#Synthetic Fiber

[balkanradfem]

I keep thinking everyone knows the exact same information as me, but since I'm about to make more posts about textiles and clothing, as I'm reading the book on them, I'm going to write down some basic information, just in case it's not very common, because a lot of this I only gathered recently. If I get something wrong please correct me in a kind way!

So where does the clothing come from, and how do we make it? During most of the history, textiles were made by women, from natural materials; flax, wool, cotton, silk, jute. Recently we started using more synthetic materials, like acrylic, polyester, nylon, spandex. If you want to make clothing from the natural materials, like wool or cotton, they first need to be processed, cleaned and combed, then spun into yarn, or thread. Spinning is the process where women manage to pull a thin part of the material and spin the fibres into one consistent, firm thread. It's super impressive to watch them do it and I have no idea how they manage to make it consistent, I've not yet tried to do it myself.

Once the thread is done, it can be made into a textile by knitting, crochet, or weaving. There are also other more complex, decorative methods, like tatting or lacing.

For knitting, you need two needles, or a special circular needle, or, there are also knitting machines, which you can use to make woolen fabric. For weaving, you need a loom. For crochet, you need a crochet hook. While knitting and weaving can be done by a machine, crochet can only be done by hand. Woven fabrics are firm, sturdy, durable, and not stretchy, while knit fabric is the most stretchy and soft. I'm not sure about crochet since I only have one crochet garment, but mine is very sturdy!

All of these methods were historically done by women; families were able to grow flax plants close to their homes, and women would then create linens, woven textiles made from processed flax, which was used to make sheets and clothing. Linen was specifically useful in keeping people clean, since it's very good at absorbing moisture. Used as an under-garment, it was capable of absorbing sweat, and protecting the outer layers, which were not washed. Experiments have shown that frequently changing into clean linen was more effective at keeping clean than showering and then putting on the same clothing back on.

Women's ability to create clothing was sadly exploited, and women were even banned to sell it commercially, or from competing at the commercial market, but their husbands were allowed to profit off of their craft.

In the USA, cotton was the most produced material, however for this too people were enslaved and exploited; cotton took human labour to grow, harvest and process, it also required a lot of water, and caused destruction of environment, because of the chemicals used in it's growth, and the unsustainability of monocrops.

Creating a piece of clothing out of textiles, or sewing, is a process that still cannot be completely automated; while you can use a sewing machine, you cannot make a machine that would produce a whole garment out of textiles. No mass-produced piece of clothing was sewn by a machine, it always has to be made by a human being. This is why a lot of the sewing labour is currently outsourced to third-world countries and companies use modern slavery in order to create fast fashion; there is no machine that can do it, so by the rules of capitalism, the companies are trying to get that labour as cheap as possible, often at the cost of human lives.

We didn't use to have as many garments as we do today, in the 18th century people would have two outfits, one for normal days of the week, and one for Sunday. The clothing they owned was usually made to fit them exactly, either by a female member of the family, or a seamstress, and these garments were made to last them for decades. As clothing became cheaper to buy than to make at home, and more of it became mass-produced, people started acquiring more of it, but also using it for lesser period of time. This would eventually grow into a bigger problem, due to the amount of chemicals and labour used to grow, process, dye and sew the garments, and the amount of waste we were starting to accumulate.

Introduction of synthetic materials, like acrylic, made the yarn and the textiles much cheaper, however it lacks the important properties natural materials have. Do you ever notice how synthetic garments sometimes continue smelling bad even after you wash them? That is because they'll absorb sweat, but become hydrophobic when wet, meaning they will take in your sweat, but refuse to let it go once they're in the water. This means that the longer you have them, the worst their stink becomes. This, of course, can be hidden by the generous use of scented fabric softener, but it won't exactly make the garment clean. This information I've learned recently, but it helped me identify what were the most synthetic pieces of clothing I had. Acrylic clothing had also proven to shed 1.5 more microplastics than any other polyester when put into the washing machine.

Having our clothing grown, processed, spun, woven/knit, and then sewn far out of sight, it's possible to lose the sight of where it came from, or how it's made. Only by trying to do it yourself, or learning closely about the process can one learn to appreciate what a monumental task it is, to create fabric, or a garment. Other than the synthetic textiles, of which I still know very little of, all of the natural clothing is a product of plants and animals, it takes land, farming, agriculture and water to grow the plants, raise the animals, and then labour to process and spin the fibres. It's also something people used to do in their gardens, inside of their homes, something that was normal for women to do, and to trade for anything else they needed, saving them from having to work for wages. Women making fabric was always to the benefit of everyone around them, while m*n taking over the industry and doing it commercially, ultimately brought slave labour to a lot of people, cheap and low quality garments to the select few, and money to the hands of the exploiters.

