The term textile fibres refers to fibres that can be spun into yarn or made into fabric by such operations as weaving, knitting,
braiding, and felting.
The beauty and value of silk stimulated many early scientists to attempt to develop fibre resembling the thread of the silkworm. In 1664 the
English scientist Robert Hooke suggested the possibility of synthesizing a glutinous substance similar to the fluid secreted by the silkworm
when it spins its cocoon. Not until 200 years later, however, was the commercial production of manufactured fibres, originally named artificial
silk, launched by the French scientist Count Hilaire de Chardonnet. His process, which followed the principle suggested by earlier chemists,
consisted of forcing a viscous fluid through small thimble like nozzles called spinnerets and hardening the fluid into thread by coagulation
in a chemical bath. This process continues to be the basic method that is used for the production of synthetic textile fibres.
In 1924 the term artificial silk was replaced by the more definitive name rayon, which in 1937 was officially recognized in the U.S. by the
Federal Trade Commission as the generic term for the new fibre. Subsequently, two major processes used in rayon production led to the
classification of rayon into two distinct categories, viscose rayon and acetate rayon.
Nylon was introduced in the 1930s. Stronger than silk, this fibre is used extensively in the production of clothing, hosiery, parachute fabric,
and rope. After 1940 many other synthetic fibres achieved importance in the textile industry, including the polyesters, sometimes called
dacrons, polyvinyls, polyethylenes, acrylics, and olefins (see Plastics). A silk like nylon known as Qiana was introduced in 1968. Fabrics
made of Qiana resist wrinkles, retain creases and pleats, and have good colour clarity and stability when dyed.
The use of synthetic fibres brought many changes in the textile economy, because production methods and the physical characteristics of these
fibres could be adjusted to suit specific requirements. Highly industrialized nations that previously had been forced to import cotton and
wool as raw materials for textiles were able to manufacture their own fibres from such readily available resources as coal, petroleum, and
wood pulp. The development of synthetic fibres led to the production of new types of durable and easily cared-for fabrics.