Textiles

An Overview
Textile Fibers and Their characteristics
Fabric Construction
Textile Testing
Where do we use textiles?
HOUSEHOLD
 Clothes
 Bags and baskets.
 Carpet`s
 Upholstery
 Drapery
 Window shades
 Towels
 Mosquito nets
 Handkercheifs
 Rags
 Covering for tables, beds, and other flat surfaces
 Art

In the workplace, they are used in industrial and scientific processes such as
filtering.
MISCELLANEOUS

 Backpacks
 Tents
 Nets
 Flags,
 Transportation devices such as balloons, kites, sails, and parachutes,.
 Seat Covers for cars and other vehicles
 Soft toys

Textiles used for industrial purposes, and chosen for characteristics other than
their appearance, are commonly referred to as technical textiles.
Technical textiles include textile structures for

 automotive applications,
 medical textiles (e.g. implants, sutures),
 geotextiles (reinforcement of embankments),
 agrotextiles (textiles for crop protection),
 protective clothing (e.g. against heat and radiation for fire fighter clothing,
against molten metals for welders, stab protection, and bullet proof vests).
 What is a textile?
A textile or cloth is a flexible material consisting of a network of natural or
artificial fibres often referred to as thread or yarn.

Yarn spinning of fibres, to produce long strands.

Textiles weaving, knitting, crocheting, knotting, or pressing fibres

together (felt).

The words fabric and cloth synonyms for textile.

Fiber Yarn Fabric

 
Texti
(Thin, hair-like strands that are the basic units
le


 Fibers used
 to make textile products)

 filament  staple

 Yarn

 Fabrics Fabrics

 Woven Knitted Braided Lace & Knit Felt Non wovens

 Classification of fibres

Natural Manmade ( artificial fibres)

Animal Vegetable Mineral Organic Inorganic

•Silk( filament) •Cotton(Seed) •Gold Glass

•Wool •Jute (Bast) •Silver Metallic
•Hair fibres •Linen(bast) •Asbestos
Mohair •Hemp(Bast)
Cashmere •Ramie( Bast)
Alpaca •Sisal( Leaf) Natural Synthetic
Horse •Coir(Fruit)
Rabbit
Rayon Nylon
Acetate Polyester
Triacetate Acrylic
Different type of fabric used in interior design decoration

Today artificial and synthetic fabric is

more common than natural which is
otherwise expensive in compare to
former.
Natural fabric

Natural fiber –obtained from nature

More durable, soft, luxurious and
resilient.
E.g linen, cotton, silk, hemp, jute, wool,
and special animal fibers like cashmere,
mohair, camelhair etc..
 Cotton
Obtained from cotton plant.
Advantages
tough and stands up well to
wear and laundering.
cool fibre that breathes well
and dries relatively quickly.
Disadvantage- tendency to
wrinkle.
zeospot.com
 Wool
Obtained from sheep( mainly)
Advantages –
tough, durable, resilient animal
fiber.
can be easily dyed dye
soft with a luxurious look and feel.
Disadvantage –
delicate and expensive when taken
from goats, camel, alpaca and llama
Fine, medium,and long wool 
and so these types of wool are often
mixed with sheep’s wool http://www.sheep101.info/201/woolmark
eting.html
www.stylehive.com
design4interior.com
 Linen

Obtained from the flax

plant.
Advantages

provides tough yarn

moth resistant and
hardwearing.
easily washable
Disadvantage

creases easily
decorationsmilleniuminteriordesign.blogspot.com
decoration.net
arhdecor.com
decorpad.com
Jute

•Obtained from stem of jute plant

•Advantage
Excellent resistance to
micro-organisms

•Disadvantage
harsh and brittle
Lints badly
Wrinkles easily
Wool and jute WOJO
www.basimenterprises.com
 Silk
Silk is also called animal fiber
obtained from cocoon of the silkworm
moth.
Advantage

luxurious
unique texture and lustrous appearance.

Disadvantage
Expensive
requires frequent dry cleaning and hand
wash is strictly prohibited
gets creased and can be damaged if
exposed in sunlight.
evadesigns.com
indiamarks.com
exoticindiaart.com
Manmade – natural fabrics
made from natural sources like wood pulp
and fiber obtained from other plants
which are further processed with
chemicals.
some of the popular artificial fibers are
classified as acetate, rayon, triacetate and
modified rayon.
 Rayon

Obtained from processed wood pulp

Advantages

hard, strong and highly absorbent.

economical
drapes wonderfully
substitute of natural fiber which is expensive over artificial fiber.

