Fabrics Flashcards
Linen
From flax plant. It is very absorbent, stiff, strong, very poor resilience and elastic. It is lightweight clothing. Used for towels, table linen and sheets.
Cotton
From cotton plants. Cotton is comfortable, fine, soft and strong. It is used for clothing, underwear, dresses, skirts and can be spun into a yarn for knitting.
Wool
Wool comes from sheep’s. It is warm, very absorbent, medium strength, does not burn easily and attacked by clothes moths. It is used for warm clothing, blankets and carpets.
Silk
Silk is made from silk worms. It is very absorbent, fine, soft, very good resilience but can be damaged by deodorants and perfumes. Silk is expensive and is used for luxury goods.
Viscose
Very absorbent, fine, soft and not very strong (weaker when wet). It is used for shirts, tops, skirts, dresses and jackets.
Acetate
Fairly absorbent, soft, food elasticity, thermoplastic, sensitive to dry heat and poor strength when dry and wet. It is used for clothes, dresses, tops, table cloths and skirts.
Polyester
Made from oil, coal and petrol. It is extremely strong when wet & dry, good elastic and resilience and poor absorbency. It is used for most textile uses.
Acrylic
Made from oil, coal and petrol. Not very absorbent, used as staple fibres, soft, strong but weak when wet. It is used for knitwear and jersey fabrics & upholstery fabrics.
Polyamide
Made from oil, coal and petrol. It is extremely strong, good elasticity and resilience and not very absorbent. It is used for ropes, seat belts, clothing and carpets.
Lyocell
Extremely strong, very absorbent, smooth, lustrous or matt.
Elastane
Medium to coarse filaments, very poor absorption, extremely elastic, lightweight, fairly strong, good biological sand chemical resistance, not damaged by sun or salt water.
Aramid
Extremely flame resistant, withstands high temperatures, extremely strong and resistant to chemicals.
