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The best modern fabrics

The best modern fabrics

The best modern fabrics Smart Fabrics And Wearable Electronics|The Future Of Clothing “Intelligent” or “smart” clothing is part of an exciting technology that involves building computing, connectivity, and sensing abilities into materials people are comfortable wearing.

 

Some of the latest products in this area are very fashionable, lightweight, and look no different than other clothes. In some cases, the electronic circuits that make up the brains of the wearable computers and sensors are sewn in.

The best modern fabrics
The best modern fabrics

In others, the circuits and other components are literally built from conductive yarn and thread that makes up the clothing. The possibilities are amazing and limitless.

Right now, as devices get smaller and smaller, we often find ourselves with a different electronic device in each pocket.

 

Each technological advance shrinks these devices and integrates them with one another. It’s only logical that as these portable devices that connect us, give us information, and allow us to be mobile get smaller and more powerful, we can eventually find ways to integrate right into the clothing we wear.



Right now, technology has not progressed to that point, but this article will cover currently available forms of smart fabrics, or intelligent clothing.

Smart Fabrics And Wearable Electronics|The Future Of Clothing

There are actually three distinct types of smart clothing:

 

– Passive Smart: Where the clothing “reads” or senses the environment or something about the person wearing the clothing. Wearable sensors fall into this category,

 

with examples including built-in GPS, clothing-integrated baby breathing monitors, and clothing that gives feedback about potential changes in weather.

– Active Smart: Where clothing not only senses the environment, but also reacts to it. Examples include: Clothing that changes density depending on the temperature outside,

 

jackets that store solar energy that can be used to charge cell phones and cameras, and even built-in sensors that can guide pinpoint massage to a wearer that is regulated depending on his or her level of stress.

 

– Active very smart: Where clothing has built in computing and or intelligent sensing capacity. Examples include sleeves that function as keyboards

 

for a small handheld device, clothing that can function like a powerful calculator or PDA, and shirts that can store information through a built-in fabric keyboard and send it via Bluetooth to a computer.

 

Other classifications of intelligent clothing include “phase change” and “shape memory” materials. Phase change materials literally change aspects such as their density in reaction to the environment, in order to increase comfort or functionality to the wearer.

 

These clothes might become denser when it is cold and more porous when it is hot, for example. Shape memory materials can change from a temporary deformed shape back to an original shape. They can preserve a comfortable and loose fit regardless of changes in heat and moisture levels.

 

In the future, all of us might be wearing intelligent clothing that senses when we are having medical problems, gives us the ability to charge electronic devices while on the go, and even allows for basic computing. We might not need different clothing for different seasons due to phase change and shape memory technology.

 

There might be means of communication and general connectivity built in to our clothes. This emerging technology is exciting and soon to take over the consumer market.


How to Find Cheap, Unusual, and Beautiful Fabrics for Quilting

Quilter’s are always on the lookout for beautiful fabrics and supplies for their quilting projects.

Sometimes the most unusual and pretty designs can be found in places one wouldn’t normally consider.

The best modern fabrics
The best modern fabrics

Some of the best places and tactics to find fabrics include the following.

Swap meets or flea markets are a fun place to shop. On occasion you will find sellers liquidating bolts of materials.

Usually these materials are unused and were excess inventory or closeouts.

Last Sunday I found a vendor with a selection of 30 different types of materials in bolts of 30 and 40 yards. He was selling each one at fifty cents a yard.

At garage sales, you will find quilters selling excess materials and tools.

You may also increase your chances of finding quilters selling items by going to neighborhoods that have a larger population of retired folks.

Retirees seem to have more time for quilting and seem to sell off their items regularly. Garage sales in mobile home parks seem to yield good finds.

The best modern fabrics



Online auction sites can reap a great supply of fabrics without leaving your house.

Watch out for shipping costs. I like to search for auctions that are in or adjacent states. After the auction, I email the seller requesting a reduction in shipping because of same shipping zone.

Storage auctions are a little bit more hit and miss than the others sources listed above.

Check your local newspaper for storage auction dates and times or call the various storage unit facilities and ask about auction dates. The best part is that before the bidding begins, the door is opened and you are allowed to look inside.

Quilting shows are really competitive. Usually the last day, you will find blowout sales and bargains. The sellers don’t want to leave the show with excess inventory.

