Fiber Classification
Fiber is a hairlike strand of material, a substance that is extremely long in relationship to its width. Fibers are flexible and may be spun into yarn and made into fabrics through textile processes like spinning, weaving, and felting.
Fibers naturally occur in plants and animals. More than half of the fibers produced are natural fibers. Natural fibers can be cellulose, derived from plants, or protein, derived from animals. Some examples of natural fibers are cotton, linen, flax (cellulose) and hair, fur, silk and wool (protein.)
Other fibers are manufactured. Some are made in a laboratory from naturally derived materials like rayon and many are completely produced through the magic of chemistry. For the purpose of this class, we will refer to manufactured fibers as synthetic fibers. The most widely used kinds of synthetic fibers are nylon, polyester, acrylic and olefin.
Fiber identification is possible through a burn test. Check out this video for a safe look at what this process is like.
Here are a few links to some of the other videos we watched during the fiber classification lecture:
from fiber to fabric: vintage video from the 40s showing how a variety of fibers are harvested and processed to make fibers, including a great introduction to how the weaving process works
cast nylon video, also vintage, talking about nylon and its historical importance and general prevalence in our daily lives
historic rope walk video we watched
how to make rope by hand video (the more complex version that kind of feels like braiding, doing both twisting steps simultaneously)
images from top:
Fiber Classification Infographic
Wool infographic showing animal sources and then a diagram of how wool is processed once sheered from the animals body.
Image of historical rope making from the depths of the internet
another historical image, this time of a Salish woman spinning wool from in the Pacific Northwest
Wallace Carothers, the inventor of nylon.
pic of some of the plied samples you made in class
This is 👍🏼 great













