Textiles and Clothing: Fibres, Finishes and Laundry
What this domain covers
Textiles and Clothing covers fibre classification and identification, yarn and fabric construction, finishes, selection of clothing, and laundry with stain removal.
Core concepts
- Fibre classes: natural - cotton and linen (cellulosic), silk and wool (protein); man-made - regenerated (rayon) and synthetic (nylon, polyester, acrylic).
- Burning test: cotton burns fast with the smell of burning paper and leaves grey ash; wool and silk smell of burning hair and leave a crushable black bead; synthetics melt and shrivel into a hard bead.
- Finishes: mercerisation (cotton with caustic soda - raises lustre, strength and dye uptake); sanforisation (controls shrinkage); calendering (surface smoothness).
- Weaves: plain (strong and cheap - muslin, poplin), twill (diagonal rib, durable - denim, gabardine), satin (floats, lustrous, snag-prone).
- Laundry rules: cold water first on an unknown stain; protein stains (blood, milk, egg) set permanently in hot water; tea and coffee respond to cold water followed by a borax soak; grease is blotted and treated with an absorbent or solvent; rust needs oxalic acid, never chlorine bleach.
Worked example
A white cotton shirt stained with tea is ironed, and the stain darkens. Reasoning: tea contains tannins, and heat fixes tannin onto cellulose. The stain had to be treated before ironing with cold water and a mild borax soak, then washed normally. Ironing converted a removable stain into a permanent one.
Traps
- Using hot water on blood or egg stains.
- Confusing mercerisation with sanforisation.
- Assuming every lustrous fabric is silk.
- Treating rust with bleach, which sets it further.