Introduction of Home Textile

Home textile is a branch of technical textile comprising application of textiles in household

purposes. Home textiles are nothing but an internal environment, which deals with internal
spaces and their furnishings. Home textiles are mainly used for their functional and aesthetic
properties which provides us the mood and also gives mental relaxation to the people.

Definition of Home Textile

Home textiles can be defined as the textiles used for home furnishing. It consists of a various
range of functional as well as decorative products used mainly for decorating our houses. The
fabrics are used for home textiles consists of both natural and man-made fibres. Sometimes we
also blend these fibres to make the fabrics stronger. Generally, home textiles are produced by
weaving, knitting, crocheting, knotting, or pressing fibers together.

Different types of Home Textile products

A considerable portion of home furnishings consists of textiles. A number of these furnishings
are typical in households and are made according to certain general methods of construction and
composition. The basic items may be grouped as Sheets and Pillowcases, Blankets, Terry towels,
Table cloths, and carpets and Rugs.
Sheets and Pillowcases
References to sheets and pillowcases are generally related to fabrics woven with a plain weave of
cotton, or more often, cotton/polyester blended yarns. If they have easy care, no-iron properties,
they are likely to be so labeled. It may be noted that sheets and pillowcases are also made to a
laminated extent of linen, silk, acetate, and nylon; the constructions vary from plain to satin
weave or knitted.

Sheets and pillowcases are identified according to types based on thread count: 124, 128, 130,
140, 180, and 200. The higher the count, the closer and more uniform the weave; the more
compact the weave, the greater the resistance to wear.
Sheets and pillowcases are generally labeled. But one can always examine them for quality. By
holding the fabric up to the light, one can determine whether it is firmly, closely and uniformly
woven. It should look smooth. Lengthwise and crosswise threads should be of the same even
thickness, rather than thick or thin in spots. There should be no weak places, knots, or slubs, and
the yarns should run straight and unbroken.
Sheets are made in two types: flat and fitted. Both types are made to fit five typical size mattress:
crib, twin, full or double, queen, and king. Pillowcases are generally produced in sizes to fit
pillows of standard, queen and king size.
Blankets
Blankets are made of various constructions and compositions, which provide different degrees of
warmth, softness, and durability. They are usually woven, but can be knitted or stitch-knitted or
by flocking fibres onto a polyurethane foam base. The yarns may be composed wholly or of
blends of cotton, wool, nylon, acrylic, or polyester.

Blankets may be classified into three basic types: conventional, thermal, and flocked
polyurethane. Their characteristics are somewhat different in appearance, texture, warmth,
durability and care.
Conventional blankets are usually woven with soft-twist yarns, in the filling and higher twist
yarns in the warp. The yarns may be of wool, acrylic, polyester, or blends of these fibres. Blends
containing nylon are also used. The fabric is heavily napped to produce a thick, close, fuzzy

surface. Thermal blankets are either woven in a variation of the plain weave, such as a
honeycomb pattern, or knitted in a manner that produces an open lightweight construction. The
soft-twist yarns may be of cotton, wool, acrylic, polyester, or a blend of any of these fibres. The
fabric is not napped. Flocked polyurethane blankets are composed of polyurethane foam base
covered with fibre flocking, usually nylon, held in position with an acrylic adhesive. They are
very soft, resilient, and sometimes spongy. They tend to have a misty appearance, particularly in
the lighter colors, due to the flocking. They are relatively light in weight.
Terry Towels
The primary function of a terry towel is to absorb moisture from wet skin. It must, however, be
strong enough to withstand the strain of the rubbing and pulling, twisting and tugging of the user,
and of constant laundering. Terry towels are made either of all-cotton, or a combination of cotton
and polyester. While polyester provides increased strength, lighter weight, faster drying after
laundering and less shrinkage, all-cotton towels provide greater absorbency.

One should not purchase towels merely by a brand name because the name identifies only the
manufacturer, not a particular quality of terry towels. A company may manufacture many
different grades and qualities of terry towels under the same brand name.
Terry towels are divided by size into five groups, guest, hand, bath, extra large, and beach.
Tablecloths
Table cloths are generally made of cotton, linen, rayon, polyester, or blends of any combination
of these fibres. They are produced in various ways, designs, and patterns. Among the most
popular are damask and lace constructions. Of the damask, linen is the most expensive and has
set the mode or style frequently imitated with the less costly fibres. Although linen damask
generally requires greater care of laundering and ironing than such easy care finished cloths as
are made from cotton/polyester blends, linen damask tablecloths continue to enjoy a high status
because of their beauty, luxuriousness, and durability.

