17 properties of fabrics
01 abrasion fastness
Wear fastness refers to the ability to resist wearing friction, which helps to improve the durability of the fabric. Clothing made of fibers with high breaking strength and good wear fastness can be worn for a long time, and it will take a long time before there are signs of wear and tear.
Nylon is widely used in sports jackets, such as ski jackets and football blouses. This is because its strength and wear fastness are particularly good. Because of its excellent drapability, and low cost, acetate fiber is often used for the lining of outerwear and jacket.
However, due to the poor wear resistance of acetate fiber, the lining is easy to wear or form holes before the corresponding wear of jacket outer fabric.
02 water absorption
Water absorption is the ability to absorb moisture, which is usually expressed by moisture regain. The water absorption of fiber refers to the percentage of moisture absorbed by dry fiber in the air under the standard conditions of 70℉ (equivalent to 21℃) and 65% relative humidity.
The fibers that absorb water easily are called hydrophilic fibers. All-natural animal and plant fibers and two kinds of artificial fibers-viscose fiber and acetate fiber are hydrophilic fibers. Those fibers that have difficulty in absorbing water or can only absorb a small amount of water are called hydrophobic fibers. Except for viscose fiber, Lyocell fiber, and acetate fiber, all artificial fibers are hydrophobic fibers. Glass fiber does not absorb water at all, while other fibers usually have moisture regain of 4% or less.
The water absorption of fiber affects its application in many aspects, including:
Skin comfort: Due to poor water absorption, the flow of sweat will cause a cold and wet feeling.
Static electricity: Problems such as clothes sticking and sparks will occur with hydrophobic fibers, because there is almost no water to help evacuate the charged particles accumulated on the surface of the fibers, and dust is also brought to the fibers and adhered to them because of static electricity.
Dimensional stability after washing: After washing, hydrophobic fibers shrink less than hydrophilic fibers, and fibers rarely expand, which is one of the reasons for fabric shrinkage.
Decontamination: It's easy to remove stains from hydrophilic fibers because fibers will suck detergent and water in at the same time.
Water repellency: Hydrophilic fibers usually need more water-repellent and durable post-treatment, because this chemical treatment can make these fibers more water-repellent.
Wrinkle recovery: Hydrophobic fibers usually have good wrinkle recovery, especially after washing and ironing, because they do not absorb water, do not swell, and dry in a wrinkled state.
03 chemical action
In the process of textile processing (such as printing and dyeing, finishing) and home/professional care or cleaning (such as using soap, bleaching powder dry cleaning solvent, etc.), fibers generally need to come into contact with chemicals. The type, activity intensity, and action time of chemicals determine the degree of influence on fibers. It is important to know the influence of chemicals on different fibers because it is directly related to the care needed in cleaning.
Have different reactions to fiber chemicals. For example, cotton fiber has relatively low acid resistance, but good alkali resistance. In addition, the cotton fabric will lose a little strength after finishing with chemical resin.
04 coverage
Coverage refers to the ability to fill a certain range. Coarse fiber or curly fiber has better textile covering effect than fine and straight fiber. Its fabric is warm, feels full, and only needs fewer fibers to weave.
Wool is a widely used fiber in winter clothing, because its curl provides excellent coverage to the fabric and forms a large amount of still air in the fabric, which is relatively isolated from the outside cold air. The effectiveness of fiber covering depends on its cross-sectional shape, longitudinal structure, and weight.
05 elasticity
Elasticity refers to the ability to increase the length (extension) under the action of tension and return to a rock state (recovery) after releasing external force. When the external force acts on the fiber or fabric, the elongation can make people feel more comfortable, and the seamstress caused by it is smaller.
At the same time, there is a tendency to improve fracture strength. Complete recovery can help the fabric sag at the elbow or knee, thus preventing the garment from sagging and deforming. Fibers that can stretch at least 100% are called elastic fibers. Spandex fiber (also known as lycra, spandex in China) and rubber fiber belong to this kind of fiber. After stretching, these elastic fibers can almost forcefully recover to their original length.
06 environmental conditions
The influence of the environment on fiber is different. And how the final fabric of fiber reacts to exposure, storage, etc. is very important.
Here are some examples:
Wool needs to be protected from moths when it is stored, because they are easily eaten by wool moths.
Nylon and silk are exposed to sunlight for a long time, and their strength will decrease, so they are usually not used to make curtains, doors, and windows.
