Fibre to Fabric: Explanation and Process

Fabrics are manufactured from fibers.

• Fibres are thin, long, flexible, and thread-like structures.
• Plants and animals are the two most common sources of fiber.
• These fibers are known as Natural Fibres.
• Natural fibers include cotton, wool, and silk.
• Apart from natural fibers, there are synthetic fibers that are manufactured by people using machines and technology in the textile industry.
• Fabrics are clothing materials that are manufactured by weaving or knitting threads and are obtained from yarn.
• They are made from tiny thread-like fibers.
• These fibers are twisted together to form yarn.

Key Terms: Fabrics, Fibre, Ginning, Spinning, Weaving, Yarn, Cotton, Natural fibre, Synthetic fibre, Polymer, Silk, Fabric production

What are Fibres?

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Fibres are tiny materials that help in making threads which are ultimately used to make various fabrics.

• Simply remove a thread from a piece of fabric and untwist it to open it up.
• Those little fibers will be visible.
• There are numerous fibers available to us and a variety of fabrics can be manufactured from them. 

Types of Natural Fibres

The natural fibres are of two types:

• Plant Fibres: Cotton, jute, coconut fibre, and other plant sources
• Animal Fibres: wool from sheep and silk from the silkworm

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What are Fabrics?

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Fabrics are made out of yarn and woven or knitted threads and are used to make garments.

• They're made of fine thread-like fibres.
• To produce a yarn, these fibres are twisted together.
• The type of fibre used and the treatment is done to it determine the fabric's qualities.
• Cotton voile, rayon, linen, satin, and denim are just a few of the fabrics available.

Processing of a Fibre into Fabric

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Fabrics are manufactured from fibers in a process that comprises the following steps:

• Fibers are extracted from either plant or animal sources.
• A cluster of filament or staple fibers is extracted and twisted together to produce yarn.
• Fabrics are made by twisting yarns tightly and allowing them to rotate on various sorts of rollers.
• Then weaving and knitting them together with varying amounts of yarn.
• After that, the fabrics are made.
• In the textile industry, these fabrics are treated with chemicals to create various types of garment materials.
• Such as cotton fabrics, woolen fabrics, silk fabrics, polyester fabrics, and so on.
• These fabrics are then bleached to give them a smooth, shiny appearance, color dyed to add colors to the fabric materials, and screen printed to create designs.

Synthetic Fibres

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Synthetic fibers are man-made fibers, the majority of which are created from petroleum-based basic materials known as petrochemicals.

• Fibers are used to make all fabrics, and they can come from natural or artificial sources.
• They are made up of a microscopic unit called a polymer, which is made up of many monomers that repeat.
• Among them are nylon, acrylics, polyurethane, and polypropylene.
• Millions of tonnes of these fibers are produced each year all over the world.
• Silk and other man-made fibers have historically been prized for their luster and fineness.
• Smoothness is a feature of man-made fibers.
• A cross-section can be used to distinguish them.

The following is a list of synthetic fibers.

• Rayon
• Nylon
• Polyester

Ropes, buckets, furniture, and other household items are made from this fibre.

Process of Making Cotton Fabric

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Cotton has been known in India since 1800 BC.

• Cotton cultivation requires a warm environment and black clayey soil and is grown in practically every region of India.
• In the states of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, and Madhya Pradesh, cotton fiber is grown on a considerable scale.
• Cotton blooms in the early spring and its height ranges from 1 to 2 meters.
• Flowering takes 60 days on a cotton plant.
• The cotton bloom develops into a fruit.
• The Cotton Bolls burst open as they mature, revealing seeds wrapped with Cotton Fibre and are also known as Cotton Wool.

Processing of Cotton

The process of making cotton fabric is as follows

• Cotton bolls are hand-picked from the field.
• Seeds inside Cotton Bolls are separated by combing after they have been picked up.
• Cotton ginning is the process of combing seeds from cotton balls to separate them and has always been done by hand.
• Nowadays, ginning is done by machine.

Use of Cotton

The following are a few examples of uses of cotton:

• Fabric production
• Cotton that has been sterilized is used as an absorbent in hospitals.
• In hospitals, bandages made of cotton are used to clothe patients.
• As a filler in mattresses, pillows, and quilts, among other things.
• Cotton seeds are used to make cottonseed oil, which is edible oil.

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Things to Remember

• Fibres are thin, long, flexible, and thread-like structures.
• Synthetic fibers are manufactured by people using machines and technology in the textile industry.
• Fabrics are made out of yarn and woven or knitted threads and are used to make garments.
• Ginning is the process of removing cotton seeds from pods.
• Yarns are used to make fabrics, and the yarn is made up of fibres.
• Spinning is the process of creating yarn from fibre.
• Weaving is the process of joining two sets of yarn together to create a fabric.