Republic of the Philippines

UNIVERSITY OF EASTERN PHILIPPINES

University town, Northern Samar
College of Education

BTLED DEPARTMENT
.
Subject: Clothing Selection, Purchase and Care
Topic: Types of Fibers
Reporter: Cantong, Heralyn
Course/Year: BTLED Home Economics 3rd Year

Learning Outcomes:

 Identify the different types of fiber and their compositions.

 Distinguish whether it is natural or manmade type of fiber.
 Learn to value its significant to our life.

INTRODUCTION

Fibers

Natural Manmade

Vegetable Animal Mineral Regenerated Acetate

Synthetic
cellulose cellulose

Fibers- is the material, which consists fibrous structure and length is thousand times higher than
its width is called fibre.
- It is also defined as the units of matter characterized by fitness, flexibility and high
ratio of length to thickness.
 Natural: Vegetable Group
1. Cotton

- Cotton today is the most used textile in the world.

-The compositions of cotton is 90% cellulose, 6% moisture and the remainder are fats and
impurities.
- The outer surface is covered with a protective wax like coating which give fiber an
adhesive quality.

Properties of Cotton.
• Comfortable.
• Hydrophilic.
• Moisture passes freely through cotton.
• Good Heat Conductivity.
• Strong and abrasion resistance.
Example of products made of cotton

2. Kapok Fiber

- The word kapok refers to both tree and the fibre it produces.
- It has a hallow core, meaning it is extremely lightweight up to 8 times lighter the cotton.
- Kapok is a very fine and soft hallow fibre which is grown naturally.
- It is also used as stuffing for pillows, mattresses, and upholstery as insulation material, and as
substitute for absorbent cotton.

3. Bast Fiber
-Is the fibrous material found inside plants, specially the inner bark layer of the plant or tree that is
sandwiched the woody core and the outer layer.
-Phloem also called bast, a soft woody fibre obtained from stems of dicotyledonous plants.
-Most bast fibres are quite strong and widely used in manufacture of ropes and twines, bagging
materials and heavy duty industrial fabric.
-Here are the example:

4. Jute Fiber

- It the most produced natural fiber after cotton. Jute is strong, durable, dense and very versatile.
- Is the next environmentally friendly fabric for your clothing.
- Jute is mainly composed of cellulose and lignin, cellulose and lignin are major components of
plant and wood respectively.
- It is well-known as “Golden-Fibre” it is usually brown.

Example of product made of jute:

5. Ramie Fiber

- Also referred to as China grass, it is quite unique fiber, it’s fine and lustrous but stiff and
coarse.
- It is also versatile, when ramie fibers are spun wet they can create a soft, silky yarn. When
ramie fibre are spun dry, they create a hairy, stiffer yarn.
- Ramie is used to such products as sewing thread, packing materials, fishing nets and filter
cloths.
Example:

6. Hemp Fiber

- Is a type of textile that is made using fibers from the stalks of cannabis sativa plants.
- Hemp is a lightweight fabric, which means that it is highly breathable and it also effectively
facilitates the passage moisture from the skin to the atmosphere, so its ideal for hot climate.
- Commonly used in t-shirts, dresses, hoodies, underwear, socks and other forms of apparel.

Example:

Natural: Animal Group

1. Silk fiber

- Silk is the strongest natural textile in the world. It is created from the silkworm insect.
- It has smooth, soft texture that is not slippery, unlike many synthetic fibers.
- There are four types of natural silk produced around the world: mulberry silk, eri silk, tasar
silk and muga silk.

Example:
2. Wool

- It is the natural fabric obtained from hairs of animals spin into yarns to produce warm clothing for
winters.
- It consists of 97% protein and 3% fat which makes it unique for the certain applications.
- It has three different types of wool: the merino wool, cashmere wool, and mohair wool.
- Wool fabric is commonly used in sweaters, hats, gloves, and other types of accessories and
apparel.
- What make it stand out is that it keeps extremely warm and allow air to retain heat.

Natural: Mineral group

1. Asbestos

- Is a material fiber that occurs in rock and soil.

- This mineral was popular because of its strength and heat-resistant characteristics.
- Chrysotile was one of the most common type of asbestos used in textile.
- It has ability to withstand high temperatures and was useful for fireproof clothing.
- List of asbestos textile products: asbestos cloth, asbestos cord, fire blankets and yarn.

Manmade: Regenerated cellulose

1. Rayon

- It is an artificial textile material composed of regenerated cellulose derived from plant

sources.
- It is the first man-made fibre.
- Rayon is produced from natural occurring polymers and therefore it is not a synthetic fiber,
but a manufactured regenerated cellulosic fiber.
- Very smooth, shiny, and lustrous just like natural counterpart. Is has the tendency to be very
soft, it get stiff when wet and not very breathable.
- It is used in textile industry for making clothing sarees, blouses, dresses socks, furnishing,
blanket, and etc.
 2. Acetate

- It is a made-made fibre derived from cellulose. The purified cellulose is obtained from pulp,
using a chemical reaction with acetic acid and acetic anhydride with sulphuric acid.
- This fabric, on its own, has a silk-like quality as a silk-like sheen. It is often blended with
silk, cotton, and nylon wool to make it stronger.
- Example of this material would be found in wedding dresses, ties, scarves and ribbon.
- This fabric has a luxurious feel and appearance, but it’s also very delicate and in its pure
form it must be hand washed.

Manmade: Synthetic fibre

1. Polyester

- Is a synthetic fabric that’s usually derived from petroleum. This fabric is one of the world’s most
popular textiles.
- Is a category of polymers which contain the ester functional group in their main chain.
- Ethylene polyester (PET) is the most commonly produced form of polyester fiber.
- Example of polyester clothing include shirts, pants, jackets, hats and more.

Example:

2. Nylon

- Is the name of a family of synthetic polymers that are commonly used to make a variety of
different types of apparel and consumer goods.
- This fabric is very synthetic which means that they have no basis in organic material.
- It has low breathability, has high stretchability.
- Commonly used in stockings, sportswear, yoga pants, and other form-fitting types of
apparel.
- This fiber has a smooth rod like shape with a smooth surface.

References:
 https://www.slideshare.net/sheshir/textile-fibre-29589560
 https://www.slideshare.net/pandasilk/different-types-of-fibers-with-pictures-their-properties