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The elements and methods employed in textile production
The textile industry has always been around, whether in prehistoric times as crude fabric or in modern times as dyed denim. A variety of methods are employed to create and colour fabric. In this article, the main sources of fibres used to make textiles as well as the ways in which textiles are produced are explained. Some of the common textiles known to us such as cashmere and denim are also mentioned.
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While modern textile production may have bloomed in the early 15th century, evidence of crude fibres have been found in the prehistoric world. Before the advent of industrial advancements, most textile production was done manually by skilled craftsmen. The Inca people have been hand-producing khipus from the resources available to them – cotton, wool and camel, llama and alpaca hair for centuries. However, as technology advanced, so did the speed and amount of textile or fabric produced. The word 'textile' comes from textilis, the Latin word meaning 'woven'.
The materials used to produce textiles
Textile or cloth is obtained from a number of resources – natural and artificial. These are categorized into four main groups:-
1. Animals – Early textiles saw much of their resources come from animals. In animals, the fur, skin or hair is utilized. This includes wool, obtained from goat and sheep and hair from alpacas, llamas and camels. Important mentions here are cashmere obtained from the Indian Cashmere goat and angora obtained from the Angora rabbit which is noted for its long, soft and thick hair. Silk is got from the cocoons of silkworms.
2. Plants – Plants provide a wide variety of materials used in the textile industry. These include grass, hemp, coir (fibre from coconuts), straw, bamboo, nettle, flax, jute and cotton. These strong fibres can be used for a wide array of industries such as clothing, hats, sacks, blankets, floor mats, rope and nets. Seaweed is also used to make textiles.
3. Minerals – Textiles made from minerals find use mainly in industry and housing - tiling, housing panels, stage curtains, fire blankets, insect netting, spacesuits (glass fibres), insulating fibres, mattress covers and adhesives. Textiles made from metal, like metal foil, wire and sheets can be used in construction as well as in jewellery and items of unique designer clothing.
4. Synthetic materials – Synthetic fibres include polyester, nylon, spandex and carbon fibres. Most of these materials find usage in the clothing industry.
How different textiles are produced
Europe, China and the United States currently lead the world in textile exports. Textiles are obtained through the employment of methods such as knitting, crocheting, knotting (khipus) or weaving. Information on the weaving process can be found here - Weaving. The other methods are:-
1. Knitting – In knitting, two long needles are used to transfer looped stitches from one to the other to produce the resulting fabric. Needles vary in thickness depending on the product being knitted. Wool is used in knitting.
2. Crocheting – Crocheted items can be made from either wool or special crochet thread. The art of crochet uses just one small needle. The hook at one end is used to 'catch' and form the thread into intricate patterns. Doilies are a common example of the delicate complexity of crocheting.
3. Twisting – Braids or plaits are formed when threads are twisted together.
4. Knotting – As mentioned above, the Inca 'khipus' were formed by knotting at several places along different pieces of string. Macramé is also formed through knotting.
5. Interlocking – Lace is a material made through the interlocking of threads and can be done either manually (tatting) or through the use of machines. It creates a delicate fabric with several holes.
6. Pressing fabrics together – Felt is created through the pressing of different fibre mats together.
The methods of dyeing textiles
Textiles are dyed in a variety of colours and methods. Some important methods of colouring fabric includes weaving different coloured threads together, embroidering on cloth with coloured threads and tie-dyeing (tying certain sections of the cloth to keep them from getting coloured and dyeing the rest). In batik the fabric is dyed between the wax designs drawn on it. Woodblock printing on cloth is also another method of dyeing fabric and is used in many parts of India.
Denim
Denim is a rough cotton textile that is formed by the weaving of threads in such a fashion as to create a diagonal ribbing pattern. Denim gets its name from the place where it was first made – 'Nîmes' (de Nîmes meaning from Nîmes, hence the name 'denim'). As is characteristic with denim jeans material, the traditional colour used to dye this fabric was indigo blue. Denim is also dyed a variety of other colours (sulfur dyeing), commonly black, brown, green and other not-so-common colours – red, pink, purple etc.
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