Estate sales can yield some surprising finds. Look in your paper for estate sales. Similar to garage sales, I’ve found the best luck in retired residences or mobile home estate sales.

International trips can be fun. I have found great bargains and really beautiful fabrics in faraway lands such as India,

Thailand, and Africa. You can even pay for your trip by purchasing extra fabrics and selling it at a quilt show or local quilting guild.

Classified ads can be a way to have people calling you to sell their excess fabrics .

You can place a classified ad in your newspaper of penny saver paper stating that you are buying fabric.

This list should help with getting your creative juices flowing. I am sure there are many other tactics to finding quilting fabric.

Just keep your eyes, ears, and mind open to opportunities. Happy hunting!


Hosiery: Different Fabrics For Different Effects

Though women often dread pulling on hosiery, struggling to make them fit and feel comfortable throughout the day, the hosiery industry today aims to make something for everyone.

The best modern fabrics
The best modern fabrics

They aim to achieve this goal by using many different fabrics and combining different fabrics to create the desired results.

Standing in front of a hosiery rack at the store can be quite intimidating if you haven’t bought hosiery in a while. There are so many different brands, each with their own variations made with the latest fabric.

 

They are made to control, contour, hide, soften and protect your shape. They also strive to provide comfort. Each of the different fabrics provides a different effect

Cotton

Cotton is the ultimate in comfort. It is soft and is derived from a plant. It is versatile and long lasting. By adding cotton to a bend of fabrics to make hosiery, it is possible to make it comfortable for everyday wear.

Wool

Made from animal hair, wool is warm, attractive and keeps its shape. Wool is perfect for cooler weather conditions. It keeps the moisture away from your skin.

 

It also gives a more distinguished look. Used in combination with several other materials it can achieve the desired effect of wearing hosiery.

Silk

The nice thing about silk is that it adjusts to your body temperature. It is able to keep you cool in the summer and warm in the winter, so it can be worn year round.



It is a fine, natural fiber that provides luxurious comfort. It feels good to the touch and lies nicely. It is not a versatile fabric though. Several fabrics should be blended with silk for a good pair of hosiery.

Nylon

Nylon is one of the most popular fabrics used for hosiery because it recovers its shape due to its elasticity. No matter how far the material is stretched, it goes back to its original size and shape. It is smooth, tough and strong. It is a versatile fabric that is perfect for all day wear.

Spandex

Spandex is gaining popularity in products like hosiery. It is elastic, strong and durable. It hugs the body a little closer than some of the different kinds of fabric. Hosiery products are often a combination of nylon and spandex.

Polyester

For wrinkle resistant hosiery, a polyester blend is the way to go. It is light and weather- resistant, as well.

Lycra

Also referred to as spandex, this fabric is added to hosiery because it is able to bounce back, therefore also providing the hugging sensation over your legs and having the ability to contour possible problem areas such as the tummy and thighs.

 

Finding the right blend of fabrics to meet your needs may be the key to finding comfortable hosiery that you can feel confident in all through your day.

 

The right hosiery can also provide health benefits by reducing leg pain and decreasing your chances of getting painful and unsightly varicose veins.

 

As trends continue to change in the hosiery industry and they struggle to keep their spot in the marketplace, I’m sure we will see new blends of fabric that will provide other desired effects.


Home Decorating Fabrics

Home decorating fabrics are meant to compliment a room. Beautiful fabrics can improve any space. Home decorating fabrics are used in upholstery, couch covers, slip-covers, bed coverings, window treatments, table coverings, etc.

The best modern fabrics
The best modern fabrics

A room without home decorating fabric is plain with a cold feeling. Using home decorating fabrics , a space can be transformed into an inviting, warm and cozy place to relax and enjoy with family and friends.

Because home decorating fabrics are an essential part of decorating a space, it is important to choose those that correspond with the other objects in the room. It’s easier to pick home decorating fabrics if you are using advice and suggestions for a particular decorating design.

 

Without any direction, your interior decorating project can become frustrating and discouraging. Instead of working toward your dream home, you’ll find yourself caught up in a nightmare.

There are plenty of home decorating themes to choose from. Each of them has their own color and style for home decorating fabrics.

