wool fabrics

Wool is a fibrous protein derived from the specialized skin cells called follicles.[1] Wool is taken from animals in the Caprinae family, principally sheep, but the hair of certain species of other mammals including: goats, llamas, and rabbits may also be called wool. Wool has several qualities that distinguish it from hair or fur: it is crimped, it has a different texture or handle, it is elastic, and it grows in staples (clusters).

Characteristics

Champion hogget fleece, Walcha Show
Fleece of fine New Zealand Merino wool & combed wool top on a wool table.Wool's scaling and crimp make it easier to spin the fleece by helping the individual fibers attach to each other, so that they stay together. Because of the crimp, wool fabrics have a greater bulk than other textiles, and retain air, which causes the product to retain heat. Insulation also works both ways; Bedouins and Tuaregs use wool clothes to keep the heat out.

The amount of crimp corresponds to the fineness of the wool fibers. A fine wool like Merino may have up to a hundred crimps per inch, while the coarser wools like karakul may have as few as one to two crimps per inch. Hair, by contrast, has little if any scale and no crimp, and little ability to bind into yarn. On sheep, the hair part of the fleece is called kemp. The relative amounts of kemp to wool vary from breed to breed, and make some fleeces more desirable for spinning, felting, or carding into batts for quilts or other insulating products.

Wool fibers are hygroscopic, meaning they readily absorb and give off moisture. Wool can absorb moisture almost one-third of its own weight.[3] Wool absorbs sound like many other fabrics. Wool is generally a creamy white color, although some breeds of sheep produce natural colors such as black, brown, silver, and random mixes.

Wool ignites at a higher temperature than cotton fibers and some synthetics. It has lower rate of flame spread, low heat release, low heat of combustion, and doesn't melt or drip[4]; it forms a char which is insulating and self-extinguishing, and contributes less to toxic gases and smoke than other flooring products, when used in carpets[5]. Wool carpets are specified for high safety environments, such as trains and aircraft. Wool is usually specified for garments for fire-fighters, soldiers, and others in occupations where they are exposed to the likelihood of fire.[5]

Wool is static electricity resistant, as the retention of moisture within the fabric prevents a build up of static. Wool garments are much less likely to spark or cling to the body. The use of wool car seat covers or carpets reduces the risk of a shock when a person touches a grounded object. Wool is considered by the medical profession to be hypoallergenic.[citation needed]

ProcessingMain article: Sheep shearing

Fine Merino shearing Lismore, VictoriaWool straight off a sheep, known as "grease wool" or "wool in the grease", contains a high level of valuable lanolin, as well as dirt, dead skin, sweat residue, and vegetable matter. Before the wool can be used for commercial purposes, it must be scoured, or cleaned. Scouring may be as simple as a bath in warm water, or as complicated as an industrial process using detergent and alkali, and specialized equipment.[6] In commercial wool, vegetable matter is often removed by chemical carbonization.[7] In less processed wools, vegetable matter may be removed by hand, and some of the lanolin left intact through use of gentler detergents. This semi-grease wool can be worked into yarn and knitted into particularly water-resistant mittens or sweaters, such as those of the Aran Island fishermen. Lanolin removed from wool is widely used in cosmetics products such as hand creams.

After shearing, the wool is separated into five main categories: fleece (which makes up the vast bulk), broken, pieces, bellies, and locks. The latter four are pressed into wool packs and sold separately. The quality of fleeces is determined by a technique known as wool classing, whereby a qualified wool classer groups wools of similar gradings together to maximise the return for the farmer or sheep owner. Prior to Australian auctions, all Merino fleece wool is objectively measured for micron, yield (including the amount of vegetable matter), staple length, staple strength, and sometimes color and comfort factor.

Quality

Various types and natural colours of wool, and a picture made from woolThe quality of wool is determined by the following factors, fiber diameter, crimp, yield, colour, and staple strength. Fiber diameter is the single most important wool characteristic determining quality and price.

Merino wool is typically 3-5 inches in length and is very fine (between 12-24 microns).[8] The finest and most valuable wool comes from Merino hoggets. Wool taken from sheep produced for meat is typically more coarse, and has fibers that are 1.5 to 6 inches in length. Damage or breaks in the wool can occur if the sheep is stressed while it is growing its fleece, resulting in a thin spot where the fleece is likely to break.[9]

Wool is also separated into grades based on the measurement of the wool's diameter in microns. These grades may vary depending on the breed or purpose of the wool. For example:

< 17.5 - Ultrafine Merino
17.6-18.5 - Superfine Merino
< 19.5 - Fine Merino
19.6-20.5 - Fine medium Merino
20.6-22.5 - Medium Merino
22.6 < - Strong Merino[8]
or

< 24.5 - Fine
24.5–31.4 - Medium
31.5-35.4 - Fine cross bred
35.5 < - coarse cross bred[10]
In general, anything finer than 25 microns can be used for garments, while coarser grades are used for outerwear or rugs. The finer the wool, the softer it will be, while coarser grades are more durable and less prone to pilling.

The finest Australian and New Zealand Merino wools are known as 1PP which is the industry benchmark of excellence for Merino wool that is 16.9 micron and finer. This style represents the top level of fineness, character, color, and style as determined on the basis of a series of parameters in accordance with the original dictates of British Wool as applied today by the Australian Wool Exchange (AWEX) Council. Only a few dozen of the millions of bales auctioned every year can be classified and marked 1PP.[11]

History

A man from Ramallah spinning wool. Hand tinted photograph from 1919, restored.
Wool skirting and rolling in Australia, circa 1900As the raw material has been readily available since the widespread domestication of sheep - and of goats, another major provider of wool - the use of felted or woven wool for clothing and other fabrics characterizes some of the earliest civilizations. Prior to invention of shears - probably in the Iron Age - the wool was plucked out by hand or by bronze combs. The oldest known European wool textile, ca. 1500 BCE, was preserved in a Danish bog [2]. Wool fibers from wild goats found in a prehistoric cave in the Republic of Georgia as far back 36,000 BP suggest that wool fabrics were made even earlier than this.

In Roman times, wool, linen, and leather clothed the European population; the cotton of India was a curiosity that only naturalists had heard of; and silk, imported along the Silk Road from China, was an extravagant luxury. Pliny the Elder records in his Natural History that the reputation for producing the finest wool was enjoyed by Tarentum, where selective breeding had produced sheep with a superior fleece, but which required special care.

In medieval times, as trade connections expanded, the Champagne fairs revolved around the production of wool cloth in small centers such as Provins; the network that the sequence of annual fairs developed meant that the woollens of Provins might find their way to Naples, Sicily, Cyprus, Majorca, Spain, and even Constantinople (Braudel, 316). The wool trade developed into serious business, the generator of capital. In the thirteenth century, the wool trade was the economic engine of the Low Countries and of Central Italy; by the end of the following century Italy predominated, though in the 16th century Italian production turned to silk (Braudel p 312). Both pre-industries were based on English raw wool exports - rivaled only by the sheepwalks of Castile, developed from the fifteenth century - which were a significant source of income to the English crown, which from 1275 imposed an export tax on wool called the "Great Custom". The importance of wool to the English economy can be shown by the fact that since the 14th Century, the presiding officer of the House of Lords has sat on the "Woolsack", a chair stuffed with wool.

Economies of scale were instituted in the Cistercian houses, which had accumulated great tracts of land during the twelfth and early thirteenth centuries, when land prices were low and labor still scarce. Raw wool was baled and shipped from North Sea ports to the textile cities of Flanders, notably Ypres and Ghent, where it was dyed and worked up as cloth. At the time of the Black Death, English textile industries accounted for about 10% of English wool production (Cantor 2001, 64); the English textile trade grew during the fifteenth century, to the point where export of wool was discouraged. Over the centuries, various British laws controlled the wool trade or required the use of wool even in burials. The smuggling of wool out of the country, known as owling, was at one time punishable by the cutting off of a hand. After the Restoration, fine English woollens began to compete with silks in the international market, partly aided by the Navigation Acts; in 1699 English crown forbade its American colonies to trade wool with anyone but England herself.

A great deal of the value of woollen textiles was in the dyeing and finishing of the woven product. In each of the centers of the textile trade, the manufacturing process came to be subdivided into a collection of trades, overseen by an entrepreneur in a system called by the English the "putting-out" system, or "cottage industry", and the Verlagssystem by the Germans. In this system of producing wool cloth, until recently perpetuated in the production of Harris tweeds, the entrepreneur provides the raw materials and an advance, the remainder being paid upon delivery of the product. Written contracts bound the artisans to specified terms. Fernand Braudel traces the appearance of the system in the thirteenth-century economic boom, quoting a document of 1275 (Braudel, 317) The system effectively by-passed the guilds' restrictions.

