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Uses for Textiles and Fabric

Textiles have an assortment of uses, the most common of which are for clothing and for containers such as bags and baskets. In the household, textiles are used in carpeting, upholstered furnishings, window shades, towels, coverings for tables, beds, and other flat surfaces, and in art. In the workplace, textiles can be used in industrial and scientific processes such as filtering. Miscellaneous uses include flags, backpacks, tents, nets, handkerchiefs, cleaning rags, transportation devices such as balloons, kites, sails, and parachutes; textiles are also used to provide strengthening in composite materials such as fibreglass and industrial geotextiles. Textiles are used in many traditional crafts such as sewing, quilting and embroidery.

Textiles produced for industrial purposes, and designed and chosen for technical characteristics beyond their appearance, are commonly referred to as technical textiles. Technical textiles include textile structures for automotive applications, medical textiles (such as implants), geotextiles (reinforcement of embankments), agrotextiles (textiles for crop protection), protective clothing (such as clothing resistant to heat and radiation for fire fighter clothing, against molten metals for welders, stab protection, and bullet proof vests).

Textile machinery at the Cambrian Factory, Llanwrtyd, Wales in the 1940s

Due to the often highly technical and legal requirements of these products, these textiles are typically tested in order to ensure they meet stringent performance requirements. Other forms of technical textiles may be produced to experiment with their scientific qualities and to explore the possible benefits they may have in the future; woven of threads coated with zinc oxide nanowires, when woven into fabric, have been shown capable of “self-powering nanosystems”, using vibrations created by everyday actions like wind or body movements to generate energy.

We offer textile for almost every type of use and project. If you are looking to source fabric or would like more information on any of our products you can use the links below to browse our products or contact us with specific questions.