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Tuesday, October 20, 2009

100 cotton

100 cotton
Cotton is used to make a number of textile products. These include terrycloth, used to make highly absorbent bath towels and robes; denim, used to make blue jeans; chambray, popularly used in the manufacture of blue work shirts (from which we get the term "blue-collar"); and corduroy, seersucker, and cotton twill. Socks, underwear, and most T-shirts are made from cotton. Bed sheets often are made from cotton. Cotton also is used to make yarn used in crochet and knitting. Fabric also can be made from recycled or recovered cotton that otherwise would be thrown away during the spinning, weaving, or cutting process. While many fabrics are made completely of cotton, some materials blend cotton with other fibers, including rayon and synthetic fibers such as polyester. It can either be used in knitted or woven fabrics, as it can be blended with elastine to make a stretchier thread for knitted fabrics, and things such as stretch jeans.

In addition to the textile industry, cotton is in fishnets, coffee filters, tents, gunpowder (see Nitrocellulose), cotton paper, and in bookbinding. The first Chinese paper was made of cotton fiber. Fire hoses were once made of cotton.

The cottonseed which remains after the cotton is ginned is used to produce cottonseed oil, which, after refining, can be consumed by humans like any other vegetable oil. The cottonseed meal that is left generally is fed to ruminant livestock; the gossypol remaining in the meal is toxic to monogastric animals. Cottonseed hulls can be added to dairy cattle rations for roughage. During the American slavery period, cotton root bark was used in a folk remedy as an abortifacient, that is, to provoke abortion.[citation needed]

Cotton linters are fine, silky fibers which adhere to the seeds of the cotton plant after ginning. These curly fibers typically are less than 1/8 in (3 mm) long. The term also may apply to the longer textile fiber staple lint as well as the shorter fuzzy fibers from some upland species. Linters are traditionally used in the manufacture of paper and as a raw material in the manufacture of cellulose. In the UK, linters are referred to as "cotton wool". This can also be a refined product (absorbent cotton in U.S. usage) which has medical, cosmetic and many other practical uses. The first medical use of cotton wool was by Dr Joseph Sampson Gamgee at the Queen's Hospital (later the General Hospital) in Birmingham, England.

Shiny cotton is a processed version of the fiber that can be made into cloth resembling satin for shirts and suits. However, its hydrophobic property of not easily taking up water makes it unfit for the purpose of bath and dish towels (although examples of these made from shiny cotton are seen).

The term Egyptian cotton refers to the extra long staple cotton grown in Egypt and favored for the luxury and upmarket brands worldwide. During the U.S. Civil War, with heavy European investments, Egyptian-grown cotton became a major alternate source for British textile mills. Egyptian cotton is more durable and softer than American Pima cotton, which is why it is more expensive. Pima cotton is American cotton that is grown in the southwestern states of the U.S.

Organic cotton

organic cotton
Organic cotton is generally understood as cotton that is grown without chemical fertilisers or pesticides from plants which are not genetically modified. In the United States the USDA National Organic Program sets the standard although this was designed for food and can lead to some confusion. As of 2007, 265,517 bales of organic cotton were produced in 24 countries and worldwide production was growing at a rate of more than 50% per year. Cotton covers 2.5% of the world's cultivated land yet uses 16% of the world's insecticides, more than any other single major crop. Though organic cotton has less environmental impact than conventional cotton, it costs more to produce. Side-effects of conventional production that are avoided in organic growing methods include:

* High levels of agrochemicals are used in the production of non-organic, conventional cotton. Cotton production uses more chemicals per unit area than any other crop and accounts in total for 16% of the world's pesticides.
* The chemicals used in the processing of cotton pollute the air and surface waters.
* Residual chemicals may irritate consumers' skin.
* The conventional cotton industry relies on a high level of forced child labor.

Naturally colored cotton has also been grown successfully with organic methods
Since organic cotton is grown without the use of synthetic pesticides, it should contain fewer pesticides than conventional cotton. Pesticides used in the production of conventional cotton include orthophosphates such as phorate and methamidophos, endosulfane (highly toxic to farmers[8], but not very very environmentally persistent) and aldicarb. . Other pesticides persisting in cotton fields in the United States include Trifluralin, Toxaphene and DDT . Although the last two chemicals are no longer used in the United States Dirty_dozen_(Stockholm_Convention) their long breakdown period and difficulty in removal ensures their persistence. Thus even organic cotton fields may contain them since conventional cotton fields can be transitioned to organic fields in 2-3 years.