Before the flowering of the Renaissance, the Medici and other great banking houses of Florence had built their wealth and banking system on their textile industry based on wool, overseen by the Arte della Lana, the wool guild: wool textile interests guided Florentine policies. Francesco Datini, the "merchant of Prato", established in 1383 an Arte della Lana for that small Tuscan city. The sheepwalks of Castile shaped the landscape and the fortunes of the meseta that lies in the heart of the Iberian peninsula; in the sixteenth century, a unified Spain allowed export of Merino lambs only with royal permission. The German wool market - based on sheep of Spanish origin - did not overtake British wool until comparatively late. Australia's colonial economy was based on sheep raising, and the Australian wool trade eventually overtook that of the Germans by 1845, furnishing wool for Bradford, which developed as the heart of industrialized woollens production.


A World War I era poster sponsored by the United States Department of Agriculture encouraging children to raise sheep to provide needed war supplies.Fernand Braudel, 1982. The Wheels of Commerce, vol 2 of Civilization and Capitalism (New York:Harper & Row)
Due to decreasing demand with increased use of synthetic fibers, wool production is much less than what it was in the past. The collapse in the price of wool began in late 1966 with a 40% drop; with occasional interruptions, the price has tended down. The result has been sharply reduced production and movement of resources into production of other commodities, in the case of sheep growers, to production of meat.

Superwash wool (or washable wool) technology first appeared in the early 1970s to produce wool that has been specially treated so that it is machine washable and may be tumble-dried. This wool is produced using an acid bath that removes the "scales" from the fiber, or by coating the fiber with a polymer that prevents the scales from attaching to each other and causing shrinkage. This process results in a fiber that holds longevity and durability over synthetic materials, while retaining its shape.

In December 2004, a bale of the world's finest wool, averaging 11.8 micron, sold for $3,000 per kilogram at auction in Melbourne, Victoria. This fleece wool tested with an average yield of 74.5%, 68 mm long, and had 40 newtons per kilotex strength. The result was $AUD279,000 for the bale.[18] The finest bale of wool ever auctioned sold for a seasonal record of 269,000 cents per kilo during June 2008. This bale was produced by the Hillcreston Pinehill Partnership and measured 11.6 microns, 72.1% yield and had a 43 Newtons per kilotex strength measurement. The bale realized $247,480 and was exported to India.[19]

During 2007 a new wool suit was developed and sold in Japan that can be washed in the shower, and dries off ready to wear within hours with no ironing required. The suit was developed using Australian Merino wool and it enables woven products made from wool, such as suits, trousers and skirts, to be cleaned using a domestic shower at home.[20]

In December 2006 the General Assembly of the United Nations proclaimed 2009 to be the International Year of Natural Fibres, so as to raise the profile of wool and other natural fibers.

Production
Global wool production is approximately 1.3 million tonnes per annum of which 60% goes into apparel. Australia is the leading producer of wool which is mostly from Merino sheep. New Zealand is the second largest producer of wool, but is the largest producer of crossbred wool. China is the third largest producer of wool. Breeds such as Lincoln, Romney, Tukidale, Drysdale and Elliotdale produce coarser fibers, and wool off these sheep is usually used for making carpets.

In the United States, Texas, New Mexico and Colorado also have large commercial sheep flocks and their mainstay is the Rambouillet (or French Merino). There is also a thriving home-flock contingent of small-scale farmers who raise small hobby flocks of specialty sheep for the hand spinning market. These small-scale farmers may raise any type of sheep they wish, so the selection of fleeces is quite wide.


1905 illustration of a Tibetan spinning wool.Global wool clip 2004/2005[21]

1. Australia: 25% of global wool clip (475 million kg greasy, 2004/2005)
2. China: 18%
3. New Zealand: 11%
4. Argentina: 3%
5. Turkey: 2%
6. Iran: 2%
7. United Kingdom: 2%
8. India: 2%
9. Sudan: 2%
10. South Africa: 1%
11. United States: 0.77%
Keeping with the times, organic wool is becoming more and more popular. This wool is very limited in supply and much of it comes from New Zealand and Australia.[22] Organic wool is becoming easier to find in clothing and other products, though these products often carry a higher price. Wool is environmentally preferable (as compared to petroleum-based Nylon or Polypropylene) as a material for carpets as well, in particular when combined with a natural binding and the use of formaldehyde-free glues.

Animal rights groups have noted issues with the production of wool, such as Mulesing.

Wool Marketing
Australia

Merino wool samples for sale by auction, Newcastle, New South Wales.
Wool buyers' room at a wool auction, Newcastle, New South Wales.The dominant form of marketing for about 85 per cent of Australian wool is sale by open cry auction. Sale by Sample is a method in which a mechanical claw takes a sample from each bale in a line or lot of wool. These grab samples are bulked, objectively measured, and a sample of not less than 4 kg is displayed in a box for the buyer to examine. The Australian Wool Exchange (AWEX) conducts sales primarily in Sydney, Melbourne, Newcastle, and Fremantle. There are about eighty brokers and agents throughout Australia.

About 15 percent of wool is sold by private treaty on-farm or to local wool-handling facilities. This option gives wool growers benefit from reduced transport, warehousing, and selling costs. This method is preferred for small lots or mixed butts in order to make savings on reclassing and testing.

Sale by tender can achieve considerable cost savings on wool clips large enough to make it worthwhile for potential buyers to submit tenders. Some marketing firms sell wool on a consignment basis, obtaining a fixed percentage as commission.

Forward selling: Some buyers will offer a secure price for forward delivery of wool based on estimated measurements or the results of previous clips. Prices are quoted at current market rates and are locked in for the season. Premiums and discounts are added to cover variations in micron, yield, tensile strength, etc., which are confirmed by actual test results when available.[23]

Another method of selling wool includes sales direct to wool mills.

Other countries
The British Wool Marketing Board operates a central marketing system for UK fleece wool with the aim of achieving the best possible net returns for farmers.

Less than half of New Zealand's wool is now sold at auction, but many farmers (around 45%) now sell wool directly to private buyers and end-users.[24] Some businesses in New Zealand like Blue House Yarns have turned to selling organic wool, a new trend on wool production.

United States sheep producers market wool with private or cooperative wool warehouses, but wool pools are common in many states. In some cases, wool is pooled in a local market area but sold through a wool warehouse. Wool offered with objective measurement test results is preferred. Imported apparel wool and carpet wool goes directly to central markets where it is handled by the large merchants and manufacturers.[25]

Uses

Woollen garments in the wool samples area of a wool store, Newcastle, New South Wales.In addition to clothing, wool has been used for blankets, horse rugs, saddle cloths, carpeting, felt, wool insulation (also see links) and upholstery. Wool felt covers piano hammers, and it is used to absorb odors and noise in heavy machinery and stereo speakers. Ancient Greeks lined their helmets with felt, and Roman legionnaires used breastplates made of wool felt.

Wool has also been traditionally used to cover cloth diapers. Wool fiber exteriors are hydrophobic (repel water) and the interior of the wool fiber is hygroscopic (attracts water); this makes a wool garment able to cover a wet diaper while inhibiting wicking, so outer garments remain dry. Wool felted and treated with lanolin is water resistant, air permeable, and slightly antibacterial, so it resists the buildup of odor. Some modern cloth diapers use felted wool fabric for covers, and there are several modern commercial knitting patterns for wool diaper covers.

Merino wool has been used in baby sleep products such as swaddle baby wrap blankets and infant sleeping bags, because of its ability to regulate temperature, therefore reducing the risk of overheating and subsequent Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.[citation needed]

Wool is an animal protein, and as such it can be used as a soil fertiliser, being a slow release source of nitrogen and ready made amino acids.

Yarns
Virgin wool is wool spun for the first time, as contrasted with shoddy.[26]

Shoddy or recycled wool is made by cutting or tearing apart existing wool fabric and respinning the resulting fibers.[27] As this process makes the wool fibers shorter, the remanufactured fabric is inferior to the original. The recycled wool may be mixed with raw wool, wool noil, or another fiber such as cotton to increase the average fiber length. Such yarns are typically used as weft yarns with a cotton warp. This process was invented in the Heavy Woollen District of West Yorkshire and created a micro-economy in this area for many years.

Ragg is a sturdy wool fiber made into yarn and used in many rugged applications like gloves.

Worsted is a strong, long-staple, combed wool yarn with a hard surface.[28]

Woollen is a soft, short-staple, carded wool yarn typically used for knitting.[28] In traditional weaving, woollen weft yarn (for softness and warmth) is frequently combined with a worsted warp yarn for strength on the loom.[29]

Events

Andean lady sorting wool as part of the theme park Los Aleros in Mérida, Venezuela.Being one of the biggest buyers of Merino wool, Ermenegildo Zegna has encouraged, supported, and rewarded the efforts of the Australian wool producers since 1963 in the production of finer and softer wools. In 1963, the first Ermenegildo Zegna Perpetual Trophy was presented in Tasmania for growers of "Superfine skirted Merino fleece." In 1980, a national award, the Ermenegildo Zegna Trophy for Extrafine Wool Production, was launched. In 2004, this award became known as the Ermenegildo Zegna Unprotected Wool Trophy. In 1998, an Ermenegildo Zegna Protected Wool Trophy was launched for fleece from sheep coated for around nine months of the year.

