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= Fabric Engineering = Fabric engineering is a concentration of Textile engineering that focuses on the design and creation of fabrics. Fabric, also referred to as a textile, is made from fiber that is converted into yarn and then connected together to produce fabric. Many different types of fiber are used to create fabric, including natural and man-made materials. While yarn engineering focuses on altering the fiber materials used to create yarn (and subsequently to create fabric), fabric engineering focuses on modifying the forming processes to make it more effective and creating fabrics for specific uses. Fabric was originally engineered to create clothing to provide warmth from harsh environments; however, over the years and with advancing technologies, fabric engineers have been able to design fabrics with extraordinary qualities such as waterproof, sweat proof, sun blocking, and many others. There are three common fabrics; woven, knitted, and non-woven fabrics. Each utilize a unique forming process and each have been used to create unique products that achieve different qualities and characteristics.

Overview of Different Types of Fabric
The properties of the fabric is heavily determined by the forming process and the path the yarn through the fabric's structure. These forming process use different techniques to create the intricate and complex framework of fabric material.

Woven Fabric
Woven fabric is formed in a process called weaving, which is the oldest known method of forming fabric. Weaving utilizes two threads of yarn, one lengthwise and one widthwise, and interlaces them at right angles. The lengthwise thread is called the warp and the widthwise thread is called the filling (or sometimes the weft). There are numerous variations of weaving, however, plain, twill and satin weaves are consistently referred to as the three basic fundamental weaves. A plain weave is when the filling thread alternates going under and over the warp thread. For a twill weave, the warp threads and filling threads are interlaced in a diagonal direction. In contrast, a satin weave uses either the warp threads or filling threads dominate the other to produce a fabric with fewer interlaces than the plain and twill weaves.

Knitted Fabric
Knitted fabric is formed in a process called knitting, which interlaces loops of threads to create chains. Weft knitting and warp knitting are two different types of knitting, each having a specialized process. Weft knitting forms single loops in a weft-ways direction (across the fabric's width).

Non-Woven Fabrics
Nonwoven fabric is made directly from animal fibers and isn't considered one of the common types of fabric, compared to woven and knitted fabrics which are produced in large amounts.

The Process of Developing Fabric
The fabric engineering process involves creating fabric in a way to have certain properties that best meet the purpose of the product or meet specific requirements. The first step in this process is converting fiber into yarn, which will be the base material of the fabric. After the yarn is created, it goes through the weaving or knitting stage. There are different purposes that weaving and knitting served. Finally, once the material has been put together, it goes through the processing stage where chemicals are used to clean and prepare the fabric for use.

Advancing Characteristics of Fabrics
Fabric engineering has led to many great advancements in fabric technology, which has yielded fabric material with superior characteristics.

= See Also =
 * Textile Engineering


 * Textile

= References =