Types of fibre

Textile materials are made in three stages:

1. spinning: fibres are spun into yarns
2. weaving or knitting: yarns become fabrics
3. finishing: fabrics are finished to make them more useful

There are two types of textile fibres:

• natural
• synthetic

Natural fibres

Natural fibres come from plants, animals and minerals. They usually have short fibres, called staple fibres. The exception to this rule is silk, a natural fibre whose continuous filaments are up to one kilometre in length!

Sources of natural fibres

• Cotton from the cotton plant.
• Linen from the flax plant.
• Wool from sheep.
• Silk from silkworms.

Synthetic fibres

Synthetic fibres are man-made, usually from chemical sources. They are continuous filament fibres, which means the fibres are long and do not always have to be spun into yarn.

Sources of synthetic fibres

• Viscose comes from pine trees or petrochemicals.
• Acrylic, nylon and polyester come from oil and coal.