Subject:​ Family and Consumer Management

Topic: F​ ibres and Fabric

Grade: ​7

Classification Of Fibres

Fibres are classified according to the sources from which they come. All fibres are classified into ​two ​main
groups, namely:
● Natural fibres
● Man-made fibres
Classification Diagram

All fibres

Natural Man-Made

Plant Animal Mineral Synthetic Regenerated

​Polyester Rayon
Cotton Linen Asbestos

Silk Wool

Sources Of Fibres

Fibres originate from different ​natural​ and ​artificial​ sources. These include:
● Plants, such as the ​cotton​ and ​flax​ plant;
● Animals, such as the ​silkworm​, ​sheep​ and ​goat;​
● Minerals, such as asbestos from rocks;
● Manufactured or man-made chemical substances.

Natural Fibres

Fibres from plant sources​ are also called ​vegetable​ fibres or ​cellulosic​ fibres, because they are composed
of a woody, vegetable substance called ​cellulose​. Plant fibres include ​cotton fibres​, from the ​cotton
plant​; ​flax fibres​, from the ​stem​ of the ​flax plant​; ​hemp​, from the ​stem​ of the ​hemp plant​; and ​sisal​,
from the ​leaf​ of the ​agave plant​.
Flax fibres are used to produce a fabric called linen.
Fibres from animal sources ​are also called ​protein fibres​. These include ​silk​, from the ​cocoon​ of the
silkworm​; ​wool​, from the ​sheep​; ​hair fibres​, such as ​mohair​ from the ​angora goat​ and ​cashmere​ from
the ​cashmere goat​.
The best quality wool comes from the merino sheep.

Mineral fibres ​include asbestos, which comes from ​asbestos rocks​ found mainly in South America,
Canada and Italy. Asbestos is a natural mineral fibre, but it is no longer recommended for use in the
manufacture of textiles because it is considered poisonous/cancerous.