Textile

:This article is about the type of material. Textile is also a jargon term used by naturists or nudists to describe a person who wears clothes. Textile is also a kind of ReStructured Text.

Sources and types

Textiles can be made from a variety of materials. The following is a partial list of the materials that can be used to make textiles.

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Animal origin

• Alpaca
• Angora rabbit hair
• Camel hair
• Cashmere
• Mohair
• Silk
• Vicuña hair
• Wool: divided into woollen and worsted

Vegetable

• Bark cloth has various uses, and is used in sheets.
• Coir: the fibre from coconuts.
• Cotton
• Grass, rush and straw
• Hemp (mostly used in rope making)
• Jute
• Kapok
• Linen, made from flax
• Nettle: processed in a similar manner to flax.
• Ramie
• Seaweed: a water soluble fibre (alginate) is produced. This is used as a holding fibre in the production of certain textiles: when the cloth is finished the alginate is dissolved, leaving an open area.
• Sisal

Derived from plant products

• Paper
• Rayon
• Modal

Mineral

• Asbestos
• Glass fibres can be used in the manufacture of textiles for insulation and other purposes.
• Metal fibre, metal wire and metal foil have some uses in textiles, either on their own or with other materials (see, for example, goldwork embroidery).

Synthetic

• Acrylic fiber
• Lurex
• Spandex, tactel, lycra and other 'stretch' fabrics
• Nylon fiber
• Polyester fiber
• Polypropylene (comes under various common trade names such as Olefin or Herculon)