Types of Textile Fibers

Any substance natural or manufactured with high length to width ratio and with suitable characteristics for being processed into fabrics is called fiber. It is smallest components of textile which is hair like in nature that can be separated from fabrics.

Image by Amol Sonar from Pixabay

1. Natural Fibers (NFS)

Fibers, which are obtained from natural sources, are called natural fiber. Natural fibers can be classified according to their origin.

1.1. Plant fiber
Plant fibers are those which we get naturally from plants. It may be obtained from various parts of plants including seeds, stems, and leaves.

Seed fiber – Cotton, Kapok
Bast fiber – Linen, Hemp, Ramie
Leaf fiber - Pina, Manila, Sisal

Plant fibers are usually made up of cellulose, an insoluble substance that is the main constituent of plant cell walls. Cellulose is a polymer made up of a long chain of glucose molecules

1.2. Animal fiber

Fibers which are obtained from animal are called animal fiber. These fibers are usually made up of a variety of proteins. Proteins are made up of many different amino acids linked together.

2. Manufacture Fibers
Fibers which are produced either from chemical or combination of chemical processing and raw material sourced from nature are called manufactured fiber.

2.1. Synthetic fibers
Synthetic fibers are made from synthesized polymers of small molecules. The compounds that are used to make these fibers mostly come from petroleum-based chemicals or petrochemicals.

2.2. Regenerated fibers
These fibers are produced or regenerated from natural polymer sources by obtaining the raw material from nature and then processed through a series of chemical reactions.