How Much Do You Know About Textile Fabrics?

What’s the Raw Material of Textile Fabrics?

As we all know,the material of textile fabrics is yarn. So how many types of yarn are there?Here we will talk about different types of yarn from two aspects.

Content:Which Fiber does the Yarn Belong to?

The material of yarn is fiber. According to different fibers,we can divide the yarn into two types:Natural fiber&Chemical fiber.Natural fiber mainly include 4 types:Cotton;Wool;Silk;Linen. And chemical fiber mainly include two types:Synthetic fiber&Regenerated fiber. The common synthetic fibers are Polyester;
Polyamide(Nylon);Polyurathan(Spandex/Lycra);Polypropylene;Vinylon(PolyVinyl);PBT;PTT etc. The common regenerated fibers are model,lyocell etc. Generally speaking, the price of natural fiber is higher than chemical fiber.

Note:To simplify the description,every fiber has shorthand. Natural fiber:C:Cotton;W:Wool;S:Silk;L:Linen. Chemical fiber:T:Polyester;N:Nylon;A:Acrylic;Ly:Lycra;Tel:Tencel;Md:Model. Here is a table for your reference.

Abbreviation	Full Name
C	Cotton
S	Silk
J	Jute
T	Polyester
A	Acrylic
R	Rayon
CL	Chlorinated Fiber
AL	Alpaca
YH	Yark hair
CH	Camel hair
Ts	Tussah silk
WS	Cashmere
PV	Polyvinyl
LY	Lycra
AC	Acetate
RA	ramie
RY	rayon
EL	elastane fibre
AL	albumen
ME	metallic
op	Opelon
p/c	polyester/cotton
Tel	Tencel
CUP	CUPRA
AvL	Kender
CF	Carbon fiber

Abbreviation	Full Name
W	Wool
M	Mohair
L	linen
N	Nylon
V	Viscose
CA	Acetate
GE	Glass fiber
RH	Rabbit hair
LA	Lambswool
WA	Angora
Ms	Mulberry silk
PP	Polypropylene
SP	Spendex
Md	Model
BM	bamboo
PE	polyester
PA	polyamide
SB	soybean
CU	cuprammonium rayon
LC	Lyocell
VI	viscose rayon
t/c	terylene/cotton
t/r	terylene/rayon
BEM	BEMBERG
PIMA	pima cotton
PE	Polyethylene

• Process:Which Process to Span the Yarn?
  According to the process,we can divide the yarn into FDY(Full Drawn Yarn),DTY(Drawn Texture Yarn),ATY(Air Textured Yarn),POY(Pre-Oriented Yarn) etc. Here is table of different filament yarn and spun yarn(staple yarn).

  Abbreviation	Full Name
  f	filament
  DY	Drawn Yarn
  FDY	Full Drawn Yarn
  POY	Pre-Oriented Yarn
  SILKOOL	Silkool
  WD	Warp Drawn
  TY	Textured Yarn
  HDIY	Heavy Denier Industrial Yarn
  SDTY	Spinning Drawn Textured Yarn
  WDS	Warp Drawn Sizing
  m	Monofilament
  DW	Drawn Winding
  LOY	Low Oriented Yarn
  DTY	Drawn Textured Yarn
  LDIY	Light Denier Industrial Yarn
  MOY	Middle Oriented Yarn
  HOY	High Oriented Yarn
  SDY	Spun Drawn Yarn
  DT	Drawn Twist
  ATY	Air Textured Yarn
  HWM	High Wet Modulus
  Polynosic	Polynosic
  PSF	Polyester Staple Fiber

How to Express Yarn Count?

Usually, we can express yarn count according to its length or weight. According to the length,we use Denier,dtex or tex to express yarn count. According to the weight, we use Nm(1 gram of yarn in meters) for Metric count. And we use S(1 pound yarn length corresponds to multiples of 840 yards) for Imperial count.

Note: 1 pound = 454 grams, 1 yard = 0.9144 meters, 1 inch = 2.54 centimeters, 1 ounce = 28.35 grams

How to Express Sheen and Filament Count of Yarn?

Sheen:Bright,Full Dull,Semi Dull.

Filament Count:How many monofilaments are in a yarn

Note: Yarn matting agent TiO2, gloss and yarn cross-sectional shape (D, FD, SD, S, B, RB, TB, Y)

How Many Types of Textile Fabrics?

According to the way of weaving,there are mainly three types of fabrics:knitting fabrics,woven fabrics and non-woven fabrics.

Knitting fabrics:The yarns are interlaced with each other in the form of loops.

In detail,knitting fabrics include warp knitting fabrics and weft knitting fabrics. Warp knitting fabric is not easy to tear while weft knitting fabric is easy to tear. In other words,we can extract the side yarns one by one from the loop head of the weft knitting fabric. But warp knitting fabric cannot.

Woven fabrics:The yarns cross each other in the warp and weft directions to weave. Side yarn can be easily torn, and there are no loops. For example,chiffon and denim are woven fabrics.

Non-woven fabrics:Non-woven fabrics are made directly from fibers without yarn.

Among the three types fabric,knitting fabric is most common and most widely in use. And from the above paragraph we have known that knitting fabric mainly include warp knitting fabric and weft knitting fabric. So what are the warp knitting fabrics and weft knitting fabrics in detail?

knitting fabrics:Warp knitting fabrics include Two way stretch fabric;Powernet fabric;Mirror satin fabric;Satin-net fabric;Triskin fabric;Jacquard fabric;MultiBar lace fabric.
Note: We also call two way stretch fabric as four way stretch fabric. For example, swimwear fabrics are always 4 way stretch fabrics.

Weft knitting fabrics(Circular knitting fabrics):Weft knitting fabrics include Single jersey;Double interlock;Double rib.

