Textiles, Fibres, Fabrics and Material Properties
Textiles, Fibres, Fabrics and Material Properties
The exam tests the chain fibre → yarn → fabric → finish, and whether you can justify a fabric against a design's performance needs: drape, strength, warmth, care and cost.
Fibres and yarns
- Natural: cotton, linen, wool, silk. Regenerated cellulosic: viscose, modal, lyocell. Synthetic: polyester, nylon, elastane, acrylic.
- Staple fibres are short and spun (texture, pilling); filament fibres are continuous (smooth, strong, lustrous).
- Yarn twist and count set the handle: high twist gives a crisp dry hand, low twist a soft fluffy yarn.
Fabric structures
- Woven: plain (balanced, stable), twill (diagonal, durable, soil-hiding), satin (long floats, lustrous, snag-prone), plus jacquard and dobby for pattern.
- Knitted: weft knits - single jersey (curls, stretches), rib (recovers widthwise), interlock (stable, smooth both faces); warp knits such as tricot.
- Nonwoven: bonded or needled, used for interfacing and disposables.
Properties and finishes
Judge by GSM, drape, cover factor, shrinkage, pilling, colourfastness, crease recovery and flammability. Finishes change performance: mercerising (lustre and dye uptake), sanforising (shrinkage control), calendering (surface), bio-polishing (anti-pilling on cellulose), water repellency.
Identification
Burn test: cotton smells of burning paper and leaves soft grey ash; wool smells of burnt hair and crumbles; polyester melts, smells chemical and forms a hard bead. Confirm with solubility tests and the care label.
Worked example
A structured blazer is required. Choose a 280 gsm worsted wool twill: worsted yarns are combed, so they are smooth and resilient; the twill interlacing resists abrasion at cuffs and elbows; 280 gsm gives body without melton's bulk. Line with viscose for slip and breathability, interface the roll line with a fusible weft-insertion interfacing, and add 3% to the costing for shrinkage.
Traps
- Confusing weave with fibre: satin is a structure, often polyester.
- Assuming natural equals sustainable - cotton can be water-intensive and heavily sprayed.
- Ignoring shrinkage and finishing losses in the consumption calculation.
- Using a hot iron on elastane blends or pile fabrics.
- Selecting fabric for appearance only, then finding it cannot hold the seam or shape required.