Fibres and Fabrics

Cotton
1. Comes from a cotton plant
  1. Used in denim, corduroy, calico
  2. Smooth appearance
2. Good properties
  1. Strong (even when wet)
  2. Good absorber (easy to dye)
  3. Does not cause allergies
  4. Hardwearing
  5. Soft and comfortable to wear
  6. Cool in hot weather
  7. Reasonably cheap
  8. Non-static
  9. Easy to wash
3. Bad properties
  1. Flammable
  2. No elasticy
  3. Dries slowly
  4. Shrinks easily
  5. Creases easily
4. Used in: t-shirts, jeans, blouses, soft funrnishings
Wool
1. From a sheep's fleece
  1. used in Harris tweed, felt, jersey, gabardine, knitted fabrics.
  2. Good points
    1. Does not crease
    2. Good elasticity
    3. available in lots of fabric weights
    4. Low flammability
    5. Good absorber
    6. Warm
    7. Available in lots of fabric weights
2. dries slowly
3. Cannot be washed as may felt or shrink
4. can be expensive
5. Can be itcht
6. Can be used at hats, carpets, suits, jumpers, coats, dresses.
7. Looks soft/coarse
Viscose
1. Good points
  1. Drapes well
  2. Fairly cheap
  3. Comfy to wear
  4. Soft
  5. Easy to wash
  6. Absorbant
2. Bad Points
  1. Highly flammable
  2. Not very hard-wearing
  3. Does not stretch well
3. Looks smooth, light and glossy
4. Its a re-generated fibre made from treating wood pulp with sodium hydoxide and other chemicals
5. Used in rayon
6. Used in lingerie, soft furnishing, suits, linings, dresses
Acetate
1. Comfortable to wear
2. Soft
3. drapes well
4. easy to wash
5. fairly cheap
6. resists biological and sun damage
7. Not very absorbant
8. High flammability
9. not very hard-wearing
10. not very stretchy
11. made from wood pulp treated with acetic acid and other chemicals
12. Used in linings and soft furnishings
Polyester
1. good points
  1. strong (even when wet)
  2. low flammability
  3. Does not crease easily
  4. hard wearing
  5. cheap
  6. quite stretchy
  7. dries quickly
  8. resists biological damage
    Annotations:
    - i.e. moths
2. Bad points
  1. melts when burns
  2. not biodegradable
  3. not absorbant
  4. damaged by strong acids
3. used in dacron
4. used in sportswear, table cloths, padding, cushions, curtains, bed sheets
Elastane
1. good points
  1. strong
  2. hard-wearing
  3. extremely elasticated (can stretch up to 7x its length!)
  4. keeps its shape well
  5. lightweight
  6. resists sun/biological damage
2. bad points
  1. not absorbent
  2. not biodegradable
  3. high flammability
3. used in lycra
4. combined with other fires to add stretch, swimwear, underwear

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Fibres and Fabrics

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	Created by gen lebus over 11 years ago