In 2002, the Ermenegildo Zegna Vellus Aureum Trophy was launched for wool that is 13.9 micron and finer. Wool from Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, and South Africa may enter, and a winner is named from each country.[30] In April 2008, New Zealand won the coveted Ermenegildo Zegna Vellus Aureum Trophy for the first time with a fleece which measured 10.8 microns. This contest awards the winning fleece weight with the same weight in gold as a prize, hence the name.

Since 2000, Loro Piana has awarded a cup for the world’s finest bale of wool which produces just enough fabric for 50 tailor-made suits. The prize is awarded to an Australian or New Zealand wool grower who produces the year's finest bale.[31]

The New England Merino Field days which display local studs, wool, and sheep are held during January, every two years (in even numbered years) around the Walcha, New South Wales district. The Annual Wool Fashion Awards, which showcase the use of Merino wool by fashion designers, are hosted by the city of Armidale, New South Wales in March each year. This event encourages young and established fashion designers to display their talents. During each May, Armidale hosts the annual New England Wool Expo to display wool fashions, handicrafts, demonstrations, shearing competitions, yard dog trials, and more.

In July, the annual Australian Sheep and Wool Show is held in Bendigo, Victoria. This is the largest sheep and wool show in the world, with goats and alpacas as well as woolcraft competitions and displays, fleece competitions, sheepdog trials, shearing, and wool handling. The largest competition in the world for objectively-measured fleeces is the Australian Fleece Competition, which is held annually at Bendigo. In 2008, there were 475 entries from all states of Australia with first and second prizes going to the Northern Tablelands, New South Wales fleeces

Linen Fabrics

Linen

A linen handkerchief with pulled thread embroidery around the edges
Linen cloth recovered from Qumran Cave 1 near the Dead Sea.Linen is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant, Linum usitatissimum. Linen is labor-intensive to manufacture, but when it is made into garments, it is valued for its exceptional coolness and freshness in hot weather.

Textiles in a linen-weave texture, even when made of cotton, hemp and other non-flax fibers are also loosely referred to as "linen". Such fabrics generally have their own specific names other than linen; for example, fine cotton yarn in a linen-style weave is called Madapolam.

The collective term "linens" is still often used generically to describe a class of woven and even knitted bed, bath, table and kitchen textiles. The name linens is retained because traditionally, linen was used for many of these items. In the past, the word "linens" was also used to mean lightweight undergarments such as shirts, chemises, waistshirts, lingerie (a word which is cognate with linen), and detachable shirt collars and cuffs, which were historically made almost exclusively out of linen.

Linen textiles appear to be some of the oldest in the world: their history goes back many thousands of years. Fragments of straw, seeds, fibers, yarns, and various types of fabrics which date back to about 8000 BC have been found in Swiss lake dwellings. Dyed flax fibers found in a prehistoric cave in the Republic of Georgia suggest the use of woven linen fabrics from wild flax may date back even earlier to 36,000 BP.

Linen was sometimes used as currency in ancient Egypt. Egyptian mummies were wrapped in linen because it was seen as a symbol of light and purity, and as a display of wealth. Some of these fabrics, woven from hand spun yarns, were very fine for their day, but are coarse compared to modern linen.[3]

Today linen is usually an expensive textile, and is produced in relatively small quantities. It has a long "staple" (individual fiber length) relative to cotton and other natural fibers.

Description

Linen is said to be a bast fiber.

Flax fibers vary in length from about 25 to 150 centimeters (18 to 55 in) and average 12-16 micrometers in diameter. There are two varieties: shorter tow fibers used for coarser fabrics and longer line fibers used for finer fabrics. Flax fibers can usually be identified by their “nodes” which add to the flexibility and texture of the fabric.

The cross-section of the linen fiber is made up of irregular polygonal shapes which contribute to the coarse texture of the fabric.[5]

Properties
Highly absorbent and a good conductor of heat, linen fabric feels cool to the touch. Linen is the strongest of the vegetable fibers, with 2 to 3 times the strength of cotton. It is smooth, making the finished fabric lint free, and gets softer the more it is washed. However, constant creasing in the same place in sharp folds will tend to break the linen threads. This wear can show up in collars, hems, and any area that is iron creased during laundering. Linen has poor elasticity and does not spring back readily, explaining why it wrinkles so easily.

Linen fabrics have a high natural luster; their natural color ranges between shades of ivory, ecru, tan, or grey. Pure white linen is created by heavy bleaching. Linen typically has a thick and thin character with a crisp and textured feel to it, but it can range from stiff and rough, to soft and smooth. When properly prepared, linen fabric has the ability to absorb and lose water rapidly. It can gain up to 20% moisture without feeling damp.[citation needed]

When freed from impurities, linen is highly absorbent and will quickly remove perspiration from the skin. Linen is a stiff fabric and is less likely to cling to the skin; when it billows away, it tends to dry out and become cool so that the skin is being continually touched by a cool surface. It is a very durable, strong fabric, and one of the few that are stronger wet than dry. The fibers do not stretch and are resistant to damage from abrasion. However, because linen fibers have a very low elasticity, the fabric will eventually break if it is folded and ironed at the same place repeatedly.

Mildew, perspiration, and bleach can also damage the fabric, but it is resistant to moths and carpet beetles. Linen is relatively easy to take care of, since it resists dirt and stains, has no lint or pilling tendency, and can be dry cleaned, machine washed or steamed. It can withstand high temperatures, and has only moderate initial shrinkage.

Linen should not be dried too much by tumble drying: it is much easier to iron when damp. Linen wrinkles very easily, and so some more formal linen garments require ironing often, in order to maintain perfect smoothness. Nevertheless the tendency to wrinkle is often considered part of the fabric's particular "charm", and a lot of modern linen garments are designed to be air dried on a good hanger and worn without the necessity of ironing.

A characteristic often associated with contemporary linen yarn is the presence of "slubs", or small knots which occur randomly along its length. However, these slubs are actually defects associated with low quality. The finest linen has very consistent diameter threads, with no slubs.

Measure
The standard measure of bulk linen yarn is the lea, which is the number of yards in a pound of linen divided by 300. For example a yarn having a size of 1 lea will give 300 yards per pound. The fine yarns used in handkerchiefs, etc. might be 40 lea, and give 40x300 = 12,000 yards per pound. This is a specific length therefore an indirect measurement of the fineness of the linen, i.e. the number of length units per unit mass. The symbol is NeL. (3)

More commonly used in continental Europe is the Metric system, Nm. This is the number of 1,000 m lengths per kilogram.

In China, the English Cotton system unit, NeC, is common. This is the number of 840 yard lengths in a pound.

Production method

Details of the flax plant, from which linen fibers are derived
Mechanical harvesting of linen in Belgium, Summer 2009. On the left side, linen is waiting to be harvested.The quality of the finished linen product is often dependent upon growing conditions and harvesting techniques. To generate the longest possible fibers, flax is either hand-harvested by pulling up the entire plant or stalks are cut very close to the root. After harvesting, the seeds are removed through a mechanized process called “rippling” or by winnowing.

The fibers must then be loosened from the stalk. This is achieved through retting. This is a process which uses bacteria to decompose the pectin that binds the fibers together. Natural retting methods take place in tanks and pools, or directly in the fields. There are also chemical retting methods; these are faster, but are typically more harmful to the environment and to the fibers themselves.

After retting, the stalks are ready for scutching, which takes place between August and December. Scutching removes the woody portion of the stalks by crushing them between two metal rollers, so that the parts of the stalk can be separated. The fibers are removed and the other parts such as linseed, shive, and tow are set aside for other uses. Next the fibers are heckled: the short fibers are separated with heckling combs by 'combing' them away, to leave behind only the long, soft flax fibers.

After the fibers have been separated and processed, they are typically spun into yarns and woven or knit into linen textiles. These textiles can then be bleached, dyed, printed on, or finished with a number of treatments or coatings.[5]

An alternate production method is known as “cottonizing” which is quicker and requires less equipment. The flax stalks are processed using traditional cotton machinery; however, the finished fibers often lose the characteristic linen look.


Producers
Flax is grown in many parts of the world, but top quality flax is primarily grown in Western Europe. In very recent years bulk linen production has moved to Eastern Europe and China, but high quality fabrics are still confined to niche producers in Ireland, Italy and Belgium.

Uses
Over the past 30 years the end use for linen has changed dramatically. Approximately 70% of linen production in the 1990s was for apparel textiles whereas in the 1970s only about 5% was used for fashion fabrics.

Linen uses range from bed and bath fabrics (tablecloths, dish towels, bed sheets, etc.), home and commercial furnishing items (wallpaper/wall coverings, upholstery, window treatments, etc.), apparel items (suits, dresses, skirts, shirts, etc.), to industrial products (luggage, canvases, sewing thread, etc.).[4] It was once the preferred yarn for handsewing the uppers of moccasin-style shoes (loafers), but its use has been replaced by synthetics.

A linen handkerchief, pressed and folded to display the corners, was a standard decoration of a well-dressed man's suit during most of the first part of the 20th century.

