From fig leaf to fabric: History of textiles explored

By MINDY POEHL | Central Texas Edition

Florine Carr, a former Colonial Williamsburg Intern, discusses the history of textiles. Photo by Mindy Poehl

June 10, 2004 -- The Waco Historic Foundation hosted a luncheon and a lecture June 1 for a special presentation on textiles and their uses, called the History of Textiles: From Fig Leaf to Fabric. Held at the Texas Life Annex in downtown Waco, Florine Carr, a former Colonial Williamsburg Intern, discussed the history of textiles.

"We are surrounded by textiles," Carr ex-plained. "From the sheets we sleep on to the prosthetic heart valves inside of humans."

Textiles are used in thousands of ways and consist of a whole spectrum of media. Textile means to weave, so textiles are woven fabric. Weaving, which consists of interlacing yarns at right angles, is the oldest method of producing textiles.

Four natural fibers are bast fibers, wool, silk and cotton. Bast fibers are made from flax and produce linen. Bast fibers, used around 5000 B.C., are the oldest natural textile fiber. Fine linen was used for the XXXX

burial shrouds of Egyptian pharaohs.

Wool is covered in scales. Most wool comes from sheep, but it can also come from animals such as camels and rabbits. In the 17th and 18th centuries, wools were most commonly used for upholstery. Wool was important to England. Royalty were known to sit on a wool sack while on their throne.

Silk is called the king of fibers. Silk was discovered in China in 2640 B.C.. It is said that a Chinese princess discovered silk from the silkworm. The Chinese kept the cultivation and manufacturing of silk guarded until a Chinese princess married an Indian prince. In 300 A.D. it spread to Japan and India. It finally spread to England in the 16th century.

Today, cotton is the most commonly used textile. Cotton spinning began in India. The invention of the power loom in 1884 brought many variations to cotton fabrics.

In the 17th century, textiles were more expensive and worth more money than furniture. The most important, yet least common thing in the 18th century home was to have a fully dressed bed.

In 1855, rayon was the first manmade fiber. Since World War II, dozens of fibers have been designed.

"Fibers play an important role in every situation imaginable," Carr concluded.