Unit of Competency : Identify

fibres and fabrics

Learning outcomes:

LO1: Identify fibres and fabrics

LO2: Describe qualities of fabrics

LO3: Determine uses of fabrics

Introduction

A textile is flexible material consisting of network of natural or

artificial fiber often referred to as thread or yarn.

fibers is defined as unit of matter characterized by flexibility,

fineness, and a high ratio of length to thickness.

Fabric refers to any material made through weaving, knitting,

crocheting, or bonding .

Apparel is anything that one puts on ones body. Clothing, shoes,

hats, globes, & scarves are example of apparel items

 Definition of Fiber and Textile fibers
 Fiber: It is defined as one of the delicate, hair portions of the tissues of a plant or

animal or other substances that are very small in diameter in relation to there length.
 A fiber is a material which is several hundred times as long as its thick.

 Fibers have been defined by the Textile Institute as units of matter characterized by :

 flexibility,

 fineness

 high ratio of length to thickness.

 Textile Fiber

 Textile fiber has some characteristics which differ between fiber to Textile fiber.

 Textile fiber can be spun into a yarn or made into a fabric by various methods including

weaving, knitting, braiding, felting, and twisting.

 The essential requirements for fibers to be spun into yarn include a length of at least 5

millimeters, flexibility, cohesiveness, and sufficient strength.

 Other important properties include elasticity, fineness, uniformity, durability, and luster.
Classification of Fibers
NATURAL FIBERS
 Introduction
Natural fiber obtained from:-
 Hairs of animals like the sheep;
 Portion of the plants ranging from the course backbone of the nettle stem to
the fine seed-fibre of the cotton plant;
 The delicate filaments formed by insects
 All these can be twisted together to form a thread and then woven into cloth.
 Today, cotton, wool, jute, flax and silk are the most important of our natural
textile fibers.
 Cont..
Natural fibers are further divided into three.

Namely natural fibers:-

Of vegetable origin

Of animal origin

Of Mineral origin

 Natural fiber of vegetable origin
The vegetable fibers are all based upon cellulose, the substance which the

plant builds up from water and carbon dioxide gas absorbed through its
leaves.
They are also called cellulosic fibers.

The resources of cellulose fiber available to us in the plant world are

virtually inexhaustible.
 But only a comparatively small proportion of these resources can be made

use of directly as textile fibers.

 Cont…
Cellulosic fibers are classified most conveniently by

referring to the part of the plant from which they

come.
There are three main groups:

1) The BAST or stem fiber flax and jute.

2) The LEAF fiber sisal.

3) The fibers of SEEDS and fruits. cotton

 SEED FIBER
The seeds and fruits of plants are often attached to hairs or fibers which

formed from cellulose.

E.g. cotton
 Cotton fiber
Is the backbone of the worlds textile trade.

Almost pure cellulose, cotton is the world's most widely used natural fibre and

still the undisputed "king" of the global textiles industry.

 Cotton-cultivation
1. Cultivation
Cotton is a warm-weather plant, cultivated in both hemispheres.
Cotton requires about 6 months of continuous warm weather with adequate moisture
and sun light. 80-110 days 50-80 days
Planting Flowering Opening of the ball
(12 hrs – 3 days)

Planting (introducing the seed to moist soil) time for cotton varies with
locality. Weather, insects and moisture can adversely affect optimum conditions
for plant growth and it is the farmer's responsibility to adjust to these
conditions to optimize yield.
 2. Harvesting
Harvesting (gathering of a ripened cotton crop).

Harvesting is one of the final and most important steps in the production of
a cotton crop, as the crop must be harvested before the inclement weather
can damage the quality and reduce the yield.

Harvesting can be done by hand or mechanically.

Mechanically harvested cotton, either with cotton picker machines.
 3.Ginning process
After harvesting, the cotton fiber has to be separated from the seeds; a process

carried out mechanically by the cotton gin.

 The picked cotton contains about 66% seeds, 33% cotton fibers and small amounts

of leaf and dirt.

 Ginning is the separation of the fibers from cotton seed.

Ginning operations are normally considered to include :-

conditioning (through drying),

 seed–fiber separation,

cleaning (to remove plant trash), and packaging (bale formation).

