Fabrics are a part of our everyday life, not only in the clothing that we wear every day, but things like towels and furniture as well. So what do you need to know about the fabrics that play a role in your world?
NATURAL VS SYNTHETIC FIBERS
First of all, decide whether a fabric made of NATURAL fibers or a fabric made of SYNTHETIC fibers is best for you.
NATURAL fibers include those that are derived from plant, animal, or mineral sources. Natural fibers can be classified according to their origin.
VEGETABLE fibers – generally comprised of cellulose: examples
include: cotton, jute, flax, ramie, sisal, and hemp. Cellulose
fibers serve in the manufacture of paper and cloth.
(Hemp stem showing fibers)
ANIMAL fibers – generally comprised of proteins: examples include:
silk, wool, angora, mohair, and alpaca.
(Angora rabbit)
MINERAL fibers – naturally occurring fiber or slightly modified fibers
that are produced from minerals: examples include:
asbestos, glass fibers, and aluminum fibers.
(Fibrous asbestos)
SYNTHETIC fibers are created by forcing, usually through extrusion, fiber forming materials through holes (called spinnerets) into the air, forming a thread. Before synthetic fibers were developed, artificially manufactured fibers were made from cellulose, which comes from plants. Some examples of synthetic fabrics are: rayon, acetate, nylon, mod acrylic, olefin, acrylic, polyester, and spandex.
So, now that you know what natural and synthetic fibers are, and what fabrics they comprise, here are a few pros and cons of natural vs. synthetic fabrics.
Common pros of natural fabrics: They generally have a softer look and easier drape than synthetic fabrics. Natural fabrics (excluding animal fibers) also tend to wash easier with better stain removal. Natural fabrics also absorb colour more readily and are much easier to dye than synthetic fabrics. Natural fabrics also breathe easier, allowing for more comfortable wear.
Common cons of natural fabrics: For animal fibers, such as cashmere and wool, dry cleaning can be required. For plant fibers, such as cotton, the fabric can fade and wear out sooner than some synthetics. Overall, natural fabrics are a more popular choice as they are generally easier to care for, and are more environmentally friendly to produce.
Common pros of synthetic fabrics: With the new technology for producing fabrics, synthetics can be made to very closely resemble a natural fabric, such as silk, but at a much lesser cost. Synthetic fabrics also tend to be very slow to fade and lose their colour, as well as needing much less ironing than natural fabrics.
Common cons of synthetic fabrics: Although they may be of lesser cost to consumers to purchase synthetic replicas of expensive natural fabrics (such as silk, cashmere, and wool), they are not as environmentally friendly to produce. Some synthetics can melt quite easily, from ironing or flame.
So, now that you know the basics of natural vs. synthetic fibers, here are a few interesting tidbits of information on some of the most common natural and synthetic fabrics.
NATURAL FABRICS - CARE AND SPECIAL FEATURES
COTTON - used to make a number of textile products. These include terrycloth, used to make highly absorbent bath towels and robes; denim, used to make blue jeans; chambray, popularly used in the manufacture of blue work shirts (from which we get the term "blue-collar"); and corduroy, seersucker, and cotton twill. Socks, underwear, and most T-shirts are made from cotton. Bed sheets often are made from cotton. Cotton also is used to make yarn used in crochet and knitting.
Fabric also can be made from recycled or recovered cotton that otherwise would be thrown away during the spinning, weaving, or cutting process. While many fabrics are made completely of cotton, some materials blend cotton with other fibers, including rayon and synthetic fibers such as polyester. It can either be used in knitted or woven fabrics, as it can be blended with elastine to make a stretchier thread for knitted fabrics, and things such as stretch jeans.
(Cotton ready for harvest)
COTTON CARE: Cotton is one of the most popular fabrics not just because of its comfort but because it also creates an easy garment to keep clean. Cotton can be washed in the washer at even the hottest of temperatures. Any detergent can be used and bleach can also be used as needed. Cotton can wrinkle easily but an iron on the highest heat is still safe to use on the fabric.
WOOL - In addition to clothing, wool has been used for blankets, horse rugs, saddle cloths, carpeting, felt, wool insulation and upholstery. Wool felt covers piano hammers, and it is used to absorb odors and noise in heavy machinery and stereo speakers. Ancient Greeks lined their helmets with felt, and Roman legionnaires used breastplates made of wool felt.
Wool has also been traditionally used to cover cloth diapers. Wool fiber exteriors are hydrophobic (repel water) and the interior of the wool fiber is hygroscopic (attracts water; this makes a wool garment able to cover a wet diaper while inhibiting wicking so outer garments remain dry. Wool felted and treated with lanolin is water resistant, air permeable, and slightly antibacterial, so it resists the buildup of odor. Some modern cloth diapers use felted wool fabric for covers, and there are several modern commercial knitting patterns for wool diaper covers.