Currently researchers are working on a cotton/flax blend to create new yarns which will improve the feel of denim during hot and humid weather.[6]

Linen fabric is one of the preferred traditional supports for oil painting. In the United States cotton is popularly used instead as linen is many times more expensive there, restricting its use to professional painters. In Europe however, linen is usually the only fabric support available in art shops. Linen is preferred to cotton for its strength, durability and archival integrity.

In the past linen was also used for books (the only surviving example of which is the Liber Linteus). Due to its strength, in the Middle Ages linen was used for shields and gambeson (among other roles such as use for a bowstring), much like how in Classical antiquity and Hellenistic Greece linen was used to make multi-plied Hoplite cuirasses. Also because of its strength when wet, Irish linen is a very popular wrap of pool/billiard cues, due to its absorption of sweat from hands. Paper made of linen can be very strong and crisp, which is why the United States and many other countries print their currency on paper that is made from 25% linen and 75% cotton.

History
This section may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this section if you can. (August 2009)

Linen has been used for table coverings, bed coverings and clothing for centuries. The exclusivity of linen stems from the fact that it is difficult and time consuming to produce (flax in itself requires a great deal of attention in its growth). Flax is difficult to weave because of its lack of elasticity, and therefore is more expensive to manufacture than cotton.

The Living Linen Project was set up in 1995 as an Oral Archive of the knowledge of the Irish linen industry still available within a nucleus of people who were formerly working in the industry in Ulster. There is a long history of linen in Ireland.

The discovery of dyed flax fibers in a cave in the Republic of Georgia dated to 36,000 BP suggests people used wild flax fibers to create linin-like fabrics from an early date.[7][8] The use of linen for priestly vestments was not confined to the Israelites, but from Plutarch, who lived and wrote one hundred years after the birth of Christ, we know that also the priests of Isis wore linen because of its purity.

In December 2006 the General Assembly of the United Nations proclaimed 2009 to be the International Year of Natural Fibres, so as to raise the profile of linen and other natural fibers.

Antiquity
When the tomb of the Pharaoh Ramesses II, who died 1213 BC, was discovered in 1881, the linen wrappings were in a state of perfect preservation - after more than 3000 years.

In the Belfast Library there is preserved the mummy of "Kaboolie,' the daughter of a priest of Ammon, who died 2,500 years ago. The linen on this mummy is in a like state of perfection. When the tomb of Tutankamen was opened, the linen curtains were found intact.

Earliest linen industry
In olden days, in almost every country, each family grew flax and wove the linen for its own use; but the earliest records of an established linen industry are 4,000 years old, and come to us from Egypt. The earliest written documentation of a linen industry comes from the Linear B tablets of Pylos, Greece, where linen is depicted as an ideogram and also written as "ri-no" (Greek: λίνον, linon), and the female linen workers are catalogued as "ri-ne-ja" (λίνεια, lineia).[9][10]

The Phoenicians, who, with their merchant fleet, opened up new channels of commerce to the peoples of the Mediterranean, besides developing the tin mines of Cornwall, introduced flax growing and the making of linen into Ireland before the common era, but the internal dissensions, which even in those early days were prevalent in Erin, militated against the establishment of an organized industry, and it is not until the twelfth century that we can find records of a definite attempt to systematize flax production.

When the Edict of Nantes was revoked, in A.D. 1685, many of the Huguenots who had to flee the country settled in the British Isles, and amongst them was Louis Crommelin, who was born, and brought up as a weaver of fine linen, in the town of Cambrai. He fled to Ulster, and eventually settled down in the small town of Lisburn, about ten miles from Belfast. Belfast itself is perhaps the most famous linen producing center throughout history, during the Victorian era the majority of the worlds linen was produced in the city which gained it the name Linenopolis.

During the late war Cambrai became well known as one of the centers of the most desperate fighting. The name "cambric" is derived from this town.

Although the linen industry was already established in Ulster, Louis Crommelin found scope for improvement in weaving, and his efforts were so successful that he was appointed by the Government to develop the industry over a much wider range.than the small confines of Lisburn and its surroundings. The direct result of his good work was the establishment, under statute, of the Board of Trustees of the Linen Manufacturers of Ireland in the year 1711.

Religion
In the Jewish religion, the only law concerning which fabrics may be interwoven together in clothing is one which concerns the mixture of linen and wool. This mixture is called shaatnez and is clearly restricted in Deuteronomy 22:11 "Thou shalt not wear a mingled stuff, wool and linen together" and Leviticus 19:19, "'...neither shall there come upon thee a garment of two kinds of stuff mingled together.'" There is no explanation for this in the Torah itself and is categorized as a type of law known as chukim, a statute beyond man's ability to comprehend.[11] Josephus suggested that the reason for the prohibition was to keep the laity from wearing the official garb of the priests.[12] while Maimonides thought that the reason was because heathen priests wore such mixed garments.[13] Others explain that it is because God often forbids mixtures of disparate kinds, not designed by God to be compatible in a certain way, with mixing animal and vegetable fibers being similar to having two different types of plowing animals yoked together. And that such commands serve both a practical as well as allegorical purpose, perhaps here preventing a priestly garment that would cause discomfort (or excessive sweat) in a hot climate,[14] while also representing such forbidden spiritual admixtures as merit and grace as a means of salvation.[15]

Etymology
The word linen is derived from the Latin for the flax plant, which is linum, and the earlier Greek linon. This word history has given rise to a number of other terms:

line, derived from the use of a linen thread to determine a straight line;
liniment, due to the use of finely ground flax seeds as a mild irritant applied to the skin to ease muscle pain
lining, because linen was often used to create a lining for wool and leather clothing
lingerie, via French, originally denotes underwear made of linen
linseed oil, an oil derived from flax seed
linoleum, a floor covering made from linseed oil and other materials

JUE FABRICS

Jute fibre is often called hessian, jute fabrics are also called hessian cloth, and jute sacks are called gunny bags in some European countries. The fabric made from jute is popularly known as burlap in North America.

JUTE CULTIVATION
The suitable climate for growing jute (warm and wet climate) is offered by the monsoon climate during the monsoon season. Temperatures ranging 20 ºC to 40 ºC and relative humidity of 70%-80% are favourable for successful cultivation. Jute requries 5-8 cm of rainfall weekly with extra needed during the sowing period.

White Jute (Corchorus capsularis)
In several historical documents (especially, Ain-e-Akbari by Abul Fazal in 1590) during the era of great Mughal Emperor Akbar (1542–1605) states that the poor villagers of India used to wear cloths made of Jute. Simple handlooms and hand spinning wheels were used by the weavers, who used to spin cotton yarns as well. History also states that, Indians, especially Bengalis used ropes and twines made of white Jute from ancient times for household and other uses.

Tossa Jute (Corchorus olitorius)
Tossa Jute (Corchorus olitorius) is an Afro-Arabian variety and a member of the Mallow Plant family (same family of Marshmallow). It is quite popular for its leaves that were used as ingredient of an okra slimy Arabian potherb called Molokhiya (ملوخية = of the kings). The Jewish Book of Job mentions this vegetable potherb as Jew's Mallow.

Tossa Jute Fibre is softer, silkier, and stronger than White Jute. This variety astonishingly showed good sustainability in the climate of the Ganges delta. Along with White Jute, Tossa Jute was also being cultivated in the soil of Bengal from the start of the 19th century. Currently, the Bengal region (West Bengal, India and Bangladesh) is the largest global producer of the Tossa Jute (Corchorus olitorius) variety.

History
For centuries, Jute has been an integral part of Bengali culture, which is shared by Both Bangladesh and West Bengal of India. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, much of the raw jute fibre was exported to the United Kingdom, where it was then processed in mills concentrated in Dundee ("Jute Weaver" was a recognised trade occupation in the 1901 UK census), but this trade had largely ceased by about 1970 due to the entrance of synthetic fibres.

Magaret Donnelly I, was a jute mill landowner in Dundee in the 1800's. She set up the first jute mills in India. In the 1950's and 1960's when nylon and polythene were rarely used, the United Pakistan (then the world leader in Jute products) was earning money through jute of East Pakistan, now Bangladesh. It was called the Golden Fibre of Bangladesh, when it used to bring major portion of the foreign currency reserve for Bangladesh. But, as the use of polythene and other synthetic materials as a substitute for jute started to capture the market, most economists said that jute industry is experiencing a decline.

When the Pakistan and India became separate countries in 1948, the tension rised between these two countries and Pakistan decided to stop exporting Jute to the Indian Jute mills. The Indian Jute Industry started to shrink and the Pakistani Jute Industry started to rise. India then went into Jute production, and is currently the largest producer or cultivator of Jute.

For several years, farmers in Bangladesh burnt their crops as they did not get an adequate price. Many exporters that were dealing with jute found other commodities to deal with. The jute related organisations and government bodies also experienced closures, change, and fund cutting. The long decline in demand forced the largest jute mill in the world (Adamjee Jute Mills) to close. Latif Bawany Jute Mills, the second largest, is still running but was nationalized by the government from prominent businessman, Yahya Bawany. But the farmers of Bangladesh surprisingly did not stop growing jute, mainly due to demand in the internal market. Recently, (2004-2006) the jute market turned back again and the price of raw jute increased more than 50% due to high demand of jute products worldwide.

