Text b. Fabrics

Key Words and Phrases

Fabric - тканина, cotton - бавовна, linen - льон, silk - шовк, wool - шерсть, pattern - візерунок, firm - міцний, fine - тонкий, soft - м’який, springy - еластичний, fibrе - волокно, rayon - віскоза, штучний шовк, pulp - маса, wrinkle - зминатися, blended - змішані, repel - відштовхувати, dye - фарбувати.

Natural fabrics. These fabrics are chiefly Cotton, Linen, Silk, Wool. Cotton and Linen come from plants. Silk is the fine thread made by a silk-worm. Wool is the soft-coat of a sheep.

Cotton is the cheapest of these fabrics, and it is used by people in almost every country in the world. You can find what a fabric is made of by looking closely at the threads. You will see that cotton threads are even and rather round. The surface of the cotton fabric has very fine hairs all over it. These can only be seen if it is held up to the light. Cotton fabric is often white, but to make it pretty it is often coloured, either all over or in a pattern. It is usually better to wear coloured materials, for colour helps to make people feel happy.

Linen looks like cotton, but it is stronger, firmer and often heavier. The threads are very smooth and round. No fine hairs can be seen on the surface. Linen is cooler to wear and more expensive than cotton. It can be used for clothing such as dresses or men’s coats, but it is more often used for such articles as tablecloths.

Silk is a beautiful fabric. It is soft and shiny. The threads of silk are so fine that it is hard to see each one separately. Silk is expensive and, although it is so fine, it stands up to hard wear when made into cloths of a fair weight. It is cool to wear and looks very beautiful.

Wool is the best material to wear, for it is the warmest. Wool is very soft and springy. The surface of the fabric is covered with very fine hairs. It is these tiny hairs which help to make it so soft and warm. Wool is also much thicker and heavier than cotton, so that it keeps out the cold. But it is not so easy to wash as cotton. When it is washed badly, the springiness is lost and the wool is then hard and uncomfortable to wear.

In very cold countries, life Greenland, even wool is not thick enough, so the people have to wear fur. Fur is the outside coat of such animals as fox, seal and bear, wolf. It is soft and very thick, so that it keeps out the biting wind and keeps in the warmth of the body.

Man-made fabrics.

For thousands of years people used natural fibres. Then people learned to make fibres themselves.

Cellulose fibres. Scientists wanted to find a fibre that would look and act like silk. Their study resulted in the production of a fibre called rayon. Most rayon and acetate fabrics are made from wood pulp. Rayon dyes well and, if treated chemically, it does not wrinkle much.

Non-cellulose fibres are made entirely by chemical processes.nylon was the first non-cellulose fibre. It is made from chemicals and petroleum products. Today, nylon has almost as many uses as cotton has. It is wrinkle-resistened does not shrink and repels water.

Nylon is used for rainwear, camping clothes and equipment, parachutes. But it is not comfortable to wear in hot weather.

Blended fibres.

Chemical processes are also used to combine two or more fibres into one fabric. Since

cotton has a tendency to wrinkle, combining it with a nonwrinkling fibre reduces this tendency. Cotton for example, is often combined with polyester. It makes a fabric that looks like cotton and is cool to wear like cotton. But, like polyester, this fabric does not wrinkle easily. Fibers combined in this way are called blends. Blended fibres and fabrics can take advantage of each fibres' good qualities.

Exercise 4. Answer the questions:

1. What natural fibres do you know?

2. Identify the sourse of each fibre.

3. What are the main man-made fibres?

4. How do man-made fibres differ from natural fibres?

5. Define and discribe blends.

6. What would be the advantages of wearing a shirt or blouse made of blend?

Exercise 5. Make a dialogue (choosing fabric)

Exercise 6. Translate into English.

Бавовнянi тканини виготовляють з бавовни. Останнiм часом дуже популярнi бавовнянi тканини з додаванням вiскозних волокон. Якicть бавовняної тканини залежить вiд довжини та тонини волокон. Ллянi тканини виготовляють iз лляної

пряжi. Ллянi тканини мiцнi, нееластичнi, легко зминаються та легко розгладжуються праскою. Шовк - найтонша i найдорогша тканина.

Unit 3

Exercise 1. Memorize the names of sewing machine parts. Identify them in the figure I.

1. spool pins- стержнi для котушок, 2,5,7. thread guide- нитконапрамляч, 3. tension disc-регулятор натягу, 4. take-up spring- натяжна пружина, 6. take-up lever- ниткопритягач, 9. pressure dial- гвинт регулювання нажиму лапки,10. presser-foot lifter- важiль пiдйому лапки, 11. presser foot- притискна лапка, 12. feed- подавач нитки, 13. throat plate- голкова пластина, 14. bobbin- котушка, шпулька, 15. slide plate- рухлива пластина, 16. needle clamp- голкотримач, 17. bobbin-winder latch and spindle- вал та защепка моталки, 18. hand wheel-маховик, 19. stitch length control- регулятор довжини стiбка, 20. reverse-stitch lever- механiзм зворотного ходу, 21. stitch width control- регулятор ширини стiбка, 22. needle position dial- шкала положення нитки, 23. hand-wheel knob- гвинт вiдключення голкового механiзму, 24. electrical connections and speed controller- електропривод та регулятор швидкостi, 25. bobbin-case tension screw- гвинт натягу на шпульному ковпачку, 26. power and light switch- включатель напруги та свiтла, 27. built-in sewing light- вбудована пiдсвiтка, 28. thread cutter- нiж, 29. face plate- фронтова кришка, 30. bobbin-winder tension discs- механiзм натягу нитки моталки, 31. tension dial- натяжний диск, 32. bobbin winder thread post- моталка.

Fig 1.