Thursday, 28 February 2013

Jeanette`s chosen terminologies


I have chosen 5 related terminologies for this assignment/blog.  The material; Denim, the fibers cotton, lycra and lyocel and at last I will look into testing of denim.

Denim
Denim is a woven fabric made primary from cotton. Denim can be produced in an endless variety of fabric weight, dyes, stitching etc. The classic denim is a very heavy fabric which is produced from 3/1 or 2/1 twill weave made of 100% cotton with indigo dyed warp yarn and grey undyed weft yarns. This type of denim is very hard and has a high density.  Denim is available in different weight ranges from 6 -16 oz /square yard, where light weighted denim has a weight of 10-12 oz/square yard and heavy denim lies in a weight class of 14-16 oz/square yard.

Today there are four types of compositions for a denim fabric
-          2/1 twill repeat



















1        2        3        4       
-          3/1 twill repeat: Type of weave is the most used denim composition. 3/1 twill is darker on the back side of the denim than 2/1 twill.




















1         2        3       4

-          3/1 broken twill repeat




















1        2          3       4          
In a 3/1 broken twill, repeat no. 3 and 4 in the 3/1 twill changes places.
-        
  2/2 twill repeat: This weaving structure is the rarest type used for denim composition.





















Denim can be made very unique by a lot of finishing by laser treatments, sandblasting, stonewash, bleaching, 3d effect treatment or coloring etc. The most expensive finishing is 3D effect treatment, because it is the most complicated treatment which needs an expertise to manufacture.

Sources:


Cotton
Cotton is a natural fiber and harvested from cotton plants either by hand or machines. The quality of the cotton depends on the weather and growing condition, and the quality therefore varies from season to season. The cotton plant has a height of 25 cm – 3 meters deepening on the climate and agronomy. The color varies from white to creamy.

The story of cotton and the manufacturing process can be seen in the following video:






There are many different qualities of cotton but only there cotton types:
•Giza cotton of Egypt and Sea Island cotton of West Indies with a staple length from 28 mm to 50 mm and a fineness from 3,1 μm (very fine) to about 3,9 μm (fine)

•American Upland cotton with a staple length from 16 mm to 28 mm and a fineness from 4.0 μm (medium fine) to about 4,9 μm (medium coarse)

•Asiatic cotton with a staple length from 10 to 22 mm and a fineness from 5.0 μm (coarse) to about 6.0 μm (very coarse)

Properties
The properties of cotton is that is a fine and flexible fiber and it can absorb up to 20% of water vapor without feeling wet. Cotton is comfortable next to skin, because of the fineness and softness. The strength is good, but it is stronger in wet condition. The disadvantages are that cottons extensibility is low (6-10%), and it creases and shrink easily because the electricity is low.
It takes a long time to dry because of its absorbent, and it is therefore also cold in wet condition. Cotton does not have any insulation and it is therefore not a good fiber to use alone for active wear.

Blend
Cotton can be blended with different synthetic man - made fibers as nylon, acrylic, viscose and modal. By blending cotton with synthetic man - made fibers improves the durability and easy care of the garments. Cotton is most often blended with polyester but also nylon, acrylic, viscose and modal fibers.

Source
  • -          Clothing technology

Lyocel
The main ingredient in lyocel is cellulose, which is a natural polymer, which can be found in cells of all plants. Lyocell is derived from the pulp of hardwood trees which is broken down into chips during the manufacturing process. Using chemicals the wooden chips is made into wet pulps, which is washed, bleached and dried into sheets, which is rolled onto spools. The spinner has small holes which the cellulose is forced through and fibers come out.
The fibers are taken into a solution of arrine oxide which makes the fibers stand and washed in the minimalized water.
The final stage is the drying stage where the water is taken out and either soap, silicone other agents are applied in order to make it easier to card and spin the fibers into yearn.

Properties
Lyocel is a strong fiber in both wet and dry condition which means it lasts a long time. Lyocel has features as resistant to wrinkles and absorbed moisture well; it is used for many different types of garments from summer garment to athletic clothing. Beside garments, it is also used for baby wipes, bandages, cigarette filters, some types of papers and even reinforces some plastics.

Blend
Lyocel has features as resistant to wrinkles and absorbed moisture well; it is used for many different types of garments from summer garment to athletic clothing. Beside garments, it is also used for baby wipes, bandages, cigarette filters, some types of papers and even reinforces some plastics.
It can be mixed with many other fibers e.g. Cotton, wool, linen, silk and Lycra. It is also possible to treat lyocel for a variety of textures as a silky feel or a denim feel.

