Designs are often woven into the fabric as well as printed on it using techniques such as tie dyeing and stencils.
A rayon fabric is a lustrous, smooth and lightweight textile. A nylon fabric is thin, strong and durable. A spandex fabric (trade name Lycra) is a knit or woven stretchy fabric that can be worn close to the body.
Fibers
New moon textiles fibers are the basic building blocks of all fabrics. The way they are combined with other components to make a fabric determines its value or quality. There are many types of fabrics – natural textiles such as cotton, silk, wool, and linen; and synthetic textiles such as rayon, nylons, and polyesters. A fabric’s value also depends on how it is finished and processed, such as by sizing or by lisle. Other factors that affect fabric quality include its yarn gauge (threads per inch), the type of twist, and weave or knit type.
For example, a fabric made from wool will have a much higher luster than one made from polyester. A fabric woven from silk will have a much smoother surface than a fabric woven from polyester, which has a scaly appearance. Fabrics with a high luster shine very brightly, while those with little or no lustre appear dull. The texture of a fabric can be changed by felting, spinning into yarns, and weaving them into a cloth.
Textiles that are designed and chosen for characteristics beyond their appearance are referred to as technical textiles. Examples include fabrics that protect from heat and radiation for fire fighter clothing, against molten metals for welders, and bullet proof vests. Other examples include medical textiles, geotextiles, agrotextiles, and military uniforms.
Weaving
Weaving is a textile art in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to create fabric or cloth. The longitudinal threads are called the warp and the lateral threads are called the weft or filling. The method of interlacing these threads determines the fabric’s characteristics. Weaving is a major component of the textile industry and was once one of the most important and prestigious crafts in the world.
Woven cloth can be made from a variety of materials, including natural fibers, synthetic fibers, and polymers. These fibers can be derived from plant or animal sources, and include wool, silk, cotton, jute, and flax. They can be woven into various types of fabrics, such as woolens, silks, and linens, or created with processes like knitting and felting.
There are many methods of creating a fabric from yarn, but weaving is the oldest and most common method. Weaving can be done on a simple cardboard loom or a more sophisticated machine, such as a Jacquard ribbon loom. There are three principal motions in weaving: shedding, picking, and battening. Shedding moves the threads on the loom up and down to create the weave pattern, while picking moves the weft yarn over and under the warp yarn. The weft is then pressed against the warp by battening, and the finished fabric is trimmed and sewn.
Yarns
A yarn is a long, continuous length of interlocked fibres that can be natural or synthetic. It may be spun into threads for sewing, embroidery, or ropemaking; twisted into ply yarns to form fabric; or knotted and coiled into balls or skeins for handcrafting. It can be made of one fiber or of several strands of different materials, arranged in various thicknesses and colours (known as “weights”).
A textile yarn is usually made of multiple staple fibres in proportions that vary from blends to all-natural, animal-derived yarns such as wool, alpaca, merino and cashmere to completely synthetic ply yarns like polyester, nylon, acrylic, and rayon. Most ply yarns are created by twisting two single yarns together to produce stronger and smoother threads.
The quality of a yarn is determined by the strength and flexibility of the individual fibres. A measure of this is its linear density, which can be expressed in decitex for natural fibres and denier for synthetics. The finer a fiber is, the lower its linear density; this allows the fibre to stretch more without breaking.
Another factor is how a yarn feels and looks to the touch and to the eye. A yarn’s elasticity and smoothness are determined by the type of spinning process it is produced by; it can be ring-spun, carded, or combed before being twisted. Its strength is influenced by the type and number of plies, and it can be further improved through the addition of other elements such as mercerisation, finishing or antistatic agents.
Fabrics
A fabric is a flat-film mass of fine-soft objects connected by intersecting, winding and joining. It is also defined as any type of woven or knitted material that has been formed by interlacing longitudinal yarns, called warp, and filling yarns, called weft, to produce a textured surface that can be used for clothing, bedding, or curtains. In fact, the term fabric is so broad that it even covers non-woven materials such as felt and foam.
Natural fibers are a much better choice than synthetic textiles made from petroleum. The oil industry is one of the most polluting industries in the world, causing waste, spills, and pollution that can have long-term consequences for our environment, including sea level rise, global warming, and ocean acidification. Natural textiles are grown without the use of harmful chemicals, making them a much more environmentally friendly option for our clothes and home furnishings.
Some examples of natural fabrics include silk, cotton, and wool. Silk is a natural fiber produced by silkworms, while cotton and wool are natural fibers from sheep, goats, alpacas, or llamas. Another example of a natural textile is neoprene, which is a rubber-like fabric that can be used to line outerwear and cold weather garments like sweaters and coats. Another option is lyocell, which is a semi-synthetic fiber that is made from reconstituted wood pulp. Patagonia uses eucalyptus trees for their lyocell, ensuring that they are harvested at peak productivity while also protecting the environment.