Textiles

I

Introduction

Textiles, woven or nonwoven products made from natural or synthetic fibres, filaments, or yarns, or these fibres, filaments, and yarns themselves. The name comes from the Latin word texere, meaning to weave. Traditionally textiles are made from yarn, which is developed by processing fibre, although many textiles can be made by the direct conversion of fibre. This definition also includes simulation of natural products—for example, leather and fur replicas—but excludes others that do not involve the use of fibre, as in plastic sheeting. Textiles may be utilized commercially, domestically, or industrially.

II

Textile Fibres

A fabric begins with fibres which are normally long, thin, and hair-like. The quality of the finished textile is determined by the length, strength and nature of its constituent fibre, whether it is natural or synthetic. For example, cotton, wool, linen and synthetic fibres vary considerably in molecular arrangement. The elements found in cellulose, the chief constituent of vegetable fibres, are hydrogen, carbon and oxygen. These chemical elements are also found in polyesters but are arranged differently and in different proportions. The chemical structure affects fibre properties such as strength, density and wear resistance.

Fibres for textiles are usually described as being filaments or staples. A filament is a continuous-length fibre that requires no length addition for yarn manufacture. Filaments of silk, though long, are usually shorter than filaments of synthetic fibre although a similar lustre may be seen in both. Staples are limited-length fibres requiring twisting together to make usable material.

III

Textiles from Natural Fibres

Natural fibres both compete and collaborate with synthetic fibres. They are generally described as being animal or vegetable, although textiles have been made from minerals— namely asbestos. Most natural fibres are staples; silk is the only natural filament. The amount of natural fibre produced is difficult to quantify, particularly in relation to clothing production; however, cotton generally dominates. Wool, and hairs such as mohair, camel, and cashmere are the next most popular. Wool is an important fibre because of its wide range of applications, which, like cotton, includes furnishings. Flax (linen fibre) and silk are also widely used for clothing production, but in much smaller quantities than cotton and wool.

A

Natural Fibre Production

The production quality of natural fibres is dependent upon variable conditions of plants, soil, animal breeds and methods of cultivation. Quality assessment is therefore an important part of the production of natural fibres although the relative qualities of silk, cotton, and wool are easily identifiable. The factors that affect the conversion of natural fibres into textiles include availability, adaptability to processing, and versatility. The production of fibre in developed countries has become expensive and there is a continuous for new sources of fibre at the lowest price and highest quality. In this way global products can be produced at low retail prices, but only by utilizing the production of several countries at once. In many instances high prices will be paid by consumers for good quality, where expensive hand-based production or selective processing is used.