What is fabric made of? Classification of fabrics by type of raw materials, properties and purpose

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Currently, there are no thoughts about how significant the invention of fabric was at one time for mankind. But without it, life would be uncomfortable and unthinkable! A person is surrounded by various tissues throughout life. When did they appear and what are fabrics made of at the present time? Let's talk about it in the article.

History of fabrics

In historical sources you can find information about what first types of fabrics appeared, and when. The first woven material created by man was linen. During excavations carried out in Greece, Rome, Egypt, archaeologists find fragments of linen fabrics preserved in silt, as well as primitive devices and tools with which "weaving" was carried out. The finds date back to the 8th-3rd centuries BC.

Confirmed by artifacts found during excavations that linen was made in Ancient Egypt. The thinnest linen fabric - fine linen was considered by the Egyptiansa symbol of power. She was used for mummification in royal burials.

Historians believe that the second fabric that appeared, according to some sources in Babylon, according to others - in Ancient Greece, was wool. Cotton appeared in the 3rd millennium BC. The inhabitants of China are the creators of the fourth of natural fabrics. This is silk, about which there are many legends. The first artificial material, chemical fibers, was created in the 19th century.

Varieties of fabrics

The weaving industry has developed dynamically since ancient times. Today, the consumer can use a wide variety of woven materials, which are divided into:

• Natural. These include linen, wool and cotton. The raw materials for the production of fabrics in this case are natural plant fibers and animal hair.
• Artificial. This type of material is created from components that are organic and inorganic, and these include viscose and acetate silk. This type includes synthetic fabrics made from polymer, polyester fibers. The raw material is polyester and polyamide.
• Mixed. These are fabrics that combine different types of fibers, consisting of natural and artificial threads.

Modern range of fabrics is huge. It can be conditionally classified according to its composition, the method of weaving the fibers in the fabric, and the purpose. The group of materials made from natural fibers should include silk, cotton, linen and wool.

Silk fabrics

Silk fabricsattractive, light and pleasant to the touch. The process of manufacturing silk fabric is laborious and has a high cost. The raw material for silk production is silkworm cocoons. These cocoons are weaved by caterpillars. After lowering the cocoon into boiling water, it begins to unwind into a thin thread, as a result of which silk fabric is made.

The method of weaving fibers in silk is different and depends on the further purpose of the fabrics. The satin or satin weave in the fabric has a matte back and a shiny front. The disadvantage is the flowability of the material when cutting. Plain weaving has fabrics with names: chiffon, crepe de chine, georgette crepe. The asymmetrical shift fabric has an asparagus weave. This material is used for lining materials.

Crepe is a range of textile fabrics, each of which, regardless of the class of microfibers contained, has an interesting undulating appearance, similar to the effect on paper of the same name, a pronounced grain or microtexture. The degree of manifestation of "grain" can be very different, but all the canvases have one thing in common: they are made of high twist threads.

The classification of silk fabrics by purpose has the following subgroups: lining, shirt, suit, technical.

Wool fabrics

Wool was an important fiber cultivated by man. The 4th century BC is the earliest date for the appearance of woolen fabrics. In ancient Babylon, woolen fabrics were spun in every household. They appeared in India for a centurylater in the III century BC.

What are the wool group fabrics made of? Usually, it is the hair of various animals. These include goats, sheep, camels, fallow deer. Pure wool fabrics are 100% animal hair. For example, cashmere is made from the down of cashmere goats that live in India, Pakistan, Nepal, and China. It is impossible to recreate cashmere fabric from the wool of ordinary goats, its unique properties are lost.

In the manufacture of woolen fabrics, additions of other fibers in raw materials are allowed, but not more than 5%. Woolen materials are produced in the following types:

• Worsted, thin fabrics. They have a twill, crepe or plain weave. Includes dress (crepes), suit (leotards, bostons) and coat (gabardines) subgroups.
• Fine, usually made from hardware fine yarn. The subgroup includes drapes and cloth.
• Coarse cloth, made from thick hardware yarn. It is used in tailoring workwear.

Linen fabrics

There is no question of what linen fabric is made of. Flax was grown in all states of the ancient world. It is valued for its qualities: high strength, hygroscopicity and wear resistance. The disadvantage of the material is that it is wrinkled. Linen fabric is divided into household and technical. The former include linen for linen, dress and costume purposes with linen, combined and jacquard weave. Technical materials include: burlap, canvas and wrapping fabrics.

In the names of linen fabrics, you can find overlapping names with cotton and silk, like cambric, teak, calico.

Cotton fabrics

The first mention of cotton dates back to the III millennium BC. Cotton fabrics were produced in India. Alexander the Great was the first to bring materials from cotton, returning from a campaign in India. After that, the fabrics spread throughout the Mediterranean.

The range of these fabrics for many centuries has more than a thousand items. Cotton fabrics have their pros and cons. The fabric is valued as anti-allergenic, wear-resistant, hygroscopic and has a relatively low cost. Material shrinkage and creasing are disadvantages. To eliminate them, raw materials are combined with other fibers during the fabric production process.

The main raw material for cotton fabric is cotton bolls containing cotton fibers. This is the basis of the threads. Their length depends on the length of the fibers. The density and thickness of the fabric will depend on the way the thread is twisted. In industrial production, there are seventeen groups of cotton materials. These are chintz, calico, satin, gauze, teak, towel fabric and others.

The seasonal classification of cotton fabrics is divided into:

• Demi-season, like tartan, poplin, taffeta, crepe and others.
• Summer with plain or combined weave. These include cambric, voile, voile, calico and many other fabrics.
• Winter, usuallyhaving a pile or rib structure with increased density. It's flannel, baize and bouffant.

Poplin was invented over 5 centuries ago. According to existing legend, the name has Italian roots and denotes papal material. In the XIV century, the residence of the Pope was moved to Provence, the city of Avignon. He was famous for the production of fabrics, had a long tradition. Initially, poplin was used to make clothes for the clergy, but over time, it began to be used by the rest of the townspeople.

Denim

Most likely, there will not be a person who does not have a denim item in his wardrobe. What is it made of, so strong and at the same time elastic? In 1853, the first trousers were sewn by an enterprising merchant from Europe - Levi Strauss. He knew about the durable twill fabric that Genoese fabrics had been made in Italy for many centuries, but at the time of sewing the trousers he did not have this fabric, so he sewed them from canvas. So, for two centuries, canvas pants were sewn, which was replaced by cotton material - denim.

And it was made by French tailors who liked twill, but brown was not very attractive. In the French town of Nimes, twill was first dyed blue, and the fabric was called "from Nimes" - denim.

Types of denim fabrics

What is denim fabric made of today? Following modern technologies and preserving classical traditions, the main thing in the production of fabric is cotton thread. It is obtained from purified plant matter. Receivedthreads are dyed. At first, natural indigo dye was used. Currently, artificial dyes are used in industry. The interlacing of dyed and undyed threads gives different colors from the wrong side and the right side of the denim. This is the most expensive and popular fabric.

Dyed cotton called gin is one of the inexpensive single-color fabrics on both sides. Summer sundresses and shirts are made of thin chambray denim. When elastin is added to a cotton thread, a stretch denim is obtained, which is mainly used to make inexpensive women's jeans.