During 1941, Henry Ford tested the strength of a car trunk made from soybean fibre. The trunk was made of soy-protein plastic reinforced with glass, which was stronger, lighter, and more flexible than conventional car panels. This experiment revolutionised the use of natural fibres in the Automobile Industry and made cars lighter to burn less gasoline. The previously used glass fibre proved to be very heavy and emitted poisonous gas when burnt. Therefore, most people died of poisonous gas inhalation, not by wounds during car accidents. This fact has driven the European Union to ban the use of glass fibre in automobiles. When Henry Ford's experiment gained huge response, the automobile companies started to search for other bast fibres, as soybean fibre had problems in moulding. They found that, flax was the best bast fibre for the automobile interior production.

It has been shown that flax, jute, and hemp fibres contain characteristics such as ductile structure and stiffness per unit of weight that result in benefits during side impacts. But, jute was recognised as the next to the best at a quite late time. In some cases, jute has become the better option than flax in producing car interiors. Moreover, jute proved to be the most cost effective fibre in this sector, as jute is the cheapest vegetable fibre with very high tensile strength. However, there are contrasting information regarding this history. Some say that, the car trunk of soy-protein plastic reinforced with glass was invented by an African American employee of Ford Motor Company[citation needed]. Other uses for natural fibres now includes composite production of sheet moulding compound, resin transfer moulding, and vacuum pressing techniques and injection.

Jute has entered various diversified sectors, where natural fibres are gradually becoming better substitution. Among these industries are paper, celluloid products (films), nonwoven textiles, composites (pseudo-wood), and geotextiles.

Uses
Jute is the second most important vegetable fibre after cotton; not only for cultivation, but also for various uses. Jute is used chiefly to make cloth for wrapping bales of raw cotton, and to make sacks and coarse cloth. The fibres are also woven into curtains, chair coverings, carpets, area rugs, hessian cloth, and backing for linoleum.

While jute is being replaced by synthetic materials in many of these uses, some uses take advantage of jute's biodegradable nature, where synthetics would be unsuitable. Examples of such uses include containers for planting young trees which can be planted directly with the container without disturbing the roots, and land restoration where jute cloth prevents erosion occurring while natural vegetation becomes established.

The fibres are used alone or blended with other types of fibres to make twine and rope. Jute butts, the coarse ends of the plants, are used to make inexpensive cloth. Conversely, very fine threads of jute can be separated out and made into imitation silk. As Jute fibres are also being used to make pulp and paper, and with increasing concern over forest destruction for the wood pulp used to make most paper, the importance of jute for this purpose may increase. Jute has a long history of use in the sackings, carpets, wrapping fabrics (cotton bale), construction fabric manufacturing industry.

Traditionally Jute was used in traditional textile machineries as textile fibres having cellulose (vegetable fibre content) and lignin (wood fibre content). But, the major breakthrough came, when the automobile industry, pulp and paper industry, and the furniture and bedding industry started to use jute and its allied fibres with their non-woven and composite technology to manufacture nonwovens, technical textiles, and composits. Therefore, jute has changed its textile fibre outlook and steadily heading towards its newer identity, i.e. wood fibre. Because, as a textile fibre, jute has reached its peak from where there is no hope of progress. But, as a wood fibre, jute has many promising features [1].

Jute has entered various diversified sectors, where natural fibres are gradually becoming better substitution. Among these industries are paper, celluloid products (films), nonwoven textiles (for car interiors and other uses), composites (pseudo-wood), and geotextiles.

Geotextile is another fact that made this agricultural commodity more popular in the agricultural sector. It is a lightly woven fabric made from natural fibres that is used for soil erosion control, seed protection, weed control, and many other agricultural and landscaping uses. The geotextiles can be used more than a year and the bio-degradable jute geotextile left to rot on the ground keeps the ground cool and is able to make the land more fertile. Methods such as this could be used to transfer the fertility of the Ganges Delta to the deserts of Sahara or Australia [citation needed].

Moreover, jute can be grown in 4-6 months with a huge amount of cellulose being produced from the Jute hurd (Inner woody core or parenchyma of the Jute stem) that can meet most of the wood needs of the world. Jute is the major crop among others that is able to protect deforestation by industrialisation.

Thus, jute is the most environment-friendly fibre starting from the seed to expired fibre, as the expired fibres can be recycled more than once.

Diversified byproducts which can be cultivated from jute include uses in food, cosmetics, medicine, paints, and other products.

Features
Jute fibre is 100% bio-degradable and recyclable and thus environment friendly.
It is a natural fibre with golden and silky shine and hence called The Golden Fibre
It is the cheapest vegetable fibre procured from the bast or skin of the plant's stem
It is the second most important vegetable fibre after cotton, in terms of usage, global consumption, production, and availability
It has high tensile strength, low extensibility, and ensures better breathability of fabrics. Therefore, jute is very suitable in agricultural commodity bulk packaging
It helps to make best quality industrial yarn, fabric, net, and sacks. It is one of the most versatile natural fibres that has been used in raw materials for packaging, textiles, non-textile, construction, and agricultural sectors. Bulking of yarn results in a reduced breaking tenacity and an increased breaking extensibility when blended as a ternary blend.
Jute plant is derived from a relative of the Hemp (Cannabis) plant. However, Jute is totally free from narcotic elements or odour
The varieties of Jute are: Tossa Jute (Corchorus olitorius) and White Jute (Corchorus capsularis)
The best source of Jute in the world is the Bengal Delta Plain in the Ganges Delta, most of which is occupied by Bangladesh.
Advantages of jute include good insulating and antistatic properties, as well as having low thermal conductivity and a moderate moisture regain. Other advantages of jute include acoustic insulating properties and manufacture with no skin irritations.
Jute has the ability to be blended with other fibres, both synthetic and natural, and accepts cellulosic dye classes such as natural, basic, vat, sulfur, reactive, and pigment dyes. As the demand for natural comfort fibres increases, the demand for jute and other natural fibres that can be blended with cotton will increase. To meet this demand, it has been suggested that the natural fibre industry adopt the Rieter's Elitex system, in order to modernize processing. The resulting jute/cotton yarns will produce fabrics with a reduced cost of wet processing treatments. Jute can also be blended with wool. By treating jute with caustic soda, crimp, softness, pliability and appearance is improved, aiding in its ability to be spun with wool. Liquid ammonia has a similar effect on jute, as well as the added characteristic of improving flame resistance when treated with flameproofing agents.
Some noted disadvantages include poor drapability and crease resistance, brittleness, fibre shedding, and yellowing in sunlight. However, preparation of fabrics with castor oil lubricants result in less yellowing and less fabric weight loss, as well as increased dyeing brilliance. Jute has a decreased strength when wet, and also becomes subject to microbial attack in humid climates. Jute can be processed with an enzyme in order to reduce some of its brittleness and stiffness. Once treated with an enzyme, jute shows an affinity to readily accept natural dyes, which can be made from marigold flower extract. In one attempt to dye jute fabric with this extract, bleached fabric was mordanted with ferrous sulphate, increasing the fabrics dye uptake value. Jute also responds well to reactive dyeing. This process is used for bright and fast coloured value-added diversified products made from jute.


Coarse Jute fabric is the most popular fabric that is used for making sacks all over the world. Apart from this, jute bags, jute mattress for bedding, jute ropes and paper are also common to see. Numerous uses truly make the Jute one of the most versatile fibers gifted to man by nature that finds various uses in the form of handicrafts, bags, rugs, carpets. Next to cotton, jute is the cheapest and the most important of all textile fibers. Furthermore it is the strength characteristics of jute that makes it so demanding in rope and yarn industry. Jute cultivation provides work for millions of farmers, landless laborers, industrial workers and provides jobs for many others, indirectly.

Because of low cost, more strength, high production level and renewal tendency, jute fabric is the one of the most popular natural fabrics.


Jute Fabric History in India
In India the production of jute is not new. It was the English traders who first of all found out the importance of jute and regarded it as a good substitute to hemp and flax that are quiet expensive fabrics. Kolkata in West Bengal is and was the hub for the jute fabric production as raw material here is easily available. So in 1855, Kolkata saw the first jute mill in the year 1855. By 1869 there were five mills and by 1910 the number rose to 38 such mills. After partition most of the jute fiber growing part turned to Pakistan but India soon had made a remarkable growth in the production of raw material. Now this industry has fully grown and all the jute fabric suppliers, manufacturers and jute fabric exporter's need are taken care by the various associations.