Disadvantage

more prone to burning and can rapidly catch fire.

wrinkles easily
interiordesign.net
Acetate

obtained from wood pulp

Advantages

moth resistant
excellent draping qualities
versatile and inexpensive.
used in making of satins and other fabrics.
Disadvantage

low absorbent and strength.

Easily damaged by heat
Easily wrinkled
Manmade : Synthetic fibers
Artificialfibers
Obtained due to reaction of chemicals
E.g acrylic, nylon, polyester, and olefin.
Acrylic

Advantage

lightweight, soft and warm.

doesn’t crease easily, shrink resistant and
resilient.
Easily blends with other fibers
moth resistant
dyes well
Disadvantage

sensitive if exposed to sunlight.

pills easily
Polyesters

Advantages
easy to handle as it can be hand washed.
shrink resistant
moth resistant
retains its shape
crease resistant.
can be mixed with other fibers for enhanced
qualities.
 excellent resistance to biological attacks.
Polyamide (nylon)

Advantages
tough
resilient fiber
high elasticity.
non-shrinkable
crease resistant
easily washable.
 most durable
Olefin (Polypropylene and polyethhylene)
Advantages
inexpensive
widely used as carpet fiber
light
excellent elastic recovery
good resistance to stains
Textile Process Flow
Textile Fiber Selection
Yarn (Spinning)
Weaving or knitting
Processing (Dyeing &
Printing)
Finishing
 YARN
Yarn is defined as a linear assemblage of the fibers
twisted together.

The process of making the yarn from a textile fiber is

called Spinning

Both staple and filament fibres are used to make yarn

Staple fibres make spun yarn.

Filament fibres make filament yarn

 Fabric Formation
Knitting- is a fabric which
made from a single yarn into a
continuous row of loops  Knitting -
interlock. Inter-looping

Felting- is the massing,

flattening & matting together
(Interlocking) of many fibers
by application of Heat,  Felting -
pressure, steam and chemicals Interlocking

Weaving- is an art of forming

a fabric at right angles with
two or more sets of yarn. It is  Weaving-
one of the basic methods of Interlacing
fabric preparation
Weaving
Weave: Interlacing of the weft yarns
(crosswise yarns) with the warp yarns
(lengthwise yarns)
Weave pattern
There are THREE basic weave patterns
used for the majority of fabrics and they
are

1) Plain
2) Twill
3) Satin
PLAIN WEAVE

Plain weave is the simplest and most used weave

PLAIN WEAVE VARIATIONS
BASKET
 RIB

Warp ribbed (corded) fabric, Weft ribbed fabric, coarse weft yarn than
coarse warp yarn than weft yarn warp yarn
 PILE WEAVE

UNCUT PILE CUT PILE

Terry Cloth Corduroy

TWILL FABRIC WEAVE

Denim
Twill Weave
A distinctdesign for the twill weave is it
form a diagonal line.
 SATIN WEAVE

Under one, over four or more creating

“floats” with weft yarns
Satin Weave
Similar to twill weave but the diagonal
line of the satin weave is not visible.
It is purposely interrupted in order to
contribute to the flat, smooth, lustrous
surface desired.
SATIN WEAVE VARIATION
Sateen Weave

Floats on warp yarns

Comparison of Basic Weave Properties
 DOBBY WEAVE
Small patterns
produces an allover figured fabrics.
small geometric patterns.
The construction of the weave is very complex
and the design is repeated frequently.
created on dobby machines.
The machine selectively raises some warp
threads and selectively depresses others with the
help of a dobby card.
used as home furnishings and for heavy apparel.
 JACQUARD WEAVE
Used to produce intricate patterns
figures are created all over the fabrics.
 woven on a jacquard loom.
The loom has a jacquard attachment or a punch card.
In jacquard loom, the warp yarns is individually controlled and
not in groups. This allows creating more complex designs.
Fabrics of jacquard weave are costly because it involves more
time and skill in making the Jacquard cards to produce new
pattern.
Moreover the weaving operation is also very slow.
used for upholstery and drapery materials like brocades,
damask , tapestries
housefabric.com mobilitymegastore.co.uk
KNITTING

Constructing fabric with one

yarn and one set (2) of
needles; right side is flat
(knit), wrong side is bumpy
(pearl).
 FELTING
Nonwoven fabric :
•made by pressing fibers
together with moisture,
heat, and pressure.
Nonwoven fabrics have no
grainlines.
 FABRIC TERMS
Lengthwise grain…strongest grain,
also called the warp yarns, runs
parallel to the selvage
Selvages…woven edges of
fabric, runs parallel to
lengthwise grain

