Chapter 5

Textile Fiber and Fabric

Production
 Textile Fiber and Fabric Production

• Textiles is a broad term referring to any

material that can be made into fabric by any
method.
• Fibers are hair-like materials, either natural or
manufactured, that form the basic element of
fabric and other textiles.

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 Fabrics and Fibers

The basic building blocks fabrics long pieces of

cloth
for all fabrics are fibers.
fibers thin, hairlike
strands that are the basic
units used to make fabrics
and textile products
 Fabrics and Fibers

Yarns are spun from yarns uninterrupted

threads of textile fibers
fibers and are used to that are ready to be
make fabric. turned into fabrics
Fibers are spun into yarn, and the yarn is used to make fabric
Fashion and Fibers

Types of Fibers
Natural Manufactured

Plant Animal Synthetic Cellulosic

Chemical
Made from
Leathers and furs are not fibers, compounds
plants
but they are used in the derived from
combined with
apparel industry. petroleum or
chemicals
natural gas

5
 Natural Fiber Production
• Natural fibers are derived from either plants or animals.
• Cotton is the worlds’ leading textile fiber, comprising about 41 percent of
world fiber production.
• Flax is the base component of linen, which makes up less than 1 percent of
the world fiber production.

• Ramie is a vegetable fiber stronger than flax, often combined with cotton to
soften it.
• Wool fiber is a renewable source from animals, representing 2 percent of
world fiber production.
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 Natural Fiber Production
• Silk, associated with the finest garments accounts for
.2 percent of world fiber production.
• All natural fibers except silk are short staple lengths.
• Silk is a long filament.
• PLA

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 Natural Fibers

Silkworm cocoons are filament a very long,

fine, continuous thread
used
to make silk fiber, the
only natural-filament
fiber.
• Gossypium herbaceum, commonly known as Levant cotton,
• Bengali/vernacular name: Karpash Tula

• BOMBAX CEIBA
• Bengali/vernacular name: Shimul, Shimul-tula, Lalshimul.
• English name: Silk Cotton Tree

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Natural Fibers

The most important

*Cotton textile fiber used by the
fashion industry
Disadvantage
Advantages
s
• Comfortable • Shrinks in hot water
• Absorbent • Wrinkles easily
• Washable
*END USES: Wide range
• Strong
of apparel: blouses,
• Inexpensive
dresses, skirts, pants,
underwear, linens

10
Natural Fibers

Linen is a fabric made

from the woody stem
Linen of the flax plant.
Disadvantage
Advantages
s
• Strong • Wrinkles easily
• Comfortable • Can be expensive
• Absorbent • Shrinks
• Durable • Holds creases
• Lint-free *END USES: dresses, suits, jackets,
home furnishings, draperies, table
linens,dish towels
Linen originally used for bedding –
that’s where we got the name “linens” 11
Natural Fibers
Wool fibers come from the
shaved hair of sheep or lambs.
Also can be from Cashmere or
*Wool Angora goat hair fibers.
Disadvantage
Advantages
s
• Warm • Shrinks with heat and
• Lightweight moisture
• Wrinkle-resistant • Needs special care,
• Absorbent dry cleaning
• Comfortable • Scratchy on skin
• Durable
*END USES: sweaters, coats, suits, jackets,
skirts, socks, scarves.
Also: carpets, upholstery and blankets.
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Natural Fibers

Silk
Disadvantage
Advantages
s
• Soft • Expensive
• Drapes well • Needs special care,
• Dyes and prints well dry cleaning
• Very strong • Stains with water
• Lightweight END USES: evening gowns, wedding
gowns, lingerie, scarves, neckties.
Also: curtains and decorative pillows
13
Natural Fibers

Leather – made from animal skins through a process called

“tanning”. Can be made into “suede” with special equipment.
Disadvantage
Advantages
s
• Durable • Scarce
• Comfortable • Expensive
• Warm
*END USES: Coats, jackets,
shoes, handbags, gloves, belts.
Also: upholstery and decorating
accessories

14
Natural Fibers

Fur- soft, hairy coat of an animal

Disadvantage
Advantages
s
• Durable • Scarce
• Soft • Expensive
• Flexible *Some consumer groups
• Warm advocate discontinuing
the use of fur products,
END USES: which has resulted in
coats, jackets, hats. the production of faux,
Also: bed throws, rugs. or imitation, fur.
15
 Man-made Fibers
• Rayon, or viscose, was patented in 1884.
• Synthetics denotes all chemically produced fibers.
• All man-made fibers start as long filaments
• Production takes place in large chemical companies
who leverage mass production techniques.
• Over 50% of world fiber production is man made
now, as compared to 22% in 1960.

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 Man-made Fibers
• Regenerated cellulose fibers are derived
principally from wood pulp.
– Rayon, the first man-made fiber is composed of
regenerated cellulose.
– Lycoell is a new solvent spun cellulosic fiber
produced, like rayon, from wood pulp.
– Acetate and triacetate are alternatives to rayon.

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 Man-made Fibers
• Synthetic fibers are made from derivatives of
petroleum, coal, and natural gas.
– Nylon, polyester and acrylic are long chain
polymers.
– Spandex, can stretch 300 to 400 percent without
breaking and return to its original length.
– Polypropylene is an olefin made from polymers
and can be used for moisture transport in high tech
active wear garments.

