Lesson No.1 Fibres and Fabrics: Fibre

Lesson No.
1 Fibres and Fabrics

Fabric vs Fibre

Fabric and fibre are words that are commonly heard in connection with textiles or clothes. We
use the word fabric to refer to the material or ingredient used in making the fabric. There is
another word fibre that is used to refer to the material of the dress or the cloth that makes the
situation very confusing. There are people who cannot make out whether it is fabric or fibre
that they should use to describe the textile or the cloth. This module attempts to highlight the
differences between fabric and fibre to enable readers to know the right word to use when
talking about textiles.
Fibre
To begin with, any cloth or textile is a result of fibers of a substance woven in a pattern. Fibers
are strands of materials that are spun together to make yarn. This yarn is the basic material
used for manufacture of cloth or textile. For example, mankind has been making use of cotton
since time immemorial to make clothes. Cotton balls are obtained from the cotton plant and
turned into strands that can be woven to be finally converted into clothes or textile. There are
many sources of fibre but for the purpose of clothing natural plant and animal sources are
preferred for comfort and safety. Wool from animals is another natural fibre that has been used
for thousands of years to make warm garments to provide protection during winters.
Fabric
What is this dress made up of, satin or silk? This is a statement that sums up to describe the
meaning of the word fabric. Fabric is the end result of a process called weaving that makes use
of fibre as the ingredient. You know that the undergarment you wear is made up of cotton. In
this case, both the fabric as well as fibre is cotton. When a fibre is taken and weaving is
performed on it, fabric is what is created. To be sure, what we seen in retail shops selling dress
materials or textiles are fabrics. When we decide to change the curtains of our home, what we
finalize in upholstery shops is fabrics that are finally made into curtains. Similarly, when a
person is so out of shape that he does not get readymade trouser or shirt to dress up, he has to
make do with fabrics that are tailored to stitch shirt and jeans for him. The individual has lots of
options in front of him when it comes to choosing fabrics as he can try cotton, silk, terrycot,
polyester, and so on.
What is the difference between Fabric and Fibre?

Fibre is the material or the ingredient that goes into making fabric. Thus cotton fiber is used to
make cotton fabric. The process of converting a fibre into a fabric can be weaving or knitting.
For example, wool fibre can be converted into woolen fabrics by making use of weaving to
manufacture woolen coats and trousers or it can be used to be converted into sweaters and
pullovers through the process of knitting. Fabric is the finished product that we see being sold
in textile and dress material shops as well as upholstery shops. On the other hand, fibre is
obtained from natural sources such as plants and animals or it could be synthetic, having been
made in factories
FIBER (YARN) TO FABRIC

There are many ways by which fabrics are made from yarns. The two main processes are
weaving and knitting.
Weaving is made up of two sets of yarns arranged together. The process of arranging two sets
of yarns together to make a fabric is called weaving. Let us try to weave some paper strips. Take
two sheets of paper of different colours. Cut square pieces of length and width equal to 30 cm
from each sheet. Now, fold both the sheets into half. On one sheet draw lines as shown in the
Fig 3.12 (a) and on the other as shown in Fig.3.12 (b). Cut both the sheets along the dotted lines
and then unfold. Weave the strips one by one through the cuts in the sheet of paper as shown
in Fig.3.12 (c). Fig. 3.12 (d) shows the pattern after weaving all the strips.
Figure 3.12 (a) Figure 3.12 (b) Figure 3.12 (c)
Fig. 3.12 Weaving with paper strips
In a similar manner, two sets of yarn are woven to make a fabric.

The yarns are much thinner than our paper strips, of course!
Weaving of fabric is done on looms (Fig. 3.13). The looms are either
hand operated or power operated.
Knitting Have you noticed how sweaters are knitted? In knitting, a

single yarn is
used to make a piece of fabric (Fig. 3.14). Have you ever pulled the
yarn from a torn pair of socks? What happens? A single yarn gets pulled out
continuously as the fabric gets unraveled. Socks and many other clothing items are made of knitted fabrics. Knitting
is done by hand and also on machines.
Weaving and knitting are used for making different kinds of fabric. These fabrics are used for a variety of clothing
items.
Application (Create info.pic through identifying the yarns of a

fabric)
 In this task, you are required to identify the yarns of a fabric.
 Take a picture of your output and indicate your observation below the picture.
 Follow this steps:

Pull out six to eight yarns from the fabric.
Hold one end of the yarn with a tong and bring the other end over the flame of a candle.
Observe carefully. Do the yarns shrink away from the flame? Do the yarns melt or burn? What
type of odor is given off?
Note down your observations. If these are cotton yarns, they burn but do not shrink or melt. The
burning yarn gives an odor similar to burning paper. The silk yarn shrinks away from the flame
and burns but does not melt. It has the odor of charred meat. The wool yarn also shrinks and
burns but does not melt. It has a strong odor of burning hair. The synthetic yarns shrink and
burn. They also melt and give out an odor similar to burning plastics.

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Lesson No.

1 Fibres and Fabrics

What is the difference between Fabric and Fibre?

FIBER (YARN) TO FABRIC

Figure 3.12 (a) Figure 3.12 (b) Figure 3.12 (c)

Fig. 3.12 Weaving with paper strips

In a similar manner, two sets of yarn are woven to make a fabric.

Knitting Have you noticed how sweaters are knitted? In knitting, a

Application (Create info.pic through identifying the yarns of a

 In this task, you are required to identify the yarns of a fabric.

 Follow this steps:

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