FABRIC KNOWLEDGE FOR

MERCHANDISERS

Presentation On

Major Cellulose Fibers

By:
Arpit Gandhi
Ankit Mittal
Sneha Manohar
 CELLULOSE
Cellulose is an organic compound with the
formula (C6H10O5)n.

• Cellulose is the structural component of the

primary cell wall of green plants.
• Cellulose was discovered in 1838 by the
French chemist Anselme Payen.
• About 33 percent of all plant matter is
cellulose.
MAJOR CELLULOSE FIBERS
The fibers with high cellulose content
are called Major Cellulose Fibers.

• PROPERTIES:
• Good Absorbents hence are skin friendly.
• Good heat and electricity conductors.
• Damaged by mineral acids, resists alkalis.
alkalis
• Moderate sunlight and heat resistant.
• Damaged by some insects, moths, mold and
mildew.
THE 3 MAJOR
CELLULOSE
FIBRES
JUTE FIBERS

FLAX FIBERS COTTON FIBERS

 COTTON
Cotton is a soft,
staple fiber that
grows around the
seeds of the cotton
plant. (sp.Gossypium
barbadense)
It is a Seed-hair fiber
where each fiber is a
single cell growing
from the seed in the Gossypium
“boll”. Barbadense
The cellulose content
of cotton is 90
 EXTRACTION OF COTTON
FIBER
• PICKING: The
process of plucking
cotton bolls from
cotton plant is called
picking.

• SPOTTING: After
seed cotton is
collected immature
bolls are discarded.
• GINNING: The
process of
separating lint from
the seed is called
Ginning. It is
performed most
often by mechanical
means.

• BAILING: After
ginning, staple fibers
are compacted by
mechanical means.
This is called Bailing.
SPINNING: It is the process of making
yarns from unbundled fibers.
 The process of Spinning consists of the
following steps:
• Upon arrival at the spinning mill, cotton bales are
sampled according to lint quality and origin to ensure
yarn homogeneity.
• They are then opened to make the lint fluffy by passage
though bale-openers.
• Cleaning: Bale fibres are usually fed to air-jet (vortex)
cleaners to remove extraneous matter from cotton lint.
• Carding separates fibres from each other, straightens
fibres, aligns and condenses them into a single
continuous strand, and removes impurities.
• A sliver of approximately one-meter width is then
obtained which is fed to several rubber rollers rotating
at increasingly higher speed.
• Bleaching: It done using either hypochlorite or peroxide.
• Several slivers are drawn and twisted together to form
the final yarn.
FURTHER FINISHING PROCESSES

• Mercerization: It is a finishing process used

to produce high quality fabrics.
– It consists essentially of impregnating stretched
cotton with caustic soda.
– The treatment enhances the lustre of cotton.
– It also increases the fiber strength and affinity for
dyes.
• Gassing: Gassing refers to passing a cotton
thread at high speed through a flame to
eliminate the fluff.
• Twisting: In this process Many fine filaments
or yarns are plied together (by inserting S or Z
twists) to increase the diameter and tensile
strength.
Total Cotton production in 2007:
480 million pound bales
 MAJOR COTTON
PRODUCING COUNTRIES
PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF
1. CHINA
(35.8 million pound bales)
INDIA
2.
(25.3 million pound bales)

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

3.
(19.2 million pound bales)
 PROPERTIES OF COTTON
FIBER
Shape:
• Fairly uniform in width, 12-20 micrometers.
• Staple length varies from 1 cm to 6 cm (½ to 2½
inches).
• Typical length is 2.2 cm to 3.3 cm (⅞ to 1¼
inches).
Luster:
• Low
Tenacity (strength):
• Dry: 3.0-5.0 g/d
• Wet: 3.3-6.0 g/d
Resiliency
• Low
Density
• 1.54-1.56 g/cm³
Moisture absorption
• raw conditioned: 8.5%
• Saturation: 15-25%
• mercerized conditioned: 8.5-10.3%
• Saturation: 15-27%
Dimensional Stability
• Good
Resistance to
• Acids: Damage, weaken fibers
• Alkali: Resistant; no harmful effects
• Organic solvents: High resistance to most
• Sunlight: Prolonged exposure weakens fibers.
• Microorganisms: Mildew and rot-producing
bacteria damage fibers.
• Insects: Silverfish damage fibers.
Thermal reactions
• To heat: Decomposes after prolonged exposure
to temperatures of 150˚C or
over.
• To flame: Burns readily.
 USES OF COTTON
It is used to make the following
textiles
• Terrycloth: used to make highly absorbent
bath towels and robes.
• Denim: used to make blue jeans.
• Chambray: popularly used in the manufacture
of blue work shirts
• Corduroy, seersucker, and cotton twill.
• Socks, underwear, and most T-shirts are made
from cotton because of its property of high
absorbency.
LINEN
 INTRODUCTION
• Linen is a textile made from the fibers of the
flax plant, Linum usitatissimum.
• Textiles made of cotton, hemp, and other
linen fibers have also sometimes been
referred to as "linen“.
• The collective term linens is still often used
generically to describe a class of woven and
even knitted bed, bath, table and kitchen
textiles.
• It is valued for its
exceptional coolness
and freshness in hot
weather and is thus
superior to cotton in
this regard.
• Linen was used in the
Mediterranean in the
pre-Christian age.
• Linen was sometimes
used as currency in
ancient Egypt.
• Strength: Linen is a durable fiber, as is two-three
times as strong as cotton. It is second in strength
to silk.

