Woven Fabrics

Plain weave muslin

Close up of plain weave

Woven fabrics is one of the ways cloth material is classified. The other ways are non-woven and knitted.

Each class of fabric has its own characteristics and within this classification there are many different cloth types. 

The most common weave is the plain weave as shown in the pictures. Fabrics include muslin, poplin and taffeta.

How woven fabrics are made

Very simplified look at basic weaving.

These fabrics are made by crossing alternated threads onto a fixed thread base. This is done with the help of a loom.

There are two types of threads on a loom one runs from top to bottom and is called the warp which is held under tension. The other runs side to side and is called the weft. In basic looms a shuttle will help guide the weft thread through the warp thread.

The weft threads have to go over and under the warp threads and on a loom the warp threads would be placed on different fixed bases and lifted alternately. The weft threads are then passed through and, unlike the picture above,  the thread would be pushed together tightly.

Weaving fabric has been done for centuries and dated back to the early Egyptians. Hand weaving is still done today and is considered a type of craft. There were hand looms that operated with foot pedals, some are still used today.

For manufacturing and the production a fabric on a large scale power looms were invented in the mid 1700's which help to give rise to the Industrial Revolution.

Types of fabrics that are woven

Woven fabrics are used in making clothes, carpets, furnishing and curtain fabrics.

The Thread Count of Sheeting Fabric

The thread count is calculating the number of threads there are in a certain size of fabric. The size taken is usually an inch or 2.5 centimetres. The warp and weft threads are added together in this area.

Thread counts are usually given for bedding and sheets. The higher the thread count within this inch indicates a good quality of fabric. The better the quality of fabric, the higher the item will cost.

600 - 800 threads is very high quality. Sheets of good quality have thread counts ranging from 200 - 800.

The higher the thread count the finer the threads have to be in order to get more into the measured area. This will produce a softer and more hardwearing fabric.

Different Fabric Weights

Fabrics come in different weights from the very fine lightweights through to the medium weight and then onto the heavy weighted ones.

The size or thickness of the fabric fibres as well as the thread count determines the weight of the fabric.

Enjoy choosing your woven fabrics.