The functional properties of fabrics

The tenacity of the fibres, how strong the yarn is and the structure of the fabric all influence how strong a fabric will be. Fabrics made from strong fibres are more durable, hard wearing and resistant to abrasion.

Fibres that become weaker when they are wet need to be handled carefully when they are washed to avoid damage. Fibres with a high tensile strength are more suitable for things like ropes that need to withstand a lot of pulling.

A fabric made from spun yarns with a low twist can be damaged if treated roughly when it is washed. Fabrics that are closely woven will be stronger than loosely woven fabrics.

Elasticity. Fabrics made from fibres with good elasticity will recover their shape when stretched. This prevents garments going baggy, for example, at the elbows of a jumper. Because of their construction, knitted fabrics have more stretch than woven fabrics made from the same fibres. Fabrics that contain even a small amount of elastane in their yarns will have excellent elasticity.

Crease resistance. Fabrics made from fibres that have a good resilence recover after they have been creased. Knitted fabrics are better at recovering from creasing than woven fabrics.

Flammability. Fibres affect how a fabric will burn or if it will resist burning. Flammability is also influenced by fabric structure. Flames need air, so a fabric that contains flammable fibres and a lot of air spaces will burn extremely quickly. Even a relatively low flammable fibre will burn more easily if it is made into a fabric with a lot of air in it.

Shrinking. It is important that textile products, like clothing stay the same size. Cotton fibres will shrink when they swell up. In the 1970s, people were encouraged to sit in a bath of water to make their Levi 501 jeans shrink to fit.

Usually, cotton fabrics are treated to prevent them from shrinking before they are made into textile product. If a garment made from wool fibres is washed incorrectly, the fibres will matt together because of the scales on their surface, thus making the garment shrink. Many wool fabrics are treated so that they do not shrink. These are sometimes labelled superwash wool. When the fabric is woven, the yarns are held under tension. Before the fabric can be used, it has to be washed to relax the yarns so they will not shrink after it is made into products.

Reaction to heat. How a fabric reacts to heat will depend entirely on the fibres it is made from. This is important to consider when ironing clothes – fabrics made from more than one type of fibre must be ironed at a temperature suitable for the more sensitive fibre.Some fibres are thermoplastic – they can be shaped and heat set. This property is useful for pleated skirts or permanently creased trousers.

Читайте також:

<== попередня сторінка	\|	наступна сторінка ==>
IV Answer the following questions	\|	II Match some functional properties of fabrics from the box with their explanations

Не знайшли потрібну інформацію? Скористайтесь пошуком google:

Генерація сторінки за: 0.005 сек.