Monday, March 29, 2010

What is the difference between a yarn, fibre, and fabric?

By this question, you have already in mind any definition about textile and you obviously know something about textiles as this three are terms that pertains to particular by-products brought by the process involved in the making of textiles. Simply put, the yarn, fibre, and fabric are individual products made from the making of fabric.

The fabric is the final product by the process, though not in contrast, apparels are the end-product made of fabrics. The cloth that you can see in textile stores that are rolled are the fabrics. They come in different colors, designs, texture, and thickness. They are either woven or knitted. Fabrics are used to make corporate uniforms, workwear uniforms, jackets and all other textiles.

The yarn on the other hand is a processed fibre. Yarns are threads made of fibre from known raw materials like cotton balls, silk, or wool.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Why Presidents Use Several Pens for One Signature?

When President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act - also known as the controversial health care reform bill that says will benefit many Americans including healthcare professional in medical scrubs - he used 22 new pens. Last year when he signed the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act he used 7. In fact, all Presidents since FDR has been doing the same thing.

The main answer to this question has no relation to whatever logical reasoning except that this has become a tradition. It is not because the pens are not good so a president would need another but this has become a custom so the president can give the pen as souvenir to those who attends the ceremony and to those who has been part of the drafting or passage of the bill.

FYI, the President who have signed a bill with most number of pens was President Lyndon Johnson with 75. (Video footage here.) George W. Bush seems to be tradition breaker when he only used 1 pen to sign all bills sent to the WhiteHouse. However, he still gave "gift" pens to the attendees of the ceremony.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

What are Cotton Apparels Really Made Of?

It seems that when you hear the word cotton, you imagine that soft ball that are normally used in hospitals or the whitish tip of an ear bud. These materials are really made of cotton. But how about those shirts that you wear that says it is made of cotton?

Basically, cotton is a fibrous plant. In ancient art and history it is most often regarded as the wool plant. The fibers of the cotton is woven and made into yarns. Threads are being made then from yarns and woven to become fabric. Before, manufacturers actually make 100% cotton shirts. But because of the increase in demand and to control supply of cotton, this fabric is combined with other synthetic fabrics like polyester and rayon.

Our modern workwear uniforms today are no longer 100% made of cotton but a combination of several natural and synthetic fabrics. Normally, polar fleece are being used to replace wool and so polyesters are great replacements for cotton.

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

What is the difference of fleece from wool?

The word fleece is confusing to some because it can be attributed to different meanings but all has something to do with clothing or fabric. Fleece can be a term used to refer a wool that has not been processed to become fiber or yarn. So this term can be said that a fleece is at some point just the same as the wool.

However, if you are referring to the word fleece as a form of fabric, the correct term for it is polar fleece. The polar fleece or also known simply as fleece is a synthetically made fabric from polyethylene terephthalate (PET). This was discovered by Malden Mills.

The main difference between a wool and a fleece is that the former is made directly from animal fur especially that of a sheep or a goat. By undergoing a process, the wool are made into yarn to create fabric.

Fleece are said to contain same features as the wool but surprisingly differs in weight as fleece weigh lighter that wool. The same thing fleece are used in jackets, sweat shirts, sports uniforms, blankets and other apparels that often use wool. Fleece is simply a synthetic alternative to wool.