Fiber and yarn

The Process

• Manufacturing Progression– Fiber to fabric – Fiber to yarn to fabric, carpeting, trimming

• Fiber, yarn construction, fabric construction all contribute to the appearance and performance of a textile.

FibersThe basic raw materials used in textile production are fibers,

either obtained from natural sources (e.g., wool) or produced from chemical substances (e.g., nylon and polyester).

How do you identify fiber or fabric content?

• Labels • Hand• Appearance• Burn test

Lotus Fiber

Spider silk

Spider Silk Fabric at the Museum of Natural History

Classification of Fibers

• Natural or manufactured

• General chemical type such as protein, etc

• Generic names, such as cotton, used on product labels

• Trade names, such as antron nylon, marketing purposes

Trade names

How we describe fibers

• Fiber length• Texture• Hand• Elasticity• Luster• Resiliency• Strength• Flammability• Resistance to sunlight

Natural Fibers

Protein• Silk• Wool• Mohair• Horsehair

MineralAsbestosGlass

Cellulosic• Cotton• Flax• Jute• Hemp• Bamboo• Sisal• Coir

Protein Fibers

• Silk• Wool• Mohair• Horsehair

Silk CharacteristicsSource• Obtained from cocoon of the silk wormAppearance• Translucent• Lustrous• Only natural filament fiberPhysical properties• Strong, has the tensile strength of steelYarn types• Tram, highest grade and most common. Filaments grouped and twist.• Dupioni, two cocoons become affixed• Raw, sericin not removed• Tussah, from wild uncultivated silk worm

• Tram• Noil• Dupioni

Silk con’tPro• LuxuriousCon• Rots when exposed to unfiltered sunlight• Moths eat• Flat fabrics that do not hide dirt

Silk Cocoons

Filament Fiber

Reeling

Silk Taffeta

Raw Silk

Tassel Fringe

Wool silk

Wool

Wool Characterics Source• Fleece of sheepAppearance• Crimp• Scales• Low light reflectionPhysical properties• Resiliency• Resistant to abrasion• Resistant to soiling• Inherently flame retardantYarn types• Woolen• Worsted

Con

Wool con’tPro• Inherently flame retardant• Resistant to wrinkling, abrasion and soilingCon• Moth eat• Rough hand• Lacks luster

Wool velvet

Wool rugs

Wool and the environment

• Maintain the animal to maintain the fiber but animal has other uses such as lanolin and food.

• Renewable resource. Can shear annually

Mohair

Mohair Characteristics

Source• Angora goatAppearance• Similar to wool but more lustrousPro• more luxurious than woolCon• More expensive than wool

Velvet

Horsehair

Horsehair characteristicsSource• Horses tailsAppearance• Individual hairs• White (can be dyed) or blackPhysical properties• Extremely strong and abrasion resistantYarn type• Individual hairs, cannot be spun into continuous yarnPro• Strong, abrasion resistant and can be washed with soap and waterCon • Narrow• Hard hand• Expensive and requires expert upholstering

Sources of Plant Fibers

Seed–cotton

Stem–Linen, ramie, jute, hemp

Leaf–Sisal, coir

Cotton CharacteristicsSource• Obtained from cotton bollAppearance• ½ to 2” longPhysical properties• Strong• Lacks resiliency• Cool hand• hydrophilicYarn types• Combed• Carded• Mercerized (finish)

Con

Cotton con’tPro• Plentiful, inexpensive and the most widely used fiber Con• Environmental impact through use of pesticides and water. GM crops

might benefit

Cotton

Bedding and table linens

Linen

Linen characteristicsSource• Obtained from the stem of the flax plantAppearance• Long• irregular• Looks like bamboo when viewed under a microscope• Lustrous when finished (calendared)Physical properties• Strong• Lacks resiliencyYarn types• none

Linen con’tPro• Crisp hand • Texture• No lintCon• Wrinkles• Breaks like a twig

Additional Plant FibersSisal and Jute

Green Plant FibersBamboo and Hemp

Plant fibers in wall coverings

Bast and Leaf Fibers and the environment

• More environmentally friendly than cotton– Little or no pesticides and less water– Bamboo, jute and fast growing and highly-

renewable

Manufactured FibersRayon and acetate • developed to replace parachute silk for WWI• Natural substance (cellulose) in a manufactured

process

SyntheticsPoly, nylon, acrylic, olefin • Not possible until scientist could look into a fiber

with a microscope to mimic the molecular structure. • Plastics invented from sludge, a byproduct of oil

refinery

Extruding manufactured yarn

Rayon yarn

Rayon or Viscose CharacteristicsSource• Chemically altered wood pulpAppearance• Translucent• Lustrous Physical properties• Strong• Lacks resiliencyYarn types• Filament • SpunPro• Flexible• Soft hand• LusterCon• Weaker when wet

