BASICS

TEXTILE
for design professionals

SUSAN WIDAWSKI

ASDP
Westin Wall Centre
Vancouver, British Columbia
October 22, 2016
8:30-11:30 AM & 1:30-4:30 PM

CONTENTS

PART ONE:
Fiber Characteristics
Natural and Manufactured Fibers
Yarns and Sewing Threads
Woven Fabrics
Knitted Fabrics
Textile Dyeing, Printing and Finishing
Textile Care
Textile Laws, Regulations and Trade Agreements
PART TWO:
Fiber Analysis: Woven and Knit Structure
Fiber Identification: Burn Test
Fiber Identification: Solubility
Yarn identification: Yarn Exercise
Fiber Durability: Crocking Test

FIBER ANALYSIS: WOVEN AND KNIT STRUCTURE

To Understand Fiber Strucutre

MATERIALS: Set of swatches, pick glass
EXERCISE:
Examine a woven fiber and determine the following:
1. Face and back sides of the fabric - or if the fabric is reversable. Once observed describe the
face side, or if the fabric appears the same on both sides write, revesable.
2. Yarns per ince for both filling and warp direction.
Next examine a knit swatch and determine the following:
1. Stich Type: plain, purl, or other _________
2. Stiches per inch: wales and courses per inch.
3. Most stretch direction - lenthwise or widthwise.
4. End use.

Wovens
Swatch

Face Side Description

Yarns per Inch

Knits
Swatch

Stitch Type

Stitches per Inch

Stretch Direction

End Use

FIBER IDENTIFICATION: BURN TEST

To Identify Known & Unknown Textiles

MATERIALS: Set of fibers (known and unknown), matches, candle, aluminum foil, pick needle and

worksheet.

EXERCISE:
Remove yarns from the assigned fabrics containing the fibers listed on the worksheet. Using
the tweezers hold a strip of fabric in the flame. Monitor the burning; notice the smell, rate of
burn, how it burns, and type of residue.
Record the results on the worksheet. Repeat this process for the unknown fibers.

Known Fibers
SWATCH

Fiber

Burning/
Melting

Oder

Residue

Other
Info.

Oder

Residue

Other
Info.

Cotton
Rayon
Wool
Silk
Polyester
Acrylic

Unknown Fibers

SWATCH

Fiber

Burning/
Melting

FIBER IDENTIFICATION: SOLUBILITY

To Identify Fibers by Solubility

MATERIALS: Set of swatches, acetone, chlorine bleach, pick glass, glass container (watch glass or small

beaker), thin glass rod, worksheet

EXERCISE:
Fill small glass container with acetone, place fiber into the glass - making sure that it is fully
immersed. Allow fiber to be submerged for 5 minutes at room temperature. Inspect the material and record results; did the fiber resolve? Continue to inspect the glass periodically until the
fiber dissolves.
Fill a second glass with small amount of Chlorine bleach and immerse sample. Wait 20 minutes
and observe any changes that have occured.
Record the results on the worksheet.

Results
Fiber
Acetate
Cotton
Wool
Silk
Acrylic
Nylon
Polyester

Sample Number

Dissovle: Yes or No?

Other Observations

YARN IDENTIFICATION: YARN EXERCISE

To Identify Various Yarn Types

MATERIALS: Set of yarns, pick glass, worksheet
EXERCISE:
Use pick glass to determine yarn characteristics; once known, place yarn in the correlating
space below.

Simple Yarns
Type of Yarn

Yarn Sample

Single
2 - Ply
4 - Ply
Cord

Novelty Yarns
Type of Yarn
Slub
Knot-Spot
Boucle
Corkscrew
Chenille
Metallic

Yarn Sample

FIBER DURABILITY: CROCKING TEST

To Determine a Fabrics Colorfastness

MATERIALS: Set of swatches, pick glass, beaker with water, white cotton cloth at least 12 X 12

and crocking machine.

EXERCISE:
Select fabric swatch and conduct crocking tests outline below - Observe any changes and record the
results as good, fair or poor.
Colorfastness to corckinng (wet and dry)
Colorfastness to perspiration

Colorfastness to Crocking (wet and dry)

A. Place a 2 X 2 piece of dry white cotton cloth on the crocking mechanism and rub for ten
rotations. At home, a tester could use the eraser end of a pencil and rub the cloth ten times back
and forth in a diagonal motion (use the same amount of pressure as if erasing writing from a sheet
of paper).
B. Examine the small rubbed area of the white cloth and rate the colorfastness good, fair, or poor.
Ratings are determined by the amount of color transfered between cloths: good - no color transfer,
fair - minimal color transfer, and poor - noticeable color transfer.
C. Repeat the procedure using another 2 X 2 piece of white cotton cloth - for this test, saturate the
material in water and squeeze out the excess. Observe and record the colorfastness to wet crocking
as good, fair or poor.
Mount the samples (both white clothes and tested fabric) with the ratings.

Colorfastness to Perspiration
Additional Materials: White vinegar, salt, wax paper, and glass beaker.
A. Begin by making the acid perspiration solution: poor one cup of lukewarm water into the
beaker, add one teaspoon of white vinegar and a half teaspoon of salt.
B. Place a 2 X 2 white cotton cloth and a 2 X 2 cloth of your choice in the solution. Remove the
cloths and squeeze out excess liquid. Roll them together with the white cloth on the inside, than
wrap the wax paper around them, twisting the ends of the wax paper to hold it together.
C. Allow the roll to remain overnight at room temperature. The next day, open the roll and allow to
dry completely. Once dry, compare the color change to an untested piece of white cloth and rate the
colorfastness good, fair, or poor.
Mount the samples (both white clothes and tested fabric) with the ratings.

FIBER DURABILITY: CROCKING TEST

Mounted Samples and Ratings of Fiber Colorfastness

Controls:

CONTROL:
UNTESTED
WHITE CLOTH

CONTROL
FABRIC 1

CONTROL
FABRIC 2

Colorfastness to Crocking Dry:

Rating:
1.
TESTED
WHITE CLOTH

TESTED
FABRIC SAMPLE 1

Colorfastness to Crocking Wet:

Rating:
1.
TESTED
WHITE CLOTH

TESTED
FABRIC SAMPLE 1

FIBER DURABILITY: CROCKING TEST

Mounted Samples and Ratings of Fiber Colorfastness

Colorfastness to Crocking Dry:
Rating:
2.
TESTED
WHITE CLOTH

TESTED
FABRIC SAMPLE 2

Colorfastness to Crocking Wet:

Rating:
2.
TESTED
WHITE CLOTH

TESTED
FABRIC SAMPLE 2

CARE LABEL EXERCISE

To Create Appropriate Care Labels that Satisfy Federal Laws

MATERIALS: Set of swatches, worksheet
A permanent label is required by federal law to be attached to apparel showing
appropriate cleaning procedures. The Textile Fiber Products Identification Act (TFPIA)
requires that there also be permanent labels describing fiber content and country of origin.

EXERCISE:
Select a fabric from the swatch kit and identify an appropriate end use, care information, and
include all information required under the TFPIA. Create a company name/RN number and
country of origin.
If the fabric is a blend, assume an appropriate percent fabric content.
Repeat the process for other fibers.

Swatch
Number

Fiber Content

End Use

TFPIA
Information

Care Label
Instructions