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1. Fiber Production & Blending

Most of you are at least generally familiar with the source and production of natural fibers.

Therefore, the primary focus of this section is on the production of manufactured fibers.

A discussion is also presented concerning the blending of both manufactured and natural

fibers.

It should be kept in mind that the process for developing each manufactured fiber has beencarefully selected to produce a fiber with specific characteristics important to its use in

fabrications for apparel, home fashion and other textile products .

2. Distinction Between Cellulosic and Non-Cellulosic Fibers

egarding the production of manufactured fibers, a distinction should be made between

cellulosic and non!cellulosic fibers.

"our manufactured fibers, rayon, acetate, triacetate and lyocell, are cellulosic fibers. This

means that one of the components used in their production is natural cellulose.

#ellulose is wood pulp, generally obtained from trees.

All of the remaining manufactured fibers are non!cellulosic, which means they are entirely

chemically!based.

3. Production Chart for Acetate

To illustrate how man!made fibers are produced, below is a chart showing the production

process for acetate fiber.

$eep in mind that most manufactured fibers go through similar processes in their

development. The production steps include%

A chemical process, shown on the left side of the chart, which prepares and combines the

components used.

A spinning process, shown on the right, which produces the fiber.

A twisting process, which twists the fiber into yarn.

The twisted yarn is then packaged and sent to the textile mills to be either woven or knitted

into fabric.

. !"inning Process - #he !"inneret

&efore being formed into fibers, the fiber!producing substance for all manufactured fibers is

in a thick li'uid state.

In the spinning process this li'uid is forced through a spinneret, which resembles a large

shower head.

A spinneret can have from one to literally hundreds of tiny holes. The si(e of the holes varies

according to the si(e and type of the fiber being produced.

)nlike natural fibers, manufactured fibers can be extruded in different thicknesses.

This is called denier. *enier is a term you may have heard, and essentially relates to the

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fineness of the fiber filament.

"or example, a twelve +-!denier monofilament is commonly used in sheer pantyhose, and a

circular double!knit is about /0!denier.

$. Fila%ent Fiber

As the thick li'uid is forced through the spinneret, what comes out on the other side is a

stringy li'uid called filament.This stringy li'uid is similar to airplane glue, which is a li'uid acetate product.

1hen the filament dries or solidifies, it forms what is called a continuous filament fiber.

2trands of continuous filament fibers are then twisted together to form a continuous filament

yarn, which is then woven or knit into fabric.

. !ta"le Fibers and Blending

The long continuous filament fibers can3t be used for blending because they3re too long and

too difficult to handle. Also, natural fibers, such as wool and cotton, with which many

manufactured fibers are blended, are very short.

Therefore, before blending, man!made fibers are first cut into short fibers, called staple fibers.

The staple fibers can more easily be twisted with the shorter natural fibers, or with staple

fibers of another manufactured fiber.

2taple fibers are created by extruding many continuous filaments of specific denier from the

spinneret and collecting them in a large bundle called a 4tow4.

A tow may contain over a million continuous filaments.

The tow bundle is then crimped, in much the same way a curling iron is used to crimp a

woman3s hair, and is then mechanically cut into staple fibers, usually ranging in length from

to 5!6- inches, depending how they are to be used.

'. Pur"oses of Blending

&lending of different fibers is done to enhance the performance and improve the aesthetic

'ualities of fabric.

"ibers are selected and blended in certain proportions so the fabric will retain the best

characteristics of each fiber.

&lending can be done with either natural or manufactured fibers, but is usually done usingvarious combinations of manufactured fibers or manufactured and natural fibers.

"or example, polyester is the most blended manufactured fiber.

7olyester fiber is strong, resists shrinkage, stretching and wrinkles, is abrasion resistent and is

easily washable.

&lends of 80 to 589 polyester with cotton provides a minimum care fabric used in a variety

of shirts, slacks, dresses, blouses, sportswear and many home fashion items A 80680

polyester6acrylic blend is used for slacks, sportswear and dresses.

And, blends of polyester +/8 to 889 and worsted wool creates a fabric which retains the

beautiful drape and feel of 009 wool, while the polyester adds durability and resistance to

wrinkles.