Curtain

curtain
A curtain (sometimes known as a drape, mainly in the US, or drapery, mainly in the UK) is a piece of cloth intended to block or obscure light, or drafts, or water in the case of a shower curtain. Curtains hung over a doorway are known as portières. Curtains are often hung on the inside of a building's window to block the travel of light, for instance at night to aid sleeping, or to stop light from escaping outside the building (stopping people outside from being able to see inside, often for privacy reasons). In this application they are also known as "draperies." Curtains come in a variety of shapes, materials, sizes, colors and patterns, and they often have their own sections within department stores, while some shops are completely dedicated to selling curtains.

Curtains vary according to cleanability, ultraviolet light deterioration, oil and dust retention, noise absorption, fire resistance, and life span. Curtain may be moved by hand, with cords, by press-button pads or remote-controlled computers. Measuring the curtain size needed for each window varies greatly according to the type of curtain needed, window size, and type and weight of curtain. Often retail curtain sellers will try to increase their profits from their sales, rather than give accurate impartial advice.

An adaptation of the curtain may be a blind or, in warmer countries, wooden shutters that are fixed to the outside of the building to provide privacy and still keep the building cool inside. Curtains are a form of window treatment, and complete the overall appearance of the house. Window treatment helps control the ambiance and flow of natural light into the room. The effect of drapery or curtains, is best seen in daylight, and with proper indoor light positioning, it can look attractive even at night.
Curtains can be made from varying thicknesses of fabric, each with a differing degree of light absorption and heat insulating qualities. For maximum temperature control, the curtain gap to the window should be small, with minimum convection drafts below or above the curtain. Various architectural structures around the curtain can minimize these air drafts.

A sheer or net curtain is one that is made from translucent fabric, such as a loosely woven polyester voile or a cotton lace. Sheer curtains allow a majority of light to be transmitted through the fabric, with the fabric weave providing a basic level of UV protection while retaining maximum visibility through the curtain. Sheer curtains are sometimes referred to as privacy curtains in reference to their screening abilities; during the day most sheer fabrics will allow people inside the home to see the outside view whilst preventing people outside the home from seeing directly into the home. Due to the loose weave in sheer fabrics, these types of curtains offer very little in the way of heat insulation.

Uncoated fabrics provide the next level of heat insulation and light absorption. Uncoated fabrics constitute the vast majority of fabrics used in curtains, and are composed of a tightly woven fabric, most typically a cotton/polyester blend, which is mostly opaque when viewed in ambient light. Uncoated fabrics provide a reasonable level of heat insulation due to the tight weave of the fabric, however the fabric itself is typically not thick enough to completely absorb strong light sources. As a result, when curtains made from uncoated fabrics are closed in an attempt to block out direct sunlight, light will still be visible through the curtain.

Coated fabrics consist of a standard uncoated fabric with an opaque rubber backing applied to the rear of the fabric to provide improved light absorption. To create a coated fabric a liquefied rubber polymer is applied in a single coat to an uncoated fabric and subsequently fused dry by means of a heated roller, in much the same way that a laser printer applies toner to a sheet of paper before fusing it dry. A fabric that has been through the coating process once is considered a 1 pass coated fabric, anecdotally referred to as dim-out because of the fabric's ability to absorb approximately 50-70% of a direct light source. To improve the light absorption of a fabric it is possible to re-coat a fabric up to a maximum of 3 pass coated, which is considered sufficient to block out 100% of a direct light source, hence such fabrics are referred to as blockout coated.

Fleece fabric

Polar fleece (also known as microfleece or micrafleece), usually referred to simply as "fleece," is a soft napped insulating synthetic wool fabric made from PET or other synthetic fibres. One of the first forms was Polar Fleece created in 1979 by Malden Mills, now Polartec LLC., a new, light and strong pile fabric meant to mimic and in some ways surpass wool. Fleece has some of wool's finest qualities but weighs a fraction of the lightest available woolens.

