A textile or cloth is a flexible woven material consisting of a network of natural or artificial fibres often referred to as thread or yarn. Yarn is produced by spinning raw fibres of wool, flax, cotton, or other material to produce long strands. Textiles are formed by weaving, knitting, crocheting, knotting, or pressing fibres together (felt).
The words fabric and cloth are used in textile assembly trades (such as tailoring and dressmaking) as synonyms for textile. However, there are subtle differences in these terms in specialized usage. Textile refers to any material made of interlacing fibres. Fabric refers to any material made through weaving, knitting, spreading, crocheting, or bonding that may be used in production of further goods (garments, etc.). Cloth may be used synonymously with fabric but often refers to a finished piece of fabric used for a specific purpose (e.g., table cloth).
Read more about Textile: Etymology, History, Uses, Fashion and Textile Designers, Sources and Types, Production Methods, Treatments
Famous quotes containing the word textile:
“Stupid or smart, there wasn’t much choice about what was going to happen to me ... Growing up was like falling into a hole.... I might not quit school, not while Mama had any say in the matter, but what difference would that make? What was I going to do in five years? Work in the textile mill? Join Mama at the diner? It all looked bleak to me. No wonder people got crazy as they grew up.”
—Dorothy Allison (b. 1953)
“Work on good prose has three steps: a musical stage when it is composed, an architectonic one when it is built, and a textile one when it is woven.”
—Walter Benjamin (1892–1940)
“The textile and needlework arts of the world, primarily because they have been the work of women have been especially written out of art history. It is a male idea that to be “high” and “fine” both women and art should be beautiful, but not useful or functional.”
—Patricia Mainardi (b. 1942)