To further promote the jute industry in India, the Jute Manufactures Development Council was established in 1983 by the Act of Indian Parliament under the Government of India. Jute Manufacturers, Jute Suppliers, Jute Exporters from India with the overall jute industry were benefited a lot by the Jute Manufacturers Development Council. JMDC is doing all sorts of efforts in uplifting the better marketing of the jute products. With this manufacturing of jute fabric in Delhi, Jaipur, Gujrat and other states is also getting popular along with Kolkata who are now entering into big market of natural fabric.
Improvement in the Jute Fabric
In the beginning jute fabric was only used for making bags and sacks but later on its usage in garments and in textile furnishings had also been explored. So from the coarse jute fabric, finer fabric called burlap or hessian were produced. This has give a real growth to Indian jute mills. Hessian is also popular as jute fabric UK.
Processing of Jute
As the raw material for jute fabric is grown in different parts of the state and country so the difference in the color, strength and size is natural. The first jute process is batching where all the raw fibers are blended to give uniform strength and color. Then to remove any barky portion from the fabric jute and to make it completely plaint, jute is treated with oil and water emulsion in the spiral fluted rollers. After this in breaker or finisher cards, the jute fiber length is reduced and these are then transformed to 5" to 6" wide ribbons called sliver. Silvers are then twisted to form rove on to bobbins. This is then used to spin the jute fabric.
Characteristics of Jute Fabric
Jute fabric is made from the long, soft and shiny fiber that are spun into grainy but strong threads. Jute is one of the cheapest natural fibers, and is second only to cotton in the amount produced and variety of uses. Jute fibers are composed primarily of the plant materials cellulose, lignin, and pectin that makes it half textile fiber and half wood. Both the fiber and the plant from which it comes are commonly called jute. Also known by the name of hessian, jute fibers can have off white to brown color.

Jute textile is also known for its resistant towards weathering where it can with stand harsh weather and wetting without loosing its strength. It is easy to print, dye, the jute fabric that make it a versatile fabric.
Uses of Jute Fabric
The uses of jute are manifold although the traditional use remains in packing as sacking, hessian and carpet backing. These light weight yarns are to be used in value added textile applications like upholstery, furnishing, garments and bags etc, are just a few examples.
•Jute is used chiefly to make cloth for wrapping bales of raw cotton
•Jute textile is used to make gunny sacks and gunny cloth. In European countries the jute bags are also called gunny bags.
•The fibers are also woven into curtains, chair coverings, carpets, and burlap.
•Very fine threads of jute are made into imitation silk as thus can be found in high quality cloth.
•The fibers are used alone or blended with other types of fibers to make twine and rope.
•Fine fabric made from jute across the world and more popularly in America is known as burlap that is used to make cloth, garments and bags.
•Fabric jute is also used to make canvas that are used for protection from rough weather.
•Wool jute that is the quality of wool as well as jute is chiefly used to make carpets, bath rugs, and durries. Wool jute rugs are getting very popular. These wool jute rugs , carpets and mats are available in various designs and dyed in almost every color to make them more presentable. But the natural look of wool jute is preferred by the consumers who have the taste for natural home and textile furnishings. Pottery Barn is the most popular brand selling wool jute durries and rugs.
•Jute cotton is mainly used to make bags, rugs and sarees. Jute cotton fabric is finer because of cotton blends in jute. Garments made from jute cotton are getting popular and one can see these in ramp these days. Jute cotton breathes air as it allows sir to pass through it. It is also known for its jute properties like resistance towards bacteria and high on flexibility and durability. Shower curtains, living room jute curtains, are also made from jute cotton fabric. Jute cotton and wool jute are also used to make bed spreads , bed covers, pillow covers, jute blinds and other such accessories to decorate your home.
Jute Fabric Suppliers
In India there are numerous jute fabric suppliers who are chiefly located in Kolkata, West Bengal. But jute fabric suppliers can also be found in the other states of India. Few main Jute fabric suppliers are Indarsen Shamlal (P) Ltd, Debonair Fashions Pvt Ltd, Kashmir Craft Creations, Vijay Corporation, Sanjarr International, V-tech Marketing, Polytex Linen Cotton Limited and Ganapati Udyog.

Jute fabric wholesale suppliers keep the quality of jute fabric in mind before manufacturing the fabric and making different products out of it. Jute manufacturers and jute fabric suppliers complete range of jute yarn, jute handspun yarns, various designs and colors of jute fabric along with other fabrics.

Exporters of jute fabric also make jute cloth, jute yarns and other jute material.
Jute Manufacturers
Jute manufacturers not only make the jute fabric and jute textile but also make wonderful jute products that are bought by the consumers all across the world. These products by the jute manufacturers include jute twine, jute yarn, jute ropes, jute coil, jute slippers, bags, kurtas, garments et al
The few jute manufacturers are listed here:

•Boss Communication Pvt. Ltd. [Maharashtra,India]
•Eco Jute Pvt Ltd [West Bengal,India]
•M P International [West Bengal,India]
•Maaz International [Delhi,India]
•Nature Design Concepts [Delhi,India]
•Shabanam Exports [West Bengal,India]
•Varsha Fibre-Fab Industries [Maharashtra,India

TEXTILE FURNISHING

Textile furnishings is the chief component of interior decoration of your home that is also called soft furnishings or home furnishings. Interior decoration with textile furnishings is all about textile, fabrics, color etc. To furnish a home, every type of fabric can be used that is available in vast range of colors, designs, patterns & style. You think of anything you will find it on fabric. In so much variety you really need to scratch your brain cells & work creatively.


To work on the textile part for home decoration, you must first of all decide the color & fabric that you need for different rooms. Think what you like & dislike in terms of color & style. Say your liking can be towards bright color or you can have taste towards all natural & earthy colors. Also involve your family in this. Take suggestions from kids to decorate their room.


You can start with one room, finish it and then pick the next one. In this way your work will be more organized and will give the desired results of interior decoration. Like, if you are thinking to furnish your bedroom then you can consider textile furnishings as floor throws, bed sheets, pillows, bed spreads, carpets, curtains for windows, bed comforters, mattress covers etc. You will find every color of rainbow here. Even the price vary a lot with brands and styles.


Now each room has its specific requirements. So check out for options of textile furnishings. Also along with the color & fabric, check for the style you wanna go for. It can vary from traditional, casual to modern. You will find numerous books, online websites that can make your journey even more smoother.


What is required in textile furnishings
Textile furnishings for interior decoration is not only meant for ornamentation but also for strength & safety. So you should always check the fabric that you are going to use. Now the use of fabric is entirely your choice but make sure to use right kind at right place. For example


•Shower curtain fabric must resist water and should have anti mild property
•Curtains in any room must have anti fade tendency
•Bedding fabric must be soft, comfortable, wrinkle free, pest resistant
•Fabric that you are going to use in kitchen must be flame resistant
•Bath mats, carpets or mat for any other purpose and floor item should be anti slippery
So basically it is the purpose and place where you are going to use the fabric will decide its quality. To buy any textile or home furnishing fabric for home decor better to check for which room and purpose you are going to use it. This will help you in finding the most suitable fabric for home decor.


Achieve Style by Using Textile Furnishings For Interior Home Decoration
You can use different combinations and fabrics to create a style for your home decoration. If you have elegant furniture and marvelous flooring then you must need a home furnishings that match the entire decor.


•For curtain you can use satin if you like free flows. You can also use corduroy if your taste is more towards thick fabric. Corduroy fabric comes in various damask styles that look wonderful. In market you will also find organza curtain that can be used with thick fabric or you can go for the ready made cotton curtains to change the whole look.
•You can use natural bed sheets and bedspreads and on that use varied colored pillows and comforters. In this way you can change the entire look of your bedroom
•For drawing & dining room furnishings you can use table mats, table runners, dining cushion covers that are in harmony.
•Carpets are the great way to enhance the look of any room where they are used. Small rugs can be placed near to bed, and a full carpet in the living or drawing room.
•Bathroom is place where you can also experiment with the textile furnishings. Use colorful shower curtains, matching bath rugs, bath mats & hand towels
. You can really give it a personal touch and make bathroom a personal retreat.
In this way you can make use of all the available textile furnishings for your interior decoration. If required you can also take the assistance of interior designer.

Indian handlooms

'Indian Handlooms', a term that spells exquisity, ebullience and enunciate a multifarious equip of excogitating designs, both ethnic and modernistic. Providing livelihood to 90 million people, the level of artistry and intricacy achieved by Indian handloom fabrics is unparalleled and beyond the scope of modern machinery, preserving its heritage and culture.

With a long tradition of excellence in its craftsmanship, Indian handloom is said to have dated back to the ancient ages. The earliest Indian fragment of cloth (before the Christian era) with a hansa (swan) design was excavated from a site near Cairo. Later excavations from Harappan sites revealed a scrap of coarse madder dyed cloth and a terracotta spindle whorls which evidenced their expertise over handlooms, Indian handlooms, to be more specific.

The turning point of Indian handlooms and its weavers is said to be India’s independence i.e. 15th of august, 1947. The Charkha acted as a symbol of national regeneration, as propagated by Mahatma Gandhi, and the focus on the weavers of Indian handlooms during the Indian freedom movement was largely responsible for the breakthrough. And at the dawn of independence, Indian handloom industry became the largest cottage industry of the country, a point of recognition which is still maintained.

Indian handlooms cater to the needs of a diverse cultural ethos ranging from exquisite fabrics to popular items of mass production for daily use. A village without a weaver is a myth in the Indian scenario; millions of looms across the country are busy producing the traditional beauty of a precious heritage called Indian handlooms.