Fleece is used in casual jackets, hats, sweaters, jogging bottoms/sweatpants, gym clothes, hoodies, inexpensive throw blankets, and high-performance outdoor clothing, and can be a vegan alternative to wool. It can be made partially from recycled plastic bottles and is very light, soft and easy to wash.[1]

Aaron Feuerstein actively did not patent Polar fleece, allowing the material to be produced cheaply and widely by many vendors, promoting the material's wide acceptance.

Fleece garments traditionally come in different thickness: micro, 100, 200, and 300, with 300 being the thickest and least flexible.
Advantages

Advantages of fleece are that it is:

* Soft and comfortable to wear.
* Very warm and provides warmth without weighing a lot.
* Hydrophobic, holding less than 1% of its weight in water when fully soaked and simultaneously highly breathable. Due to this, water vapor from perspiration passes through readily and little is held within the fleece. This makes it a good choice for physical activities where sweating is likely to occur.
* Can be considered environmentally friendly as it can be made from recycled plastic PET bottles.
* Machine washable and dries quickly. Specific washing instructions include cold or cool water (no more than 30–40°C), line-dry, and do not iron.
* A good alternative for those who are allergic or sensitive to wool.
* Dries very quickly and retains much of its insulation capability even when it is wet, because of its hydrophobic properties.
Disadvantages

* Is flammable. Fleece without fire retardant is categorized as a Group I flammable fabric; with fire retardant, a Group II flammable fabric. (Group III fabrics are the least flammable and are made from natural animal hair, such as wool, from silks and from hides.
* Is made from a non-renewable natural resource: petroleum.
* The fabric doesn't absorb moisture as well as natural fiber fabrics such as cotton and wool (however this is usually a desired effect of fleece).[6][7][8]
* It tends to generate very high static electricity charges. This makes it a magnet for pet hairs and other dust and fluff.
* Not windproof (although some more expensive grades are denser and designed to be windproof., and some have plastic membranes laminated with them to block wind.)
* Can be damaged by high-temperature washing (temperatures at or below 30 to 40°C are recommended), or by tumble drying and ironing (only a cool iron is OK).
* Lower-quality grades are susceptible to pilling and to early wear and tear.
* In some instances it may tear easily.

Stretch fabric

Stretch fabric
Stretch fabric is a term that refers to synthetic fabrics which stretch in all four directions. This is in contrast to normal fabrics that will often stretch to a small extent, although only in two directions.

Stretch fabrics evolved from the scientific effort to make fibres using neoprene. From this research, in 1958 commercial stretch fabrics ('elastomerics') such as spandex or elastane (widely branded as 'Lycra') were brought to the market.

Stretch fabrics simplify the construction of clothing. First used in swimsuits and women's bras, fashion designers began using them as early as the mid-1980s. They entered the mainstream market in the early 1990s, and are widely used in sportswear.

On a larger scale, the materials have also been adapted to many artistic and decorative purposes. Stretch fabric structures create contemporary and modern looking design elements that have many uses in corporate theatre and event production.

Drapery

drapery
Drapery is a general word refering to cloths or textiles (Old French drap, from Late Latin drappus[1]). It may refer to cloth used for decorative purposes - such as around windows - or to the trade of retailing cloth, originally mostly for clothing, formerly conducted by drapers. Even small British towns had several drapers' shops until quite recently, when ready-made clothes, curtains, etc have become the norm. Several department stores originated as drapers' shops.

In art history, drapery refers to any cloth or textile depicted, which is usually mostly clothing. The schematic depiction of the folds and woven patterns of loose-hanging clothing on the human form, with ancient prototypes, was reimagined as an adjunct to the female form by Greek vase-painters and sculptors of the earliest fifth century and has remained a major source of stylisticformulas in sculpture and painting, even after the Renaissance adoption of tighter-fitting clothing styles. After the Renaissance, large cloths with no very obvious purpose are often used decoratively, especially in portraits in the grand manner; these are also known as draperies.
Fresco of Mithras and the Bull from the mithraeum at Marino, (3rd century CE)

For the Greeks, as Sir Kenneth Clark noted,[2] clinging drapery followed the planes and contours of the bodily form,, emphasizing its twist and stretch: "floating drapery makes visible the line of movement through which it has just passed.... Drapery, by suggesting lines of force, indicates for each action a past and a possible future." Clark contrasted the formalized draperies in the frieze at Olympia with the sculptural frieze figures of the Parthenon, where "it has attained a freedom and an expressive power that have never been equalled except by Leonardo da Vinci". Undraped male figures, Clark observed, "were kept in motion by their flying cloaks."

