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Timeline of Fabrics
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5000 BC
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3000 BC
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3000 BC
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2600 BC
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1793 AD
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1884 AD
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1910 AD
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1924 AD
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1939 AD
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1950 AD
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1953 AD
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1954 AD
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1959 AD
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1961 AD
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1989 AD
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1993 AD
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5000 BC
Flax is generally accepted as being the oldest natural textile fiber. Linen is made from flax, a plant. Flax is a widely cultivated plant genus, from whose seeds comes linseed oil and whose slender stems yields flax fiber that is woven into linen. Egyptian pharaohs were wrapped in fine linen burial shrouds.
3000
Cotton is believed to have been used as a fiber sometime between 3500 BC and 5000BC. For sake of the argument, we are going to pinpoint it to 3000 BC. Egyptians have been wearing cotton since roughly 2500 BC.
Also in 3000 BC wool was in use by the people of the Late Stone Age. There are 40 different breeds of sheep, which produce approximately 200 types of wool, of varying grades. Wool is removed from a sheep (the harvesting is called shearing), spun into yarn and woven into cloth. Wool can also be felted, which does not involve weaving, but compacts the fiber into felt.
2600
Silk has been in use since 2600 BC. Its discovery is attributed to a Chinese princess … a silkworm’s coccoon fell into her tea. The hot tea dissolved the “glue” of the coccoon, letting the silk filaments float freely. When she realized how strong the fiber was, she knew the applications it would have.
Silk culture began in roughly 1725 BC. The secrets of silk cultivation and fabric manufacturing were closely guarded for about 3000 years. India learned of silk culture when a Chinese princess married an Indian prince … now the secret is out for everyone.
1793 AD
Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin, and he revolutionized the production of cotton. Can’t remember what it does? It separates the seeds, seed hulls and other small objects from cotton fiber.
1884
The power loom was developed and brought improvement and variation to cotton fabrics. Looms were able to make a lot of cloth in a smaller period of time, which brings down the cost of the materials because of the mass production. You get a consistent quality of cloth, as well.
1910
Rayon was the first man-made fiber that is commercially viable to manufacture. It was created by the American Viscose Company. Two different chemicals and manufacturing techniques were used: viscose rayon and cuprammonium rayon. Now only viscose rayon is being produced. Chemicals are mixed and make a compound that is extruded through tiny holes, kind of like spaghetti. The compound firms up and the “spaghetti” is woven into fabric.
1924
Acetate was commercially produced by the Celanese Corporation. Acetate is made from cellulose which is derived from wood pulp. The chemical compound, which is actually organic based (because it comes from trees), is pushed through tiny holes to make filaments, much like pasta. The filament fibers are spun and woven into fabric.
1939
Nylon was introduced in the United States by the E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, Inc. It is the second most used man-made fiber in this country – trailing only polyester. Look to later in this lesson from more information about nylon!
1950
Acrylic was produced by the E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, Inc. Acrylic is a soft, warm synthetic fabric that’s wool-like.
1953
Polyester was commercially produced by the E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, Inc. It is the most used man-made fiber in the United States.
1954
Triacetate was introduced to the United States by the Celanese Corporation. Triacetate is a synthetic fiber, and is no longer produced in the United States.
1959
Spandex was commercially produced by the E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, Inc. It is an elastomeric man-made fiber (able to stretch at least 100% and snap back like natural rubber).
1961
Polyolefin/Polypropylene was first produced in the United States by Hercules Incorporated. In 1966, because of its innovativeness, polyolefin was the world’s first and only Nobel Prize-winning fiber. An interesting fiber, it is a polymer. It floats, is abrasion-resistant, is a good insulator, dries very quickly and resists deterioration from chemicals and perspiration. It is used mainly in furnishings and high performance activewear.
1989
Microfibers/Microdenier was first commercially produced by the E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, Inc. Today microfibers are produced in a variety of synthetic fibers (e.g. polyester, nylon, acrylic, etc.)
A microfiber is a fiber that is less than one denier per filament (denier is a unit of fineness for rayon, nylon and silk fiber, based on a standard mass per length of one gram per 9,000 meters of yarn). It’s the thinnest of all man-made fibers. It is finer than the most delicate silk. A microfiber is more than 100x the size of some fibers.
1993
Lyocell was first produced in the United States by Courtaulds Fibers under the Tencel trade name. It’s an environmentally friendly fiber, produced from the wood pulp of trees grown specifically for this purpose. It is processed using a solvent spinning technique in which the dissolving agent is recycled, reducing environment effluents.
Learn even more about Fabrics. Continue on or click any of the links below to go directly to that topic.
