Fibers & Textiles

Fibers & TextilesFiber - the

smallest indivisible unit of a textile.

Textile - flexible, flat material made by interlacing yarns or threads.

Fabric ProductionFabrics are composed of individual threads or yarns that have been woven or knitted together.

The degree of stretch, absorbency, water repellence, softness and durability are all individual qualities of the different fabrics.

Weave Terminology Yarn - a continuous strand of fibers

or filaments that have been spun together

Warp - lengthwise yarn Weft - crosswise yarn Blend - a fabric made up of two or

more different types of fiber.

Plain Weave The simplest and most common weave pattern

The warp and weft yarns pass under each other alternately

Design resembles a checkerboard

Weave Patterns

Basket weave Alternating pattern of two warp & two weft threads

Open & porous weave

Not very durable

Weave Patterns

Twill Weave The warp yarn is passed over one to three weft yarns before going under one

Makes a diagonal weave pattern

Denim is one of the most common examples

Weave Patterns

Satin Weave The yarn interlacing is not uniform

Creates long floats Interlacing weave

passes over four or more yarns

Weave Patterns

Fibers

Natural or Synthetic?

Fiber Classification

Natural Fibers – come from animals, plants & minerals that are mined from the ground.

Natural FibersAnimal Fibers –

provide fibers from 3 sources: hair, fur & webbing.

All animal fibers are made of proteins. Silk is made from the

cocoon part of the silk moth.

Plant Fibers – grouped according to the part of the plant they come from.

All plant fibers are made of cellulose.

Include: seed fibers, fruit fibers, stem fibers & leaf fibers.

Natural Fibers

Flax is the fiber used to make linen.

Seed Fibers – come from the seed of a plant

Cotton - from seed hairs, looks like a flattened, twisted ribbon. A cotton fiber

Plant Fibers

Stem Fibers – come from the stem of a plant.

Grow as bundles.Common examples

include: jute, flax & hemp (seen at right).

Plant Fibers

Mineral Fibers – neither proteins nor cellulose.

Fiberglass – a fiber form of glass.

Asbestos – naturally occurring mineral.

Natural Fibers

Asbestos as seen with a scanning electron microscope.

Fiber ClassificationSynthetic Fibers (man-made)

regenerated fibers or polymer fibers

A scanning electron micrograph of fibers of a dacron polyester material used in sleeping bags. The core of each fiber has up to seven air cavities that increase its insulating ability.

Synthetic FibersProduced by joining many monomers

together to form polymersPolymer – substance composed of long

chains of repeating unitsMonomers – small molecule that may

bond to other monomers to form a polymer

Regenerated fibers (or modified natural fibers) derived from cellulose, mostly plant in origin

Imitate natural fibers, generally smooth & silky in appearance

Rayon – most common example

Synthetic Fibers

Polymer fibers – originate with petroleum products & are non-cellulose based fibers

Shape determined by manufacturing process

Synthetic Fibers

Filament Cross-Sections

Synthetic fibers are forced out of a nozzle when they are hot, and then they are woven. The holes of the nozzle are not necessarily round; therefore, the fiber filament may have a unique shape in cross-section.

Polyester - made of ester monomers, added to many natural fibers to provide additional strength

Nylon - first introduced as artificial silk

AcrylicSpandex

Polymer Fibers

Microscopic observationBurning - observation of how a fiber

burns, the odor, color of flame, smoke and the appearance of the residue

Thermal decomposition - gently heating to break down the fiber to the basic monomers

Chemical tests - solubility and decomposition

Testing for Identification