Linen fabric is made from the cellulose fibers that grow inside of the stalks of the flax plant, or Linum usitatissimum, one of the oldest cultivated plants in human history. This article Knitting fair introduces to you.
Textiles in a Linen weave texture, even when made of cotton, hemp, and other non-flax fibers, are also loosely referred to as “linen”. Such fabrics generally also have their own specific names, for example, fine cotton yarn in a linen-style weave is called Madapolam.
Flax/Linen Clothing
Linen fabric has many attractive properties and all of them are most easily appreciated when wearing linen clothing. Over the past 30 years, the end use of linen has changed dramatically. Approximately 70% of linen production in the 1990s was for apparel textiles, whereas in the 1970s only about 5% was used for fashion fabrics.
The main benefit of wearing linen clothes in hot weather is the coolness they provide. Thanks to the weave and linen fiber specifics linen fabric allow more airflow and its structure means it stays away from your skin allowing better airflow over your body. Linen is a “stiff” fabric and is less likely to cling to the skin; when it billows away, it quickly dries out and becomes cool again. Summer clothes made of linen possess high air permeability, which allows air to flow through the fabric easily and allows the body to breathe.
Linen is a “stiff” fabric and is less likely to cling to the skin; when it billows away, it quickly dries out and becomes cool again. Summer clothes made of linen possess high air permeability, which allows air to flow through the fabric easily and allows the body to breathe.
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Next, to coolness and high absorbency, linen has one more very favorable property – good heat conductivity characteristics. Heat conductivity refers to the extent to which heat can be conveyed through the fabric. As linen quickly allows the heat to escape, it further improves cooling. It is claimed, that heat conductivity of linen is five times higher than wool and eighteen times higher than silk. One more thing – linen weave reflects heat better, too. This means linen blouse, linen dress or shirt has good “shading” properties as well and again – the wearer of linen clothing feels cooler.
The legacy of Flax/Linen
In the past, linen was also used for books (the only surviving example of which is the Liber Linteus). Due to its strength, in the Middle Ages linen was used for shields, gambesons, and bowstrings; in classical antiquity, it was used to make a type of body armor, referred to as a linothorax.
Flax/Linen Applications
Linen uses range across bed and bath fabrics (tablecloths, bath towels, dish towels, bed sheets); home and commercial furnishing items (wallpaper/wall coverings, upholstery, window treatments); apparel items (suits, dresses, skirts, shirts); and industrial products (luggage, canvases, sewing thread). It was once the preferred yarn for hand sewing the uppers of moccasin-style shoes (loafers) but has been replaced by synthetics.
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Flax/Linen Source
Linen is bast fiber. Linen is a textile made from hairs of the flax plant. Linen fabric is made from the cellulose fibers that grow inside of the stalks of the flax plant, or Linum usitatissimum, one of the oldest cultivated plants in human history. Flax is an annual plant, which means it only lives for one growing season. It is thicker than cotton and linen fiber has variable lengths, most of which are very long. This contributes to strength, which contributes to longevity. Linen fabric lasts a very long time.
Linen is laborious to manufacture, but the fiber is very absorbent and garments made of linen are valued for their exceptional coolness and freshness in hot weather. Linen/Flax fibers vary in length from about 25 to 150 mm (1 to 6 inches) and average 12–16 micrometers in diameter. There are two varieties: shorter tow fibers used for coarser fabrics and longer line fibers used for finer fabrics. Flax fibers can usually be identified by their “nodes” which add to the flexibility and texture of the fabric. The cross-section of the linen fiber is made up of irregular polygonal shapes which contribute to the coarse texture of the fabric.
For more knitwear knowledge, please pay attention to the knitting fair.
Source: textiles school
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This article knitting fair explains the application of reduced graphene oxide on cotton woven fabric to achieve breathable waterproof finishing. After finishing the fabric was analysed various morphological properties as well as physical properties to confirm comfortability.
The spray test determines the water resistance of the treated and untreated fabrics by using AATCC 22 (1996) test method. In fig 6 showed standard spray test ratings.
Spray test ratings displayed in Fig. 7. In 80 – 20 ratio treated sample was achieved better water resistance rating about 90, as compared to 50 -50 and 60 – 40 ratio treated samples. In 80 – 20 ratio coated sample, water droplets can be seen on the fabric surface which indicated waterproof property (Fig 8a) and untreated fabric sample was completely wet on both surfaces (Fig 8b).
According to the spray rating chart, 80-20 ratio of rGO/PUA sample achieved the highest rating of 90 and this rating implies that there was “slight random sticking or wetting of upper surface”. It was observed that amongst these three samples, the sample from 80% rGO and 20% PUA showed maximum resistance to water and very slight wetting of the surface. It can be noted that as the amount of PUA was lowered, the water resistance was increased.
The tensile strength test is performed to evaluate the mechanical properties of the fabric. During the coating process, the fabric might undergo changes in its physical properties due to tension and stretching. Sometimes the tensile strength of the fabric might get reduced due to the coating process. Hence this test ensures that no undesirable change has occurred in the strength of the fabric due to the coating process. The tensile strength was performed in both the directions: warp and weft.
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From the above results, it was observed that the tensile strength increased in both directions after the coating was applied. The maximum increase in average tensile strength in warp and weft direction was seen in the sample with 80-20 rGO/PUV composition. As the coat was applied using PUA which also worked as a binder imparted in the tensile strength of the fabric.
While with reducing the concentration of PUA the strength increased this may be because of the rGO particles which are known to have higher mechanical strength. As the concentration of rGO increased it improved the strength of the coat indirectly resulting in higher tensile strength.
The rGO particles may have acted as particle reinforcement in the PUA whilst directly improving the tensile characteristics of the PUA, which can be seen in the results obtained.
The thickness test was performed to evaluate whether an application of coating added undesirable thickness to the fabric.
In the case of untreated fabric, the average thickness was calculated as 287µm. The sample composed of 50% GO and 50% PUA has the lowest average thickness, equaling 313.5µm. Furthermore, the highest thickness was found to be 3303.5µm in rGO/PUA which consists of 80% GO and 20% PUA. Lower values of standard deviation can be interpreted as less difference between the readings, which in this case means more evenness in the coating. In the case of Sample 1, which has the lowest average thickness, 313.5µm thickness was added to the fabric due to coating.
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This is because it contains the highest amount of PUA, which is more fluid than the Graphene oxide resin. It was observed during preparation that the solution was difficult to emulsify due to the high amount of PUA. The solution was unstable and had high fluidity. During coating, the solution seeped through the fabric rather than being deposited on the surface. Due to this, there was a loss of the solution and hence the thickness was lower. The maximum amount of thickness addition can be seen in the sample with 80-20% GO/PUA, having 330.5 µm average
thickness. However, the standard deviation, in that case, is very high, which implies uneven coating.
Knitting fair from the above results, it is evident that the production of cotton fabric with waterproof with the breathable property was possible through rGO while PUV act as nucleation between the cotton fabric and rGO. The optimum combinations that yielded the best performance in terms of waterproof properties and breathability are samples with 80-20% rGO-PUA. These combinations can be used to create active wear that can be worn in harsh conditions as well as for regular wear apparel. Based on the standard test result of waterproof testing shows that increasing the concentration of rGO give a better result with comfort property, as results the concentration of making good breathable waterproof fabric was 80% rGO and 20% PUA.
Source: textiles school
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