 

With a theme to guide you, choosing home decorating fabrics shouldn’t pose a problem. For example if you choose a tuscan theme, the home decorating fabric choices would include woven textures such as burlap, fabrics made from the abaca fiber and fabrics made from the banana tree fibres, savannah cloth and tobacco cloth.



Tuscan home decorating fabrics tend to be heavier but they are very flexible and versatile. If you use the tuscan theme as your guide, these home decorating fabrics could be used for blinds, drapes, slip-covers and even perhaps even area rugs.

If you decide you like the cottage theme, home decorating fabrics would include floral patterns and bright colors. Cottage decorating, with regards to upholstery and the various projects requiring fabric, suggests bold and colourful patterns.

 

Although a floral pattern is the most popular in home decorating fabrics for the cottage theme, printed fabrics with vegetables or fruit are also quite often used.

Choosing the Victorian theme would suggest you choose home decorating fabrics such as velvet or brocade in rich colors of blue, green, burgundy and so on.

 

Victorian home decorating fabrics are meant to be quite feminine as well as elaborate. These materials are used for curtains, bedding, slip-covers, etc. You might even want to trim these home decorating fabrics with lace, beads or ribbons.

These are just a few examples of home decorating fabrics used in relation to different themes. You must choose fabrics that speak to you.

 

It’s also important to remember that home decorating fabrics can be quite expensive. Once you’ve decided on a fabric and purchase it to use in your home, you may have to live with it for a long time. For this reason it is best to be absolutely certain before making that final decision.

 

Home decorating fabrics often require special care for washing. If you’d rather a fabric that is easy to care for, make sure this is considered when choosing home decorating fabrics. Remember this is your space, your decision and it should meet your needs.

 

There are thousands of home decorating fabrics to choose from. By using available resources such as home décor magazines, home decorating catalogues, Internet websites and of course fabric stores in your area, you ought to be capable of making a sensible decision and appropriate choice for home decorating fabrics.


Choosing floor and wall covering fabrics for all your decorating needs

The texture of fabrics varies but all of them add warmth and personality to a room. Many possibilities are available in decorating shops, making the work even easier by selling fabrics and papers in the same pattern.

The best modern fabrics
The best modern fabrics

Traditionally it was used to cover walls but has since given way to wallpaper, which is more practical and easy to use while carrying out the same function.

Here are ten household helpful hints for choosing floor and wall covering fabrics to decorate your home:

1. Use fabrics to provide soundproofing in noisy rooms.

2. Curtains or blinds allow us to play with light.

3. Choose flooring like according to a room’s use.

4. Use tough floorings like marble, stone, or tiles where lots of people move about, especially if they have hard heels or dirty soles.



5. Use warm flooring like carpets or wood where you will walk barefoot.

6. Before choosing flooring, try and determine how it will look in the lighting of a room.

7. Take good care of your flooring to ensure it will last a long time.

8. Avoid paint in areas with heavy circulation. Tiles and marble are both washable and longer lasting.

9. When deciding on the flooring and the wall coverings remember just how much space they occupy and therefore how important they are.

10. Well-matched wall coverings and floorings can be mutually enhancing so it is best to select them at the same time.


Flame Resistant Fabrics

Workplace hazards are not new to employers. And what is more distressing is that these accidents might actually cost a lot when it comes to reimbursement, and even lay a blot on the fine name of the business. Mercifully, at least where fire hazards are concerned, we have lots of safe options nowadays.

The best modern fabrics
The best modern fabrics

We can choose from a lot of flame resistant fabrics that can protect workers in our establishments from hazards related to fires and high temperatures.

These flame resistant fiber materials are available for making a diverse variety of workwear uniforms. The coveralls and bib overalls made from the flame resistant fabrics are all too popular in most workplaces around the world.

 

But, if you want more variety, you can surely opt for the more jazzy kinds of workwear uniforms which you can make by blending flame resistant shirts, sweatshirts, jackets, trousers, and even flame resistant jeans! You can definitely spruce up your workplace with whatever kind of work uniforms you choose, and in whichever color too.

 

Imagine your workers dressed in your corporate colors and wearing uniforms that spell out a great degree of fire protection for them. Speak out brand imaging!