Undoubtedly cotton gave the splendid weavers of Indian handloom their resplendent expression but silk and woolen cloths also originated during the pre-Vedic era, endemic to India. In the world of handlooms there are muslin of Chanderi, silk brocades of Varanasi, the ikats from Andhra and Orissa, the tie and dye from Rajasthan and Gujrat, the phulkari and khes of Punjab, jacquards from Uttar Pradesh, the phenek, tongam and bottle designs from Assam and Manipur, and lots more. Indian handloom continues to be craft oriented, even though it was circumscribed by a limited choice of processing and technology.

The Indian handloom industry mainly exports fabrics, bed spreads and covers, quilts, shams, pillow covers, curtains, towels, table linen, cushions and pads, tapestries and upholsteries, carpets, etc, the whole lot needed in making a house a home.Looking back, the story of the Indian handlooms in the last fifty years is one of patient nurturing of an industry which touches upon the livelihood of millions of Indians.

Little efforts were given to develop the Indian handloom sector during the first half of the present industry. The handloom weavers were pitted against modern textile mills. Their ingenuity and skill contributed to their success in preserving the long tradition of excellence of Indian handlooms.And in today's date Indian handlooms are going global in a big way and have found support in the designer community. "Handlooms represent not just an industry but the cultural heritage of India. It needs to chart out a road map for itself. Designers can play a major role in promoting handlooms. However, so far we have not been able to utilize our own resources to cope up with the changing lifestyles and aspirations.

The handloom industry and the fashion designers should work in coordination to initiate yet another 'swadeshi' movement," Rathi Vinay Jha said at the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week held in the capital recently. A rich and resilient media of ethnic expression, Indian handloom is given is due respect by the government too.

National awards are given every year to master weavers in recognition of their excellence and contribution. An expression which deserves to be respected and preserved, Indian handlooms has been subsumed into the national and ethnic design vocabularies of the world.

Weaving

Weaving is the textile art in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads, called the warp and the filling or weft (older woof), are interlaced with each other to form a fabric or cloth. The warp threads run lengthways of the piece of cloth, and the weft runs across from side to side.

Cloth is woven on a loom, a device for holding the warp threads in place while the filling threads are woven through them. Weft is an old English word meaning "that which is woven".

The manner in which the warp and filling threads interlace with each other is known as the weave. The three basic weaves are plain weave, satin weave, and twill, and the majority of woven products are created with one of these weaves.

Woven cloth can be plain (in one color or a simple pattern), or it can be woven in decorative or artistic designs, including tapestries. Fabric in which the warp and/or weft is tie-dyed before weaving is called ikat.

The ancient art of handweaving, along with hand spinning, remains a popular craft. The majority of commercial fabrics in the West are woven on computer-controlled Jacquard looms. In the past, simpler fabrics were woven on dobby looms, while the Jacquard harness adaptation was reserved for more complex patterns. Some believe the efficiency of the Jacquard loom, with its Jacquard weaving process, makes it more economical for mills to use them to weave all of their fabrics, regardless of the complexity of the design.

Process

An Indian weaver preparing his warpIn general, weaving involves the interlacing of two sets of threads at right angles to each other: the warp and the weft. The warp are held taut and in parallel order, typically by means of a loom, though some forms of weaving may use other methods. The loom is warped (or dressed) with the warp threads passing through heddles on two or more harnesses. The warp threads are moved up or down by the harnesses creating a space called the shed. The weft thread is wound onto spools called bobbins. The bobbins are placed in a shuttle which carries the weft thread through the shed. The raising and lowering sequence of warp threads gives rise to many possible weave structures:

plain weave,
twill weave,
satin weave, and
complex computer-generated interlacings.
Both warp and weft can be visible in the final product. By spacing the warp more closely, it can completely cover the weft that binds it, giving a warpfaced textile such as rep weave. Conversely, if the warp is spread out, the weft can slide down and completely cover the warp, giving a weftfaced textile, such as a tapestry or a Kilim rug. There are a variety of loom styles for hand weaving and tapestry. In tapestry, the image is created by placing weft only in certain warp areas, rather than across the entire warp width.

Ancient and traditional cultures

Prehistoric woven objects and weaving toolsThere are some indications that weaving was already known in the Palaeolithic era. An indistinct textile impression has been found at Pavlov, Moravia. Neolithic textiles are well known from finds in pile dwellings in Switzerland. One extant fragment from the Neolithic was found in Fayum at a site which dates to about 5000 BCE. This fragment is woven at about 12 threads by 9 threads per cm in a plain weave. Flax was the predominant fibre in Egypt at this time and continued popularity in the Nile Valley, even after wool became the primary fibre used in other cultures around 2000 BCE. Another Ancient Egyptian item, known as the Badari dish, depicts a textile workshop. This item, catalogue number UC9547, is now housed at the Petrie Museum and dates to about 3600 BCE. Enslaved women worked as weavers during the Sumerian Era. They would wash wool fibers in hot water and wood-ash soap and then dry them. Next, they would beat out the dirt and card the wool. The wool was then graded, bleached, and spun into a thread. The spinners would pull out fibers and twist them together. This was done by either rolling fibers between palms or using a hooked stick. The thread was then placed on a wooden or bone spindle and rotated on a clay whorl which operated like a flywheel.

The slaves would then work in three-woman teams on looms, where they stretched the threads, after which they passed threads over and under each other at perpendicular angles. The finished cloth was then taken to a fuller.

Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897) points to numerous Biblical references to weaving in ancient times:

Weaving was an art practised in very early times (Ex. 35:35). The Egyptians were specially skilled in it (Isa. 19:9; Ezek. 27:7), and some have regarded them as its inventors.

In the wilderness, the Hebrews practised it (Ex. 26:1, 8; 28:4, 39; Lev. 13:47). It is referred to in subsequent times as specially the women's work (2 Kings 23:7; Prov. 31:13, 24). No mention of the loom is found in Scripture, but we read of the "shuttle" (Job 7:6), "the pin" of the beam (Judg. 16:14), "the web" (13, 14), and "the beam" (1 Sam. 17:7; 2 Sam. 21:19). The rendering, "with pining sickness," in Isa. 38:12 (A.V.) should be, as in the Revised Version, "from the loom," or, as in the margin, "from the thrum." We read also of the "warp" and "woof" (Lev. 13:48, 49, 51-53, 58, 59), but the Revised Version margin has, instead of "warp," "woven or knitted stuff."

American Southwest

Weaving a traditional Navajo rugTextile weaving, using cotton dyed with pigments, was a dominant craft among pre-contact tribes of the American southwest, including various Pueblo peoples, the Zuni, and the Ute tribes. The first Spaniards to visit the region wrote about seeing Navajo blankets. With the introduction of Navajo-Churro sheep, the resulting woolen products have become very well known. By the 1700s the Navajo had begun to import yarn with their favorite color, Bayeta red. Using an upright loom, the Navajos wove blankets and then rugs after the 1880s for trade. Navajo traded for commercial wool, such as Germantown, imported from Pennsylvania. Under the influence of European-American settlers at trading posts, Navajos created new and distinct styles, including "Two Gray Hills" (predominantly black and white, with traditional patterns), "Teec Nos Pos" (colorful, with very extensive patterns), "Ganado" (founded by Don Lorenzo Hubbell), red dominated patterns with black and white, "Crystal" (founded by J. B. Moore), Oriental and Persian styles (almost always with natural dyes), "Wide Ruins," "Chinlee," banded geometric patterns, "Klagetoh," diamond type patterns, "Red Mesa" and bold diamond patterns. Many of these patterns exhibit a fourfold symmetry, which is thought to embody traditional ideas about harmony, or hózhó.

Amazonia
In Native Amazonia, densely woven palm-bast mosquito netting, or tents, were utilized by the Panoans, Tupí, Western Tucano, Yameo, Záparoans, and perhaps by the indigenous peoples of the central Huallaga River basin (Steward 1963:520). Aguaje palm-bast (Mauritia flexuosa, Mauritia minor, or swamp palm) and the frond spears of the Chambira palm (Astrocaryum chambira, A.munbaca, A.tucuma, also known as Cumare or Tucum) have been used for centuries by the Urarina of the Peruvian Amazon to make cordage, net-bags hammocks, and to weave fabric. Among the Urarina, the production of woven palm-fiber goods is imbued with varying degrees of an aesthetic attitude, which draws its authentication from referencing the Urarina’s primordial past. Urarina mythology attests to the centrality of weaving and its role in engendering Urarina society. The post-diluvial creation myth accords women’s weaving knowledge a pivotal role in Urarina social reproduction.[2] Even though palm-fiber cloth is regularly removed from circulation through mortuary rites, Urarina palm-fiber wealth is neither completely inalienable, nor fungible since it is a fundamental medium for the expression of labor and exchange. The circulation of palm-fiber wealth stabilizes a host of social relationships, ranging from marriage and fictive kinship (compadrazco, spiritual compeership) to perpetuating relationships with the deceased.