Polyester cotton

polyester cotton
Polyester processing

After the first stage of polymer production in the melt phase, the product stream divides into two different application areas which are mainly textile applications and packaging applications. In figure 2 the main applications of textile and packaging polyester are listed.

Table 2: Textile and packaging polyester application list
POLYESTER-BASED POLYMER (MELT or PELLET)
Textile Packaging
Staple fiber (PSF) Bottles for CSD, Water, Beer, Juice, Detergents
Filaments POY, DTY, FDY A-PET Film
Technical yarn and tire cord Thermoforming
Non-woven and spunbond BO-PET Biaxial oriented Film
Mono-filament Strapping

Abbreviations: PSF = Polyester Staple Fiber; POY = Partially Oriented Yarn; DTY = Draw Textured Yarn; FDY = Fully Drawn Yarn; CSD = Carbonated Soft Drink; A-PET = Amorphous Polyester Film; BO-PET = Biaxial Oriented Polyester Film;

A comparable small market segment (<< 1 Million t/a) of polyester is used to produce engineering plastics and masterbatch.

In order to produce the polyester melt with a high efficiency, high-output processing steps like staple fiber (50–300 t/d per spinning line) or POY /FDY (up to 600 t/d split into about 10 spinning machines) are meanwhile more and more horizontal, integrated, direct processes. This means the polymer melt is directly converted into the textile fibers or filaments without the common step of pelletizing. We are talking about full horizontal integration when polyester is produced at one site starting from crude oil or distillation products in the chain oil -> benzene -> PX -> PTA -> PET melt -> fiber / filament or bottle-grade resin. Such integrated processes are meanwhile established in more or less interrupted processes at one production site. Eastman Chemicals introduced at first the idea to close the chain from PX to PET resin with their so-called INTEGREX process. The capacity of such horizontal, integrated productions sites is >1000 t/d and can easily reach 2500 t/d.

Besides the above mentioned large processing units to produce staple fiber or yarns, there are ten thousands of small and very small processing plants, so that one can estimate that polyester is processed and recycled in more than 10 000 plants around the globe. This is without counting all the companies involved in the supply industry, beginning with engineering and processing machines and ending with special additives, stabilizers and colors. This is a gigantic industry complex and it is still growing by 4–8% per annum, depending on the world region. Useful information about the polyester industry can be found under [5] where a “Who is Producing What in the Polyester Industry” is gradually being developed.
Ring-opening polymerization

Aliphatic polyesters can be assembled from lactones under very mild conditions, catalyzed anionically, cationically or metallorganically.

Thermosetting resins are generally copolymers of unsaturated polyesters with styrene. Polyester saturation is governed through the use of maleic acid or fumaric acid. In vinyl esters, saturation (or lack thereof) is found in the alcohol group of the polyester. The double bond of unsaturated polyester reacts with styrene resulting in a 3-D cross-linked structure. This structure acts as a thermoset. The cross-linking is initiated through an exothermic reaction involving an organic peroxide, such as methyl ethyl ketone peroxide or benzoyl peroxide.

Silver polyester

silver polyester
Polyester is a category of polymers which contain the ester functional group in their main chain. Although there are many polyesters, the term "polyester" as a specific material most commonly refers to polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Polyesters include naturally-occurring chemicals, such as in the cutin of plant cuticles, as well as synthetics through step-growth polymerization such as polycarbonate and polybutyrate. Natural polyesters and a few synthetic ones are biodegradable, but most synthetic polyesters are not.

Depending on the chemical structure polyester can be a thermoplastic or thermoset, however the most common polyesters are thermoplastics.[1]

Woven polyester fabrics are used in apparel and home furnishings such as bed sheets, beds, table sheets, curtains and draperies. Similarly, industrial polyesters are used in tyre reinforcements, ropes, fabrics for conveyor belts, safety belts, coated fabrics and plastic reinforcements with high energy absorption. Polyester fibers are also used to stuff pillows, comforters and cushion padding.