Cotton fiber is easy to mold, so it can't be stored in a humid environment for a long time.
07 flammability
Combustibility refers to the ability of an object to ignite or burn. This is a very important feature, because people's lives are always surrounded by all kinds of textiles. We know that clothing or indoor furniture, because of its flammability, will cause serious harm to consumers and cause significant material losses.
Fibers are usually classified as flammable, non-flammable, and flame retardant:
Flammable fiber refers to the fiber that is easily ignited and will continue to burn.
Non-flammable fiber refers to the fiber that has a relatively high burning point and a relatively slow-burning speed, and will self-extinguish after being evacuated from the burning source. Flame retardant fiber refers to the fiber that will not be burned.
Flammable fibers can be made into flame retardant fibers by finishing or changing fiber parameters. For example, conventional polyester is flammable, but Trevira polyester is flame retardant after being treated.
08 softness
Flexibility refers to the ability of fiber to bend repeatedly without breaking. Soft fibers, such as acetate fibers, can support fabrics and garments with good drapability. Rigid fibers, such as glass fiber, can't be used to make clothes, but they can be used on relatively stiff fabrics for decoration. Generally, the thinner the fiber, the better the drapability. Softness also affects the feel of the fabric.
Although good drapability of fabrics is often required, sometimes stiff fabrics are needed. For example, on a garment with a cape (the garment is hung on the shoulder and turned out), a stiffer fabric is used to achieve the desired shape.
09 hand feeling
Hand feeling refers to the feeling when touching fiber, yarn, or fabric. The hand of fiber feels the influence of its shape, surface characteristics, and structure. Fibers have different shapes, such as round, flat, multi-lobed, etc. The surface of fibers is also different, such as smooth, jagged, or scaly.
The fiber shape is either curly or straight. Yarn type, fabric structure, and finishing process will also affect the feel of the fabric. Terms such as softness, smoothness, dryness, silk feeling, rigidity, coarseness, or roughness are often used to describe the feel of the fabric.
10 gloss
Gloss refers to the reflection of light on the fiber surface. Different characteristics of fibers affect their glossiness. A glossy surface, less bending, flat section shape, and longer fiber length can enhance the reflection of light. The drafting process in the fiber manufacturing process increases its luster by making its surface smoother. Adding a matting agent will destroy the reflection of light and reduce the gloss. In this way, by controlling the amount of matting agent added, the optical fiber, the optical fiber, and the matte fiber can be manufactured.
Fabric gloss is also affected by yarn type, weave, and all finishing. The requirement for gloss will depend on the fashion trend and the needs of customers.
11 pilling
Pilling refers to the fact that some short and broken fibers on the surface of the fabric are intertwined into small balls. When the end of the fiber breaks from the surface of the fabric, pompoms are formed, usually caused by wearing. Pilling is not what people need, because it makes fabrics such as bed sheets old, unsightly and uncomfortable. The pompoms are produced in areas that are often rubbed, such as the collar, the under-sleeve part, and the cuff edge.
Hydrophobic fibers are more prone to pilling than hydrophilic fibers because hydrophobic fibers are more likely to attract static electricity to each other and are less likely to fall off the fabric surface. Pompom is rarely seen on 100% cotton shirts, but it is very common on similar shirts made of polyester-cotton blends that have been worn for some time. Although wool is hydrophilic, pompoms are produced because of their scaly surface. The fibers are twisted and entangled with each other to form a pompom. Strong fibers are easy to hold the pompoms on the fabric surface. Low-strength fiber that is easy to break, because the pompom is easy to fall off, it is not easy to pilling.
12 resilience
Resilience refers to the ability of a material to recover elastically after being folded, twisted, and twisted. It is closely related to the fold recovery ability. The fabric with good resilience is not easy to wrinkle, so it is easy to keep its good shape.
A thicker fiber has better resilience because it has a larger mass to absorb strain. At the same time, the shape of fiber also affects the resilience of fiber, and round fiber has better resilience than flat fiber.
The nature of fiber is also a factor. Polyester fiber has excellent resilience, but cotton fiber has poor resilience. Therefore, it is not surprising that these two fibers are often mixed in some products, such as men's shirts, women's slacks, and bedsheets.
If it is necessary to form obvious wrinkles on clothing, the fiber with good rebound will be a little troublesome. It is easy to form creases on cotton fabric or coarse viscose fabric, but not on dry wool fabric. Wool is resistant to bending and folding and can be straightened at last.