Islamic world

Girls weaving a Persian rug, Hamadan, circa 1922. Note cartoons at top of loom.Hand weaving of Persian carpets and kilims has been an important element of the tribal crafts of many of the subregions of modern day Iran. Examples of carpet types are the Lavar Kerman carpet from Kerman and the Seraband rug from Arak.

An important innovation in weaving that was developed in the Muslim world during the Islamic Golden Age was the introduction of foot pedals to operate a loom. The first such devices appeared in Syria, Iran and Islamic parts of East Africa, where "the operator sat with his feet in a pit below a fairly low-slung loom." By 1177, it was further developed in Al-Andalus, where having the mechanism was "raised higher above the ground on a more substantial frame." This type of loom spread to the Christian parts of Spain and soon became popular all over medieval Europe.
Europe
Dark Age and Medieval Europe
Weighted-warp looms were commonplace in Europe until the development of more advanced looms around the 10th-11th centuries. Especially in colder climates, where a large floor loom would take up too much valuable floor space, the more primitive looms remained in use until the 20th Century to produce "homespun" cloth for individual family needs. The primary material woven in most of Europe was wool, though linen was also common, and imported silk thread was occasionally made into cloth. Both men and women were weavers, though the task often fell to the wife of a farming household. Fabric width was limited to the reach of the weaver, but was sufficient for the tunic-style garments worn in much of Europe at the time. A plain weave or twill was common, since professional weavers with skills to produce better fabrics were rare.

Weaving was a strictly local enterprise until later in the period, when larger weaving operations sprung up in places like Brugges, in Flanders. Within this setting, master weavers could improve their craft and pass skills along to apprentices. As the Middle Ages progressed, significant trade in fine cloth developed, and loom technology improved to allow very thin threads to be woven. Weaver's guilds (and associated craft guilds, like fullers) gained significant political and economic power in some of the bigger weaving cities.

Colonial America
Colonial America was heavily reliant on Great Britain for manufactured goods of all kinds. British policy was to encourage the production of raw materials in colonies. Weaving was not prohibited, but the export of British wool was. As a result many people wove cloth from locally produced fibers in Colonial America.

In Colonial times the colonists mostly used wool, cotton and flax (linen) for weaving, though hemp fiber could be made into serviceable canvas and heavy cloth also. They could get one cotton crop each fall, but until the invention of the cotton gin it was a labor-intensive process to separate the seeds from the cotton fiber. Flax and hemp were harvested in the summer, and the stalks rendered for the long fibers within. Wool could be sheared up to twice yearly, depending on the breed of sheep.

A plain weave was preferred in Colonial times, and the added skill and time required to make more complex weaves kept them from common use in the average household. Sometimes designs were woven into the fabric but most were added after weaving using wood block prints or embroidery.

Industrial Revolution
Main article: Textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution
Before the Industrial Revolution, weaving remained a manual craft, usually undertaken part-time by family craftspeople. Looms might be broad or narrow; broad looms were those too wide for the weaver to pass the shuttle through the shed, so that the weaver needed an assistant (often an apprentice). This ceased to be necessary after John Kay invented the flying shuttle in 1733, which also sped up the process of weaving.

Great Britain
The first attempt to mechanise weaving was the work of Edmund Cartwright from 1785. He built a factory at Doncaster and obtained a series of patents between 1785 and 1792. In 1788, his brother Major John Cartwight built Revolution Mill at Retford (named for the centenary of the Glorious Revolution. In 1791, he licensed his loom to the Grimshaw brothers of Manchester, but their Knott Mill burnt down the following year (possibly a case of arson). Edmund Cartwight was granted a reward of £10,000 by Parliament for his efforts in 1809.[5] However, success in power-weaving also required improvements by others, including H. Horrocks of Stockport. Only during the two decades after about 1805, did power-weaving take hold. Textile manufacture was one of the leading sectors in the British Industrial Revolution, but weaving was a comparatively late sector to be mechanised. The loom became semi- automatic in 1842 with Kenworthy and Bulloughs Lancashire Loom. The various innovations took weaving from a home-based artisan activity (labour intensive and man-powered) to steam driven factories process. A large metal manufacturing industry grew to produce the looms, firms such as Howard & Bullough of Accrington, and Tweedales and Smalley and Platt Brothers. Most cotton weaving took place in weaving sheds, in small towns circling Greater Manchester and worsted weaving in West Yorkshire - men and women with weaving skills emigrated, and took the knowledge to their new homes in New England, in places like Pawtucket and Lowell.

The invention in France of the Jacquard loom, enabled complicated patterned cloths to be woven, by using punched cards to determine which threads of coloured yarn should appear on the upper side of the cloth.

America, 1800-1900
The Jacquard loom attachment was perfected in 1801, and was becoming common in Europe by 1806. It came to the US in the early 1820's, some immigrant weavers bringing jacquard equipment with them, and spread west from New England. At first it was used with traditional human-powered looms. As a practical matter, previous looms were mostly limited to the production of simple geometric patterns. The jacquard allowed individual control of each warp thread, row by row without repeating, so very complex patterns were suddenly feasible. Jacquard woven coverlets (bedspreads) became popular by mid-century, in some cases being custom-woven with the name of the customer embedded in the programmed pattern. Undyed cotton warp was usually combined with dyed wool weft.

Natural dyes were used until just before the American Civil War, when artificial dyes started to come into use.

fabric selection

Selecting the right fabric is very confusing because of the overwhelming and tremendous selections available. As you go over the different types of fabrics, the first thing that catches your attention is the splashy colors. Then you start to gain interest in their textures and weaves. The options are just too many which is why being informed about fabrics is very important to have a sewing project that is successful.

Types Of Fabric According To Its Fiber Content

The fiber content of fabric generally determines how comfortable the fabric it once worn, and how you can properly take care of the garment. Below is a list of the types of fabric with its corresponding fiber content.

Natural Fiber Fabrics - These include cotton, linen, ramie, silk and wool.

Man-Made Fiber Fabrics - Examples are acetate and triacetate, acrylic, nylon, olefin, polyesters, rayon, and spandex.

Leathers And Suede's

Synthetic Suede's

Vinyl's

Furs


Natural Fiber Fabrics

These are made from materials found and grown in nature. The fibers used come from silkworm cocoons, animal coats, leaves, and stems. These types of fabrics are recyclable and are biodegradable. In recycling, fabrics are shredded again to fibers, and re-spun into a coarse yarn before finally weaving or knitting them. The most common recycled fabrics is wool. Additionally, cotton can also be recycled and then created into mattress fillings, wiping cloths, and carpet backings.

Cotton

This is popular for its appearance, versatility, performance, and comforts. Cotton is available in varied fabric weights, patterns, colors, prices, and weaves. Cottons basically come from seedpods of cotton plants. These plants are grown in places with warm climates with enough rainfall. Cotton fibers are carefully put to a boil to vary its length. The longer the length, the more expensive they are.

Hemp

This is produced out of the cannabis Sativa plant. The process of making hemp starts by separating the fibers of the Sativa plant and then weaving it to form yarns and fabrics. The finest hemp fabric is produced in Italy. Hemp appears linen like and wrinkles easily.

Linen

This type of fabric is made from stalks of the flax plant, the strongest among all the vegetable fibers. Linen is two to three times stronger than cotton. Its fibers can range from two to thirty-six inches long. In making linen, the fibers are first spun to form a yarn, which is woven to become a fabric. This fabric comes in a variety of weights.

The lightest is the handkerchief, and the heaviest is the linen suiting. Because of its ability to absorb high amounts of moisture, linen is best for hot and humid climates. The more linen is washed, the more it becomes softer and smoother. The smooth surface of the linen is due to its natural wax content.

Ramie

This is a soft, hairy fiber with almost similar qualities as those of linen. Ramie is frequently blended with some other types of fabrics either man-made or natural. Ramie also has a high luster and comes in a natural white color. Since it is quick absorbent, it is very quick to dry.

Silk

Known as the queen of all Textiles:, silk is a sensuous and luxurious cloth that is made out of cocoons of the silkworm. There are generally two types of silkworms namely: commercial or cultivated, and the wild.

Wool

This is a natural anima fiber that is made from animal coats. The fibers of wool can easily curl which makes it spongy because of the spaces it creates when it curls. Wool is warm to wear during the summer, and cool in the winter. It absorbs moisture and is water repellent, flame resistant, and it resists wrinkling.

Batik

This is a man-made fiber that is either 100% rayon or 100% cotton. Batik is created thru a dyeing process that is based from a wax applied to the fabric.

Batiste And Voile

Batiste is a man-made fabric known for its soft and semi-sheer characteristics. It can be polyester, cotton, or cotton blend. This type of fabric is very lightweight, durable, washable, and comfortable. This is used as under linings, or for heirloom sewing, but this is also ideal for interfacings, lingerie, and blouses. Additionally, voile is similar with batiste, only it is crisper and comes in a great variety of colors.

Choosing the right fabric is indeed overwhelming because of the many options you can consider. Take time to identify which fabric will work well before you finally decide to purchase.