Fiber Project
By: Joojo Brush
Cotton
The plant is a shrub native to tropical and subtropical regions around the world, including the Americas, Africa, and India. The greatest diversity of wild cotton species is found in Mexico, followed by Australia and Africa.
Cotton is soft and comfortable. It is hypoallergenic and won't irritate sensitive skin or cause allergies. The fibers are spun tightly into yarn that won't irritate skin or cause static electricity. For these reasons, items that you wear frequently and close to your body, like T-shirts and underwear, are usually made of cotton.
Your cotton clothes are prone to shrinking after laundering, even pre-shrunk cotton clothes. And because cotton also has poor resiliency, meaning the fabric won't return to its original shape after being altered, you won't have much luck stretching out the jeans you accidently shrunk in the dryer.
Cotton fiber can be woven or knitted into fabrics such as velvet, corduroy, chambray, velour, jersey and flannel.
Flax/Linen
Flaxseeds are a rich source of micronutrients, dietary fiber, manganese, vitamin B1, and the essential fatty acid alpha-linoleic acid, also known as ALA or omega-3. Linen comes from the flax plant, which grows all over the Mediterranean region and Central Asia.
Some of the positives of using linen clothing are that it adds to charm and trendiness to any attire. Being a stylish fabric, you can buy nicely printed pattern clothing and look extremely fashionable. Many designers now display linen clothing that is well liked by the people around. Pattern clothing has a natural luster.
Linen clothing can lose its charm if washed with hard water. Therefore, you need to be extra careful while washing texture clothing with chemicals and detergents. Texture clothing is restricted to a small range of colors, providing not much variety.
Linens can be used for a variety of applications. From tablecloths and napkins to clothing and decorations, linen has proven to be useful for a variety of purposes.
Wool
Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and certain other animals, including cashmere from goats, mohair from goats, qiviut from muskoxen, angora from rabbits, and other types of wool from came lids.
Tough, durable and a resilient animal fiber
Soft touch and luxurious look
Absorbent, elastic, comfortable and washable.
Can be delicate and expensive when taken from goats
Expensive
Can be itchy
Is weak and sensitive to alkaline
Stains easily
Apparel-- outerwear, sports wear, sweaters, socks, suits Interiors-- carpets, wall hangings (wool is the “look” against which synthetic carpets are measured Industrial-- felt pieces used in machines, used to clean up oil spills
Silk
Several insects produce silk, but generally only the silk of moth caterpillars has been used for textile manufacturing.
Good quality and it gets rid of asthma.
Its very expensive and your killing silk worms just to get a single silk thread.
Silk is mainly used in apparel and home-furnishing items but also is used in the medial field, such as:
Underwear, Window treatments, Socks, Upholstery fabrics, Leggings, Liners for sleeping bags and etc.
Acetate
Paul Schützenberger discovered that cellulose could react with acetic anhydride to form cellulose acetate in 1865. The German chemists Arthur Eichengrün and Theodore Becker invented the first soluble forms of cellulose acetate in 1903.
Luxurious feel and appearance
Wide range of colors and lusters
Excellent drapability and softness
Relatively fast drying
Shrink, moth and mildew resistant.
Requires dry cleaning
Weak
Heat sensitive
Poor abrasion resistance
Dissolved by nail polish remover acetone.
Blouses, dresses, linings, wedding and party attire, home furnishings, draperies, upholstery
Rayon
It is made from purified cellulose, primarily from wood pulp, which is chemically converted into a soluble compound.
Soft and comfortable
Drapes well
Durable
Highly absorbent
Dyes and prints well
No static or pilling problems
Inexpensive
Colorfast
May be washable
Wrinkles easily unless treated
Low resiliency
Heat sensitive
Susceptible to mildew
Stretches
Weakens when wet
Fabric shrinks if washed
May need dry cleaning
Rayon is a part of everyday life. You may be surprised at where you can find it.
Apparel - Viscose rayon is a very bright, lustrous fiber and is often found in formal wear. Other uses include: accessories, blouses, dresses, lingerie, linings, millinery, slacks, sport shirts, sportswear, suits, ties, work clothes and embroidery.
Lyocell
It was developed beginning in 1972 by a team at the now defunct American Enka fibers facility at Enka, NC.
Soft, strong, absorbent
Fibrillated during wet processing to produce special textures
Excellent wet strength
Wrinkle resistant
Susceptible to mildew
Dresses, slacks, coats, jeans
Nylon
Nylon is a man-made fiber that makes a good substitute for silk. Wallace Carothers, an organic chemist who was employed at the E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company, is credited with inventing nylon in 1934.
Exceptionally strong
Elastic
Abrasion resistant
Lustrous
Easy to wash
While nylon is resistant to fire, it does melt easily. It can also shrink easily and reacts with moisture, in that it can be too easily stretched. Nylon can stain quickly or have other colors bleed on it.
Blouses, dresses, foundation garments, hosiery, lingerie, underwear, raincoats, ski apparel, windbreakers, swimwear, and cycle wear
Olefin
Olefin fiber is a synthetic fiber made from a polyolefin, such as polypropylene or polyethylene.
Olefin's advantages are its strength, colorfastness and comfort, its resistance to staining, mildew, abrasion, sunlight and its good bulk and cover.
Cost, stains easily especially animal urine), dissolves in bleach, “shading” tendency,
It is used in wallpaper, carpeting, ropes, and vehicle interiors.
Polyester
Polyester fabric is a very carefree fabric that is also very cheap to produce. The thread is made from a plastic compound.
Polyester tends to be an inexpensive fabric, because it comes from artificial rather than natural sources. Therefore, its components are not subjected to nature's extremes, such as drought or storms. Polyester is durable, and it stretches, making it hard to tear. It does not shrink or crease easily.
One of the biggest drawbacks of polyester is that it does not breathe. Perspiration and heat are trapped next to the skin. Wearers often feel sticky and clammy in humid weather. Polyester is often considered less comfortable than natural fabrics
For shoes, bra straps
Spandex
Spandex was introduced in 1958. Spandex is a synthetic fiber made of at least 85% of the polymer polyurethane. Spandex is made from several chemicals that are known sensitizers.
Generally, can be stretched more than 500% without breaking
Stronger, more durable and higher retractile force than rubber
Lightweight, soft, smooth, supple
Whites yellow with age
Heat sensitive
Harmed by chlorine bleach
nonabsorbent
Garments where comfort and fit are desired: hosiery, swimsuits, aerobic/exercise wear, ski pants, golf jackets, disposable diaper, waist bands, bra straps and bra side panels