Textiles and Fashion

Materials, Design and Technology

Rose Sinclair

• Publisher: Woodhead Publishing
• Year: 2014
• ISBN:
  9780857095619
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Industrial Engineering
• Index: Technology & Engineering

This major textbook is designed for students studying textiles and fashion at higher and undergraduate level, as well as those needing a comprehensive and authoritative overview of textile materials and processes. The first part of the book reviews the main types of natural and synthetic fibres and their properties. Part two provides a systematic review of the key processes involved first in converting fibres into yarns and then transforming yarns into fabrics. Part three discusses the range of range of finishing techniques for fabrics. The final part of the book looks specifically at the transformation of fabric into apparel, from design and manufacture to marketing. With contributions from leading experts in their fields, this major book provides the definitive one-volume guide to textile manufacture.

• Provides comprehensive coverage of the types and properties of textile fibres to yarn and fabric manufacture, fabric finishing, apparel production and fashion
• Focused on the needs of college and undergraduate students studying textiles or fashion courses
• Each chapter ends with a summary to emphasise key points, a comprehensive self-review section, and project ideas are also provided

Part 1

Fibre Types

Outline

Chapter 1. Understanding Textile Fibres and Their Properties: What is a Textile Fibre?

Chapter 2. Natural Textile Fibres: Vegetable Fibres

Chapter 3. Natural Textile Fibres: Animal and Silk Fibres

Chapter 4. Synthetic Textile Fibers: Regenerated Cellulose Fibers

Chapter 5. Synthetic Textile Fibres: Polyamide, Polyester and Aramid Fibres

Chapter 6. Synthetic Textile Fibres: Polyolefin, Elastomeric and Acrylic Fibres

Chapter 7. Synthetic Textile Fibres: Non-polymer Fibres

Chapter 1

Understanding Textile Fibres and Their Properties

What is a Textile Fibre?

R. Sinclair Goldsmiths, University of London, London, UK

Abstract

This chapter covers how you can identify key fibres used in fashion and textiles and understand the key properties and characteristics of fibres. A review of the different fibre types is given. You will learn how the key properties of fibres can be correlated with their key characteristics and how this can affect end-user requirements.

Keywords

Fibre; Natural; Properties; Regenerated; Synthetic; Textile; Yarn

Learning Objectives

At the end of this chapter, you should be able to:

• Understand and know the key classifications of textiles fibres

• Understand key fibres and their properties

• Understand how fibres can be used to develop particular attributes in textile products

• Understand how the key characteristics and properties of fibres can affect end-user requirements

1.1. Introduction

Fibres are the foundation for all textile products and can either be natural (natural fibres) or man-made (manufactured or man-made rengenerated). Within these two types or groups, there are two main kinds of fibres:

• Fibres of indefinite (very great) length, called filaments

• Fibres of much shorter length, called staple fibres

Filaments are generally combined and twisted to form yarns, whilst staple fibres are spun to create yarns. Yarns are then typically woven or knitted into fabrics. A piece of a fabric contains a huge number of fibres. For example, a small piece of lightweight fabric may contain over 100 million fibres (Morton & Hearle, 2001). Individual types of fibres can be used on their own or combined with other types of fibres to enhance the quality of the end-product. The process for combining fibres is known as blending. There are many well-known blended fibres on the market, such as Viyella, which is made of a blend of cotton and wool (Corbman, 1983).

A fibre is defined as a small threadlike structure (Hearle, 2009). The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) defines a ‘fibre’ (spelt ‘fiber’ in countries using American English) as ‘a generic term for any one of the various types of matter that form the basic element of a textile, and it is characterised by having a length at least 100 times its diameter’ (Anonymous, 2001). The Textile Institute defines a fibre as a ‘textile raw material, generally characterised by flexibility, fineness and high ratio of length to thickness’ (Anonymous, 2002). A similar industry definition is a ‘unit matter with a length at least 100 times its diameter, a structure of long chain molecules having a definite preferred orientation, a diameter of 10–200 microns (micrometres), and flexibility’ (Landi, 1998). All fibres have a molecular structure that contributes to their specific attributes and properties.

The common characteristics of fibres from these definitions are:

• The diameter of a fibre is small relative to its length

• Properties of ‘flexibility’ and ‘fineness’ (a way of describing the thickness of a fibre)

It is these key characteristics and qualities that make it possible to manipulate fibres to create the much larger structures that we are familiar with such as yarns and fabrics (Wilson, 2001). Key characteristics, such as fineness and flexibility, as well as length and diameter, have a profound effect on the properties of any textile product. Many of today’s textile products are made up of blends or mixtures of different types of fibres which give a particular mix of properties that best fit how the product will ultimately be used. There are several reasons why different fibres may be blended or mixed (Bunsell, 2009; Erberle, 2004):

• To compensate for weaker attributes or properties of one type of fibre

• To improve the performance of the resulting yarn or fabric

• To improve or provide a different appearance

• To improve the efficiency of processing, especially of spinning, weaving and knitting

• To reduce costs

The advantages and disadvantages of blending and mixing fibres are discussed in Part 1 and Part 2 of this book, and include environmental issues such as recycling blended yarns (Fletcher, 2008).

1.2. Types of Textile Fibres

Textile production up until the seventeenth century was predominantly a specialised domestic production system (cottage industry) mainly done by women (Gordon, 2011). The key fibres used were wool, cotton, silk, hemp and flax (for linen). The advent of the Industrial Revolution meant mechanisation of the production process, allowing new and much faster methods of manufacturing to emerge. Over the next 300 years, it would be both developments in processing and advances in engineered fibres that would change the textile landscape. Whilst the first man-made or manufactured fibres, namely regenerated cellulose fibres, were developed in the late nineteenth century, industrial production of these fibres only really started in the early twentieth century. Synthetic fibres were developed in the late 1930s and production took off after the Second World War. The quest in the 21st century is now to create fibres that are both functional and sustainable, along with smart fibres that can be adapted precisely...

Table of contents

• Cover image
• Title page
• Table of Contents
• The Textile Institute and Woodhead Publishing
• Copyright
• Contributors
• Woodhead Publishing Series in Textiles
• Preface
• Acknowledgements
• How to Use this Book
• Part 1. Fibre Types
• Part 2. Manufacturing Textiles: Yarn to Fabric
• Part 3. Fabric Finishing and Applications
• Part 4. Developing Textile Products: The Case of Apparel
• Glossary
• Index