Crosswise grain…
weaker grain, runs
parallel to cut or torn
edge and perpendicular
to the lengthwise grain;
Bias…a diagonal line also called the weft
of direction running yarns
between the
Cut or Torn edge… runs
lengthwise and
parallel to the crosswise
crosswise grains of
grain
fabric

Fabric fold…created when

selvages or cut edges are brought
together.
Coloring Fabric
Before Construction:
Yarn Dying After Construction:
Printing:

Color the
same on
After Construction: front and
Piece Dying back

Color different on front

and back
Fabrics in Interior Design

The proper use of fabric will bring

your interior design to life.

•Function,
•Mood
•Harmony
Function

How durable does the fabric need to be?

How fade resistant is the fabric in
sunlight?
How dirt resistant does the fabric need to
be?
Is the fabric you have just fallen in love
with too expensive for your budget?
Mood
Does this fabric fit the overall mood of your
design?
The best way for you to choose fabric is to go
to a store and experience the fabric first hand.
It is important to inspect them up close and
touch them to see if the weave and texture
appeals to you.
Whatever color scheme or mood you decide
to go with, using a variety of fabric textures
adds depth to your design.
Harmony
 Are the fabrics you have chosen
harmonious with each other and with your
overall design? The patterns in the fabrics
must be proportional, i.e. big motifs with
big furniture and big patterns with large
rooms.
Have only one bold pattern in any room.
Textile Testing

In response to ever-changing

governmental regulations and the ever-
increasing consumer demand for high
quality, testing is essential to minimize
risk and protect the interest of both
manufacturers and consumers.
Why Test?
Testing is carried out at the fibre, fabric and garment stage. Testing is required for
several reasons:

• To ensure the product meets certain legal and safety requirements, for example by
law, products like sofas and beds have to meet certain fireproofing or flammability
standards.

• To ensure accurate labelling, eg washing and aftercare instructions.

• To make a decision about what materials, pre-manufactured components and

production processes to use.

• To match materials and components with suitable tools, equipment and processes.

• To ensure customer loyalty.

 Pilling
Happens when small accumulations of fibres
appear on the surface of a fabric.
develop during wear,
To test for pilling, the material to be tested is
moved back and forth for a certain number of
revolutions across the machine heads, which are
covered with pieces of standard woollen fabric.
The results of the test are graded, with 5 being
no pilling at all. Most manufacturers require a 4
to pass.
Abrasion

This test records the rate at which the materials

threads break after being exposed to repeated
abrasion.
The sample is stretched taut and held against curved
rotating cylinder with and abrasive surface.
The Oscillatory Cylinder method known as the
Wyzenbeek test is the traditional test for testing
abrasion resistance.
The Taber abraser test is used for carpets.
Test results depend on number of cycles required
before an visible changes in the fabric.
ASTM D4970 , Standard Test Method for
Pilling Resistance and Other related
Surface Changes of Textile Fabrics is an
abrasion test used to determine resistance
to the formation of pills and other surface
changes on textile fabrics under light
pressure.
Tear Strength
Tear strength is a test to
identify how much force is
needed to tear a piece of
fabric.

Sensors inside the machine

record the amount of force
applied to the material and
the speed of the tear.

The material is clamped in

to the machine and more
and more force applied
until the fabric breaks.
Carpet Testing

A particular area of speciality is the

mechanical testing of carpets that includes
testing for:
construction
durability
appearance change
colour fastness (light, rub, wash etc)
electrostatic properties.
Drape Testing

The drape test is used to find out how stiff a

piece of fabric is. A circular piece of material is
placed in
the drape box, the lid closed and the outer part of
the material allowed to hang freely. The material
casts a shadow on a paper ring and by drawing
around it and then calculating how much of the
paper it
covers, it is possible to come up with a figure
that represents the stiffness of the material.
Flame retardant
In industry fabrics can be treated for flame retardant to meet
British Standard specifications.
Non substantive finishes. Usually water-soluble products that
five off gases which swamp the oxygen and stop flames
forming.
 Substantives finishes. The most common type of treatment
and used on textiles which have to be regularly laundered or
dry cleaned, for example Proban and Pyrovatex.
Reflective surface coatings are added to enhance thermal
properties as well as making the product more resistant to fire.
Back coating, which is done by spreading the reverse of a
fabric with a mixture of fire-resisting chemicals and resins.
Popular for carpets and floor coverings.