TEXTILE

any filament, fibre, or yarn that can be made into fabric or cloth, and the resulting material itself. The wordderived from the Latin textilis and the French texere, meaning to weaveoriginally referred only to woven fabrics but now includes knitted, bonded, felted, and tufted fabrics as well. Textiles are believed to date from prehistoric times. Weaving can be traced to about 5000 BC, and cotton, silk, and flex were commonly produced by about 3000 BC. Although the textile industry grew and flourishedespecially during the Middle Agesnot until the Industrial Revolution did it undergo remarkable expansion. Such inventions as John Kay's flying shuttle (1733) and the mechanical spinners developed by Sir Richard Arkwright (1769) and Samuel Crompton (1779) helped to transform the industry into a significant element of international trade and national economy. The scientific and technological advances of the 19th and 20th centuries improved manufacturing elements and introduced man-made fabrics. The fundamental raw materials used in textile production are fibres, either those obtained from natural sources, such as wool from sheep, or those produced from chemical substances. They are evaluated for strength, fineness, length, elasticity, flexibility, absorption, reaction to heat and light, and ability to withstand laundering or dry-cleaning. Before they are converted into yarn, natural fibres are treated to remove impurities or undesirable constituents (such as wool fat), and some are blended to obtain uniform length, diameter, density, and moisture content. Another preparatory process is carding, by which a thin sheet of fibres is condensed to form a thick, continuous, untwisted strand called sliver. The spinning process draws out and twists fibres or slivers into a continuous yarn or thread. This product is then classified by any of several methods. One method is based on the number of strands and describes a yarn as one-ply, plied, or cord. One-ply yarns can be single strands composed of fibres twisted together; filaments with or without twist; narrow strips of material; or single, thick, man-made filaments (monofilaments). Plied yarns are composed of two or more yarns twisted into a single strand, and cord is formed by twisting plied yarns together. Among other systems of classification are those based on the use for which a yarn is intended or on the relationship of its length to its weight. The most common method for converting yarn into fabric is by weaving, that is, by the interlacing of threads or yarns into a bound system. Woven fabrics are usually composed of lengthwise threads called warp, and shorter, widthwise threads called weft. The two are interwoven on a device known as a loom, which may have been used as early as the 5th century BC. The three basic weaves are plain, twill, and satin. Plain weave, or tabby, is the most common type and produces a uniform pattern of warp and weft. Twill produces a weave in which the weft crosses over two warp yarns (or another such non-uniform sequence), producing a longer weft weave and a diagonal line pattern. Satin weaves superficially resemble twills, but the weft is longer and the fabric produced is smooth-faced, without a strong diagonal line. There are also various specialized weaves that produce reversible, velvet, corduroy, brocaded, and gauze fabrics. Fabric is also produced by means of knitting, the interlocking of a series of loops from one or more yarns. Hand knitting, an age-old practice, is still a highly regarded craft. The role of knitting in the textile industry was greatly expanded by the introduction of the knitting machine. Other techniques for the production of fabric include lace-making, net-making, braiding, and processes that yield nonwoven materials. In the latter operation, known as felting, fibres are interlocked or matted in a random fashion by the application of heat, moisture, or mechanical action. Fibres can also be bonded by application of an adhesive. Once completed, the fabric is subject to various mechanical and chemical processes known collectively as finishing. Preliminary finishing treatments sometimes include several operations; removal of defects or foreign matter, bleaching, and moisture removal are common. Often treatments such as napping, shearing, pressing, brushing, and polishing are used to improve the fabric's appearance and enhance its tactile qualities. There are also treatments that control shrinkage, add permanent pleating, enable the shedding of wrinkles after washing (for so-called wash-and-wear clothes), create resistance to soiling and static electricity, and repel water, moths, or other potentially harmful agents. Other steps in textile production include printing (the imposition of a decorative pattern) or the application of a pigment or dye. In addition to widespread industrial use, textiles are used for wearing apparel, household linens and bedding, upholstery, draperies and curtains, wall coverings, rugs and carpets, and bookbindings. any filament, fibre, or yarn that can be made into fabric or cloth, and the resulting material itself. The term is derived from the Latin textilis and the French texere, meaning to weave, and it originally referred only to woven fabrics. It has, however, come to include fabrics produced by other methods. Thus, threads, cords, ropes, braids, lace, embroidery, nets, and fabrics made by weaving, knitting, bonding, felting, or tufting are