 A variety of fabric. From the left: evenweave cotton, velvet, printed cotton, calico, felt, satin, silk, hessian, polycotton. Cloth or fabric is a flexible artificial material made up of a network of natural or artificial fibres (thread or yarn) formed by weaving or knitting (textiles), or pressed into felt.
Cloth is most often used in the manufacture of clothing, household furnishings, and art such as tapestry. Before the advent of woven cloth, the functions of textiles were fulfilled by furs and skins.
In the past, all cloth was made from natural fibres, including plant sources such as cotton, flax, and hemp, and animal sources such as wool, hair, and silk. In the 20th century, these were supplemented by artificial fibres such as polyester and rayon.
Cloth is most often dyed, with fabrics available in every colour. Coloured designs in fabric can be created by weaving strands of different colours (plaid) and adding coloured stitches to finished fabric (embroidery), but also by using various printing processes on finished fabric.
Cloth is made in many varying strengths and degrees of durability, from the finest gossamer fabrics to sturdy canvas sailcloths. The relative thickness of fibres in cloth is measured in deniers. Microfiber refers to fibers made of strands thinner than one denier.
Some terms for types of cloth include:
|