(Long and short haired wool)
WOOL CARE: Once a wool garment is worn, it should be left on a quality hanger for 24 hours. Any wrinkles that were produced during the wear generally release by themselves if the garment is left hanging for a period of time. Spots and stains should be removed as soon as possible from wool garments with a brush or damp sponge. Wool garments should only be dry-cleaned once a season and if they get wet, be sure to keep them away from heat to avoid shrinkage. If wool needs to be ironed, only use the steam without touching the iron on the garment and try to steam it on the under-side of the fabric.
CASHMERE - sometimes known as Pashmina, is a fiber obtained from the Cashmere goat. The word "cashmere" derives from an archaic spelling of Kashmir. Cashmere wool is fine in texture, and it is also strong, light, and soft; when it is made into garments, they are extremely warm to wear, much warmer than the equivalent weight in sheep's wool.
(Cashmere goats)
CASHMERE CARE: The care label may read “dry clean only,” but hand washing a cashmere turtleneck will actually make it softer over time. Be sure to use baby shampoo or a mild detergent like Woolite or Essence. Press out the excess water, but do not wring the sweater. Instead, lay it flat on a towel and reshape it as it dries. Fold to store. To avoid a line running down the middle of the sweater, fold each side of the sweater inward by a third. Smooth the arms down, and fold in half. Never hang a cashmere sweater — it will cause shoulder dimples, and the pull of gravity will distort the overall shape.
SILK – is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from cocoons made by the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity (sericulture). The shimmering appearance for which silk is prized comes from the fibers' triangular prism-like structure which allows silk cloth to refract incoming light at different angles.
Silk's good absorbency makes it comfortable to wear in warm weather and while active. Its low conductivity keeps warm air close to the skin during cold weather. It is often used for clothing such as shirts, blouses, formal dresses, high fashion clothes, negligees, pyjamas, robes, skirt suits, sun dresses and underwear. Silk's elegant, soft luster and beautiful drape makes it perfect for many furnishing applications. It is used for upholstery, wall coverings, window treatments (if blended with another fiber), rugs, bedding and wall hangings.
While on the decline now, due to artificial fibers, silk has had many uses; parachutes, bicycle tires, comforter filling and artillery gunpowder bags. From the black powder era, until roughly World War I, early bulletproof vests were made from silk. A special manufacturing process makes it suitable as non-absorbable surgical sutures.
(Silk worm and its cocoon)
SILK CARE: silk is a picky type of material that usually can only be dry-cleaned. If silk is pre-washed, however, it can withstand hand washing. A mild soap and lukewarm water should be used to clean silk garments and chlorine bleach should never be used.
RAYON - is a manufactured regenerated cellulosic fiber. Rayon is produced from naturally occurring polymers and therefore it is not a truly synthetic fiber, nor is it a natural fiber. It is known by the names viscose rayon and art silk in the textile industry. It usually has a high luster quality giving it a bright shine.
Some major rayon fiber uses include apparel (e.g. blouses, dresses, jackets, lingerie, linings, scarves, suits, ties, hats, socks), furnishings (e.g. bedspreads, blankets, window treatments, upholstery, slipcovers), industrial uses (e.g. medical surgery products, non-woven products, tire cord), and other uses (e.g. yarn, feminine hygiene products).
(Rayon skirt photographed with a macro lens)
RAYON CARE: Dry-cleaning is usually the best way to clean most garments made from rayon but there are some types of knits that can handle a hand wash for cleaning. Lukewarm or cool water and mild soap should be used for cleaning. The article should not be wrung or twisted to dry and should be shaken or smoothed out and placed on a quality hanger to dry. Rayon can also be pressed with a cool iron if needed.
NYLON - Nylon is a thermoplastic silky material, first used commercially in a nylon-bristled toothbrush (1938), followed more famously by women's “nylons” stockings (1940). It is made of repeating units linked by peptide bonds (another name for amide bonds) and is frequently referred to as polyamide (PA). Nylon was the first commercially successful polymer and the first synthetic fiber to be made entirely from coal, water, and air. These are formed into monomers of intermediate molecular weight, which are then reacted to form long polymer chains.
Nylon was intended to be a synthetic replacement for silk and substituted for it in many different products after silk became scarce during World War II. It replaced silk in military applications such as parachutes and flak vests, and was used in many types of vehicle tires.
Nowadays, nylon fibers are used in many applications, including fabrics, bridal veils, carpets, musical strings, rope, footwear, fishing line, and sutures.
(Piece of nylon rope)
NYLON CARE: Nylon is a fabric that is easily maintained and cleaned. It can be washed and dried in machines in warm water. In order to reduce static electricity, add a fabric softener sheet to the drying cycle.
