FABRIC / TEXTILES

Textiles: Fibers and Weaves

Fibers
Fibers are used to make yarns that create woven or knitted fabrics.

Natural Fibers
Natural Fibers come from nature, usually plants and animals.
Plant fibers are cellulose based; cotton, linen and ramie are some cellulose fibers.
Animal fibers are protein-based; Wool, silk, and cashmere are protein fibers.

Synthetic fibers
Synthetic fibers are man made from several sources.
Wood pulp makes; acetate, and rayon, so they are cellulose based, even though they are not natural fibers, they will perform similar to linen, cotton and ramie.

Petroleum by-products make polyesters, nylon and others.
Other synthetic fibers are spandex (Lycra) and Acrylic.

Fiber Length
When fibers are created, they are produced in a long, single strand.
Longer stands can produce smoother fabrics.
Silk is a long, natural fiber made from silkworms.
Polyester is a long, synthetic fiber, that can be smooth and round like plastic.

Short fibers
Short fibers are called “staple”. Shorter fibers produce fuzzier fabrics.
Wool and cotton are staples that are naturally produced.
Acrylic is a staple fabric that is man made to feel like wool, but be washable.

Fiber Absorbency
Absorbent fibers are more comfortable to wear than non-absorbent fibers.
Absorbent fibers wick moisture away from the body, and have a cooling affect against the skin.
Synthetic fibers can be made to wick moisture away from the body and dry faster than natural fibers.
Wool is the most absorbent natural fiber, followed, in order, by linen, silk, and cotton.
Synthetic fibers that are moderately absorbent include rayon, acetate, and acrylic.
Synthetic fibers that are least absorbent include nylon and polyester (a plastic).

Weaves
Woven textiles are produces on looms that are now very huge and automated.
Warp is the yarn fastened to the loom at the back and front, wrapped around 'beams' or what originally were wooden poles.
Warp is the grainline of the textile, line grain on wood, it goes 'up and down'.
Weft is the yarn that weaves across the loom, originally 'turning' back at each edge to create a clean border called the 'selvage'.
Weft is the crossgrain of the textile, or cross wise direction.
Selvage is the woven edge of the textile, although modern looms produce a 'fringe' instead.
The selvage may be more dense than the center of the textile, since it creates a strong edge.

The bias direction of a fabric is a 45 degree angle across the warp and weft.
The bias direction will have stretch.
The bias direction may pull, stretch or grow when worn or hung.
Stretch wovens are now made with texturized yarns or Lycra fibers.
This fabric will usually stretch only two ways, as the warp is often of stable yarns.

Knits
Knit textiles are produced on knitting machines with long spools of yarns.
Knits are looped together, rather than woven.
The continuous looping creates a tubular fabric, without a selvage or side.
The sides will be cut and often fused to create edges or selvages.

When horizontal stripes are knit, they are usually slightly diagonal, or not perfectly straight, since they spiral around the tube of fabric.
These interlocking loops provide fabric stretch in the 'cross grain' direction.

When a thread is clipped, it will create a run that unravels down the fabric.
Recovery is the term used for how much a knot bounces back when stretched apart.
Single knits are made with a single yarns, "t' shirts are common single knits.
When lycra is added, it can create a two-way stretch that pulls in both directions (side-to-side and top-to-bottom).

Double knits are made with more than one set of knitting needles or hooks.
This type of knit seems to be very firm and thick.
Interlock knits are double knits that feel smooth on the face and back of the fabric.

Rib knits have a vertical groove. This is created by alternating two styles of stitches: knit and purl.
There may be one or more stitches in each “set” or groove. This creates the width of each rib.
Rib knits are used in crew neck collars, cuffs, and turtlenecks because it stretches well.

Wales is the term used to describe the vertical grooves in this fabric.