Fabrics Used To Make Material in Today's Textile Industry

Tag : nylon-polyester fabric
We will discuss fabrics such as cotton, wool, nylon, polyester andmany other natural and synthetic fabric materials. Information willbe presented about the history, manufacturing methods,characteristics, and uses of the different fabrics. Informationconcerning the cares of fabrics will also be presented.

Choosing the fabric your clothing is made with is important. Thischoice can make the difference in the look, comfort, durability, orpracticality of the purpose of the particular article of clothing.The choice of fabrics is never more important that the clothes youwear every day at work. Your work uniform must be comfortable yetdurable. It must be stylish yet practical. The average person willspend more time wearing their uniform than any other article ofclothing with maybe the exception of sleep clothing. The fabricyour uniform is made from is important and with todays fabrics youhave a wider choice than ever.

Every fabric used to manufacture clothing today has its owncharacteristics and uses. When choosing clothing as important asyour uniform, it is important that you understand thecharacteristics of the different fabrics. This is the first in aseries of articles where we will explore the different fabrics andmanufacturing process of common fabrics.

We will discuss fabrics such as cotton, wool, nylon, polyester andmany other natural and synthetic fabric materials. Information willbe presented about the history, manufacturing methods,characteristics, and uses of the different fabrics. Informationconcerning the cares of fabrics will also be presented.

This is the second in my series of fabric characteristics (thefirst was about cotton) and again we will go way back to thebeginning of another natural fabric, silk. Silk dates back as faras cotton as a material in which clothing and material were madefrom. Silk was a material that separated the common man from theelite population of early times. Evan today, silk material iscommonly found used by the upper class of society.

History:

The exact history of silk is somewhat of a mystery. Historians saythat silk production, called Sericulture, originated in China10,000 years ago. However ancient Chinese legends contribute theorigination of Sericulture to the Chinese empress Si Ling Chi whoruled in 2,600 BC.

The story goes that one day Empress Si Ling Chi was sitting under aMulberry tree in her palace garden drinking some tea. A cocoon froma silkworm fell into her cup of hot tea. She watched as the silkfibers of the cocoon began to unravel in the hot liquid. She becamerecognized as the goddess of silk worms.

The production of silk slowly developed into manufacturing processin China by the 14th century. Silk production became a cornerstoneof the Chinese economy where the silk was used for musicalinstruments, fishing lines and bowstrings. Silk was also used topay the civil servants in China as a reward from the rulers. TheChinese also used ilk in foreign trade exchanging it for spices andjewels brought from India.

The Chinese kept the secret of silk production to themselves formore than two thousand years. It was so guarded that a penalty ofdeath was placed on anyone found guilty of smuggling silkworm eggs,cocoons, or mulberry seeds out of the country. But buy the year of200 BC the secret of silk had spread to Korea and then slowlythroughout the rest of Asia and India.

It wasnt until the 13th century that silk production reached Italywhen Persia sent 2000 skilled silk weavers. Thos led to theproduction of silk throughout Europe. Even though silk productionhas spread worldwide, China is still the largest producer of theworlds silk today.

Manufacturing process:

The manufacturing process of silk begins with the silkworm itsnatural ability to produce silk fiber and spin their cocoon withit. There are basically two types of silkworms. One is the silkwormthat feeds on oak leaves and produce Tusha silk. The other,mulberry silk moth, produces the highest quality silk called Bombyxmori. This silkworm feeds on the leaves of the mulberry tree. Thesilkworms spin a cocoon that contains an average of 300-400 metersof silk fiber. It takes up to 5500 silkworms to produce 2lbs of rawsilk fibers.

The production of the silkworms cocoon to make silk filament iscalled sericulture. Sericulture is done under controlled conditionsand environments on silk farms. The silk worms are raised from eggsand allowed to go through its entire life cycle. The optimal timefor harvesting silk is at the cocoon stage.

The cocoons are harvested and sent to the factory called afilature. Here the cocoons are unwound into silk strands andcollected on skeins. The operation consists of four separateoperations:

" Sorting of Cocoons; Cocoons are sorted according to color, size,shape and texture.

" Softening; the sorted cocoons are immersed in a series of hot andcold solutions to soften the fibers to permit unwinding.

" Reeling the filament; consist of unwinding the cocoons andtwisting the strands together to make a silk thread.

" Bailing; The silk thread is wrapped onto skeins and packed intosmall bundles called books. The books are put into bales andshipped to the silk mills where it is woven into material.

Characteristics:

Silk is a protein fiber which gives silk material itscharacteristics. Silk has a high tensile strength but wont standup to heavy use or abrasions. Silk will become brittle when exposedto sunlight, high alkalinity, acid, or oily soils will breakdownsilk fibers. The appearance of silk depends on the size of the silkyarn used to make the fabric. Large yarn may make the materialappear more like cotton or a synthetic. Small well refined yarnwill give the silk material the silky feel and look we expect.

Uses:

Silk is still today the primary material used to make our finestouterwear. Luxury clothing including fine silk suits and eveninggowns are made of the finest silk material.

Other uses of silk material include:

" Womens and mens lingerie because of silks softness andbrilliant colours.

" Silk laces and tulles: Ideal for bridal gowns and veils

" Hosiery

" Scarves

" Ties

" Decorative articles such as bows and ribbons

" Furnishing and upholstery

" Insulation

Care:

For the most part silk garments should be dry cleaned to preventdamage of a breakdown of the fibers. Certain silks may be handwashed and line dried or tumble dried with low heat. Silk garmentsare also known as the wash and wear material because it isresistant to wrinkling.

Silk material is prone to moth attacks especially when in storage.Silk garments should be stored appropriately. They may be wrappedin a cotton fabric or other breathable fabric. Silk should not bestored in plastic or other sealed containers that can trap moister.This may lead to mildew and yellowing.

Chlorine bleach should never be used. This will cause the fabric toyellow and break down.

I sincerely hoped you enjoyed this article. Please look forward tomy next article where we will discuss a synthetic fiber polyester.