similarities between animal and plant fibres
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There are so many similarities and differences I don't know where to start, or if I can list them all.
Mechanically, a fabric's structure has as much to do with its behavior as the content of it yarn. Woven fabrics can behave in similar ways regardless of whether they are woven from natural or synthetic fiber. For instance, woven fabric stretches more at 45 degrees to the direction of the yarn than along the direction of the yard. Knit fabric can stretch and drape in similar fashion independent of the content of the yarn.
Another mechanical difference is that the yarn used in synthetic fabrics is generally manufactured via chemical means, e.g. chemically breaking down the cellulose in wood pulp or bamboo then forming a slurry which is then extruded, like spaghetti from a machine. Thus synthetic yarn can be very very long in length. Yarn of natural fabrics are from organic sources such as cotton plant, silk worms' cocoon, sheep's wool, etc. and is of much shorter lengths, and has to be combed and twisted together to form longer strands before it can be woven or knit into fabric.
Natural and synthetic fiber also differs in moisture absorption and retention. Wool and cotton tend to absorb moisture and not let go. OTOH, some synthetic fibers have wicking property that cause moisture to migrate away from the wearer. Natural and synthetic fibers can also differ in insulation property.
Tailoring-wise, natural fiber fabrics respond more readily to heat and steam. A flat piece of fabric can be coaxed into three-dimensional shapes with heat and steam e.g. the "sleeve cap" of a tailored jacket. If you look at the sleeve cap, at the top of a sleeve where it joins to the jacket's body, you'll see that it's not flat but a little bit convex
Also, synthetic yarn tend to stretch less, being one solid extruded yarn rather than spun from many shorter strands like natural fiber. Stretch in synthetic (and in natural yarn and fabrics) is instead achieved by addition of Lycra, or by being knit in a particular way.
I’m sure I left out a bunch of stuff, but this is all I can think of right answer
The short answer is: there is no similarity between natural and synthetic fibers, only differences. However, if you do not look too closely, you can consider that their is one similarity: their external shape.
Natural fibers are complex structure at the microscopic level and no synthetic fiber have ever tried to reproduce the structure of a natural fiber. Synthetic fibers are simply very thin “wires”, uniform in both their cross section and length.
Also, natural fibers are what they are, and you cannot change their characteristics so much. Even with all the textile chemicals available, cotton will always look and behave like cotton, wool like wool, and so on. The only exception is the mercerizing process used to make cotton fibers rounder, which result in a shinny cotton. Synthetic fibers, on the other hand, can now be engineered to look and behave almost however you want, although, for economical and usefulness reasons, there is only a very limited selection of synthetic fibers available compared to what is feasible.
So, at the end, even if they can both be manufactured in similar products, they are as similar as a tree and a tube of plastic. But you can choose the type of plastic, its color, and the shape of the plastic tubes, such as many of them will look like a forest from far away.
I hope it will help u
Mechanically, a fabric's structure has as much to do with its behavior as the content of it yarn. Woven fabrics can behave in similar ways regardless of whether they are woven from natural or synthetic fiber. For instance, woven fabric stretches more at 45 degrees to the direction of the yarn than along the direction of the yard. Knit fabric can stretch and drape in similar fashion independent of the content of the yarn.
Another mechanical difference is that the yarn used in synthetic fabrics is generally manufactured via chemical means, e.g. chemically breaking down the cellulose in wood pulp or bamboo then forming a slurry which is then extruded, like spaghetti from a machine. Thus synthetic yarn can be very very long in length. Yarn of natural fabrics are from organic sources such as cotton plant, silk worms' cocoon, sheep's wool, etc. and is of much shorter lengths, and has to be combed and twisted together to form longer strands before it can be woven or knit into fabric.
Natural and synthetic fiber also differs in moisture absorption and retention. Wool and cotton tend to absorb moisture and not let go. OTOH, some synthetic fibers have wicking property that cause moisture to migrate away from the wearer. Natural and synthetic fibers can also differ in insulation property.
Tailoring-wise, natural fiber fabrics respond more readily to heat and steam. A flat piece of fabric can be coaxed into three-dimensional shapes with heat and steam e.g. the "sleeve cap" of a tailored jacket. If you look at the sleeve cap, at the top of a sleeve where it joins to the jacket's body, you'll see that it's not flat but a little bit convex
Also, synthetic yarn tend to stretch less, being one solid extruded yarn rather than spun from many shorter strands like natural fiber. Stretch in synthetic (and in natural yarn and fabrics) is instead achieved by addition of Lycra, or by being knit in a particular way.
I’m sure I left out a bunch of stuff, but this is all I can think of right answer
The short answer is: there is no similarity between natural and synthetic fibers, only differences. However, if you do not look too closely, you can consider that their is one similarity: their external shape.
Natural fibers are complex structure at the microscopic level and no synthetic fiber have ever tried to reproduce the structure of a natural fiber. Synthetic fibers are simply very thin “wires”, uniform in both their cross section and length.
Also, natural fibers are what they are, and you cannot change their characteristics so much. Even with all the textile chemicals available, cotton will always look and behave like cotton, wool like wool, and so on. The only exception is the mercerizing process used to make cotton fibers rounder, which result in a shinny cotton. Synthetic fibers, on the other hand, can now be engineered to look and behave almost however you want, although, for economical and usefulness reasons, there is only a very limited selection of synthetic fibers available compared to what is feasible.
So, at the end, even if they can both be manufactured in similar products, they are as similar as a tree and a tube of plastic. But you can choose the type of plastic, its color, and the shape of the plastic tubes, such as many of them will look like a forest from far away.
I hope it will help u
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