A fabric begins with fibres which are normally long, thin, and hair-like. The quality of the finished textile is determined by the length, strength and nature of its constituent fibre, whether it is natural or synthetic. For example, cotton, wool, linen and synthetic fibres vary considerably in molecular arrangement. The elements found in cellulose, the chief constituent of vegetable fibres, are hydrogen, carbon and oxygen. These chemical elements are also found in polyesters but are arranged differently and in different proportions. The chemical structure affects fibre properties such as strength, density and wear resistance.
Fibres for textiles are usually described as being filaments or staples. A filament is a continuous-length fibre that requires no length addition for yarn manufacture. Filaments of silk, though long, are usually shorter than filaments of synthetic fibre although a similar lustre may be seen in both. Staples are limited-length fibres requiring twisting together to make usable material.
The main types of textiles comprise a diverse range of products. Woven textiles are made from interlaced sets of yarns, called warp and weft, the intersections forming distinctive pattern effects. Printed textiles are flat-finish textiles to which dye paste is applied and finished in pattern shapes; the dye paste may be applied by screen or a variety of roller technologies. Knitted textiles are made from interlocking yarn by means of needles, which may be mechanized. Complex pattern effects may be produced by arrangements of cams on flat or circular machines, or by hand. Non-woven textiles are produced by bonding or corking fibres together, or by tufting, as in rug and carpet manufacture.
After construction of fabric through on of the many techniques, it is known as greige good or gray good. This simply denotes an unfinished fabric. Many finishing processes are employed for improving the appearance, feel and durability of the fabric. These processes are broadly classified as Preparatory Processes, Stablizing Processes and Textural Processes.
Dyeing is a method which imparts beuty to the textile by applying various colors and their shades on to a fabric. Dyeing can be done at any stage of the manufacturing of textile-fiber, yarn fabric or a finished textile product including garments and apparels. The property of color fastness depends upon two factors. 1. Selection of proper dye according to the textile material to be dyeing and 2. Selection of the method for deying the fiber, yarn or fabric.
When colored patterns and designs are aplied to a finished fabric for its decoration, it is called Printing. In printing, the color is firmly affixed to te fiber so that it may not be affected by washing and friction. Textile printing is related to dyeing in the sense that in both the processes color is applied to the fabric. The difference lies in the fact that in dyeing, the color is applied uniformly to the whole fabric whereas in fprinting one or more colors are applied to it in selected parts only, and in sharply defined patterns.
The actual ready to wear apparel involved many more processes right from pattern drafting to garments construction which include pattern designing and pattern making, grading, marker making, apparel cutting, sewing, pressing and finishing.
- Pattern Making
- Pattern Grading
- Apparel Cutting
- Apparel Sewing
- Pressing and Finishing