Inter Disciplinary Minor Assignment-1

Inter Disciplinary Minor

Creative Textiles
Assignment- 1

By
Acknowledgement Pratik Raj

BFT/17/548
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Inter Disciplinary Minor Assignment-1

In the accomplishment of this document successfully, many people have best

owned upon me their blessings and the heart pledged support, this time I am
utilizing to thank all the people who have been concerned with the completion
of this document. Firstly, I would like to pay my sincere thanks to our subject
faculty Mrs Rajni for providing us with the opportunity and guidance to
complete this document. I would also like to convey my deepest gratitude to my
family and friends who also helped us to complete this document.

Pratik Raj

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Certificate

This is to certify that I, Pratik Raj student of Bachelors of Fashion Technology,

Semester VII from National Institute of Fashion Technology Patna has
completed this project under the able guidance of my subject faculty Mrs Rajni.
It is authentic work and has not been copied from anywhere.

(_________________) Mrs. Rajni

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Index

Topic Page Number

Introduction 5
Innovative and Creative Textiles- 6-11
Sustainable Textiles
Hemp Fibre 6-7
Stinging Nettle Fibres 7-8
Coffee ground Fibres 8-9
Pineapple Fabric Pinatex 9
Banana Fibres 9-10
Lotus Fibres 11
Technical Textiles 11-18
Biomimetics 12
Vivometrics 12-13
Camouflage Textiles 14
Textiles for Drug Delivery 14-15
Use of gas Plasma for textile finishing 15-17
Electronic Textiles 17-18
References 19

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Introduction
The first-generation textile fibres were those that were procured directly from
the nature and that era lasted for 4,000 years. The second generation consisted
of man-made fibres like nylon and polyester, which were a result of the efforts
taken by chemists in 1950, to evolve with materials that resemble natural fibres.
The third generation includes fibres from under-utilised natural resources to
meet the needs of the ever-growing population. These are not just alternatives or
addition to the existing natural fibres, but are believed to have diversified
characteristics that can aid in various application areas. As a result of shifts in
textile industry, the technical textile sector is growing in developed economies
with application in diverse fields.

During the industrial age from 1775 to 1850, natural fibre extraction and
production was at its peak. The period between 1870 and 1980 marked the
epitome of synthetic fibre exploration at the end of which the word 'technical
textiles' was coined. After a decade, more innovations, including flexible
materials, extremely light-weight structures, 3D moulding, evolved in the field
of smart textiles. The twentieth century marks the information age where space
suits, robots, self-cleaning textiles, panel electroluminescence, chameleonic
textiles, body monitoring garments are commercially successful.

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Innovative and Creative Textiles

Sustainable Textiles

Sustainable textiles are materials in which every input and output matters. The
materials used, processes involved, quality of life led by labourers and the
afterlife of the product are evaluated and quantified. The resources and
materials used for sustainable textiles are obtained from renewable or recycled
sources.

Sustainable fabrics are produced with limited impact and can be categorised in
the following different ways:

1. Organic: Crops cultivated with

bio-fertilizers and organic manures
without the usage of pesticides,
chemicals or synthetic fertilizers

2. Eco-textiles: Products
manufactured through eco-friendly
measures and certified by agencies
like Oekotex and IFOAM

3. Recycled and
Biodegradable: Natural
and synthetic fibres that are
biodegradable are broken down into
pieces to produce more textiles or
fibres. 4. Textile Processes and
Sustainability: Fabrics and textiles are
produced by taking into consideration
each step from cultivation to printing
and finishing processes. Lesser the chemicals and effluents, better the
environment.

Examples of new Sustainable Textiles-

 Hemp Fibres- One of the most versatile natural fibres can be obtained
from hemp - hemp fibres, which are antibacterial, durable and resilient,
and work as a natural air-conditioning system. In addition, hemp is a fast-
growing plant that consumes very little water and does not require
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herbicides, pesticides, synthetic fertilizers or GMO seeds. As an added

bonus for the environment, the cultivation of hemp improves soil health
by replenishing vital nutrients and preventing erosion.