Carpets and Rugs

Floor coverings have been made from textile fibres for more than five thousand years.
Throughout civilization, rugs and carpets have formed a part of the history and culture of races
and nations. Well chosen rugs and carpets serve as a colorful foundation for the decorative plan
and color scheme of all rooms in the modern home including kitchen, bathrooms, patios and pool
edges, as well as for schools, office buildings, and hospitals. Carpets also serve as heat and sound
insulators. As floor coverings are among the more costly items in a house furnishings budget,
careful consideration must be given to fibre, color, decorative character and design, size and
construction to obtain the best value of any price level.

The term rug and carpet are sometimes used synonymously, but the form or the size in
which these coverings are manufactured differs. Rugs may vary in shape as well as in width and
length. The factors that account for differences in price are the type, quality, and quantity of fibre
used, as well as the amount of twist in the yarn, the number of plies in the yarn, and the basic
method of construction. Machine-made carpets may be tufted, woven, needled or knitted.

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Role of Fabrics in Home Furnishings
Furnishings turn the neutral spaces into personal and very special places. Fabric is
the prime contributor in home furnishing products and thus it must provide the
texture, colour, character, scale and anything that is missing in the architecture.
Fabric has many roles to play, it brings style, reflects one's taste and controls the
mood. Moreover, it is the most flexible and can be easily changed, replaced or
added to. Fabrics increase livability and workability of a small place, reduce noises,
make music and even speech richer and more resonant.
For getting all the advantages of fabric used for home textiles, it must have
properties such as light fastness, resistance to seam slippage, resistance to
staining, pilling and snagging, flame retardancy etc.
Home Furnishings- The Areas of Application
Home textiles find application in upholstery, window textiles, bed linen and other
bed textiles, bathroom textiles, kitchen linen and accessories, table linen and other
table cloths, rugs and carpets etc.

Upholstery fabrics
Upholstery fabrics are used to cushion and cover furniture. There can be fixed
upholstery or loose covers. Fixed upholstery is fastened or glued to the furniture.
Mostly acrylic fabric and velvets are used due to their excellent brightness and
appearance.
Window textiles
Window textiles may include curtains, drapes, blinds etc. This is probably the widest
area of fabric development in home textiles. Mostly cotton, flax, wool, silk, acrylic,
etc. are used for the purpose. Of late flame retardant curtains using modacrylic
fiber, viscose, PVC etc. have also gained popularity. Blinds are opaque window
textiles. Some blinds allow transmission of a little light into the room whereas the
others usually made of cotton fabric, known as black out material, give 100 percent
opacity.
Bed linen and other bed textiles
Bed linen and other bed textiles include bed sheets and pillow cases, bed spreads,
quilt covers, duvet covers, cushions, blankets, mattresses, Bed throws, sofa throws
and many other items. For bedsheets, bedspreads and similar items, acrylic,
viscose, silk and blends are used. For quilted textiles, mainly PET fiber is used. For
blankets wool , acrylic fiber, and acrylic polyester fiber blends are used extensively.

Bathroom textile
Bathroom textiles include shower curtains, bath robes, bath mats, bath rugs, towels
etc. Shower Curtains need to be water proof and so plastic coated textiles either of
woven or non woven fabrics are in great demand.
Table linen and other table cloths
Table linen and other table cloths include table mats, napkins, placemats, chair
covers, chair mats and pads, table runners, coasters etc. For table cloths, cotton,
linen, polyester etc. are extensively used. Jute, leather, plastic, silk satin are also
used widely for other items like placemats, chair mats, table runners etc.
Rugs and carpets
Rugs and carpets are very important part of floor covering which has gained
worldwide popularity. Apart from traditional woolen and silk carpets, other
categories like coir carpets, hand knotted and jute carpets have a good market
share.
Kitchen linen and accessories
Kitchen linen and accessories include aprons, mittens, dishcloths, kitchen towels
etc. Cotton, leather, plastic, all are used for making kitchen wear aprons. Flame
retardant kitchen wears are also in great demand these days.
x
Fabrics used in Home furnishings
Home Furnishing Fabrics or Home Textiles refer to the textiles used
for manufacturing home furnishings. It has an extensive range of
functional as well as decorative products. It consists of both, natural as well as manmade fabrics. Sometimes, these fabrics are made stronger and more durable
through blending. The textile fabrics most commonly used for home furnishing may
be listed as Silk, Cotton, Jute, Rayon, Wool, Nylon, Polyester, Satin, Organza,
Organdy

Need of textiles at home?

Fabric affords sun and light control.