Being curious about clothing and what becomes of it, is a big benefit to the environment and the future of the earth! Knowing what the textile industry is doing, and how does it affect the planet, can be a great motivator to try and sew, or upcycle and mend clothing, or create garments. It's presented to us as something women were forced to do in the past, and it's connected to 'feminine hobbies', but in actuality, it is power to create something humans cannot do without. Women in the past used it's power too, whenever they could. And we are the only ones who ever used this power for good.

[tenth-sentence]

Plant cell walls are also used to make synthetic fibers (such as rayon), plastics, films, coatings, adhesives, gels, and thickeners.

"Plant Physiology and Development" int'l 6e - Taiz, L., Zeiger, E., Møller, I.M., Murphy, A.

[fusionsprunt]

to sum it up, drink water. plenty of it.

I refuse to acknowledge character ref sheets anymore so i'll keep adding new changes to a design until i'm satisfied with the result.

[mindblowingscience]

Scientists in China have synthesized spider silk from genetically modified silkworms, producing fibers six times tougher than the Kevlar used in bulletproof vests. The study, published September 20 in the journal Matter, is the first to successfully produce full-length spider silk proteins using silkworms. The findings demonstrate a technique that could be used to manufacture an environmentally friendly alternative to synthetic commercial fibers such as nylon. "Silkworm silk is presently the only animal silk fiber commercialized on a large scale, with well-established rearing techniques," said Mi. "Consequently, employing genetically modified silkworms to produce spider silk fiber enables low-cost, large-scale commercialization." Scientists have eyed spider silk as an enticingly sustainable alternative to synthetic fibers, which can release harmful microplastics into the environment and are often produced from fossil fuels that generate greenhouse gas emissions. But turning to nature for alternatives isn't without challenges.

Continue Reading

[hes-a-plant]

As someone who doesn’t knit or crochet much with normal-weight yarn (I do a lot of lace crochet with thread), I find it really interesting how there are two prominent and completely different views on what the best yarn type is.

There’s the people who love wool. You gotta love wool. It’s waterproof, it’s wonderful, it’s from a sheep (usually? I think? Is it called something else if it’s from other animals? Alpaca wool is a thing, right?). You can also easily spin and dye wool yourself, making it all the more wonderful and sustainable. Why have plastic yarn if you can make it from sheep hair? Sheep will always have hair to give.

And then, there’s the people who love synthetics. Why not? They make wonderful socks, and they’re decently sturdy. They can even be stretchy, too! With synthetics, you can get so many different vibrant colours, and the yarn can be uncannily uniform. Also, who has the time to hand wash everything nowadays? You can just toss it in the washing machine, if it’s synthetic. Why would you want expensive and potentially scratchy wool?

Alas, this is just what I’ve heard, for I sit in the middle with my piles of mercerized cotton thread.

(A little disclaimer on synthetics: they’re all different. This is not a care guide, please don’t destroy your socks)

[anniebass]

I have finally purchased a dagger brush for watercolor after eyeing brushes of that sort for a while. It's this type of brush:

and I gotta say: this is masochism. This is amazing. This is insanely versatile. This is like playing the flight of the bumblebee. This is an answer to my prayers

[fortyflightower]

i just can’t quit you*

*the decrepit calvin klein sports bra i’ve had since middle school.

[byler-alarmist]

Me, wrapped up in microfleece blanket: why plastic warm

[aeide-thea]

06-07-23 Why Patagonia helped Samsung redesign the washing machine

Samsung is releasing a wash cycle and a new filter, which will dramatically shrink microfiber pollution.

Eight years ago, Patagonia started to study a little-known environmental problem: With every load of laundry, thousands (even millions) of microfibers, each less than 5 millimeters long, wash down the drain. Some are filtered out at water treatment plants, but others end up in the ocean, where fibers from synthetic fabric make up a surprisingly large amount of plastic pollution—35%, by one estimate. Fragments of your favorite sweatshirt might now be floating in the Arctic Ocean. In a collaboration that began two years ago, the company helped inspire Samsung to tackle the problem by rethinking its washing machines. Today, Samsung unveiled its solution: A new filter that can be added to existing washers and used along with a “Less Microfiber” cycle that Samsung also designed. The combination makes it possible to shrink microfiber pollution by as much as 98%.

