INTRODUCTION TO RAW

MATERIALS

Cotton Fiber Wool Fiber

 Textiles

A term originally applied to woven fabrics,

generally applied to fibers, yarn, fabrics or
products made of fibers, yarn or fabrics.
Most of us take textile products for granted
not realizing how they are interwoven in our
daily lives. We all are aware of clothing as a
textile product but the draperies we use for
privacy and warmth, the carpeting we walk
upon, the bandages we use for injuries.
 Fiber
A fiber is the smallest unit of the textile
material, which can be made into a fabric by
the various methods of fabric construction
such as weaving, knitting, etc.
 Yarn

As assemblage of fibers, twisted or laid

together so as to form continuous strand that
can be, made into textile fabric.
 Fabric

A planar substance constructed from fibers,

yarns, solutions or any combination of these.
 On the basis of length, the fibers are
classified into:-

1. Staple fibers
2. Filament fibers
 Staple Fibers

It is the name given to fibers, which are

limited in length. To make a yarn of
continuous length with staple fibers, they
are twisted together and the twist provides a
force and binds the pieces of fibers
together. For e.g. cotton, that is why cotton
clothes are not long lasting.
 Filament Fibers

Filament is the name given to a fiber of

continuous length, which is long enough to
be used in a fabric without increasing its
length by twisting additional fibers. For e.g.
silk, the cocoon of a silk worm can contain
up to 3000 meters of continuous thin
filaments.
Types of Fabric Manufacturing
 Weaving

 The interlacing of warp and weft yarns at right

angles (90 degrees) to each other, results to
fabric construction is known as weaving.
 Warp:- In the weaving operation the
lengthwise yarns, which run from the back to
the front of the loom form the basic structure
of the fabric is called warp.

 Weft:- The cross wise yarns are the filling

also referred to as the weft or woof.
 Knitting

Knitting is the formation of a fabric by the

interlooping of one or more sets of yarns.
Knitting has been the traditional method of
producing items for example: sweaters,
hosiery, baby blankets etc.
 Felts & Non wovens

Felts and non wovens are those fabrics which

are formed directly from fibers. This is an art
of producing fibers matted together, began
before spinning and weaving were invented.
 Direction of the Fabric
 Grain:- It refers to the direction of thread. It is the direction of
a fabric. It may be a lengthwise or a cross-wise yarn. The
yarn can also be at bias. It is the direction in which a fabric is
placed.
 On Grain:- When the yarn runs lengthwise it is referred to
as- on grain. On grain refers to the direction in which the
yarn runs, that is it runs, lengthwise.

 Cross Grain:- When the yarn runs along the width of the
fabric it is referred to as cross grain. Cross grain refers to the
direction in which the yarn runs, that is it runs widthwise.
 Bias:- It is a 45 degree diagonal of a fabric. The area
is used where extra ease is required. Bias helps
maximum utilization of fabric; it saves wastage of
cloth.
 Selvedge:- It is the narrow woven border on the
lengthwise yarn, at the edge of the fabric. It is the
interlacement of the warp and the weft. That is, the
lengthwise and widthwise yarns need to be interlaced
at the edge so that the cloth does not get withered.
This interlaced portion that runs along the length of
the fabric is known as selvedge.