Fabric prevents interior colour from fading.

Fabric prevents deterioration through sunlight.

Protects eyes from glare.

Protection from night blackness at evening and too-early sun in the morning.

It can make summer room cooler and reduce air-conditioning load.

Increase livability and workability of small space.

It also reduces noise; make music even speech richer and more resonant.

III. APPLICATION OF HOME TEXTILES:

Textiles for seating

Upholstery fabrics for contract use

Window textile

Sun filters

Semi sheer

Reflective textile

Curtain fabrics and drapes

Blinds

Bed textiles

Sheet and pillowcases

Quilted textiles

Blankets

Bed spreads

Mattress covers (Ticking)

Fabrics for wall coverings

Bathroom textiles

Shower curtains

Terry towels

Table textile

Tablecloth

Tablemats

Textile art (wall hangings)

SELECTION OF FIBER FOR HOME TEXTILES:

End use, cost factor, durability, comfort and aesthetic properties are some of key factors to be

considered while selecting the fibres for making home textiles. In order to achieve the above, the
following measurable properties of fibres are to be balanced.

Tensile strength - Tenacity at break, Modulus and Elasticity.

Moisture Absorption / Content properties.

Optical behaviors like reflection / absorption of light and shape of fibre.

Eco friendliness

Electrical and thermal characteristics such as fibre ability to dissipate static charge.

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TABLE: ADVANTAGES OF CHOOSING A FIBER TYPE

Fibre Type

Advantages

Cotton /
Linen

Comfort
Aesthetic
Comfort

Moisture & Thermal Character.

Low Luster & Surface Irregularity.
Warmth.

Cost
Comfort

Lower than Cotton.

High Moisture Absorption / Retention
Capacity.
Longer Durability, High Strength & Tough.
Low Moisture Absorption Capacity, Low
Thermo Plasticity.

Wool
Viscose /
Polynosic/
Modal
Polyester/Ac
rylic
Polyamide/
Polypropyle
ne

Cost
Comfort

Sometimes, modified fibres are also blended to achieve the desired end products and other
factors like cost reduction and special coloring effects. The most common blends for home
textiles are polyester / cellulosic, polyester/acrylic in the proportion 50:50 are 67:33 Blends with

more than 50% fibre are termed ad richer fabric of that fibre; Cotton-rich, Polyester-rich, etc.

1.BED SHEET
Raw Material: Cotton, Linen, P / C. It can be made up of the following cloths:

CLOTH
Cambric
Dimity

RAW
MATERIA
L
Cotton or
Wool
Cotton

WEAVE
Plain
Plain with Cross / Length wise and
Cross
Bar Effect

Dotted
Swiss

Cotton

Plain(Ground With Swivel , Lappet)

Gingham
Corduroy

Cotton
Cotton,
Rayon
Cotton,
Linen,
Rayon

Plain ( Stripe, check Plaids )

Filling Pile with Plain or Twill Back.

Crettone

Plain

or Twill.

Denim

Cotton

Twill, Right
Handed

Organd

Cotton

Plisse

Cotton,
Rayon
Cotton,
Rayon
Cotton,
Rayon

Sateen
Seersuck
er

L2/1, L3/1
Plain, Swivel, lappet or Flocked Design
Plain
Sateen
Plain

Consumer Requirements / Characteristics:

Soft, Smooth

Warm Handle

Easy Care Properties

Hard Wearing

Good Dimensional Stability

Bed Sheet
Finishing:

Anti Shrink Finish

Softening

Anti Microbial Finish

Crease Recovery Finish

with Slack
Tension

Anti Pilling finish

2.PILLOWS
Raw Material:

Feathers of Goose, Rabbit, Down, Duck, etc. (In Cold Countries)

Polyester, Cotton (In Hot Countries)

It can be made up of the following Cloths:

CLOTH

RAW MATERIAL

WEAVE

Crettone

Cotton, Linen,

Plain, Twill weaves

Tiking

Cotton, Rayon

Twill (L2, L3) Satin, Dobby &

Jacquard

Consumer Requirements / Characteristics:

Softer & Lighter

Shape Retention

Warmth / Coolness

Pillows
Finishing:

Softening

Anti Microbial Finish

Anti Shrink Finish

Fire Retardant Finish

3.TOWELS:
Raw Material: Cotton, Viscose, Modal. It can be made up of the following cloths:
CLOTH
RAW MATERIAL
WEAVE USED
Gingham

Cotton

Terrycloth

Cotton, Linen,

Plain ( Stripes, Checks,

Plaids)
Terry ( 3pick , 4 pick, 5
pick )

Consumer Requirements / Characteristics:

Absorb Water

Softer Touch

Easy Care

Towels
Finishing:

Softening

Anti Microbial .