[…] Patagonia’s team connected Samsung with Ocean Wise, a nonprofit that tests fiber shedding among its mission to protect and restore our oceans. Samsung shipped some of its machines to Ocean Wise’s lab in Vancouver, where researchers started to study how various parameters change the results. Cold water and less agitation helped—but both of those things can also make it harder to get clothing clean. “There are maybe two ways of increasing the performance of your washing machine,” says Moohyung Lee, executive vice president and head of R&D at Samsung, through an interpreter. “Number one is to use heated water. That will obviously increase your energy consumption, which is a problem. The second way to increase the performance of your washing machine is to basically create stronger friction between your clothes . . . and this friction and abrasion of the fibers is what results in the output of microplastics.” Samsung had already developed a technology called “EcoBubble” to improve the performance of cold-water cycles to help save energy, and it tweaked the technology to specifically tackle microfiber pollution. “It helps the detergent dissolve more easily in water so that it foams better, which means that you don’t need to heat up your water as much, and you don’t need as much mechanical friction, but you still have a high level of performance,” Lee says. The new “Less Microfiber” cycle, which anyone with a Samsung washer can download as an update for their machine, can reduce microfiber pollution by as much as 54%. To tackle the remainder, the company designed a filter that can be added to existing washers at the drain pipe, with pores tiny enough to capture fibers. They had to balance two conflicting needs: They wanted to make it as simple as possible to use, so consumers didn’t have to continually empty the filter, but it was also critical that the filter wouldn’t get clogged, potentially making water back up and the machine stop working. The final design compresses the microfibers, so it only has to be emptied once a month, and sends an alert via an app when it needs to be changed. Eventually, in theory, the fibers that are collected could potentially be recycled into new material rather than put in the trash. (Fittingly, the filter itself is also made from recycled plastic.) When OceanWise tested the cycle and filter together, they confirmed that it nearly eliminated microfiber pollution. Now, Samsung’s challenge is to get consumers to use it. The filter, which is designed to be easily installed on existing machines, is launching now in Korea and will launch in the U.S. and Europe later this year. The cost will vary by market, but will be around $150 in the U.S. The cycle, which began to roll out last year, can be automatically installed on WiFi-connected machines.

[rholsof-film]

Frankie’s Bikinis trying to sell 100% polyester for $275…they’ve lost their mind…it’s not even a natural fiber, that thing… is gonna deteriorate within two years…

Guys this is what a scam looks like…NEVER buy polyester that’s over $100. It’s PLASTIC FIBER and will be done after a YEAR. If my undergraduate degree taught me anything, it’s polyester isn’t shit. Want something to last? Invest in natural fiber wardrobe. You may have to dry clean it or just hang dry but it will LAST for YEARS. Kills me that these companies think they can get away with charging you overpriced products that are polyester. Please don’t fall for this. Always check the tags on what kind of fiber your clothes are made of. Even online, just scroll to the details and check it before you consider buying it.

[serenabenson]

yes i’m still banging on abt this but i need you all to understand what i’m talking about and why i’m so irritated about it all the time. this skirt is the elowen skirt in wool-blend from dôen:

dôen is a mid-tier brand, something i consider a rung up from a mall brand like anthropologie, but definitely not luxury. they market themselves on nostalgia (most of their designs are modern takes on vintage styles), timelessness, high quality, and a concern for ethical production and sustainability. the composition of this “wool” skirt? 40% wool, 29% polyester, 29% viscose, 2% elastane. the description does indicate the fabric is cut on the bias (which you can tell based on the lovely drape), but does not clearly state whether or not it’s lined (i assume it is not) if there is a zipper or button closure, or if it’s an elastic pull-on waist (which i assume it is), and you can’t tell by the photos how the seams are finished. this skirt is $278 american dollars.

compare that to this skirt, which i bought on depop just a few months ago to wear this winter:

this is a vintage l.l. bean skirt. it’s clear that it’s been worn (at the waist where the lining in the back is starting to twist up above the seam) and that it isn’t a premium garment (for instance: the pattern doesn’t match at the seams, and the lining isn’t secured all the way down) but it is 100% virgin wool outer, fully lined polyester inner, hidden zipper + hook and eye closure with no elastic in the waist. this is not a bias cut, nor true patchwork, but is a pretty thick tweed weave— the skirt is composed of two panels of fabric with darts at the waist for fit. i bought this for $32 including shipping and handling. it is a size too big on me, which i knew when i bought it. i just picked it up from the tailor, who took it in while preserving the original a-line shape. all told, this wool skirt— now custom tailored to fit my body— cost me $52 total. it has lasted for years already before it even got to me, and will hopefully now last several more.

you tell me which is priced fairly.

