Textiles

I

Introduction

Textiles, generic term (from Latin texere, “to weave”) originally applied to woven fabrics, but now also applied to natural and synthetic filaments, yarns, and threads as well as to the woven, knitted, felted, tufted, braided, bonded, knotted, and embroidered fabrics made from them; and to nonwoven fabrics produced by mechanically or chemically bonding fibers.

II

Textile Fibers

The term textile fibers refers to fibers that can be spun into yarn or made into fabric by such operations as weaving, knitting, braiding, and felting. Weaving, one of the first crafts, was practiced as early as the New Stone Age, as shown by fragments of flax fibers found in the remains of lake dwellings in Switzerland. In ancient Egypt, the earliest textiles were woven from flax; in India, Peru, and Cambodia, from cotton; in the southern European area, from wool; and in China, from silk. See Fiber.

A

Linen

Made from flax, linen was first used by the ancient Egyptians. Because the earliest linen cloth was usually white, it became a symbol of purity for the Egyptians, and was used not only for clothing and household articles but also in religious practices. The Egyptians also produced textiles made of cotton imported from India. The term linens, now popularly used to designate such household items as cotton sheets, napkins, and towels, probably originated from the Egyptian word linum. See Flax.

B

Wool

The Bible refers to the superior quality of wool sold in the ancient city of Damascus. The ancient peoples of the Caucasian peninsula wore woolen robes called shal, from which the word shawl is derived. Sheep were raised for fiber, as well as for meat and leather, throughout the Mediterranean area. Sicily and southern Italy provided wool for clothing in Rome until the time of the Roman Empire, when fabrics of silk, imported from China, became fashionable. The finest wool came from merino sheep, raised in Spain by the Basque people, whose reputation as the most able sheepherders in the world continues to the present day.

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Subsequently, the Belgians became skillful in producing fine-quality wool textiles and taught their art to the Saxons in Britain, who also became noted for their fine woolen fabrics. See Wool.