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Conceptual Understanding: The continuing evolution of the textiles industry provides a wide spread of applications from high performance technical textiles to the more traditional clothing market. More recent developments in this industry require designers to combine traditional textile science and new technologies leading to exciting applications in smart textiles, sportswear, aerospace and other potential areas.
Raw materials for textiles
Fibres can be classified as being from a natural or synthetic source. A fibre is an elongated hair like strand or continuous filament.
-Wool, linen and cotton are short fibres. silk is a long continuous filament fibre.
-Fibres can be twisted using the spinning process and converted into yarn or fibres can be used in their raw form and manufactured to create felt.
-Consider absorbency, strength, elasticity and the effect of temperature
Manufactured from fibres, the origin can be subdivided into two sections:
Natural (organic)
either a plant or animal origin
ex. cotton, linen, wool and silk
Properties of natural fibres
originates from plants and animals
are usually short fibres (staple fibres)
can absorb moisture (ex. sweat from skin) therefore fabrics are ‘breathable.
flammable, easy to dye, poor resilience, good conductor of electricity
Cotton
Can be cool or warm to wear as fibres trap air, reducing convective heat loss. It is durable, creases easily, absorbent, dries slowly.
Used for nightwear, summer clothes, shirts, underwear, jeans, bedsheets, socks, towels, etc.
Silk
Has a high lustre, absorbent, durable, warm to wear, soft handle
Used for evening dresses, nightwear, ties, cushions, wedding dresses etc
Wool
Good insulator of heat, absorbent, dries slowly, warm to wear, not durable
Used for sweaters, blankets, socks, coats, tailored suits etc
Synthetic (man-made)
created by chemical processes
polymer-based from oil and coal, others are from glass, metal ceramic and carbon.
Properties of synthetic fibres
man made fibres (usually from chemical resources)
fibres produced are long and much smoother
most are thermoplastic and will soften and contract when exposed to heat.
have low affinity for moisture creating less ‘breathable’ fabrics.
sources include viscose, acrylic, nylon and polyester
Nylon
Nylon fibres are exceptionally strong and elastic and stronger than polyester fibres. The fibres have excellent toughness, abrasion resistance, and are easy to wash, and to dye in a wide range of colours. The filament yarns provide a smooth, soft, and lightweight fabric of high resilience.
Used for rope, tents, fishing filament, seatbelts, parachutes, luggage, conveyor belts, outerwear, tents.
Polyester
Polyester is very durable: resistant to most chemicals, stretching and shrinking, wrinkle resistant, mildew and abrasion resistant. Polyester is hydrophobic in nature and quick drying.
Used for outerwear, combined with other fibres to improve crease resistance, sportswear, hoses, sails, auto upholstery, carpets.
Lycra (Spandex)
Lycra is exceptionally elastic, stronger and more durable than conventional rubber. Good tear resistance. A third of the weight of natural rubber. Clings to the body and comfortable and always reverts back to its original form after being stretched. Crease Resistant.
Used for sportswear, combined with other fibres to improve stretch, disposable diaper, underwear.
Conversion of fibres to yarns
in the beginning, the strands are a tangle of loose fibres.
natural fibres also require cleaning and refining, and some mixing in order to homogenise the batch
the fibres are then slightly twisted and thinned out in order to produce sufficient strength for handling
wrapping fibres around each other increases strength
the process is repeated, while lengthening the yarn.
the yarn that is formed is called a ‘single’ (single strand of yarn)
Conversion of yarns into fabrics:
Weaving: The act of forming a sheet like material by interlacing long threads passing in one direction with others at a right angle to themhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kHvhBNd31U.
Undertaken on a machine called a loom with two distinct styles of thread which are interlaced together to form a fabric: warp and weft. Warp threads run lengthways on a piece of cloth and the weft runs across from side to side.
there are different kinds and ways to produce a weave; for example a twill weave is by alternately passing under two and over one,
a smooth satin finish is achieved.
Knitting: A method for converting a yarn into fabric by creating consecutive rows of interlocking loops of yarn.
Process of forming fabrics by looping a single thread (by hand with slender wires or a machine provided with hooked needles)
made by making knots, however the destruction of one loop threatens the destruction of the entire web, unless the meshes are reunited (because of the interlocking nature of the yarn in knitted fabrics)
advantages include: fabric can stretch, low stress on the yarn, large number of stitch types are available
Lacemaking: A method for creating a decorative fabric that is woven into symmetrical patterns and figures.
Lace-work is a stitched fabric patterned with holes, and is now commonly made from cotton.
it is made by hand with a needle (called needlepoint lace). by bobbins (along with a pins, pillow or a cushion, hence called ‘pillow lace’) or by a machine and is created by looping, plaiting one thread with another, without any backing material.
synthetic threads are often used for machine-manufactured lace and because of their high strength to weight circumstances, detailed and complex patterns are produced.
Felting: A method for converting yarn into fabric by matting the fibres together.
Felt is made from animal fibres (sheep’s wool, rabbit fur), however today it can be made from man-made fibres (viscose)
felt-making process is dependent on the kinks in the fibres and the irregularities in the surface (to see if the fibres are able to interlock together) good wools, scales are perfect and numerous, while in inferior ones there are fewer serrations (jagged edges) and are less perfect in structure
(from wool) progressively depositing layers of cleaned and combed fibers into a large tray, each 90 degrees from each other.
hot soapy water assists with lubrication and reduces friction and so the fibres can move and because entangles in the scales on the fibre surface.
they then bond to form a cloth.
Recovery and disposal of textiles
Many items of clothing are manufactured and produced in developing countries. Often working conditions that many people experience who do a repetitive, low skilled job.manufacture of textiles are linked to environmental issues, chemical dyes, washing, finishes, use of pesticides to grow the crops and land usage for growing the crops and grazing for the animals.
Polatec Fleece – Patagonia – company who produce Fleece products made from recycled polyester plastic bottles –see website www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyF9MxlcItw
Organic cotton - is generally understood as cotton and is grown in subtropical countries such as Turkey, China, USA from non-genetically modified plants, that is to be grown without the use of any synthetic agricultural chemicals such as fertilizers or pesticides. Its production also promotes and enhances biodiversity and biological cycles www.organiccotton.biz/
Other sustainability issues such as recycling and disposal.
Wastage from textiles may be categorized as either pre- or post - consumer. Pre-consumer textile waste is mostly formed of materials that are generated as by-products of production processes. Post-consumer waste mentions clothing or household textiles that are reused or recycled instead of being disposed of.
Recycling involves the reprocessing of used materials (clothing, fabric scraps, etc) and waste from the manufacturing process.Once all of the materials are collected, cleaned and sorted, recyclable textile may be processed; first mechanically where the fibres are separated before being re-spinned into yarn or chemically through repolymerizing fibres. to again spin into yarn.
With waste reduction, reuse and recycling results in: Lowering purchase prices, reducing use of virgin materials, reducing disposal costs and landfill, generating less air and water pollution, keeping materials out of the waste stream and preserving the ‘embodied energy’ used in manufacturing.
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