Figure 1 Hemp Fabric

 Stinging nettle fibres- The common stinging nettle, Urtica dioica, is a

widely used plant that is easy to grow. For the production of the fibres,
the nettles are harvested in the summer and the stalks dried well. This
removes the sting. After drying, the stalks are broken to separate the
woody parts. Then, the plant is hackled to separate the fibres and to
remove the leaf attachments. After that, the fibres are spun wet and then
dried. Twisting them increases tear resistance.
They keep the wearer warm in winter
and cool in summer, and can be grown
with far less water and pesticides than
cotton. Thanks to new spinning
techniques and hybrid plant species,
nettle plants with super high fiber
content are obtained, which are strong
and flexible and have a good spinning
length.

Figure 3 Stinging Nettle Fibres

Figure 2 Stinging Nettle Plant

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 Coffee Ground Fibres- Taiwanese textile company Singtex’s technology

combines the post-patented processed coffee ground with polymer to
create master batches before spinning it into yarn. The resulting coffee
yarn is multi-functional and can be used in a variety of products, from
outdoor and sports performance wear to household items used every day.

Figure 4 Coffee beans to Fabric

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Fabrics made out of coffee ground fibres like S.Café by Singtex offer
excellent natural anti-odour qualities, in addition to UV ray protection
and a quick drying time. The coffee grounds used to create the yarn are
taken and recycled from some of the world’s largest coffee vendors, like
Starbucks. In this way, the company gives a second life to coffee grounds
which would have otherwise ended up in the trash.

 Pineapple Fabric Piñatex - London-based Ananas Anam has developed a

natural and non-woven textile out of pineapple leaves, known
as Piñatex which is remarkably similar to leather. The revolutionary
pineapple fabric is made from pineapple leaf fibres, a by-product from the
pineapple harvest in the Philippines. During a process called
decortication, the fibres are extracted from the leaves. The fibres then
undergo an industrial process to become a nonwoven textile, which is the
base of Piñatex.
on, stitched and cut, making it suitable for a number of fashion products.
A by-product derived from
the manufacturing process
is biomass, which is
converted into organic
fertilizer or bio-gas and
used by the farming
communities, thereby
closing the loop of the
material's production. In
addition, it is also a strong,
yet versatile, breathable,
soft and flexible, material
which can be easily printed Figure 5 Pineapple Leaf Fibres
on, stitched and cut,

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 Banana Fibres- Banana fibre is one of the world’s strongest natural fibres.
It is made from the stem of the banana tree and is incredibly durable and
biodegradable. The fibre consists of thick-walled cell tissue, bonded
together by natural gums and is mainly composed of cellulose,
hemicelluloses and lignin. Banana fibre is similar to natural bamboo
fibre, but its spin ability, fineness and tensile strength are said to be
better. Banana fibre can be used to make a number of different textiles
with different weights and thicknesses, based on what part of the banana
stem the fibre was extracted from.

Figure 6 Banana Fibre

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Similar to coffee ground fibres and pineapple leaves, the material cycle is
closed when producing banana fibres as they are made from waster
products: from recycled banana stems, which the farmers would throw
away otherwise. Banana fibres can be used to make ropes, mats, woven
fabrics as well as handmade papers. Green Banana Paper, a company
based on the island of Kosrae in Micronesia, is using banana fibre to
make vegan wallets, purses, beads and paper. 

Banana yarn or cloth is made
by boiling strips of the sheath
in an alkaline solution to
soften and separate them.
Once this is done, the fibres
are joined together to create
long threads which are then
spun wet, in order to prevent
them from breaking.
Afterwards, the threads can Figure 7 Banana Fabric

Lotus Fibres- The manufacturing process produces a luxurious fabric that

feels like a mixture of silk and raw linen that is also stain-resistant, light
weight, soft, silky and extremely breathable. After harvesting the lotus
stems, they are cut open at the end to extract the long, thin fibers. This
must be done within three days of harvesting to achieve optimal results.
The fibres thus obtained are washed and hung to dry before hand-woven
on traditional looms. The quality of the lotus fabric is so superior that
there have been attempts at commercial use.