• Elasticity: Elasticity is the extent to which a fiber

can be elongated or stretched and the then
returned to its normal condition and size. Linen is
the least elastic natural fabric.

• Resilience: Resilience refers to the extent to

which a fabric can be deformed by crushing or
compressing it, and finally returning it to its
original condition. Linen is quite stiff and wrinkles
easily.
• Absorbency: Absorbency refers to the extent to
which moisture can penetrate into a fiber. The
fiber absorbs moisture and dries more quickly. It
is excellent for manufacturing towels and
handkerchiefs.

• Heat Conductivity: Heat conductivity refers to

the extent to which heat can be conveyed through
a fiber. It is most suitable for use in summers, as
the fiber allows the heat to escape, leaving a cool
effect.
• Linen is also used for cloth, canvases, sails, tents,
and even for books. For eg; Liber Linteus.
• Irish Linen is the best wrap of pool/billiard cues,
due to its absorption of sweat from hands.
• Linen was probably never used as material for the
Hoplite cuirass because of its price.
• It should be ironed when damp.
• The natural color of unbleached linen is ecru.
• Linen will withstand washing in hot water and
scrubbing.
• It can be bleached by spreading it in the sun to
dry.
• Due to its strength, in the Middle Ages linen was
used for shields and gambeson.
• Its uses were collectively called “body linen”.
• Linen is also used for cloth, canvases, sails, tents,
and even for books. For eg; Liber Linteus.
• Irish Linen is the best wrap of pool/billiard cues,
due to its absorption of sweat from hands.
• Linen was probably never used as material for the
Hoplite cuirass because of its price.
 JUTE
•Jute is a long, soft, shiny vegetable fiber that can
be spun into coarse, strong threads.
•It is produced from plants in the genus Corchorus,
family Tiliaceae.
•Jute is one of the cheapest natural fibres and is
second only to cotton in amount produced and
variety of uses.
•Jute fibres are composed primarily of the plant
materials cellulose (major component of plant fibre)
and lignin (major components wood fibre).
•It falls into the bast fibre category (fibre collected
from bast or skin of the plant) along with kenaf,
industrial hemp, flax (linen), ramie, etc.
• The industrial term for jute fibre is raw jute.
• The fibres are off-white to brown, and 1–4 meters
(3–12 feet) long.

• Jute plants (Corchorus olitorius and Corchorus

capsularis)
• Jute fibre is often called hessian; jute fabrics are
also called hessian cloth and jute sacks are called
gunny bags in some European countries. The
fabric made from jute is popularly known as
burlap in North America.
Bundles of jute, showing
the fibres of Corchorus
olitorius (tossa jute fibre)
and Corchorus capsularis
(white jute fibre)
Jute plants (Corchorus
olitorius and Corchorus
capsularis)
 FEATURES
• Picture of cutting lower part of the long jute fibre.
The lower part is hard fibre, which is called jute
cuttings in Bangladesh and India (commonly
called jute butts or jute tops elsewhere). Jute
cuttings are lower in quality, but have commercial
value for the paper, carded yarn, and other fibre
processing industries. Jute fibres are kept in
bundles in the background in a warehouse in
Bangladesh.
• Jute fibre is 100% bio-degradable and recyclable
and thus environmentally friendly.
• It is a natural fibre with golden and silky shine
and hence called The Golden Fibre.
• It is the cheapest vegetable fibre procured from
the bast or skin of the plant's stem.
Picture of cutting lower part of the long jute fibre. The lower
part is hard fibre, which is called jute cuttings in Bangladesh
and India (commonly called jute butts or jute tops
elsewhere). Jute cuttings are lower in quality, but have
commercial value for the paper, carded yarn, and other
fibre processing industries.
 USES OF
• Jute is JUTE
used chiefly to make cloth for
wrapping bales of raw cotton, and to make
sacks and coarse cloth.
•The fibres are also woven into curtains, chair
coverings, carpets, area rugs, hessian cloth,
and backing for linoleum.
•The fibres are used alone or blended with
other types of fibres to make twine and rope.
•Jute butts, the coarse ends of the plants, are
used to make inexpensive cloth.
•Jute is also used in the making of ghilie suits.
Which are used as camoflauge and resemble
grasses or brush.
Jute matting being used to prevent flood
erosion while natural vegetation becomes
established. For this purpose, a natural and
biodegradable fibre is essential.
THANK YOU