Natural fiber
Fiber can be
divided into two main categories: natural fiber and man fiber. The natural
fibers consist of two basic sources from plant (cellulose based) and animal
(protein based)
There are some
example fibers from plant such as cotton, flax, ramie, jute, linen, and kapok.
Except silk (from cocoon), fibers from animal normally from hairs. Some example
of animal fibers such as wool, mohair, alpaca, cashmere and angora.
Fibers also can
be divided into two categories: staple fibers and filaments. Stable is short
fibers like cotton, kapok, wool and cashmere. All natural fiber, except silk,
are in staple form (short length fiber often measurable by inches). Silk is
considered a filament fiber (long fibers) because it has an average length of
1600 yards
Properties
of natural fiber
Because of fabrics are made from yarns, and
yarns are made from fiber, we need to understand the properties of fibers. The
popular natural fiber (which is made for textiles) are explained as below:
Proporties oF Natural Fiber
|
||||
Properties
|
Cotton
|
Flax
|
Wool
|
Silk
|
Abrasion Resistance
|
Good
|
Fair
|
Fair
|
Fair
|
Absorbancy (% M.R)
|
8.5
|
12
|
13.5
|
11
|
Flexibility
|
Fair
|
Poor
|
Good
|
Excellent
|
Hand Feel
|
Good
|
Fair
|
Fair – Excel
|
Excellent
|
Piling Resistance
|
Good
|
Good
|
Fair
|
Good
|
Strength dry (g/denier)
|
3.0 – 5.0
|
3.5 – 6
|
0.8 -2
|
2.4 – 5.1
|
Good
|
Excellent
|
Poor
|
Good
|
|
Strength When wet
|
+10%
|
+10%
|
-20%
|
-15%
|
% Elongation at break
|
3.0 – 10.0
|
3
|
20 – 40
|
20
|
% Recovery from 2% Strain
|
75
|
65
|
99
|
90
|
Mildew Resistance
|
Poor
|
Fair
|
Good
|
Good
|
Renovation (Wash or DC)
|
W or DC
|
W or DC
|
DC
|
W or DC
|
Safe iron Limit (®C)
|
200
|
230
|
150
|
150
|
Notice:
Abrasion Resistance = the ability to resist
toward rubbing/ abrasion that contributes to fabric durability
Absorbancy ; The ability of material to
talk in moisture; usually expressed as a percentage of moisture regain, which
is the Amount of water a bone- dry fiber absorb from the air under standard
condition of 21 C and 65% Relative Humidity
Flexibility = the capability of a fiber to
bend easily and repeatedly without breaking
Hand feel = the way a fiber, yarn, or
fabric feels when handed
Piling resistance = the formation groups of
short or broken fiber on a surface of a fabric that are tangled together in a
shape of a tiny ball called pill. Pill are formed when the ends of fiber break
from the fabric surface, usually from wear
Strength = a fiber’s ability to withstand
stress. Fiber strength is the force needed to break the fiber, is known as
tenacity (gram/denier)
Elongation at break = the percentage of extension
of fiber length before its broken when stretch
Mildew Resistance = the ability of material
to withstand from mildew
Renovation = cleaning method, either by
washing (W) or Dry Cleaning (DC)
Ironing Limit C = Max temp C that fiber
material can withstand without changing form, color, surface.