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Figure 8 Lotus stems fibres
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Technical Textiles

Conventional textiles are woven or knitted materials whose use is based on test
results. In contrast, technical textiles are developed based on the user
applications. Their applications include space suits, artificial kidney and heart,
pesticide-repellent clothing for farmers, road construction, bags to prevent fruits
from being eaten by birds and efficient water-repellent packaging materials.

The different branches of technical textiles include clothing, packaging, sports

and leisure, transport, medical and hygiene, industrial, invisible, oeko-textiles,
home, safety and protective, building and construction, geo-textiles and agro-
textiles.

Examples of innovative branches Technical Textiles-

 Biomimetics- Biomimetics is the design of new fibre materials, systems

or machines through the study of living systems, to learn from their high-
level functional mechanisms and to apply those to molecular and material
design.
For example, imitation of how lotus leaf behaves with water droplets; the
surface is microscopically rough and covered by a coating of wax like
substance with low surface tension. When water falls on the surface of
the leaf, the air trapped forms a boundary with water. The contact angle
of water is large because of the wax like substance. However, other
factors like surface texture also affect the repellence. The criterion for
water repellence is that the rolling angle should be less than 10 degree.
This idea is taken and recreated as a fabric. The potential material can
reduce the effort in sports like swimming.

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Figure 9 Infrared light acts like a vasodilator, stimulating the mitochondria in the cells,
promoting circulation, improving cell oxygenation and producing energy. It’s commonly
used as a therapeutic treatment for maladies such as high blood pressure, congestive. No
single organ in the body generates energy for every cell. Instead, energy is made within
Inter Disciplinary Minor Assignment-1

 Vivometrics- The electronics integrated into textiles can read body

conditions like heartbeat, blood pressure, calories burnt, lap time, steps
taken and oxygen levels. This is the idea behind Vivometrics, also called
body monitoring garments (BMG).

The brand Life has conquered the

market with its efficient body
monitoring vest. It functions like a
textile ambulance in analysing and
altering for help. A wide range of
cardio-pulmonary information is
collected based on cardiac function,
posture, activity records along with
blood pressure, oxygen and carbon
dioxide levels, body temperature and
movements. It serves as a huge
innovation in the field of sports
and medical textiles.

Figure 10 Life Shirt System

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 Camouflage Textiles- The colour-changing surface of the chameleon is

observed and recreated in the textile material. Camouflage textiles
dealing with the concealment of objects and people by imitating
surroundings.  This technique uses fibres that help in blending with the
background, something that can reflect the background like a mirror and
also be strong like carbon. These fibres are used along with cotton and
polyester to create camouflage textiles. Initially only two patterns
featuring the colour and pattern were designed to resemble a scene of a
thick forest with shades of green and brown.

But now, seven variations are

designed with better
functionality and
deceptiveness. It includes
spacing, moving, surface,
shape, shine, silhouette and
shadow. Evaluation of
camouflage textiles is
difficult as it differs with
sunlight, humidity and
season. So people with
colour blindness are
Figure 12 Aramid Carbon Fiber Blended Fabric employed to detect visual
camouflage.
 Textiles for Drug delivery- Textile
materials can be used to enhance the
effectiveness of drugs by providing a mechanism for controlled release of
drugs over a sustained period of time and by delivering high
concentration of drugs to the targeted tissues without serious side effects.
For example, Ortho Evra transdermal contraceptive patch for women is
20 cm in length, consists of three layers and is approved by the US Food
and Drug Administration.

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 Use of gas or plasma for textile finishing- Plasma is a phase of matter

distinct from solids, liquids and gases and is electrically neutral. These
are ionised gases made up of electrons, ions and neutral particles. Plasma
is partially ionised gas formed by neutral species like excited atoms, free
radicals, meta stable particles and charged species (electrons and ions).
There are two types of plasma: vacuum-based and atmospheric pressure-
based.
The surface of the fabric is subjected to electron bombardment, generated
in the electric field of plasma. Electrons hit the surface with a wide
distribution of energy and speed and this leads to a chain session in the
upper layer of the textile surface, creating cross linking thereby
reinforcing the material.

