Characteristics of textile materials. Aesthetic properties
Although people refer to a fabric as being “cotton” or “polyester cotton”, this is not strictly correct, as those are names of fibres. Lawn, corduroy and gingham are fabrics that can all be made from cotton fibres. While they share many similar properties (as they are made from the same type of fibre) they also have their own properties and working characteristics because of how the fibres were made into fabrics.
Fabric properties refer to how the fabric will perform when it is used. A fabric’s working characteristics refer to how it behaves or handles when it is being made into a product.
Factors like how much a fabric will stretch, whether it will tear or ladder, how it drapes or how slippery it is will influence how easy or difficult it is to work with. These things influence the manufacturing processes chosen for making a product. For example, a garment that needs to stretch must be made from a fabric that will stretch. They will also need to be stretched together with seams that will stretch so that they do not come apart when they are worn.
Fabric properties are usually divided into two main groups:
Aesthetic properties – how this fabric looks and feels – this gives textile products their appeal;
Functional properties – how a fabric will perform when it is used (sometimes called performance properties).