But when you are looking for uniforms with flame resistant fabrics, you must first know what the different kinds of flame resistant fabrics are. Here we describe the three popular kinds of flame resistant fabrics that are in use:-

NOMEX – NOMEX is the brand of DuPont. It is an aramid, containing 93% of the highly fire resistant material known as NOMEX itself, combined with 5% Kevlar and 2% carbon. Kevlar is the same material that is made in making military uniforms.



The properties of this material are that it will not ignite on its own, will not melt and will not drip or burn out. It is the prime choice for people working in petrochemical industries, gas utilities and in the firefighting services.

INDURA – INDURA is another popular brand, the trademark of Westex. It is 100% flame resistant cotton, and its higher version, INDURA Ultra Soft, is a blend of 88% cotton and 12% high tenacity nylon.

 

Both these flame resistant fabrics are prime choice in welding industries and in places where there is a high exposure to flames. They are fire retardant fabrics, which repel flames and, even if they accidentally catch fire, will extinguish as soon as they are taken away from the source of the fire.

 

The best part of INDURA is that it is light in weight and is extremely comfortable to the wear, since it is basically a cotton product.

FIREWEAR – FIREWEAR is a registered trademark of Springs Industries. The actual flame resistant fabric contains about 55% of FIREWEAR with 45% of cotton.

 

The properties of this flame resistant fiber is that it can retard high amounts of flames by producing a fire retarding gas when brought in contact with the flame. The gas is noncombustible, and is instrumental in protecting the fabric from repelling all kinds of flames.

 

Cotton being an important part of this flame resistant fiber, you can look forward to these fabrics being light in weight and also good for aeration.

You will find some of the best in flame resistant fabrics used in the workwear uniforms showcased with online retailers. You can find Nomex, Indura, Firewear and Excel fabrics in many different styles and cuts.


All About Hoffman Fabrics

For the quilting enthusiast, one of the most important considerations is the choice of fabric. Let’s face it; a quilt’s beauty is totally dependent on what fabric the quilter chooses.

The best modern fabrics
The best modern fabrics

If a quilt is unattractive and doesn’t beg you to reach out and touch it, it probably has a lot to do with the fabric chosen to create it. Quilters in the know solve such potential problems by choosing fabrics from companies that they trust.

 

Based in California, Hoffman Fabrics is a company who has proven their value to quilters over many years, since 1924, in fact.

Visit any quilting website that sells fabric and the name Hoffman will pop up. They specialize in high-quality screen-printed cottons and blends. Hoffman also produces hand-painted and dyed fabrics.

 

Every year the company introduces two new lines of fabric, which they call “colorful prints and luscious Balis.” They call their fabrics “inspiring” and that is not marketing hype.

 

One look at the abundant richness of the color and designs of Hoffman Fabrics and you will see why they have been adopted by quilters as a must-have cloth. In return, Hoffman has shown incredible support to quilters.

 

This is evident in the Hoffman Challenge, a contest which started in 1987.Every year, the talents at Hoffman Fabrics choose one of their upcoming fabric designs to feature in the Challenge.

 

Quilt-makers, clothing and accessory designers and doll-makers are then challenged to use the fabric to design an original item. The winning entries are then featured in a traveling show which stops at galleries, museums, shops, and quilting guilds.



The first year of the Hoffman Challenge, 94 quilters entered. Since then, up to 700 entries a year have been received. The traveling show itself is so popular that 12 collections now travel nationwide, with some stops in Canada as well.

Besides the Challenge, Hoffman actively promotes the art of quilting in other ways. The company has paired with designer McKenna Ryan of Pine Needles Designs to create patterns based on Hoffman fabrics.

 

Ryan says she likes to use Hoffman batik fabric for appliqué work because it has a high thread count that prevents fraying.

 

The designer, like so many other quilters, is also appreciative of the depth of color and texture in Hoffman fabrics. Using these fabrics, she can design incredibly lush and intricate quilts based on nature.

Perhaps one of the secret’s to the company’s success is the family nature of the business. Three generations of Hoffmans are currently involved in the daily operations of the firm.

 

It may interest contemporary quilters to know that much of the company’s design philosophy stems from the fifties, when Philip and Walter Hoffman, sons of the original founder, joined the company.

 

They brought with them their love of surfing and translated it to original designs of the ocean, beaches, and surfing life.

 

Combining their passions with a knack for seeking out unusual printing processes for fabrics, the Hoffman sons helped to create a company that is beloved of quilters everywhere.



 

 


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