[zhalfirin-binds]

Making paper backed cloth for bookbinding

I tried my hand recently on making my own book cloth, not because I can’t get any, but because there are so many fun patterns and colours around. To be honest, I expect bought book cloth to be superior for all the ways it’s finished to be more resilient towards dirt and and such, but that doesn’t say self made cloth is bad at all! There are different ways to achieve a paper backing, I went for the backing with paper and starch paste because a) if I mess up I can always do it over no harm done, no material lost b) I have my doubts about the durabilty of heat activated glues and their durability c) using paste is just so much cheaper

So first up was cooking starch paste. I don’t have a ratio for that. I put a spoon of starch into a pot, add some water to get rid of any lumps and let it soak a few minutes (usually just long enough to get some water boiling), then I slowly pour over the boiling water while stirring the starch and at some point it turns from white to translucent and lumpy and I stop when there’s a certain thickness. When the paste has cooled it press it through a mesh and add some more water as needed. (It’s usually rather thick at that point.)

(and yes, my mesh is a nylon sock. I don’t own a fancy horeshair sieve and this stores much easier) Then I prepared my cloth and the paper I was going to use for backing. The final sheets have the warp and the grain direction run parallel for better usage and less warping (at least that’s the theory, I have yet to use that selfmade cloth to find out). The limiting factor here was the width of the web of tissue paper I used. Because I also need the paper to be 2,5cm -5cm larger than the piece of fabric in order to get a smooth sheet of book cloth. Having around 5cm for an edge makes it far easier to get the paper on the cloth even if there is a little skew.

I moistened the pre-washed, but un-ironed fabric (I have some cotton and synthetic fabric, none of them are elastic) and smoothed it down to a flat surface that won’t be needed for a couple of hours (preferably over night). Glas would be best but I didn’t have that, so I picked two work benches for that. I used plenty of water, which was a good thing, I’d say because even when smoothed down, a bit more water made the synthetic fabric wrinkly again. 

I sprayed the later front side, turned the cloth around and sprayed the backside. Brushed the water in with a clean brush until the fabric clung smooth to the surface.

Then I spread the paste on the paper and put it on top of the backside of the fabric, brushed down the paper on top of the cloth with a clean and dry brush to get rid of any airbubbles. Starting in the middle of the fabric and brushing along the long side to the sides to push out the air. Then I gave it a brush down along the short side too. (the slightly brighter stretches of paper on the left are where the air is still caught under the paper, on the right is the paper all smoothed down)

Sometimes I had to lift the edfe of the paper carefully to let out some air or get rid of a too large wrinkle that was building up in the paper.

I weighed the cloth and paper down with blotting paper and blotting board as well as some wooden boards, but only to make them dry faster. In consideration of the table surface I cut only one corner loose after the coth had dried and loosened the rest by running a very flat bone folder all around the edges.

I had great success with the cotton fabric. only minimal bleed through of paste at the edges and a slight smudge in the middle of one sheet.

the synthetic fiber...   not so much. While others before that one had taken well to the paste, the one with those shades of blue and purple did not. it was a mess to smooth down and apparently not smooth enough. when I pried it loose it was all bubbly and a lot of fabric was not adhered to the paper backing.

I scrapped that one, I pulled the paper off, washed it out again and this time pressed it while drying, so it would be smooth before the next attempt.

Cleaning up the surface was easy by the way. It was all plastered with dried starch paste, but I simply sprayed it with water, let it sit for a bit and wiped it off. No scrubbing needed at all.

[shalom-iamcominghome]

I love the colors on your rainbow kippah, who did you order it from?

I got it from this etsy store. I loved that it was crochet (I'm horrible with MCs, I'm a beginner in making clothes), there is a visible seam in the kippah where the rainbow is, which I think is cool honestly, but I know many people are bothered by that sort of thing. It looks like they also have other "themes," too, and if I get another kippah from them, I'm looking at their gold-colored one 👀

Here is the seam in question, but honestly, you can just put the seam where nobody will see it (plus this gives you an idea of the colors themselves because that's one of my favorite parts of it):

Here is a direct link in case the one above is not working for you:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/GreenethingsBoutique

[originalitysquared]

Hey sometimes your skin breaks out cause it is dry btw.

Like some skin needs regular lotioning so that it is less red and irritated. We live in dirty environments with lots of environmental allergens, be nice to your skin and listen to what it needs to feel better. :3

[matineemonsters]

Made a really nice heated rice sock with an old rainbow tube sock that I've worn 5 maybe times in the decade I've had it. Clean sock, rice, dried lavender (that I harvested and dried myself!), green cardamom, chamomile, raspberry leaf. Should've been amazing. Tell me why I nuked that shit and it smells like feet

[gay-ppl-real]

People who make formalwear out of natural fibres I love you. People who make fancy clothes out of natural fibres I love you. People who make unique and interesting styles out of natural fibres I love you. People who find a way to make creative shapes and textures and looks out of natural fibres I love you. Natural fibres I love you.