Variety in Fabrics: Definition, History, Types, and Uses

Fiber is the base ingredient in the making of fabric. It is a long and extremely thin thread, these threads are combined to make yarns. Yarns are made up of fibers that are used to make fabrics. Fabrics are everywhere around us. The carpet, clothes, curtains, bedsheets, pillow covers, bags, sofa sets are all fabrics. Ropes, strings, or filaments are also fabrics as fibers are spun in their making process. Materials like paper and cardboard can also be obtained from fibers. The fabrics are used across many manufacturing industries, including plastic.

Read Also: Fibre to Fabric

Key Terms: Fiber, Fabric, Yarn, Cellulose, Polymerization, Semi-synthetic fibers, Purely synthetic fibers, Botanical, Primary plants, Secondary Plants, Marshy lands

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History of Clothing Material

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The history of fabrics starts way back in the Stone Age. Then, covering yourself was the means of protection of skin from the wild. People used to cover themselves with barks or big leaves of the tree. As hunting was common, animal skins and furs were also used. As agricultural communities began, mats and baskets were made using twigs and grass. Vines, animal fleece, or hair were woven into fabrics.

History of Fabrics in India

 In ancient times, all fabrics were made out of cotton, which grew in the regions near Ganga. Almost all men wore ‘dhoti’, a cloth which is wrapped around the waist and knotted at the back. Men wore this clothing for thousands of years. Women used to wear skirts from their waists to the knees and wrap their heads with a cloth to protect themselves from the sun. Necklaces and bracelets made of stones or beads were common among women, with the advent of industrialization this turned into jewelry made of bronze, silver, and gold.

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Vedic Period

In the Vedic period, women only wrap the fabric around themselves and pin it. With that women used to wear skirts with another piece of fabric, knotted in front. A tight shirt was also worn underneath.

Sari became common in the Gupta period in about 500 AD. Sari means cloth in Sanskrit. The Vedas have a mention of saris in stories around 600 BC. Elite class women wore saris made from silk imported from China. Cotton saris were common among all classes of women.

Sari is a long piece of fabric, about five or six meters long. The top part of the sari was draped over their shoulders or worn over their heads as a veil. Bright-colored saris were worn by younger women and white-colored saris by widows.

Check Important Notes for Yarn to Fabric

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Yarn

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A long continuous strand which is made by interlocking fibers is called yarn. The word yarn in Sanskrit means “band”. It is used for weaving or knitting fabrics.

To see the fibers in the yarn, take a thread or yarn out of the cotton fabric. Give it turns from one end while holding the other end. Now scratch the one end. You will see thin strands. These are fibers that are combined to produce yarn.

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Weaving

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Interlocking fibers make yarn and combining fibers differently to create different designs make up the fabric. The process of arranging two sets of yarns together to make a fabric is called weaving.

Weaving Activity

Take two colors of paper. Make straight lines of these papers as shown in the figure.

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Cut long strips of paper from one sheet. Cut along the lines from the other sheets but do not separate the stripes from it. Now weave stripes of one color one by one through the cut sheet of paper. You will get the pattern as shown in the figure.

Similarly, with the help of two yarns, we can weave a fabric. The yarn is much thinner than paper stripes. So it takes time and much effort to do weaving by hand. Hence, looms are used to weave fabric. The looms were hand-operated before but nowadays, most of them are power-operated.

Read Further: Cotton Cultivation

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Types of Fibers

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Based on occurrence, fibers are classified into two types.

Natural Fibers

Fibers that occur naturally in the environment and are extracted from living organisms or by geological processes are known as Natural fibers. Since these fibers are obtained naturally, they are biodegradable. These fibers are expensive and difficult to get.

Some examples are cotton, wool, silk, linen, bamboo, and hemp.

Synthetic Fibers

Fibers that are made in chemical laboratories and are not obtained from any natural resources (animals or plants) are called Synthetic fibers. Synthetic fibers are also known as artificial fibers or simply synthetic. These are non-biodegradable. The strength of artificial fibers is more than natural fibers and is more durable. Its wrinkle-resistant property adds to its quality. So, it is preferred over silk or wool in the textile industry as a substitute. Also, synthetic fibers absorb less water than silk or cotton.