13 relative density
Relative density refers to the ratio of fiber mass to water mass at 4℃ with equal volume. Light fiber can keep the fabric warm and not bulky, and it may become a thick and fluffy fabric, but it can still keep lightweight. Acrylonitrile fiber is the best example. It is much lighter than wool, but it has similar properties to wool, so it is widely used in blankets, scarves, thick socks, and other winter products with light and warm fabrics.
14 static electricity
Static electricity is the charge generated by friction between two different materials. When electric charges are generated and accumulated on the surface of the fabric, the clothing will cling to the wearer or the lint will be adsorbed on the fabric. When the fabric surface is in contact with foreign materials, an electric spark or electric shock will occur, which is a rapid discharge process. When the static electricity on the fiber surface is generated at the same speed as electrostatic transfer, the static electricity phenomenon can be eliminated.
The moisture contained in the fiber can act as a conductor to eliminate electric charges and can prevent the aforementioned electrostatic influence. Hydrophobic fiber, because it contains very little water, has a tendency to generate static electricity. Static electricity is also generated in natural fibers, but it only becomes like hydrophobic fibers when it is very dry. Glass fiber is the exception from hydrophobic fiber, because of its chemical composition, static charge cannot be generated on its surface.
Fabrics containing Ebit Robic fibers (which can conduct electricity) have no trouble with static electricity, and the carbon or metal contained in them can transfer the accumulated static charges. Because there are often electrostatic problems on carpets, we use Ultron nylon such as Monsanto on carpets. Troby fiber eliminates electric shock, close-fitting of fabric, and dust adsorption. Because of the danger of static electricity in special working environments, it is very important to use low-static fiber to make subways in the vicinity of flammable and explosive liquid or gas in the workplace near hospitals and computers.
15 strength
Strength is the ability of fiber to resist stress. The strength of the fiber is the force required when the fiber breaks, and it is expressed in gram force/denier or centinewton/tex (legal unit of measurement).
16 thermoplastic
The heat resistance of fiber is an important factor affecting its application performance. Usually, this is also an important factor to be considered in fiber treatment, because in many fabric forming processes, fibers need to be heated, such as dyeing, ironing, and heat setting. Besides, heating is often used to care for and update clothing and indoor furniture.
Some effects of heat are temporary and obvious only in the process of action. For example, in dyeing, the property energy of fiber will change during heat treatment, but after cooling, it will return to normal. However, some heat effects will be permanent, and the fiber itself will degrade due to the rearrangement of molecules after heat. However, the heat setting will change the molecular arrangement, making the fabric more stable (small shrinkage) and wrinkle-resistant, but there is no obvious degradation. However, prolonged exposure to high temperatures may cause degradation, such as strength reduction, fiber shrinkage, and discoloration. Many consumers have experienced severe degradation of fabrics and even damage to clothing caused by ironing at too high a temperature.
When heated, thermoplastic fibers become soft, and when the temperature is higher, they can melt into a liquid state. Many man-made fibers are thermoplastic. By heating the fabric containing thermoplastic fibers to form creases and folds without melting the fibers, long-lasting creases and folds can be made when the temperature drops. When heated (softened), thermoplastic fibers can be molded, and when cooled, the molded shape can be maintained. (When ironing clothes made of man-made fibers, care must be taken to avoid softening or melting. When softened or melted, the fabric will begin to stick to the iron), and the crease will be permanent unless there is a higher temperature to eliminate the original heat setting effect. The shape of clothing can also be formed by this method, and thermoplastic fabrics have good dimensional stability.
17 wicking action
Wicking refers to the ability of fibers to transfer water from one place to another. Usually, water is transmitted along the surface of the fiber, but liquid can also pass through the fiber when it is absorbed by the fiber. The wicking tendency of fibers often depends on the chemical and physical composition of the outer surface. A smooth surface will reduce the wicking effect.
Some fibers, such as cotton fiber, are hydrophilic fibers, and they also have a good wicking effect. Other fibers, such as olefins, are hydrophobic fibers, but when the denier is very small (that is, very fine fibers), they have a good wicking effect. This property is especially important for clothing such as training clothes and running clothes. Sweat discharged from the human body is transferred to the outer surface of clothing along the fiber surface by wicking action, and evaporates into the air, thus bringing better comfort.