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Guide to the Types of Clothing Fabric

While in previous years clothes were mostly made of wool, linen and leather, there are numerous other materials available today. In the textile industry, these blends have the advantage of connecting several positive characteristics of different substances or fibers. For example, a blouse or a shirt made of cotton or rayon, with a touch of acrylic are more elastic and adaptable because of the combination. Here are some of the most common clothing fabrics:

Natural Fabrics

Cashmere - A goat is the supplier for the basis of this material, which is subsequently processed to relatively expensive textiles. Cashmere goats get their name from the region in which they originally live: Kashmir in the Himalayas. They do live on other continents because they are bred for their valuable wool in places like Europe (Scotland), New Zealand and Australia. This is a great natural clothing fabric for scarves, coats, jackets and sweaters.

Cotton - This highly valued fabric for clothing is characterized by its comfort and high durability. Cotton is one of the most important fabrics in clothing and textiles have used cotton since the introduction of the gin. In fact, cotton has been used in clothing for hundreds of years. This is because it has the ability to absorb more than 60% of its weight in the form of liquid without jamming the moisture, but it allows evaporation to occur. Every possible article of clothing you can think of can be made out of these natural clothing fibers.

Corduroy - The basis of this natural material is actually cotton. Jackets, suits and pants are most likely what you would relate to corduroy. The clothing and textiles industry has been tinkering with this material for decades as there are a couple kinds of corduroy: elastic and normal. Elastic has properties consisting of 5% corduroy and 95% cotton while normal is made of a much lesser percentage of cotton.

Synthetic Fabrics

Fleece - This synthetic woolen-type clothing fabric is very flammable and does not stand up against the wind at all. However, its comfort makes up for everything. It is commonly used for jackets, sweatshirts, sweaters or vests. When it comes to clothing fabrics, fleece is one of the most resilient and durable materials on the market. Even when it is under heavy duress it will very show little signs of wear. The clothing textiles industry designed fleece because of its warming properties. People who are looking to throw away their fleece are advised to donate it first. Cleaning this material is easy; hand-washing is preferred.

Polyester - Polyester is one of those clothing fibers that can be 100% or mixed with natural fibers. Substances with a high polyester content are considered to be comfortable. Durability, color fastness, flexibility and dimensional stability are important properties as well, especially when it comes to a high tensile strength of the material. Caring for this synthetic material is easy. It can be machine washed or dry-cleaned.

Lycra - Lycra is a synthetic fiber that is stretchable up to 700% and is very similar to rubber. This similarity refers to the malleability but primarily on the ductility. Substances that are mixed with Lycra spandex, especially in the longitudinal strain, have a lot of stability. Stockings or socks for women are sometimes made with Lycra.

Acrylic - This synthetic fiber is pleasant to touch, mainly due to its wool-like feel. It is soft and will not scratch the skin. This is due to the low conductivity of moisture, which gives a pleasant effect on the ease of maintenance of the material, but is less comfortable when used as clothing material. Therefore, when it is used as a fabric for clothing, it is usually with a mixture of different proportions of natural fibers. Caring for acrylic is very easy; using a washing machine and following directions on the tag will suffice.

Satin - Satin is the result of a particular method of weaving of certain fibers. It is most commonly the processing of polyester to satin, silk and viscose is also used. Various properties of the fibers used will also ensure that there are various qualities in the satin. From soft flowing to a severe and almost stiff acting substance, there are almost all variations. Whether a satin garment feels nice or not will depend on the base material used. Satin is one of those clothing textiles that must be cared for properly or it will diminish quickly. Hand-washing or using the delicate wash of your washer is the best.

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