Polyester fabrics are claimed to have a "less natural" feel when compared to similarly-woven fabrics made from natural fibers (i.e. cotton in textile uses). However, polyester fabrics may exhibit other advantages over natural fabrics, such as improved wrinkle resistance. As a result, polyester fibers are sometimes spun together with natural fibers to produce a cloth with blended properties.

Polyesters are also used to make bottles, films, tarpaulin, canoes, liquid crystal displays, holograms, filters, dielectric film for capacitors, film insulation for wire and insulating tapes.

Liquid crystalline polyesters are among the first industrially-used liquid crystalline polymers. They are used for their mechanical properties and heat-resistance. These traits are also important in their application as an abradable seal in jet engines.

Polyesters are widely used as a finish on high-quality wood products such as guitars, pianos and vehicle / yacht interiors. Burns Guitars, Rolls Royce and Sunseeker are a few companies that use polyesters to finish their products. Thixotropic properties of spray-applicable polyesters make them ideal for use on open-grain timbers, as they can quickly fill wood grain, with a high-build film thickness per coat. Cured polyesters can be sanded and polished to a high-gloss, durable finish.

Friday, October 16, 2009

Care clothing

care clothing
Care Symbol Chart

General Care and Cleaning

Textiles are such a part of our daily lives that it seems natural to clean them in order to maintain their condition. While this is appropriate for household linens, in general you should not attempt to clean an antique textile without first consulting a textile conservator. Proper cleaning techniques for antique textiles require a great deal of skill and experience; sometimes cleaning would be more harmful than allowing the textile to remain soiled. A conservator can evaluate the condition of the textile and assist you in determining the best course of action.

One important kind of cleaning you can do to maintain your textile collection is vacuuming. A low-power, hand-held vacuum is the best tool for the job. Lightweight or fragile textiles should be vacuumed through a fiberglass screen (available at hardware stores). Vacuum slowly and carefully, working in the direction of the nap with velvets or other pile fabrics. Avoid scrubbing back and forth. If you have a rug in constant use on the floor, make sure to vacuum the back as well as the front on a regular basis.

When working with your collection, be sure to wash your hands to remove oils, acids, salts, and soils that can stain your textile. Remove jewelry such as rings that might catch on loose threads. Work on a clean surface and do not eat, drink, or smoke around your textile collection.

A textile can be easily torn if handled improperly. When moving a textile within your home, gently pleat, fold, or roll the piece and support its weight on a tray or sturdy piece of cardboard.

Care textile

care textile
Care labels are scratchy and irritating and can safely be removed with a penknife or Stanley knife.
If blood from Stanley knife cuts gets onto clothes, it will make you look hard, as long as it is not so much as you make you look pale yourself.
Cleaner, fresher clothes make you look like a girl. And clothes that don't survive the wash weren't worth having anyway.
Neat Domestos is rarely a good idea, no matter what that bloke Dave says in the pub.
Anyway, he is not "a UN soap inspector", he works in Tesco stacking Dreft onto shelves.
So, here is a Man's Lexicon of the symbols on care labels.

Washing
INSTRUCTIONS
Machine Wash,
any program Machine Wash,
any program Machine Wash,
any program Hand Wash
(Only joking - Machine Wash, any program)
Machine Wash,
any program Machine Wash,
any program Machine Wash,
any program Do Not Wash
(Only joking - Machine Wash, any program)
Machine Wash,
any program Machine Wash,
any program Machine Wash,
any program

Bleaching
INSTRUCTIONS
Add a capful of Domestos if you think it'll do any good. Don't get curry stains on this. Really.
Add half a capful of Domestos if you think it'll do any good.

Drying
INSTRUCTIONS
Tumble Dry,
any setting Tumble Dry,
any setting Tumble Dry,
any setting Do Not Tumble Dry
(Only joking - Tumble Dry, any setting)
Tumble Dry,
any setting Tumble Dry,
any setting Tumble Dry,
any setting Big radiator
Tumble Dry,
any setting Tumble Dry,
any setting Tumble Dry,
any setting Any radiator
Tumble Dry,
any setting Small radiator


Ironing
INSTRUCTIONS
Best to fold it
Fold it if you can be bothered
Stuff in a drawer
Stuff in a drawer
Best kept on floor


Drycleaning
INSTRUCTIONS
May not survive washing. Try it anyway. Will survive washing, but will go blue.