Textile Design

Principles, Advances and Applications

A Briggs-Goode,K Townsend

• Publisher: Woodhead Publishing
• Year: 2011
• ISBN:
  9780857092564
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Industrial Engineering
• Index: Technology & Engineering

Textile design is a complex field of practice which operates in a competitive, global industry. Designers need to take into account not only the design but also the manufacture, technological development and application of the final product. Textile design provides a broad overview of the fundamentals of and advances in textile design, as well as practical case studies of relevant industries.Part one covers the principles of fabric construction as applied to textile design, with chapters on fundamental principles, woven and knitted textile design. Part two discusses surface approaches to textile design, with chapters on such topics as surface design of textiles, printed and embroidered textile design, dyeing and finishing and the use of colour in textile design. Finally, part three focuses on the applications and advances in textile design, including chapters covering colour trend forecasting, sustainable textile design, fashion, interior and 2D to 3D design considerations and new developments in technical and future textiles.With its distinguished editors and international team of contributors, Textile design is an essential reference for design professionals in the textile and fashion industries, as well as those who specialise in interior textiles and academics with a research interest in the area.

• A broad overview of textile design covering fundamental topics such as principles of fibres and fabrics, knitted fabric design, through to the dyeing, finishing and printing aspects of textile design
• Explores the design aspects of technical textiles and future textiles
• An invaluable source of information on textile design and suitable for design professionals in the textile and fashion industries, as well as those in academia

Part I

Principles: fabric construction approaches to textile design

1

Fibres, yarns and fabrics: fundamental principles for the textile designer

J. Wilson, The University of Manchester, UK

Abstract:

This chapter considers textile fabrics and their components – fibres and yarns. It looks at how fabrics and yarns are constructed and how fibres are produced and processed. It categorises fibres, yarns and fabrics and gives an overview of the properties of those most likely to be encountered. Ongoing research into fibres, yarns and fabrics means that new materials and processes are continually being developed – with environmental issues driving the development of more efficient processing technologies and new sustainable fibres.

Key words

fibres

yarns

fabrics

1.1 Introduction

Fabrics are made from yarns and fibres. Fabrics may be made by a variety of processes including weaving, knitting, knotting and twisting yarns together and by bonding fibres together. Yarns are made from fibres, and fibres may be natural such as cotton and wool, or man-made such as acrylic and polyester.

Fabrics have many functions. They:

• clothe us;

• protect us – protective clothing worn by the emergency services and the forces;

• make us feel good;

• make our homes more comfortable – curtains keep in the heat and keep out the sun;

• dry us when wet;

• bandage and support injured limbs;

• are used in surgery – for artificial replacement ligaments and arteries;

• are used in many industrial applications – for conveyor and drive belts;

• are used in the construction of dams and motorways – geotextiles.

• The clothing or apparel market includes most garments that are worn. These can be classified by the wearer or by the type of apparel.

By wearer:

menswear;

womenswear;

childrenswear.

By type

sportswear;

casualwear;

formalwear.

• Specialised fabrics that go into protective clothing for fire-fighters, pilots, etc., are usually considered part of the industrial and consumer textiles market.

• Furnishing market or interior textiles includes:

curtains;

upholstery;

carpets;

wall coverings.

• Household textiles are those used in the home except furnishings and include:

sheets;

pillowcases;

towels;

blankets;

table cloths, etc.

• Industrial textiles include:

car tyre components;

medical textiles;

geo textiles;

filters;

conveyor belts;

safety belts;

parachute cords.

• Consumer textiles – these could be described as textiles not falling into the other categories and include:

tents;

back packs.

1.2 Basic principles of fibres, yarns and fabrics

The word textile comes from the Latin texere meaning to weave and was originally used only for woven fabrics; however, the term textile is now considered to cover any product that is manufactured from fibres, filaments or yarns.

Textile fabrics are structures that are made up of yarns or fibres in the form of a plane (essentially a flat or level surface) that is a structure which has a much greater surface area in relation to its thickness. Yarns and fibres are structures that are for the most part cylindrical and that are very long in relation to their diameter. Fibres are the fundamental units of yarns and as such are the fundamental components of fabrics. The Textile Institute’s Textile Terms and Definitions (TT&D) defines a fibre as ‘a unit of matter characterised by flexibility, fineness, and high ratio of length to thickness’ (Beech et al., 1986 page 94) and ‘a fibre of indefinite length’ (Beech et al., 1986, page 96) is how TT&D defines a filament. Yarn is defined in TT&D as ‘a product of substantial length and relatively small cross-section of fibres and/or filament(s) with or without twist’ (Beech et al., 1986, page 289).

The properties of any yarn are dependent on the properties of the component fibres and/or filaments and the structure of the yarn. The properties of any fibre or filament are dependent on its chemical and physical structure.

Yarns can be made from one fibre or from blends of fibres depending on what is required from the ultimate fabric in terms of performance, handle and appearance. They can comprise one single yarn for a single ply yarn or be made from a number of single yarns twisted or folded (plied) together for a multi-ply yarn. There are a variety of different systems to make yarns with regular and irregular profiles. Yarns with regular profiles are termed regular yarns while those with irregular profiles are termed fancy yarns.

Fibres have high length-to-diameter ratios. All natural fibres, apart from silk, are staple fibres; that is they have a natural length. Fibre lengths vary from 0.25 cm for cellulose pulp fibres and asbestos fibres, up to 12.5 cm or more for wool, and as much as 100 cm for flax. In cotton, the longer the staple length, the better the quality. For the most part natural fibres must be spun into yarns in order to be processed into useful textile materials. Manufactured or man-made fibres and silk are produced as continuous filaments. As such they may be used in continuous filament form or cut up into selected short lengths (staple) and then spun into yarns.

Fibres and yarns are made into fabrics by a variety of processes including bonding fibres together, weaving, knitting, twisting and knotting. Fabrics may be industrial textiles with detailed technical and performance specifications or for apparel, furnishings or household textiles where aesthetics may be as or even more important than performance. Fabrics may be coloured and patterned by dyeing, printing and by using coloured yarns in their construction and may have a finish applied to enhance appearance (e.g. brushing) or performance (e.g. flame proofing).

1.3 Main types of fibres, yarns and fabrics, and their production methods

1.3.1 Fibres

Fibres come from a variety of sources. They can occur naturally in plants such as cotton and hemp and on a variety of animals such sheep, goats, vicuna and camels or they can be created in a laboratory. Fibres can be classified in different ways including natural and man-made or as filaments and staple fibres.

Natural fibres

Natural fibres (Table 1.1) are any fibres that exist as fibres in their natural state. They can be categorised as protein (animal), cellulosic (vegetable) and mineral. Protein fibres are sheep’s wool, speciality wools and silk. Speciality wools include goats’ wool such as cashmere and mohair (from the Angora goat), wools from animals in the camel family including vicuna and alpaca, and angora from the Angora rabbit. Silk is the fibre that forms the cocoons produced by silkworms. Cellulosic fibres are cotton and speciality cellulosics include linen, ramie, jute, hemp, kapok and sisal. Flax (the...

Table of contents

• Cover image
• Title page
• Table of Contents
• Copyright
• Contributor contact details
• Woodhead Publishing Series in Textiles
• Foreword
• Introduction
• Part I: Principles: fabric construction approaches to textile design
• Part II: Principles: surface approaches to textile design
• Part III: Applications and advances
• Index