Some examples are rayon, nylon, and acrylic.

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Division of Natural Fibers

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The natural fibers can be further divided into subcategories based on their constituents and where it is obtained from.

Fiber Producing Plants

Some plants are used mainly for producing fibers and some plants that have fiber as a bi-product. The plants that are grown for the sole purpose of obtaining fiber are called primary plants. They have higher fiber content in them. On the other hand, the plants from which we obtain fiber as a bi-product, which means they are not grown mainly to obtain fiber but they grow fiber too on them are called secondary plants.

Botanical Type Natural fibers

Based on the fibers obtained from plants, the natural fibers can be divided into five categories.

• Bast Type fiber: The natural fibers which are obtained from the stem and leaves of the plants are called bast-type fibers. Examples: Jute, flax, pineapple.
• Leaf fiber: The fibers which are obtained from the plants of the agave family have sword-shaped leaves which are thick, fleshy, and hard surfaces. Henequen is one example.
• Seed fibers: Seeds of some plants are also a source of fiber. The fiber from these plants is called seed fiber. Cotton is an example and is widely used in the textile industry.

• Wood and Roots fiber: Having cellulose content, these types of fiber are extracted from trees. These types of fibers are used for making products like paper, paperboard, and cardboard.
• Grass and Reed fibers: Grass and reed fibers are grown naturally in marshy lands. Marshy lands are areas of land where water stays for long periods. These fibers are used for making ropes, baskets and floor coverings. Examples are wheat, corn, bamboo.

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Animal Fibers

The skin, furs, and hairs of animals are the source of animal fibers. These parts are rich in proteins. Examples are wool and silk. Silk fibers are obtained from silkworms while wool is obtained mainly from sheep and goats. Animal fibers have a great value in the textile industry. This fiber has many varied structures and shapes. All animal fibers are made up of proteins and have a protein called keratin.

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Division in Artificial Fibers

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The process of polymerization is used to make artificial fiber. The artificial fibers which are prepared in the laboratory and are chemically derived compounds are called purely synthetic fibers whereas artificial fibers which have natural fiber as a raw material for producing the chemical-derived fabrics are called semi-synthetic fibers.

An example of semi-synthetic fiber is rayon. Rayon is also known as artificial silk as it has thin fibers and is lightweight. Examples of synthetic fiber are nylon, polyester, and acrylic.

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Uses of Fibers

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• Botanical Fibers: Tencel fiber is a type of rayon which is used to support the hops (plant of the north temperate region) in the growing process. Also used for making nets for shellfish farming, this fiber is biodegradable and does not harm the environment.
• Animal Fiber: Wool is obtained from domesticated sheep which is used for making clothes for the winter season. Mohair is a fiber we get from angora goats. It is durable and resilient and is used in making carpets, wall fabrics, craft yarns, winter clothes and can be a substitute for fur.
• Synthetic Fiber: Synthetic fibers play a huge role in the production of ropes, seatbelts and wrinkle-free and easily washable clothes. As they are strong and durable, they are the soul of many textile industries.

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Things to Remember

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• Fibers make up yarn and yarns combined make up a fabric.
• Fibers can be natural or synthetic.
• Cotton, wool, silk, jute are examples of natural fibers
• Rayon, nylon, polyester are examples of synthetic fibers
• Jute and cotton are obtained from plants
• Rayon is a semi-synthetic artificial fiber and is famous by the name of artificial silk
• Fibers and fabrics have their uses not only in the textile but also in many other manufacturing industries
• Plants that are grown mainly to obtain fiber is called primary plants and plants from which we get fiber as a byproduct is called secondary plants
• There are two types of artificial fibers, purely synthetic fibers, and semi-synthetic fibers.
• Natural fibers do not harm the environment while synthetic fibers do.
• Synthetic fibers are preferred in industries over natural fibers.

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