Introduction to Textiles and Fibre Science
Introduction to Textiles and Fibre Science
This domain tests whether you can classify a fibre, justify its use, and keep fibre properties separate from yarn and fabric properties. Questions commonly ask you to identify a fibre from a description, a burn test, or a property table.
Fibre classification
- Natural: cellulosic (cotton, linen, jute) and protein (wool, silk).
- Man-made: regenerated from cellulose (viscose rayon, acetate) and synthetic from polymers (polyester, nylon, acrylic).
- A fibre is the smallest hair-like unit. Staple fibres are short; filament fibres are continuous.
Properties the examiner rewards
Cotton is absorbent, stronger when wet, low in elasticity, and burns like paper. Wool has scales, crimp, warmth, felting behaviour, and is weaker when wet. Silk is a smooth filament, strong but sensitive to sunlight and perspiration. Polyester is hydrophobic, strong, thermoplastic, and melts before it burns.
Worked example
A sample burns with a paper smell, leaves grey ash, and forms no hard bead. Identify the fibre and give one suitable end use. The paper smell and grey ash point to a cellulosic fibre; the absence of a hard bead rules out thermoplastic synthetics. Cotton is the standard example, so an absorbent summer shirting or towelling is suitable. If the sample melted into a black bead with a sweet chemical odour, polyester would be indicated instead.
Traps that cost marks
Do not call cotton a filament; it is a staple fibre. Do not say mercerizing turns cotton into a synthetic; it is a finish. Do not confuse a brand or trade name with a fibre family. Do not describe a yarn property, such as twist, as a fibre property.