Chemical composition of cotton fiber
Cellulose (C6H10O5)n ………94%
Protein .................................1 – 1.5%
Pectin materials.…………….1%
Wax ……………………...…….0.5%
Small amount of organic acids, sugers and pigments.
Purifying using scouring and bleaching provides stronger and whiter fiber
and will have 99% cellulose.
 Morphological Structure
The morphological structure of cotton fiber consists of 4 parts: cuticle,
primary wall, secondary wall and lumen
1. Cuticle – a thin layer tightly attached to the outside of the primary wall.
Cotton fiber is enclosed in cuticle, which protects the fiber from any
mechanical and chemical damages.
It consists of cotton wax, fats, waxes and oils.
2. Primary wall – built up from cellulose also contain pectineous matter.
Dia of the fiber = 15-20 mincron … primary wall = 0.1-0.2 micron thick
very thin
3. Secondary wall – composed of mainly cellulose and contributes most of
the weight of the fiber.

4. Lumen – center of growing fiber which remains as cylindrical void at

maturity. It is about 30-53% of the total area of cross section. After drying
area of lumen … 5%.
It consists coloring matter apart from other impurities.
 Property of cotton fiber
LENGTH
The length of the individual cotton fibre varies greatly depending upon:-

The variety of the plant.

The conditions under which it has been grown.

The state of maturity of the fibre at the time of picking.

A good fibre is about 65mm, whereas a linters fibre will be less than 6mm in

length.
 Fineness
Fineness is a relative measure of fiber size expressed in denier or tex.
Denier = M/L * 9000… M= wt in gm, L= length of fiber in m

Tex = M/L * 1000

Longer the fibre, finer in case of cotton fiber.

The fiber length to width ratio of cotton ranges from about 6000:1 for the

longest and best types, to about 350:1 for the shortest coarsest cotton type.
 Luster
Cotton fibre have a natural luster due to:-

Natural polish on the surface

The smooth, hard primary coat of cellulose contains waxes.

Shape of the fiber which is nearly circular cross-section and with fewer

convolutions such as those produced when cotton is mercerized.

 Color
is normally creamy white & is affected by the conditions under which it is

produced.
If the fibre is left too long in the boll before being picked, it may turn grey

or bluish white.
 There is five recognized groups of color: white, gray, spotted, tinged, and
yellow stained.
As the color of cotton deteriorates, the process ability of the fibers
decreases.
 Tensile strength
Strength – the ability of a fiber to resist a tension before breakage.

It varies widely from fiber to fiber:

Matured and coarse = 9-13 gm/fiber

Matured and intermediate fine = 4-9 gm/fiber

Immature = 0.5-1 gm/fiber

The long fine cotton yields the strongest yarns due to they are able to grip each

other more effectively and less tendency for slippage.

 Elongation

Cotton does not stretch easily.

It has an elongation at break of 5 – 10 %.

Elastic properties
It is relatively inelastic, rigid fibre.

@ 2% extension it has an elastic recovery of 74%; @ 5% extension, the elastic

recovery is 45%.
 Effects of Moisture
Moisture affects strength of cotton.

Under average humidity, cotton takes up about 6 – 8 % moisture and it has a

regain of 8.5 %.
@ 100% humidity, cotton has an absorbency of 25 – 27%.

Absorption of water by the cotton cellulose results in an increase in fibre

strength ( up to 20% stronger than dry fiber).

 Effect of heat
Cotton has an excellent resistance to degradation by heat.

It begins to turn yellow after several hours @ 120 oC and decomposes @ 150oC

as a result of oxidation.
It is severely damaged after a few minutes @ 240 oC.

Cotton burns readily in air.

 Effect of sunlight
There is gradual loss of strength when exposed to sunlight and the fibre turns

yellow
Degradation is even severe at high temperatures and in presence of moisture.

Much of the damage is caused by ultra-violet light and by the shorter waves of

visible light.
 Effect of Acids
Cotton is attacked by hot dilute acids or cold concentrated acids in which it

disintegrated.
It is not affected by cold weak acids.

Effect of Alkalis
Cotton has an excellent resistance to alkalis.

It swells in caustic (NaOH) alkali but not damaged. e.g. soaping
 Application of cotton
cotton fiber in nature It has:-

 Remarkable durability with attractive wearing quality.

 Pleasant feel or handle

 They are cool in hot weather.

 Cotton is ideal used for household goods and garments that can be

laundered repeatedly.
Advantages & Disadvantages of Cotton

Advantages Disadvantages
 Inexpensive  Wrinkles Easily
 Launders Well  Soils Easily
 Soft  Mildews is stored damp.
 Hydrophilic—Absorbent  A discoloration caused by a
fungus that grows on the fabric
 Dyes Well
when it is stored moist over a
period of time.
Cotton is easily dyeable by many dyes.
B/c of its appreciable good properties, it is used for most types of garments. It

is used for:-
Bed sheeting

Shirting

T-shirts

Towels
 Quiz(5%)
1.Define the following Terms?
 Fiber
Apparel
2. Discuss briefly about classification of Textile fibres?
3. Write important properties and Application of cotton fiber?
THANK YOU