By Eman Abdallah Kamel
Many types of fabrics exist. This article explains fibers. Here, you can learn about the definition and types of fibers, including natural and man-made fibers.
Fibers
Any material composed of a thread-like structure—whether of animal, plant, or mineral origin—especially if it is suitable for spinning or weaving. Fibres are twisted in S or Z directions to form threads. Yarns consist of two or more strands twisted together clockwise (S) or anti-clockwise (Z).
Fibres vary in processing, fabric construction, and finishing, so identifying them by sight and touch alone is unreliable. You can perform a burn test to determine whether a fabric is natural or synthetic.
Natural Fibers
1. Cotton
Cotton is a natural cellulose fiber obtained from the cotton plant’s boll. Its quality depends on fiber length, fineness, color, and lustre. Long fibers produce fine, smooth, lustrous, and strong yarns, while short fibers produce coarser, more durable fabrics. Cotton is the world’s major textile fiber, used alone or blended in clothing, household, and industrial products. Special finishes, such as resin treatments and chemical finishes, improve its easy-care properties, water repellency, and fire resistance.
2. Linen
Linen is made from flax stem fibers that create its characteristic thick-thin texture. It is more expensive than cotton due to limited production and labour-intensive processing. Its quality depends on fiber length, fineness, bleaching, and dye fastness. Labels should clarify whether linen-like fabrics are pure linen, blends, or other fibers.
3. Wool
Wool fibers come from sheep, lambs, goats (Angora and cashmere), camels, vicuñas, alpacas, and llamas. Mohair is silky Angora goat hair. Wool is made of keratin, coated with waterproof lanolin. It is soft and warm, absorbs dyes well, and is vulnerable to moth damage.
- Virgin wool: New fibers that have never been used or reclaimed; stronger and more resilient.
- Reprocessed wool: Reclaimed from unused wool products.
- Woollen fabrics: Made from long and short fibers; soft and wrinkle-resistant, but they don’t hold sharp creases.
- Worsted fabrics: Made from longer fibers; firm, smooth, and more durable.
- Felt: Wool fibers can interlock and felt under heat, moisture, and pressure due to the scales on their surfaces.
Did You Know?
More than 40 sheep breeds produce over 200 types of wool of varying quality
3. Silk
Silk is the only natural continuous filament fiber, obtained by unreeling silkworm cocoons.
- Cultivated silk: Produced by carefully raised silkworms.
- Raw silk: Contains the gum that binds the fibers together.
- Wild or Tussah silk: Tan, uneven in texture, and cannot be bleached.
- Duppioni silk: Made from two or more joined cocoons; its thick-thin filaments are used to make shantung.
- Pure silk: Contains no metallic weighting and no more than 10% dyes or finishing materials (15% for black silk).
- Weighted silk: Contains metallic salts; the label must state the weighting percentage. It is cheaper and drapes better but is less durable.
Man-Made Fibers
1. Regenerated Natural Fibres
- Rayons
Wood pulp or cotton fibers are dissolved in caustic soda and carbon disulphide, then extruded through a spinneret. Rayon is soft and silk-like, dyes well, but creases easily, loses strength when wet, has poor elasticity, and is damaged by weak acids.
- Viscose rayon: Dissolved in caustic soda, forming a honey-like viscose solution.
- Cuprammonium rayon: Produced using ammonia and cupric oxide.
- Lyocell (Tencel): Developed by Courtaulds in 1994 using a more environmentally friendly process. It has better wet strength and crease resistance.
Did You Know?
Rayon’s first UK production: 1905 Courtaulds; Cross, Bevan & Beadle’s process. First USA commercial production: 1910, American Viscose Company.
- Acetates
Made from cellulose acetate, not wood pulp itself; originally used in aircraft ‘dope’ production. Soft, drapes well, dyes well, dries quickly, and is stable when wet, but softens with heat and may deform when ironed. Acetate is used in filament and spun yarns and blends well with other fibers. Its lustre, drape, and crisp feel make it popular in fashion fabrics such as satin, taffeta, crepe, brocade, and knits. Acetate, first UK commercial production: 1921, Dreyfus as Celanese. First USA commercial production: 1924, Celanese Corporation.
Triacetate is similar to acetate, sharing its low wet strength and abrasion resistance, attractive appearance, good drapability, and resistance to moths and mildew. Its main advantage is heat resistance, which allows heat setting and provides durable crease and pleat retention, dimensional stability, and resistance to glazing during ironing. It also dries quickly, launders easily, and requires little special care.
- Peanut Fiber
Peanut protein fibers are produced by dissolving peanut proteins in a suitable solvent and extruding the resulting solution through a spinneret. These fibers exhibit a soft texture, good thermal insulation, and a wool-like appearance; however, they possess relatively low wet strength, which limits their performance under moist conditions.
Did You Know?
Peanut fibres were commercially produced in the United Kingdom by ICI from 1935 to 1957 under the trade name Ardil. Courtaulds marketed its version as Fibrolane C, while the American version was known as Sarelon.
2. Synthetic Fibers
- Anidex
Anidex is an elastic fiber resistant to chemicals, sunlight, and heat. It blends with natural and man-made fibers to maintain their original look and feel while improving stretch, recovery, comfort, and resistance to sagging. It is used in clothing and upholstered furniture.
- Acrylic
Acrylic fibers provide wool-like softness, warmth, and easy care. They are mainly used in sweaters and fur-like fabrics because of their soft, bulky texture. It is also more durable than rayon and acetate. The first commercial production in the United States began in 1950 under E. I. du Pont de Nemours.
Acrylic resists common solvents, weathering, bleaches, dilute acids, and alkalis. Therefore, it is used alone or in blends for fine fabrics, workwear, and chemical-resistant fabrics.
Modacrylic
Modified acrylic fibers with similar properties to acrylic. Heat-sensitive, allowing stretching, embossing, and wrinkle-resistant fabrics. Can produce fur-like fabrics by combining fibers with different heat-shrinkage capacities. Self-extinguishing, so they are blended with other fibers to reduce flammability in carpets and textiles.
- Glass
Glass fibers suit industrial and home furnishings but not apparel because they are heavy and have low abrasion and bending resistance. Excellent insulation in batting form; reinforcement for plastics in boats and planes; fire-resistant, easy-care curtains and draperies.
Did You Know?
Beta yarns: ultra-fine, continuous glass filaments that are stronger, more flexible, softer, and more durable than regular glass yarns.
- Nylon
Wallace Carothers developed nylon, and E. I. du Pont de Nemours first commercially produced it in the USA in 1939. It is a long, smooth, silky, and strong fibre. It is durable, hard-wearing, and resistant to moths.
- Metallic
Metallic fibers are manufactured from metal, plastic-coated metal, metal-coated plastic, or a core covered with metal. Traditional metal yarns were heavy, brittle, expensive, and easily tarnished. Modern processes improve their properties by coating metal threads with plastic or bonding thin metal foil between plastic films. These shiny yarns are increasingly used in apparel, household furnishings, and industrial fabrics.
- Polyester
Polyester is strong, abrasion-resistant, resistant to insect attacks, and hardwearing. Commercial production began in the USA in 1953 by E. I. du Pont de Nemours. Varieties include Terylene (UK), Dacron (USA), and Crimplene, developed by ICI during the 1950s–1970s.
Sources
©Eman Abdallah Kamel, 2026
About the author: Eman is a textile engineer and writer with a bachelor’s degree in textile science from the Faculty of Applied Arts in Egypt.
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