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Clothing material or Clothes simply means the different types of materials that are worn to cover the body. It is important to wear because we need to protect ourselves from the external environment and also to keep our bodies warm and cozy. Early men used to protect their bodies by covering tree leaves and animals’ skin. The study says that there is no exact information about when we started using clothes but from some other sources we got to know that the identity of clothes came just 1 million years ago.
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Keyterms: Cloth, Fabrics, Materials, Attire, Uniform, Natural fabrics, Manmade fabrics, Petroleum
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Clothes or Fabrics
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The types of materials that we used to cover our bodies can be considered clothes or fabrics. The clothes are known by different names such as fabrics, attire, and uniform. Clothes are generally made from different kinds of fabrics or materials. Everyone chooses to wear the clothing material as per their choice.
Clothes
Fabrics are of two types and they are,
- Natural
- Artificial or man-made
Some of the advantages of clothes are as follows.
- It protects our body from the external environment
- It saves us from insect bites, splinters, thorns and prickles as it forms a barrier between our body and the environment.
- It gives warmth to our bodies during the cold season.
- It is a social norm to wear clothes.
As we discussed the topic of clothes and fabrics, we also need to look after the different types of fabrics which are used in the manufacturing of clothes. Each fabric has unique properties and uses and are not the same.
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Different Types of Fabrics
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Fabrics are mainly classified into two types.
- Natural fabrics - It is made of natural materials such as plant fibres and animal skin.
- Manmade fabrics - These are artificially synthesized fabrics from petroleum.
Cotton
This was first discovered in Pakistan around 3000 BC. It is a seed hair-like fibre which is made mostly of cellulose and it is composed of around 87 to 90 percent of cellulose, 4 percent natural impurities and 5 percent of water.
Cotton
Wool
This was first discovered in around 400 BC - 300 BC. This type of fabric is composed of wool fibres obtained from woollen animals like sheep, yak etc. It is mostly used in carpets, rugs, blankets and saddle cloths. Due to its ability of heating and warming it is mostly used in cold areas.
Wool
Silk
It is a type of natural protein fibre that is made up of fibroin. It is usually obtained from the cocoons of certain insects called silkworms. The production of silk first originated in China.
Silk
Rayon
It is also known as artificial silk as it is made in factories or in laboratories. The name "rayon" was coined in 1924. It was invented in the year 1846 in the USA. It is less expensive as compared to natural silk.
Rayon
Nylon
It is a silk-like thermoplastic which is produced from petroleum. It can be melted or processed into different kinds of fibres or shapes. The nylon was first synthesized on 28 February 1935.
Nylon
Jute
It is a type of fabric that is obtained from a particular type of plant. This is a long, hairy and rough material. It is composed of cellulose and lignin. Jute was used mainly in the Indus valley.
Jute
Polyester
This is a type of fabric made of plastic. It is cheap and affordable. It was first discovered in the year 1930 by W. H. Carothers.
Polyester
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History of Clothing
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It has been seen that people began to wear clothes from one lakh to five lakh years ago. The first sign of the creation of fabric was knitting that was done around 6500 BC. Prehistoric men only used natural fibres as coverage to their bodies. They used materials that were present around them such as leaves, stalks, animal skin, etc.
Clothes in prehistoric times
According to some scientists, there is no exact proof of the origin of fabrics. But there is plenty of evidence that illustrates the clothing trends and traditions followed in prehistoric times. The environment, culture and external factors were the main reasons that lead to a particular type of clothing style and material used in older civilisations. As time passed by, the fashion, trends and traditions revolving around clothing also changed.
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Things to Remember
- Fibre is a thin thread-like structure that is used to make fabrics or clothes manufacturing.
- There are two main fibres used for various purposes. They are categorised into two categories: natural fibres and artificial fibres.
- Natural fibres are those fibres that are produced or obtained from plants, animals or other natural resources. Some of the examples are cotton, silk, wool, jute, flax, etc.
- Artificial fibres are those fibres that are manufactured in factories or made by human beings. Some of the examples are nylon, polyester, rayon, acrylic, etc
- Weaving is the process of combining two different yarns or threads to make fabric.
Sample Questions
Ques. What are the advantages of wearing clothes? (3 marks)
Ans. There are so many advantages of wearing clothes on the body.
- It protects us from climatic changes.
- It gives warmth to our bodies during the winter season.
- It also protects us from insect's biting, thorns, etc.
- It is very important to wear clothes because it is a part of a social norm.
- It can protect our bodies from injury.
- It protects us from ultraviolet radiation.
Ques. What are clothes? (2 marks)
Ans. The things we wear to cover our bodies are known as clothes. They are made of different types of fabrics. Men and women have different choices of clothes to wear. The clothing depends on choices, culture, fashion and trends. It also goes with the seasons because in different seasons we need to wear different types of clothes. We need to wear woollen clothes in the winter season, cotton in summer and raincoats in the monsoon season.
Ques. What are the different types of fabrics? (2 marks)
Ans. There are various types of fabrics used for the manufacturing of clothes. They are as follows.
- Cotton
- Silk
- Wool
- Polyester
- Acrylic
- Rayon
- Nylon
- Satin
- Denim
- Linen
- Chiffon
- Georgette
- Jute
- Flax
Ques. Describe briefly about Silk and Rayon. (2 marks)
Ans. Silk: It is a type of natural protein fibre that is made up of fibroin. It is usually obtained from the cocoons of certain insects called silkworms. The production of silk first originated in China.
Rayon: It is also known as artificial silk as it is made in factories or in laboratories. The name "rayon" was coined in 1924. It was invented in the year 1846 in the USA. It is less expensive as compared to natural silk.
Ques. From which sources do we obtain fibres? (2 marks)
Ans. We can obtain fibres from plant and animal sources but nowadays people make artificial fibres too in factories and laboratories. In early times people depended on nature. Now we can make the fibres from different materials. Generally, we categorize three types of fibres and they are,
- Animal fibres
- Plant fibres
- Man-made fibres
Ques. What were the things that early men used to cover their bodies? (2 marks)
Ans. They used the bark of trees, big leaves, animal's skin and furs to cover themselves. As they felt like covering their bodies because of the climatic changes occurring in the region. All those things were made by them as they learnt to weave and sew the materials. They used to hunt the animals and use their skin as clothing.
Ques. What were the things they practised in early times? (2 marks)
Ans. They used to practice agriculture in their daily lives and from there they learnt to make baskets and mats with the use of grasses by the process of weaving and sewing. This was the first step towards the invention of clothing. They were more active in going from one place to another in search of survival.
Ques. What are the things made from fabrics? (2 marks)
Ans. Fabrics are used in the making of dresses, napkins, towels, table mats, bedsheets, pillow covers, curtains, etc. The dresses are made of several types of fabrics like synthetic, cotton, polymer, chiffon, woollen.
Ques. What do scientists say about the origin of clothes? (2 marks)
Ans. According to their research, they have not got any solid proof or evidence from where the clothing system came from. However, some observation tells that one of the first species were Neanderthals who invented clothing systems in their life because they felt like covering up themselves in order to protect themselves from the external climatic factors.
Ques. Describe briefly about Jute and Nylon. (2 marks)
Ans. Jute: It is a type of fabric that is obtained from a particular type of plant. This is a long, hairy and rough material. It is composed of cellulose and lignin. Jute was used mainly in the Indus valley.
Nylon: It is a silk-like thermoplastic which is produced from petroleum. It can be melted or processed into different kinds of fibres or shapes. The nylon was first synthesized on 28 February 1935.
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