Fibre to Fabric

Fibres NaturalSynthetic Plants Animals Chemicals/ petroleum products Cotton Jute Linen Wool Silk Camel hair Nylon Polyester Acrylic

Natural Fibres Natural fibres are obtained from plants and animals. cotton wool silk

Cotton from cotton plant. Advantages:  Cotton is cool to wear, washable, durable and absorbent but dries slowly. It is best for summer. Disadvantage:  It wrinkles easily. To resist this, cotton is being blended with many other natural or synthetic fibers.

Cotton fibre undergoes four stages before it finally comes out as fabric.  Ginning: The cotton fibres are removed from the seed pods.  Spinning: The fibres are drawn out and twisted into yarns.  Weaving: Two sets of yarns are placed together in a loom which turns them to fabric.  Finishing: The fabric is bleached and treated to get the final product Do you know?

Linen from flax plant. Linen is used for summer clothing. Cool to wear and durable, it dries quickly.

So how is linen prepared from flax plant?  H Harvesting: The plant is removed carefully with roots so that the fibre is not spoiled. The plants are stacked to dry.  R Retting: The stems are exposed to rain, dew and sunshine for the stems to rot so that the pectin that binds the fibres together is removed. The stems are beaten to separate the fibres.  S Stripping and Combing: The fibres are separated into long and short ones and passed through a comb to remove remains of bark.  S Spinning and Weaving : The fibres are spun and woven into fabric.  F Finishing : The woven fabric is treated to get the finished product.

Jute from Jute plant Jute is obtained from jute plant. The process of production is similar to that of linen.

Jute plant Harvesting Retting and washing Raw fibres Yarns

Jute is used for making ropes, bags sacks etc.

Wool from sheep. Wool is warm, absorbent and dries slowly. Used for jumpers, blankets, sweaters etc.

Silk from silkworm. Silk is used for evening wear. Warm to wear and absorbent. It is durable and has lusture.

Production of silk started in China over thousands of years back. The commercial manufacture of silk is called sericulture. The caterpillar of silk moth is fed mulberry leaves. After about 35 days the caterpillars are 10,000 times heavier than when hatched, and are ready to begin spinning a cocoon.

The caterpillars spin the cocoon which takes 3 – 4 days and the caterpillar spins a mile long thread in the figure of 8. The cocoon is heat treated to kill the worm inside and placed in water to soften the silk. The fibres are then woven into the beautiful and lustrous silk.

Other Animal Fibres Fur from Angora Rabbit The soft fur from Angora rabbit is used for making shawls

Fur from Mink Mink is a carnivorous mammal. The fur of this animal is used for making coats.

Synthetic Fibre Synthetic fibres are produced artificially from minerals and petrochemicals. Nylon. Polyster. Acrylic.

Synthetic Fibres The first artificial fibre produced was Rayon. This is not considered as synthetic because chemicals were added to wood pulp for producing it. The first synthetic fibre produced was Nylon. These fibres are produced from the chemicals obtained from petroleum.

Advantages They are durable and crease resistant. Fast drying. Used for sportswear, jackets, raincoats, socks etc. They are non-absorbent. They cannot washed in hot water. Disadvantages

Other Fibres Asbestos is a mineral, with long fibrous crystals. It is used in oven and hotplate wiring as thermal insulation. Glass fibres are used for space suits, insulation etc. It is used in the manufacture of fibreglass. Glass fibres are mixed with chemicals to produce fibreglass which is strong and durable at the same time light in weight.

Fibreglass is used for making the body of motor boats. Overhead water tanks. Sports equipments like slides, oars, helmets

Metal Fibres. Steel Fibres are used mainly in reinforcement of concrete. Gold fibres and silver fibres are used in jewelry. It is also used as fine threads called Zari in garments in intricate designs.

Zari work

Delicate and expensive. Shahtoosh shawls are delicate, soft, highly priced. They can pass through a finger ring.

Are we inconsiderate? The soft fur of Chiru antelopes are used for weaving the shahtoosh shawls. They are found in Tibet and Kashmir. They are killed for this fur.

Do we need this? The number of Chiru antelopes are dwindling. The world is slowly waking up to this fact and some countries have banned this product.

Food for thought! Do we need this luxury at the cost of these animals who play a major role in our environment?