A Closer Look at What You Are Wearing

2012 Super STEM FestivalCalifornia State University San Marcos

Flax/LinenThe oldest fabric ever found is dated at 34,000 years old. It was found in the Republic of Georgia, and it appears to have been dyed.

The material is flax.

formystudentsfromme.blogspot.com

Flax, Jute, and Hemp (bast) fibers come from the phloem of plants – stronger than cotton. Often used for ropes, paper, burlap, etc.

Flax-based material = LINENMade from a molecule called CELLULOSE.

http://www.worldofmolecules.com/materials/cotton.htm

CottonCellulose from

the seed coat of the cotton plant.

Solvents and mild bases are used to remove unwanted materials and the cotton fiber is unwound and spun into thread.

rawrdenim.com

The Look and Feel… and Technology of Cotton

Today’s technological advances with cotton are all about genetic modification to add pest resistance.

80% less pesticide used73% of US cotton crops

today

Separating the cotton from the seed was painstaking work until the invention of the cotton gin by Eli Whitney in 1793. Versions of the cotton gin are still used today.

WoolWool fibers are made of

animal hair, principally from sheep. Each hair is a complex structure made up of layers of protein molecules, called KERATIN. Cloth made from wool has excellent insulating properties and resists wrinkling. Wool fibers can be stretched, dyed, and woven.

WoolFor centuries, sheep have been

bred for their wool-bearing qualities. Production of woolen fabrics is a highly technical process. In its simplest form, sheep are sheared and the wool sorted and cleaned, then the wool is carded to straighten the fibers, spun into thin cords, and woven into fabrics.

Each step in this process has been refined to provide a high-quality product of vast commercial importance.

http://www.chemistryexplained.com/Fe-Ge/Fibers.html#ixzz1p1tKJaDb

Cashmere

Cashmere is weaker than wool but is luxurious with an extraordinary soft, and resilient fibre that is receptive to dyes. This expensive fibre is combed once a year from the bellies of the cashmere goat. These goats live mostly in the mountains of Tibet, Nepal and Pakistan.

Cashmere originally came to be known to the larger world through the beautiful handmade shawls produced in Kashmir, India beginning in the fifteenth century.

telegraph.co.uk

Silk

Silk, the common name of -Keratin, is the solidified fluid excreted by a number of insects and spiders, the most valuable being the exudent of the silkworm, the caterpillar of the silk moth. It is a polypeptide made largely from glycine, alanine, and smaller amounts of other amino acids.

Silk

First prepared in ancient China, silk fabric was expensive, luxurious, and soft; its popularity led to the development of a trade route known as the Silk Road leading from Asia to Europe. Early American entrepreneurs such as Benjamin Franklin promoted the silk industry in the colonies. faculty.ucc.edu

Velvet: Same molecules, different weaveVelvet can be made from any other

type of thread. It is woven together with 2 thicknesses of thread, then cut apart to create the soft pile.

Silk velvet was the original, but cotton velvet is more popular due to expense. Silk velvet can cost over $100/yd!

Rayon: Our 1st Synthetic FabricMade from wood or cotton pulp and was first

known as artificial silk. The Swiss chemist, Georges Audemars invented

the first crude artificial silk around 1855, by dipping a needle into liquid mulberry bark pulp and gummy rubber to make threads. The method was too slow to be practical.

In 1884, a French chemist, Hilaire de Charbonnet, Comte de Chardonnay, patented an artificial silk that was a nitrocellulose-based fabric known as Chardonnay silk." Pretty but very flammable, it was removed from the market.

Rayon: Our 1st Synthetic FabricIn 1894, British inventors, Charles Cross, Edward

Bevan, and Clayton Beadle, patented a safe a practical method of making artificial silk that came to be known as viscose rayon. Avtex Fibers Incorporated first commercially produced artificial silk or rayon in 1910 in the United States. The term "rayon" was first used in 1924.

Rayon is neither natural nor all man-made – it involves breaking cotton fiber or wood pulp down and then reconstituting the product as thread. “Acetate” is a type of rayon made from cellulose acetate.

http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blfabric.htm

Neoprene

DuPont™ Neoprene polychloroprene is an extremely versatile synthetic rubber with more than 75 years of proven performance in a broad industry spectrum. It was originally developed as an oil-resistant substitute for natural rubber.

Nylon 6,6 chemtube3d.com

Nylon 6,6

By 1934, Wallace Carothers had made significant steps toward creating a synthetic silk by combining the chemicals amine, hexamethylene diamine and adipic acid to create a new fiber formed by the polymerizing process and known as a condensation reaction. In a condensation reaction, individual molecules join with water as a byproduct.

Nylon 6,6

Introduced at the World’s Fair in 1939, DuPont sold 64 million pairs of stockings in the first year on the market. That same year, nylon appeared in the movie, The Wizard of Oz, where it was used to create the tornado that carried Dorothy to the Emerald City.

inventors.about.com/od/nstartinventions/a/nylon.htm

Dacron (Polyester)Dacron Polyester is a very versatile fiber. Generally low pricedA wide range of fiber sizes (deniers) for fabric

development.Quick-drying and mildew resistant.Good abrasion resistance.More resistant to stretching and shrinking than nylon.Relatively hydrophobic, more so than nylon fabrics.Excellent retention of properties at very low temp

conditions.Resistant to degradation in acidic environments (pH<7.0).Significant strength degradation over time with extended

UV exposure.

Dacron (Polyester)

Repeated condensation reactions produce polyethyleneterephthalate (PETE)

MicrofiberVery tiny polyester

fibers can be produced – or nylon or other synthetic materials.

•The strands that make up microfiber fabric measure less than 1 denier, or about half as thick as a strand ofsilk. Some microfiber fabrics use strands that are only 10 microns in diameter, or about one-tenth as thick as a human hair.•Microfiber fabric is lightweight, highly absorbent and does not stain or wrinkle easily. Microfiber fabrics that are electrostatically charged can pick up small particles, such as dust, without the use of cleaning solvents, and leave no lint behind.•Microfiber fabrics should be washed in detergent that is free of oils, soaps and fabric softeners, since the fabric can soak up these additives, causing it to retain odors.

http://www.ehow.com/facts_5024528_microfiber-fabric.html#ixzz1p2J814CV

Spandex

Spandex or elastane is a synthetic fiber known for its exceptional elasticity. It is strong, but less durable than its major non-synthetic competitor, natural Latex. It is a polyurethane-polyurea(means ester and amide) copolymer that was developed in 1959.

Name comes from an anagram of EXPANDS.

Nomex

Nomex® fiber is a member of the aramid family of fibers, and is similar in appearance to nylon. Fabrics woven of Nomex® fibers are used in applications requiring good textile properties, good dimensional stability and excellent heat resistance. They are used in coated industrial fabrics, aerospace fabrics, electrical insulation, hot-gas filter bags, protective clothing, and high temperature hoses.

Kevlar

Fabrics woven of Kevlar® aramid fiber combine very high strenth-to-weight properties with excellent abrasion and cut resistance.

Used in weave in ballistic-resistant vests, as films in sailcloths, and as a basis for many carbon-fiber materials

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