Sources


Lycra/Elastan
Lycra is a man - made fiber which technical term is segmented polyurethane.  Its composition is flexible segments which are bonded together with hard segments. This makes Lycra a fiber with a lasting elasticity, which can be stretched between 4-7 times its original lengths. Lycra is a fiber containing for soft segments lying between short hard segments, where the soft chains/segments lies tangled in the fibers natural state. When Lycra comes under tension the soft segments will straighten out but they will always to back to their natural state.
Lycra is a bundle of very small filaments which is produced in a large range of yarn counts from 11 – 1800 decitex. It is produced in dull bright, semi - transparent bright, clear and different black versions.

Properties
Elastan is a very stretchy fiber which cans stretch from 4 to seven times from its original length, and has thereby the highest stretch tension of all textile raw materials.
Elastan is a fiber that sensitive for transpiration, cosmetics or seawater and is therefore a good fiber used for bathing clothing. Elastan also guarantee a high comfort and a freedom of movement.

Blend
Lycra is not used alone for finished garments, but is always combined with either natural or man - made fibers. Lycra can contribute to all type of fabric both knitted and woven fabric, from denim to jersey. Lycra has its affect a fabric when containing from 2 %, where it can improve a fabrics flexibility, drape and shape.  Lycra has a greater impact on garments as swimwear or any other active sportswear, where Lycra contains from 20-60% of the garment.

When using lycra in a fabric and wanting to cover it, there are five possibilities:

  •   Single covered lycra fibers: A non - elastic filament is wrapped around the lycra fibers
  •  Double covered lycra: The lycra fiber is wrapped around with an under and outer non elastic filament yarn.
  •  Core – twisted: A core twisted lycra fiber consists of a lycra fibers twisted around with another fiber.
  •  Core – spun: A lycra fiber is sheeted with a non - elastic staple fibers
  • Interlaced or air covered: A Lycra fiber which is interlaced at a periodic interval with an air covered multifilament – or microfilament yarn.

Source
  • -          “What is lycra fiber” by lycra brand

Possible quality testing of denim
In general it needs a lot of experience to be able to determine a quality by looking at a fiber/fabric and it is therefore necessary to ensure that the quality is as expected by using quality testing. It is important for a purchaser that are not sure of the quality of a garment to quality test if there might be differentiation from the expected quality and the received quality from the supplier. Garment/fashion companies often work with outsourcing in the Far East which means that they can never be 100% sure of which quality they are receiving, and it is therefore very important to ensure that it is the right quality.
Rubber fastness to rubbing is an important quality that should be checked when the purchaser is unsecured if the denim is staining.
Testing for rubber fastness will be done in both wet and dry condition with a piece of denim material. For this testing ISO 105-A01 will be used, and in order to determine and assessing the staining ISO 105-A03 will be used, which is a grey scale that are assessing the staining of the denim.

Conlusion
I chose to write about denim because it is an international fabric, which is used for Jeans and many other designs worldwide. It is very important for a purchaser in the fashion industry to know about denim, because it is a product which never goes out of fashion, and is used in almost every fashion and clothing company. It is important to look into which colors and finishing processes that is possible in order to create a unique product out of a long lasting fabric as denim.

Relating to denim I chose to write about cotton, because it is the fiber used for making denim. It is important as a purchaser in the fashion industry to know about the  types of cotton available, the properties and the possible blends, because cotton it is a highly used fiber in many fabric and designs, and might therefor be a part of a purchaser`s daily work.

I have also chosen to write about two man – made fibers, lyocel and lycra, because these fibers can be used to blend with cotton and will make a more durable denim than the original denim. As well as cotton it is important to know about flexible fibers as lyocel and Lycra, to make blend which can gives companies a better material for different designs.

I have chosen to go further into the quality testing of denim to know how to find the best quality denim as a purchaser. Quality is a big issue when it comes to all company including the clothing industry. It is therefore necessary for a purchaser which deals with garments including denim to know how to look for a high quality denim garment. It is important to know how to test and how to deal with quality issues regarding denim to ensure that the quality level is ensured and to ensure satisfied customers.

Composition, blends and types of fiber, material and finished garments as well as quality testing is an important knowledge which a purchaser should have at a fashion or textile company to be professional towards the suppliers and to find the right materials at the suppliers.
Source



VIDEO: Can be seen on youtube.com, name: Cotton presentation thaimp2a811

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1m4awppGBz8  







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