Synthetics

ProsDurableResistant to moths Resistant to mildewHydrophobicFlexibilityLess expensive

ConsPlastic handStatic electricityPillingHydrophobic

Acrylic

Acrylic CharacteristicsSource• ChemicalAppearance• Soft• Light weight Physical properties• Not as strong as nylon or poly Yarn types • spunPro• Mimics spun natural fiber yarns• Outdoor fabrics, solution dyed acrylic (Sunbrella is trade name)Con• Plastic hand• Not as resistant to abrasion as polyester and nylon

Nylon CharacteristicsSource• ChemicalAppearance• flexible , engineered into different shapes and can be de-lusteredPhysical properties• Strong• Resistant to abrasion • Resilient Yarn types • Spun• FilamentPro• Resilience which makes it ideal for floor covering• Resists mildew and insects Con• Pills more than polyester• Static electricity

Olefin CharacteristicsSource• ChemicalAppearance• flexible , engineered into different shapes Physical properties• Strong• Resilient Yarn types • SpunPro• inexpensive • Bulky, light weightCon• Scratchy• Plastic hand• Not resistant to sunlight• Static electricity

Polyester

Polyester characteristicsSource• ChemicalAppearance• flexible , engineered into different shapes and can be de-lusteredPhysical properties• Strong• Resistant to abrasion • Resists pilling more than nylon• Highly resistant to sunlightYarn types • Spun• FilamentPro• Resists mildew and insects • Trevira, trade name for flame retardant polyCon• Hydrophobic so difficult to clean• Static electricity

• Most widely used manufactured fiber• Residential fabrics to save costs, commercial for performance• Non-yellowing window treatments such as sheers• Excellent resistance to sunlight• Green, Can be made from recycled plastic bottle

Polyester

Healthcare

Yarn

Yarn DefinedAny form of spun, twisted or extruded fibers, natural or manufactured, that can be used in weaving, knitting, or

knotting.

Two main types

spun filament

Hand spinning

Plied Yarn

Two color plied yarn

Characteristic of yarn

• Fineness of yarn numerical identification. Different systems for different fibers. Synthetics denier.

• Degree of twist per inch contributes to the strength and the hand.

• Texture• Different spinning systems such as

woolen/worsted, carded/combed

Novelty yarns

• Slub yarn• Boucle• Chenille• dupioni

Slub Yarn

Boucle

Boucle yarn in a fabric

Chenille yarn

Fabric with chenille

Metallic Yarn

Lycra/Stretch Fabric

Discuss

• Manufacturing progression• How can you identify fibers in a fabric?• How important is the “hand” of a textile product?

What effects the hand?• What do cotton and rayon have in common and how

do they differ?• What qualities do all synthetic fibers have in

common?

Discuss

• What are the challenges faced by the design profession in selecting and specifying interior textile products?

• What are some of the fabric performance predictors that we have learned so far?

Review General Textiles

• Definition textiles, they are made from fibers that

are processed into yarn, then woven, knit, or nonwoven fabrics.

• Three aspects that contribute to a textiles appearance and performance are fiber, yarn construction, fabric construction

Review Fiber• The basic raw materials used in textile production are fibers, either

obtained from natural sources (e.g., wool) or produced from chemical substances (e.g., nylon and polyester).

• Two main categories of fibers, natural and manufactured.• How can you identify fibers in a fabric?• Four classifications of fiber

– Natural and manufactured– Chemical name– Generic name– Trade name

• Characteristics of all of the fibers in the power point.

Review yarn• Yarn

Any form of spun, twisted or extruded fibers, natural or manufactured, that can be used in weaving, knitting, or knotting.

• The difference in spun and filament yarns. Spun yarns have short fibers that have been twisted together into one continuous strand. Filament is extruded into one continuous strand.

• A plied yarns are yarns made from twisting together two or more singles yarns. This is done to make a stronger more uniformed yarn.

• The higher the twists per inch the stronger the yarn and the harder the hand.