In the first stage of the treatment, plasma

reacts with the substrate surface where
active species and new functional groups
are created, which can completely change
the reactivity of the substrate.

Figure 14 Plasma

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The changes in the surface morphology of fibers can be induced by plasma

etching process where the nano- or micro-roughness of fibers is formed. The
nanostructured textile surfaces have a higher specific surface area, which leads
to new or improved properties of the treated surface, i.e. increased surface
activity, hydrophilic or hydrophobic properties, and increased absorption
capacity towards different materials, i.e. nanoparticles and nano-composites.

Plasma treatment works for both synthetic and natural fibres with particular
success in anti-felting and shrink resistance for wool. Unlike traditional
chemical processing that requires multiple steps to apply different finishes,
plasma allows the application of multifunctional finishes in a single step and in
a continuous process.

Figure 15 a) shows a typical grooved surface morphology with

macrofibrils oriented predominantly in the direction of the fiber axis. The
outlines of the macrofibrils are still visible, and they are smooth and
distinct due to the presence of an amorphous layer covering the fiber. The
surface of corona plasma-treated cotton has striped, cleaned and more
distinct macrofibrilar structure (b). The same effect can be noticeable on
the surface of cotton fibers treated with water vapor low-pressure plasma
(c).

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Woolmark has patented the sensory perception technology (SPT) that

adds smell to fabrics. US firm NanoHorizons' SmartSilver is a leading
technology in providing anti-odour and anti-microbial protection to
natural and synthetic fibres and fabrics. Heart attack patients in the West
are being cooled in an inflatable tent during operation to reduce the risk
of a stroke by lowering the body temperature. A new natural bandage has
been developed using plasma protein fibrinogen. Since it is made from
human blood clot, the bandage need not be removed. It dissolves in the
skin during the healing process.

Figure 16 SmartSilver enhanced cotton fibre magnified 2650 times

 Electronic Textiles- Wearable electronics such as this ICD jacket from

Philips and Levi's, with its built-in cell phone and MP3 player, run on
batteries. A garment embedded with technology is not new, but
continuous advancements in smart textiles make them more feasible,
desirable and practical in application. Wires are sewn into the fabric to
connect the devices to a remote control and a microphone is embedded in
the collar. Many other manufacturers later came up with intelligent
fabrics that hide all the wires.

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Figure 17 Garment that allows users to charge their small electronic devices while walking in
the sun. The fabric is equipped with solar cells that produce electrical energy. It can be
combined with several types of electronic components in the context of designing solutions
for the health, sports, fashion, and other fields. In addition, the technology can offer new
functions for applications like monitoring a body’s vital signs (heart rate, blood oxygen and
skin temperature) and detecting environmental conditions (light, moisture and ultraviolet
rays). The solar cells used are photodiodes, semiconductor components that are able to
capture light rays and convert them into electrical signals. The photodiodes were
miniaturized and covered with a fibrous sleeve. This created a fabric that behaves like any
ordinary textile. The cells are almost invisible to the naked eye; they measure only 3  mm long
and 1.5 mm wide. The photodiodes are encapsulated in transparent resin to protect against
water and other potentially damaging factors. Since the electronic behaviour of photodiodes
depends on the nature of incoming light coming into contact with the photoactive material,
the researchers studied the effect of the fibres and the resin capsule on their operation.

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References
https://fashionunited.uk/

https://fashionunited.com/

https://www.textileworld.com/

https://substance.etsmtl.ca/

https://www.nanotech-now.com/

https://www.intechopen.com/

https://www.innovationintextiles.com/

http://www.textilevaluechain.com

https://www.pdacortex.com

https://www.ctmtechtextile.com

https://www.researchgate.net

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