ABOUT FABRICS

General Fabric Introduction

There is evidence that humans started wearing clothes between 100,000 and 50,000 years ago but it is not clear whether it was for protection from weather conditions or for magic, cult or decoration.

The materials first used were probably a mass of fibre, tiny, hair-like strands found in vegetation which were then matted together to form a felted non-woven fabric. It was not long until humans developed spinning by drawing out the fibres and adding a twist making a longer and stronger thread and producing a yarn. This could then be knitted or woven together to make fabric.

If we want to understand fabrics we need to know about fibres, where they come from and how they are processed into fabrics, and what makes them so attractive for use in cultures all over the world.

Textile fibre types

We have natural fibres that come from plants and animals and we have man-made fibres that come from natural polymers (vegetable and animal) or synthetic polymers (oil based). There are two different types of fibre that go into the manufacture of fabric.

Staple Fibre: Short strands, high quality staple yarn is longer and finer, lower quality is shorter and coarser.

Filament Fibre: Continuous strands, high quality is finer and stronger as this is mainly man-made fibre it really depends on its final use.

Natural Staple Fibres

Plant (cellulose) fibre

Cotton, Kapok, 

Bast (stem) fibre

Flax (Linen), Hemp, Ramie, Kenaf, Nettle, Jute

Leaf fibre

Sisal, Pina, Abaca

Animal (protein) fibre

Wool, Merino, Mohair, Cashmere, Camel Hair, Alpaca/Vicuna

Natural Filament Fibres

Animal (protein) fibre

Silk, Spider silk

Manmade Staple Fibres

Cellulosic staple fibre

Viscose rayon, Lyocell, Tencel

Synthetic staple fibre

Polyester - Virgin (new fibre) and recycled fibre, PET polyester - produced from plastic bottles,

Triextra, Nylon - Virgin (new fibre) and recycled fibre, Acrylic and mod-acrylic

Manmade Filament Fibres

Cellulosic filament fibre

Acetate, Viscose rayon, Lyocell, bamboo rayon, PLA, Soy, Rubber

Synthetic filament fibre

Polyester - Virgin (new fibre) and recycled fibre, PET polyester - produced from plastic bottles,

Triextra, Nylon - Virgin (new fibre) and recycled fibre, Elastane, Metallic, Carbon fibre, Synthetic spider silk

Please note that new raw materials an are being introduced for new fibre production all the time alongside innovative developments of recycling fibres, garments and fabrics.

Over the coming months we will take each fibre group at a time and add more detail and explanation why each fibre gets used, its unique characteristics, how it gets made and what resources it uses. We can then consider what fabrics and products get made from it and how we can contribute to a ‘closed loop’ manufacturing system.