Textile terminology and definition

Textile terminology and definition

There are some textile terminology and definition which are used in the textile industry as below-

Textile

A textile is a flexible material made up of a network of natural or synthetic fibers. Yarn is produced by spinning raw fibers from wool, flax, cotton, flax, or other materials to produce long strands. Textiles are made by weaving, knitting, crocheting, knotting, tatting, felting, or braiding.

Fiber

Fiber is a natural or man-made material that is significantly longer than it is wide. Fibers are often used to make other materials.

Natural Fiber

The fiber that is produced by nature like plants, animals, and geological processes is called natural fiber. Examples- Cotton, Wool, Silk, etc.

Synthetic fiber

The fiber that is produced from different chemical compositions, structures, and properties is significantly modified during the manufacturing process and is called synthetic fiber. Examples- Polyester, Acrylic, etc.

Staple fiber

Staples refer to fibers of individual lengths and can be any composition. Individual fibers such as natural silk or synthetics are known as filaments rather than staple fibers.

Staple length

Staple length is a property of staple fiber and is a term referring to the average length of a group of fibers of any composition. The staple length depends on the source of the fibers. The staple length is an important criterion for spinning fibers, as shorter fibers are more difficult to spin than longer fibers, so the staple length varies from short to long-length fibers, with short fibers resulting in more hairy yarn.

Microfiber

Microfiber is a synthetic fiber that is finer than one denier or decitex/thread and has a diameter of fewer than ten micrometers. This is smaller than the diameter of a strand of silk, which is itself around 1/5 the diameter of a human hair. The most common types of microfibers are made from polyester and polyamide.

Filament

Staple fiber's opposite word is filament fiber, a fiber that comes in uninterrupted lengths for use. Silk taken from a silkworm cocoon is called a filament. If the filament fiber is cut into different lengths, it becomes the staple fiber.

Yarn

A long continuous length of interlocked fibers that is suitable for use in the production of textiles, sewing, crocheting, knitting, weaving, embroidery, or rope making is called yarn.

Slub

A slub is a thick spot in a yarn that is created by varying the tightness of the twist. It is mainly used in knitting.

Woolen

Woolen or woollen is a type of yarn that is made from carded wool. It is soft, light, stretchy, and full of air. It makes a good insulator and good knitting yarn. Wool yarn produces a hard, strong yarn, in contrast to the worsted yarn, where the fibers lie parallel to the carded.

Worsted

Worsted is a high-quality wool yarn, the fabric made from this yarn is heavyweight. Worsted yarns/fabrics are distinct from woolens, the former is considered stronger, finer, smoother, and harder than the latter. Worsted was made from the long-staple pasture wool from sheep breeds such as Teeswaters, Old Leicester Longwool, and Romney Marsh. Pasture wool was not carded; instead, it was washed, gilled and combed, oiled, and finally spun. When woven, worsteds were scoured but not fulled. Worsted wool fabric is generally used in the making of tailored garments such as suits, as opposed to woolen wool, which is used for knitted items such as sweaters.

Weaving

Weaving is a technique of textile production where two sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to create a fabric or cloth. Longitudinal threads are called the warp and lateral threads are the weft. The basic weaves are plain weave, satin weave, or twill weave.

Knitting

Knitting is a fabric manufacturing technique by which yarn is manipulated to create a textile that is used in many types of garments. It may be done by hand or by machine. There are generally many active stitches on the knitting needle at one time. The knitted fabric consists of several consecutive rows of connected loops that join the next and previous rows.

Carbonizing

Carbonizing is a chemical process for eliminating cellulosic matter from a mixture of animal or synthetic matter. The process involves acid treatment and in this process hydrochloric acid or sulfuric acid is used.

Moisture regain

The percentage of water present in the textile material of oven-dry weight is called moisture regain.

Say,

Oven dry weight = D

Water weight = W (Original weight- oven dry weight)

Moisture Regain = MR

Moisture Regain (MR) = Water weight (W) / Oven dry weight (D)

Then,   MR (%) = 100 W/ D.

Moisture content

The weight of water in the material expressed as a percentage of the total weight is called moisture content.

Say,

Oven dry weight = D

Water weight = W (Original weight- oven dry weight)

Moisture Content = MC

Moisture Content (MC) = Water weight (W) / (Water weight + Oven dry weight)

Then, MC (%) =    100 W / (W + D).