INTRODUCTION

Textile industry is one of the few basic industries, which is characterised as a necessary component of human life. One may classify it as a more glamorous industry, but whatever it is, it provides with the basic requirement called clothes. There are numerous kinds of fibres and other raw materials, which are used to produce a cloth. This paper provides an insight about the basics of textiles and the terms that are used all around the world in context of textile industry. Regarding study of textile fabrics, meaning of the word textile must be made quite clear. The dictionary states that the word is derived from the Latin word texere1 to weave, but a wider meaning of weaving must be accepted since it is one of the various ways to produce textile fabrics. The initial stage of textile manufacturing involves the production of the raw material either by farmers who raise cotton, sheep, silkworms, or flax or by chemists who produce fibre from various basic substances by chemical processes. The fibre

is spun into yarn, which is then converted into fabric in a weaving or knitting mill. After dyeing and finishing, the woven material is ready for delivery either directly to manufacturer of textile products where they are finally stitched into clothes. The flow diagram of the fibre to fabric process is

Polymers are the resource for man-made fibres, which are derived mostly from oil. Plant fibres and animal fibres constitute the natural fibres. After the fabric is formed, it is generally subjected to finishing and/or dyeing process, in which the raw fabric properties are modified for the end use.