Textile Blends

Overview

white t shirt hanging on concrete grey wall

Blended textiles are made up of a mix of two or more different raw fibres. These are spun together to create yarns and in turn textiles that have the most desirable properties of the original raw fibres.

When the fibres are dispersed evenly in the yarn the blend is called an "intimate blend". However because of the different characteristics between fibres some might end up with one fibre as the core of the yarn and the other fibre wrapping around the core. Other fibres might clump together side by side within a yarn.

Similar to a blend is a mixture. A textile is considered a mixture when multiple yarns, each of a seperate fibre type, are used to make a single textile. For example, a woven textile containing separate cotton and polyester yarns (rather than a blend where a single yarn containing polyester AND cotton is used).

Blended fibres that are made up of two natural fibres (e.g. cotton / linen) can biodegrade at the end of their life. However, blended fibres where natural and synthetic fibres have been blended together are difficult to recycle. Michael Braungart and William McDonough in their book Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things go so far as to call textiles that consist of a biological and a manufactured fibre "monstrous hybrids" due to their inability to be separated back into their individual components and processed for reuse. Technology is emerging to separate certain fibres at a chemical level, however it is not yet publicly available at scale.

Common Fabrics

Denim: cotton/elastane, cotton/polyester/elastane, cotton/hemp
Jersey (t-shirt knit): cotton/polyester
Woollen knits: wool/acrylic, wool/mohair, wool/angora
Swimwear knits: nylon/elastane
Crepe (de chine, faille): viscose/polyester
Voile: cotton/silk
Aida Cloth and Canvas: cotton/linen

Context of Use

Blended textiles are used across a wide range of contexts and for a wide range of purposes. Some of the most common include:

Improved stretch and comfort

Natural fibres blended with synthetic fibres; e.g. Denim made from a blend of cotton / elastane used to make skinny jeans. The natural fibres provide the textile with comfort qualities such as breathability and wicking where the synthetic fibres provide stretch and comfort.
Synthetic blended with other synthetics; e.g. Performance knit made from a blend of nylon and elastane used to make athleisure wear. Whilst both fibres provide good stretch and recovery the blending here could improve durability and increase abrasion resistance.

Reduced cost to produce

Natural fibres blended with synthetic fibres; e.g. knits made from a blend of wool / acrylic to make jumpers. Acrylic, being cheaper to produce than wool can reduce the cost of the textile. It is also often blended to reduce the weight of the textile whilst still maintaining its warmth.
Natural fibres blended with other natural fibres; e.g. knits made from wool blended with cashmere or angora to make a cardigan. In comparison to luxury fibres like cashmere or angora wool is cheaper to produce bringing down the overall cost of the finished textile. Blending these fibres can also increase the durability and the smoothness of the finished textile.

Ease of Care

Natural fibres blended with synthetic fibres; e.g. Jersey (t-shirt knit) made from a blend of cotton / polyester used to make t-shirts. The addition of synthetic fibres to natural ones can reduce the appearance of wrinkles and decrease the need to iron. Many of these textiles are suggested to be wash and wear. Caution needs to be taken when caring for these garments in cases where ironing or bleaching is required with the care needs of both fibres needing to be considered and the more delicate prioritised e.g. a cotton polyester shirt needs to be ironed at a much cooler temperature than a 100% cotton shirt.

Recycle

Recycling processes vary depending on the composition of the fibres in the textile.

Natural / Natural Blends

Textiles consisting of natural / natural blends are biodegradable and can be home composted or placed in worm farms at the end of their useable life.
Composted natural fibres improve soil health whilst also sequestering carbon. Wool fibres are made up of 50% carbon and cotton 40% carbon. This is naturally occurring carbon that has been captured from the atmosphere in plants.
Technology is emerging to use blended cellulosic (plant based) textiles as the 'cellulose pulp' required to make cellulosic synthetic textiles such as viscose. These blends could include cotton / linen, cotton / hemp or other more speciality blends like cotton / ramie.

Synthetic / Synthetic Blends

Technology to separate synthetic / synthetic blends is still emerging.
There have been some successful chemical separations where both fibre components were reclaimed but the technology is not yet available at scale.
There have been less cost prohibitive separations where one fibre is degraded and one is reclaimed but this technology is also not yet available at scale.

Natural / Synthetic Blends

Textiles consisting of natural / synthetic blends are what Braungart and McDonough (2002) dubbed monstrous hybrids, however technologies are emerging to separate them.
Research at QUT has shown that enzymes can be used to degrade protein based fibres such as wool leaving the manufactured fibre of polyester available for reuse as a textile and producing a bi-product that can be used for bio-fertilisers and animal feed.
Other examples include the separation of cotton / polyester with the cotton being recycled to a cellulose powder and the polyester into pellets. Both components are suitable for reuse in textiles.