaning that the surface of the cover was made using "cloth".

Classes of textiles include woven, crocheted, knitted, knotted (as in macrame) or tufted cloth, and non-woven fabrics such as felt. Materials made from fibers such as fiberglass, carbon fiber, and ceramic fiber which are infiltrated by a matrix of another material are considered fiber-reinforced composite materials.

The production of textiles is an ancient craft, whose speed and scale of production has been altered almost beyond recognition by mass-production and the introduction of modern manufacturing techniques. However, a Roman weaver would have no problem recognizing modern plain weave, twill or satin.

Many textiles have been in use for millennia, while others use artificial fibers and are recent inventions. The range of fibers has increased in the last 100 years. The first synthetics were made in the 1920s and 1930s.

Sources and types

Textiles can be made from a variety of materials. The following is a partial list of the materials that can be used to make textiles. In the past, all cloth was made from natural fibres, including plant sources such as cotton, flax, and hemp, and animal sources such as wool, hair, and silk. In the 20th century, these were supplemented by artificial fibres such as polyester and rayon.

Uses

Cloth is most often used in the manufacture of clothing, household furnishings, and art such as tapestry. Before the advent of woven cloth, the functions of textiles were fulfilled by furs and skins.

Treatments

Cloth is most often but not always dyed, with fabrics available in every color. Coloured designs in fabric can be created by weaving strands of different colours (plaid) and adding coloured stitches to finished fabric (embroidery), but also by using various printing processes on finished fabric. The hobby of machine embroidery has become popular in the last few years, thanks to less expensive home embroidery machines.

Since the 1990s, finishing agents have been used to strengthen fabrics and make them wrinkle free. [1]

Types of cloth

Cloth is made in many various strengths and degrees of durability, from the finest gossamer fabrics to sturdy canvas sails. The relative thickness of fibres in cloth is measured in deniers. Microfiber refers to fibers made of strands thinner than one denier.

Animal origin

• Alpaca
• Thread
• Angora rabbit hair
• Camel hair
• Cashmere
• Mohair
• Silk
• Vicuña hair
• Wool: divided into woollen and worsted

Vegetable

• Bark cloth has various uses, and is used in sheets.
• Bamboo fiber from bamboo.
• Coir: the fiber from coconuts.
• Cotton
• Shell of Coconut
• Grass, rush and straw
• Hemp (mostly used in rope making)
• Jute
• Kapok
• Linen, made from flax
• Nettle: processed in a similar manner to flax.
• Ramie
• Seaweed: a water soluble fiber (alginate) is produced. This is used as a holding fiber in the production of certain textiles: when the cloth is finished the alginate is dissolved, leaving an open area.
• Sisal

Derived from plant products

• Acetate
• Modal
• Paper
• Piña (Pineapple fiber)
• Rayon

Mineral

• Asbestos
• Glass fibers can be used in the manufacture of textiles for insulation and other purposes.
• Glass Fiber
• Metal fiber, metal wire and metal foil have some uses in textiles, either on their own or with other materials (see, for example, goldwork embroidery).

Synthetic

• Acrylic fiber
• Ingeo
• Lurex
• Spandex, tactel, lycra and other 'stretch' fabrics
• Nylon fiber
• Polyester fiber
• Polypropylene (comes under various common trade names such as Olefin or Herculon)
• Olefin fiber

Production methods

• Braiding/Plaiting
• Crochet – usually by hand.
• Felt – fibers are matted together to produce a cloth.
• Knitting – by hand or on knitting machines (see stocking frame).
• Knotting, including macrame: used in making nets.
• Lace – again both hand made and machine made.
• Pile fabrics – carpets and some rugs
• Velvet, velveteen, plush fabrics and similar have a secondary set of yarns which provide a pile.
• Weaving – the cloth is prepared on a loom, of which there are a number of types. Some weaving is still done by hand, but the vast majority is mechanised.

Processes

• Carding
• Bleaching – where the natural or original colour of the textile is removed by chemicals or exposure to sunlight.
• Dyeing – adding colour to textiles: there is a vast range of dyes, natural and synthetic, some of which require mordants.
• Textile printing
• Embroidery – threads which are added to the surface of a finished textile for ornamentation.
• Starching
• Waterproofing and other finishings.
• Bobbinet is a type of tulle netting similar to warp knitting

Uses

Textiles have been used in almost every possible context where their properties are useful.

• In cleaning
• Bags and other means of carrying objects
• Balloons, kites, sails, parachutes and other transport use. Early airplanes used cloth as part of the construction.
• Clothing
• Flags
• Furnishings, including towels and table cloths
• Geotextiles
• Industrial and scientific uses, including filtering
• Nets
• Rugs and carpets
• Tents
• Towels

See also

• Manufacturing
• Textile manufacturing terminology
• Timeline of clothing and textiles technology

External links

• Weaving document archive

References

• (4) NC State College of Textiles
• Technical Textiles Executive