According to style and content,knitting fabric include three types:Jacquard and Mini jacquard,Mesh fabric and Plain fabric,Spandex stretch fabric and Non-stretch fabric.

What are the Intrinsic Quality Parameters of Fabrics?

We will talk about intrinsic quality parameters of fabrics from four aspects:specification and function,feel and color difference,color fastness,performance. And these are what we consider when qualifying fabrics.

Specification and Function

This part include four points:Weight;Width;Content;Special processing(after finish). The first three points belong to specification of fabrics,the last one belongs to function.

Weight:We often test square meter weight of fabrics. It means the gram of every square meter. For different countries，we also test code weight of fabrics. It means the weight of every code. There are also other weighing methods. It depends on measurement standards in different countries.

Width:We often test full width and usable width of the fabrics. Full width means the fabric width with selvage. Usable width means the fabric width without selvage. We usually express width in centimeters or inches.

Content:It often includes two points:yarn type and content percentage. For example,Polyester 80% Spandex 20%,Nylon 82% Spandex 18%.

Special Processing(After Finish):After dyeing the fabric,we often use some agent to make the fabric functional. Like antibacterial,anti-UV,hot fabric(heat-tech),moisture wicking etc.

Feel and Color Difference

Feel:Hand feel refers to the comprehensive feeling of softness and hardness when touching the fabric touched. There is no accurate evaluation of technical parameters, but it is necessary to maintain consistent physical properties during the production process of bulk.

Color Difference:Color difference refers to the visual difference in color. It is that different wavelengths of light are absorbed and reflected by the fabric to form different sensory differences in the human eye. Scientifically speaking, if the amount of light in each wavelength band received by the human eye is the same, then the human eye will think that it is the same color.

Color Difference Expression

In commercial activities, we generally use the grayscale difference value to represent the color difference. Level 1-5, the higher the level, the closer the color of the two fabrics is. Generally, underwear fabrics require grade 4-5, swimwear and sportswear fabrics require grade 4.

In production technology, we usually use the DE value to represent the color difference. The smaller the DE value, the better. Generally, the requirement for underwear fabric is below 0.8, and the requirement for swimwear and sportswear fabric is below 1.0. But it need judging by the human eye. Because the same DE value has different perceptions of the differences formed by different colors in the human eye. Usually the human eye is more sensitive to gray, white, etc., and requires a lower DE value to meet the small differences in human eye perception.

Color Assessment Light Source:Since the color is the perception of the human eye after the light shines on the fabric and part of the light is absorbed and reflected, the wavelength band composition of the initial illumination light source is very important. In different application scenarios, the composition band light of the light source is different. In commercial activities, different light source names represent different band combinations. Common light sources are D65, TL84, CWF, UV, A, U30/TL83 etc.

Irradiation and observation angle,surrounding environment:Since the irradiation and observation angle will affect the human eye’s perception of light, it is generally required to irradiate at 45 degrees and observe at 90 degrees. The surrounding environment generally requires standard gray and darkroom best.

Color Fastness

Color fastness refers to the adhesion fastness of dyes to fibers after dyeing. Different test evaluation methods are used for different usage scenarios. Different countries and regions often use different test evaluation methods due to different usage habits. Such as the following common methods:

Soaping fastness

Fastness to perspiration

Rub fastness

light fastness

Color weeping fastness

Chlorine bleaching fastness

Dry cleaning fastness

seawater fastness

Water fastness

Sublimation fastness…

Performance

Elasticity:Elasticity include three points:Elongation,Recovery,Modulus.
Elongation:The degree to which a certain length of the original can be pulled apart under the action of a certain force. Commonly expressed as elongation or stretch ratio.
Recovery:The degree of natural recovery after the sample is released several times after being pulled apart. Commonly expressed as recovery rate or residual deformation rate.
Modulus:The force required to stretch to a certain percentage as is. It is expressed in force value, and also in terms of modulus.

Bursting Strength

Anti-UV

pH Value

Formaldehyde Content

Anti-pilling

Wash Shrinkage

Heat Shrinkage Rate (Finishing Iron Shrinkage Rate)

What are the Appearance Quality Parameters of Fabrics?

Appearance quality parameters include two key points:Qulifying fabrics according to International 4-point Inspection System;checking if fabrics have common defects.

International 4-point Inspection System:

Grading System:

1. The size of the defect is measured according to the diameter of the largest outer circle of the defect, and then scored according to the following categories.

The defect is 3 inches or less, 1 point
The defect is more than 3 inches and reaches 6 inches, 2 points
The defects are more than 6 inches to 9 inches, 3 points
4 points for defects over 9 inches to within 1 yard

2. Continuous defects, four points per yard

3. Larger defects (with holes, etc.) are not counted in size and four points per yard.

4. Rungs, mid-edge color, no color matching, insufficient width, different width, wrinkle, poor finishing, etc., when they occur continuously, each yard will be counted as four points.

5. The size and number of no defects in the same yard are rated up to 4 points.

Scoring per roll:

Total score × 36 × 100 / (yardage × effective range (inch)) = the score of the cloth = 100 square yards deduction points

Acceptance standard:

(Based on 100 square yards) Applicable to Europe, the United States, Japan and other countries. Within 20-28 points is normal. Strictly according to 20 points.

Common Defects:

Weft oblique and weft arc

Fabric strip feeling: firm (warp) strip, horizontal (weft) strip

Middle edge difference (handfeel, color, gram weight)

Roll difference (handfeel, color, gram weight)

Cylinder difference (handfeel, color, gram weight)

Dye unevenly, stains, holes, folds and scratches, stitches harness skip, damaged edges, wrinkles and blistering, yarn damage…

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