textiles. Some definitions of the term textile would also include those products obtained by the papermaking principle that have many of the properties associated with conventional fabrics. This article surveys the development of textiles and the history and development of the textile industry. It treats in some detail the processes involved in the conversion of fibres to yarn, fabric construction, finishing operations applied to textiles, uses of textile materials, and the relationship between the producer and the consumer. Information about specific natural and synthetic textile fibres such as wool, mohair, nylon, and polyester are treated in separate articles. Additional reading Works of general interest include George E. Linton, Applied Basic Textiles (1966); Evelyn E. Stout, Introduction to Textiles, 3rd ed. (1970); Isabel B. Wingate and June F. Mohler, Textile Fabrics and Their Selection, 8th ed. (1984); and Sara J. Kadolph et al., Textiles, 7th ed. (1993). Helpful dictionaries of the textile industry are George E. Linton (ed.), The Modern Textile and Apparel Dictionary, 4th rev., enlarged ed. (1973); Isabel B. Wingate (ed.), Fairchild's Dictionary of Textiles, 6th ed. (1979); M.C. Tubbs and P.N. Daniels (eds.), Textile Terms and Definitions, 9th ed., rev. and enlarged (1991); and Judith Jerde, Encyclopedia of Textiles (1992).Treatments of the history and development of the textile industry are found in Textile Institute (Manchester, England) and Society Of Dyers And Colourists, Review of Textile Progress, 18 vol. (194967); Adle Coulin Weibel, Two Thousand Years of Textiles (1952, reissued 1972); Kax Wilson, A History of Textiles (1979); David J. Jeremy, Transatlantic Industrial Revolution: The Diffusion of Textile Technologies Between Britain and America, 17901830s (1981); and Jennifer Harris (ed.), Textiles, 5,000 Years: An International History and Illustrated Survey (1993). Annette B. Weiner and Jane Schneider (eds.), Cloth and Human Experience (1989), is a collection of essays covering textile history and production in various societies. Late-20th-century developments and legislation are explored in William R. Cline, The Future of World Trade in Textiles and Apparel, rev. ed. (1990); Carl B. Hamilton (ed.), Textiles Trade and the Developing Countries: Eliminating the Multi-fibre Arrangement in the 1990s (1990); Ashoka Mody and David Wheeler, Automation and World Competition: New Technologies, Industrial Location, and Trade (1990); Chlo Colchester, The New Textiles: Trends and Traditions (1991); Saha Dhevan Meyanathan (ed.), Managing Restructuring in the Textile and Garment Subsector: Examples from Asia (1994); and Kitty G. Dickerson, Textiles and Apparel in the Global Economy, 2nd ed. (1995).Textile quality control is discussed in Elliot B. Grover and D.S. Hamby, Handbook of Textile Testing and Quality Control (1960); British Standards Institution, Methods of Test for Textiles, 4th ed. (1974); Society Of Dyers And Colourists, Standard Methods for the Determination of the Colour Fastness of Textiles and Leather, 4th ed. (1978); and Annual Book of ASTM Standards, section 7, Textiles, published by the American Society for Testing and Materials. Specific fibres, their processing, and their characteristics are surveyed in Herbert R. Mauersberger (ed.), Matthews' Textile Fibers, 6th ed. (1954); Jack J. Press (ed.), Man-Made Textile Encyclopedia (1959); H.F. Mark, S.M. Atlas, and E. Cernia (eds.), Man-Made Fibers: Science and Technology, 3 vol. (196768); R.W. Moncrieff, Man-Made Fibres, 6th ed. (1975); and J. Gordon Cook, Handbook of Textile Fibres, 5th ed., 2 vol. (1984).Works treating yarn and fabric production include G.R. Wray (ed.), Modern Yarn Production from Man-Made Fibres (and Their Conversion Into Fabrics) (1960, reissued 1976); V. Duxbury and G.R. Wray (eds.), Modern Developments in Weaving Machinery (1962); Harry Wignall, Knitting (1964); Radko Krcma, Nonwoven Textiles (1967; originally published in Czech, 1962); A.T.C. Robinson and R. Marks, Woven Cloth Construction (1967, reissued 1973); P.R. Lord (ed.), Spinning in the '70s (1970); D.G.B. Thomas, An Introduction to Warp Knitting (1976); P.R. Lord and M.H. Mohamed, Weaving: Conversion of Yarn to Fabric, 2nd ed. (1982); and F. Happey (ed.), Contemporary Textile Engineering (1982).Textile chemistry in preparation and finishing is discussed in Menachem Lewin and Stephen B. Sello (eds.), Handbook of Fiber Science and Technology (1983 ); and John E. Nettles, Handbook of Chemical Specialties: Textile Fiber Processing, Preparation, and Bleaching (1983).Treatments of the dyeing and printing of textiles include Thomas Vickerstaff, The Physical Chemistry of Dyeing, 2nd ed. rev. (1954); A.J. Hall, A Handbook of Textile Dyeing and Printing (1955); Hans Urs Schmidlin, Preparation and Dyeing of Synthetic Fibres (1963; originally published in German, 1958); S.R. Cockett, Dyeing and Printing (1964); L.W.C. Miles, Textile Printing (1971, reissued 1981); C.L. Bird, The Theory and Practice of Wool Dyeing, 4th ed. (1972); Joyce Storey, The Thames and Hudson Manual of Dyes and Fabrics (1978); and E.R. Trotman, Dyeing and Chemical Technology of Textile Fibres, 6th ed. (1984).Periodicals and trade papers concerned with the textile industry include Journal of the Textile Institute (bimonthly); Textile Progress (quarterly); and Textile World (irregular). Charles S. Whewell Edward Noah Abrahart The Editors of the Encyclopdia Britannica