Study Unit 1 Introduction to Textile

Question 1

The Origin of Textile

Answer 1

The word “textile” comes from the Latin textilis, which means “woven”, which in turn comes from the Latin verb textere, meaning “to weave”.

The production of textile products is one of the oldest arts and man has been producing fabrics for over 7 000 years.

Originally, textile production was a craft industry. This largely changed in the 18th century during the Industrial Revolution when the factory system for textile production came into being.

Question 2

The importance of textiles in our lives can be summed up by looking at the many areas where textiles are used:

Answer 2

 Clothing
 Protective wear
 Home textiles 
 Transportation
 Construction
 Medical textiles 
Geotextiles
 Agrotextiles 
 Other uses

Question 3

 Clothing



Answer 3

shirts, trousers, jackets, lingerie, jerseys, socks and so on

Question 4

Protective wear



Answer 4

fire-fighter’s uniforms, bullet-proof vests, cut resistant gloves, overalls and so on

Question 5

Home textiles



Answer 5

sheets, tablecloths, curtains, carpets, rugs, cloths, towels, duvets, blankets, bags and so on

Question 6

Transportation



Answer 6

tyre reinforcement, composite materials reinforcement, upholstery, insulation, sails, carpeting, airbags and so on

Question 7

Construction

Answer 7

fibre reinforcements, insulation for roofs and walls, ando so on

Question 8

 Medical textiles

Answer 8

gowns, headwear, footwear, bandages, swabs, casts, sutures, implants and so on

Question 9

Geotextiles



Answer 9

reinforcements for embankments,water reclamation,marine engineering and so on

Question 10

Agrotextiles

Answer 10

crop protection, ground sheets, shade cloth and so on

Question 11

 Other uses

Answer 11

flags, parachutes, ropes, twines, toys, shoes, filters, nets, tents, back-packs, brushes, sports equipment and so on

Question 12

Textile fabrics come in many forms.

Define a Fabric:

Answer 12

A fabric may be defined as a planar structure produced by interlacing yarns in construction processes such as weaving (jeans) or knitting (T-shirts), or by binding fibres together in non-woven process (Disposable wipes)

Question 13

What are woven and knitted fabrics made of?

Answer 13

Yarns

Question 14

Define Yarns:

Answer 14

A yarn is defined as a continuous strand of textile fibres that is used for weaving or knitting or producing fabrics.

Question 15

Define textile fibre:

Answer 15

A textile fibre is a product capable of being woven, knitted or made into fabrics using other methods.

Question 16

Why are Leather coats, leather shoes, fur and suede materials not considered as textiles?

Answer 16

They are not made from fibres.

Question 17

Tissues and paper are made from fibres but these are not textiles, why?

Answer 17

The fibres do not possess the necessary properties that textile processes could make into fabrics.

Question 18

There are two ways of differentiating between textile fibres.

Answer 18

There are staple and filament fibres.

Question 19

The staple fibres

Answer 19

The staple fibres are fibres whose length is measured in centimetres.

Question 20

The filament fibres

Answer 20

The filament fibres are measured in metres or even kilometres.

Question 21

All manufactured fibres are initially produced as:

Answer 21

filament fibres.

Silk, a natural fibre, is also secreted in filament form.