Anti Odour Finish

4. BLANKETS & QUILTS

Raw material: Woolen, Cotton, P/C, Acrylic.

CLOTH
Calico
Chinchilla
Flannelette

RAW
MATERIA
L
Cotton
Cotton, Wool
Cotton

WEAVE
Plain
Sateen, Twill with Extra Filling
Plain ; Twill

Consumer Requirements / Characteristics:

Warmth & Soft and Smooth

Heavy dense

Hard Wearing

Blankets and Quits

Finishing:

Fire Retardant finishing

Softening

Anti - Microbial

5.TABLE CLOTH
Raw Material: Cotton, Polyester, P/V, P/C

CLOTH
Brocade
Monks Cloth
Chenille

RAW MATERIAL
Cotton (Ground), Viscose
(Pattern)
Wool, Cotton, Linen,
Silk, Rayon
Cotton

WEAVE
Jacquard, Dobby
4 * 4 Basket Weave
Plain

Consumer Requirements / Characteristics:

Absorb Moisture

Stain Repellent

Easy wash care

Hard wearing

Table cloth
Finishing:

Fire Retardant finish

Stain Repellent finish

Anti Shrinkage finish

6.FURNISHING FABRICS
Raw Materials: Cotton, Polyester, Silk, P/C.

CLOTH
Brocade
Chenille
Organd
Lawn
Gingham

RAW MATERIAL
Cotton (Ground),
Viscose (Pattern)
Cotton
Cotton
Cotton
Cotton

Point de sprit
Voile

Cotton, Silk
Cotton, wool

WEAVE
Jacquard, Dobby
Plain
Plain with swivel, lappet
Plain
Plain(Stripes, Checks,
Plaids)
Leno, Gauze
Plain loosely woven

Consumer Requirements / Characteristics:

Good Colour Combination

Fastness towards Light

Sufficient Weight

Furnishing fabric
Finishing:

Fire Retardant finishes

Anti shrink treatment

7.UPHOLSTERY FABRICS
Raw Materials: Cotton, Rayon, Polypropylene, Acrylic

CLOTH
Corduroy
Denim
Tiking

RAW MATERIAL
Cotton, Rayon
Cotton
Cotton

Monks
Cloth
Chenille

Wool, Cotton, Linen,

Silk, Rayon
Cotton

WEAVE
Pile with Plain or Twill
Twill RH or L2/1,L3/1
Twill L2/1,L3/1,Satin,
Jacquard, Dobby
4 * 4 Basket Weave
Plain

Consumer Requirements / Characteristics:

Soft

Comfort

Hard Wearing

Stain Repellent finish

Upholstery fabric
Finishing:

Fire Retardant finish

Stain Repellent finish

8.CUSHION COVERS
Raw Material: Cotton, Polyester, P / C, other Synthetics.
Consumer Requirements / Characteristics:

Soft

Comfort

Stain Repellent

Cushion covers
Finishing:

Stain Repellent finish

Fire Retardant finish

9.Window textiles
Raw material used: Polyester, flax, viscose, cotton, silk, acetate, jute, hemp, glass,
and modacrilics

Requirements:

Sun filters

Easy washing (similar washing reaction for all dyes used)

Printed (natural designs)

Solid colour dyeing

Reflective textiles (Reduce solar gain prevent sun glare)

10.Curtain fabrics
Requirements:

Drape flame retardency

Excellent light fastness

Opacity

Waterproof

Resistance to crease

Good aesthetic property

11. Wall covering

They are taking over market from paints.

Raw material used:

Jute (original), flax, cotton, polyurethane foam liner, laminated non-wovens
Requirements:

Low flammability

Good sound absorber

Soil release

Excellent light fastness

Absorbing sound waves within the material is best achieve by material that are fibrous or
cellular by nature such as mineral fiber and glass wool

12. Bathroom textiles

Terry towels (pile fabrics)

Raw material used: Cotton, polyester, flax, acrylic

Bathroom textiles
Requirements:

Soft feel

Absorbent

13.Shower curtains:
Requirements

Water proof

Special treatments: These are plastic coated (Interlined with HDPE, LDPE)

14.Table textiles
Raw material used: Cotton, linen, polyester blends, flax) PAN

Requirements:

Soft handle

Stain proof

Drape properties

Excellent wash-n-wear

Durability

Good strength

Dimensional stability

Wrinkle resistant

Shape recovery

Heat insulation property

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