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 Manufactured Fibers
◆ Nylon was invented in 1938 and was the first synthetic fiber.
Nylon is made from petrochemicals.

◆ Acrylic was originally used for blankets and sweaters because

it resembles wool. Today year-round sweaters and socks are
made with acrylic.

◆ Polyester was first produced commercially in 1953 and is the

most widely sold synthetic fiber in the world.
 Manufactured Fibers
◆ Spandex dramatically changed the swimwear and foundations
(underwear) industry. Spandex can stretch over 500 percent
without breaking. The brand name for spandex is Lycra®.

◆ A new trend in fashion is the use of microfiber fabrics. Fabrics

made from microfibers provide gentle drape and incredible
softness.

◆ Lyocell is the newest of the cellulosic manufactured fibers.

The chemicals used in production are recycled, and lyocell is
biodegradable.
 Manufactured Fibers

Microfiber technology denier a unit of

measurement used to
produces fibers that weigh identify the thickness or
less than 1.0 denier. diameter of a fiber

• Two times finer than silk

• Three times finer than cotton
• Eight times finer than wool
• 100 times finer than a
human hair
 Textile Yarn and Fiber Producers
• Approximately 4,600 apparel related textile
plants employ 432,000 people domestically.
• Textile mills produce yarns and fabrics.
• Converters do only the finishing stages of
production.

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 Yarn Production
• Yarn production is the next step after fiber
production.
• Filament yarns are continuous, smoother,
shinier and more uniform than spun yarns.
• Spun yarns are either natural fibers other than
silk or cut man-made fibers.

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 Fabric Production
• Fabric is the material or cloth made from natural or man-made yarns using
one of the following methods:
– Weaving, layering warp and fill yarns, with three basic types of weaves:
• Plain
• Twill
• Satin
– Knitting, with one continuous yarn broken into two kinds of knits:
• Weft
• Warp
– Nonwoven fabrics where yarns are bonded or interlocked using
mechanical, chemical, thermal, hydro or solvent.

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Fashion From Concept to Consumer, 8/e © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc.
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 Dyeing
• Some of the most important dyeing methods are:
– Producer color: the producer or solution dyeing process, used
for manmade fibers, adds the pigment or color when the fibers
are still in solution before the filaments are formed.
– Stock dyeing: this method is used to dye fibers before yarn
processing.
– Yarn dyeing: this is quality method used to dye certain woven
patterns such as stripes, plaids/flannel and checks. It is done
after the yarn is spun, but before weaving or knitting. It is
most often used in shirts.
– Piece dyeing: Dyeing a piece of fabric after weaving or
knitting is called piece dyeing. It is the least expensive and
most widely used method of dyeing solid colors.
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 Dyeing
• Cross dyeing: this type of piece dyeing achieves a
simple, less expensive two-color pattern. The cloth
must be made of fibers having affinities with different
dyes so that the cross dyeing can achieve varied color
effects in one dye bath.
• Garments dyeing: Greige goods are preshrunk and
sewn into garments. The whole garments are dyed
after they have been sewn. This method ensures quick
delivery of needed colors as well as tops and bottoms
that match.
 Printing
• Applies design to fabrics via either wet or dry techniques.
• Wet, where dyestuffs are applied wet for optimum color penetration.
– Engraved roller printing: in this technique, a separate roller engraving
is used for each color in the pattern. The design is rolled onto the fabric
as it passes through the printing machine.
– Screen printing
• Flatbed- uses a screen spread over a frame. The portion of the design to be
printed are made of porous nylon fabric that allows the color to pass
through the screen. The areas that are not to be printed are covered or
coated. This type of screen printing is versatile but expensive. The most
expensive silk scarves require as many as 50 silk screens with separate
colors to be printed in perfect registration.
• Rotary screen- is a mechanized version of flat bed screen printing. In this
method roller itself porous in the areas to be printed. Dye is forced into the
roller cylinder and through its porous screen as it rolls over the cloth.
• Dry, where either heat transfer or paper printing techniques are
used.
Printing
 Finishing
• The process used to enhance a fabric usually after
dyeing or printing
• They can be physical:
– Calendaring, the passing of fabric between heavy rollers for
various effects
– Heat setting, to stabilize man-made fabrics
– Napping, to raise surfaces
– Shearing, to create uniform surface
– Sanding or sueding, to create a soft surface
– Shrink control, or preshrinking

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 Finishing
• Or Chemical:
– Caustic reduction to give polyester a silk like feel
– Decatizing to stabilize wool fabrics
– Durable press, or permanent press
– Mercerizing to give cotton a lustrous silk like finish
– Water repellency

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 Environmental Concerns
• Encouraging Environmental Excellence, or E3, is a program
urging producers to protect the environment.
• Decreased water use and chemical waste is the goal
• American and European textile companies have difficulty
competing against Asian mills where producers do not pay to
clean up the environment.
• Domestic manufacturers want to require imported textile
products to be made under the same environmental standards to
ensure fair competition and ensure a clean environment
worldwide.

Fashion From Concept to Consumer, 8/e © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc.

Gini Frings Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458