Editing Textile (section)

== Types ==
[[File:Well-clothed baby.jpg|thumb|upright=.85|A baby wearing many items of soft winter clothing: headband, cap, fur-lined coat, scarf, and [[sweater]]]]
Textiles are various materials made from fibers and yarns. The term "textile" was originally only used to refer to woven fabrics, but today it covers a broad range of subjects.{{sfn|Joseph|1977|p={{pn|date=January 2025}}}} Textiles are classified at various levels, such as according to fiber origin (natural or synthetic), structure (woven, knitted, nonwoven), finish, etc.<ref name="Malekandathil-2016" /><ref name="Peck-2013" /><ref name="Corbman-1983" /><ref name="Cerchia-2021" /> However, there are primarily two types of textiles:

=== Consumer textiles ===
Textiles have an assortment of uses, the most common of which are for clothing and for containers such as bags and baskets. In the household, textiles are used in carpeting, upholstered furnishings, [[window shade]]s, towels, coverings for tables, beds, and other flat surfaces, and in art. Textiles are used in many traditional hand crafts such as [[sewing]], [[quilting]], and [[embroidery]].{{sfn|Elsasser|2005|p={{pn|date=January 2025}}}}

=== Technical textiles ===
[[File:Übung Northern Coast.jpg|thumb|right|Technical textile is a branch of textile that focuses on the protection, safety and other functional performance attributes of textiles, unlike domestic textiles, where the primary focus is aesthetics and comfort., an EOD technician wearing a bomb suit [[Bomb suit|Explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) suit]].]]
[[File:Nonwoven geotextile containers.jpg|thumb|Nonwoven [[geotextile]] bags are much more robust than woven bags of the same thickness.]]

Textiles produced for industrial purposes, and designed and chosen for technical characteristics beyond their appearance, are commonly referred to as ''[[technical textiles]].'' Technical textiles include textile structures for automotive applications, medical textiles (such as implants), [[geotextile]] (reinforcement of embankments), agrotextiles (textiles for [[crop protection]]), protective clothing (such as clothing resistant to heat and radiation for fire fighter clothing, against molten metals for welders, stab protection, and bullet proof vests).

In the workplace, textiles can be used in industrial and scientific processes such as filtering. Miscellaneous uses include flags, [[backpack]]s, [[tent]]s, [[Net (device)|nets]], cleaning [[wikt:rag|rags]], transportation devices such as [[balloon]]s, [[kite flying|kites]], [[sail]]s, and parachutes; textiles are also used to provide strengthening in [[composite material]]s such as [[fiberglass|fibreglass]] and industrial [[geotextile]]s.{{sfn|Elsasser|2005|p={{pn|date=January 2025}}}}<ref name="Horrocks-2000" />

Due to the often highly technical and legal requirements of these products, these textiles are typically tested to ensure they meet stringent performance requirements. Other forms of technical textiles may be produced to experiment with their scientific qualities and to explore the possible benefits they may have in the future. Threads coated with [[zinc oxide]] [[nanowire]]s, when woven into fabric, have been shown capable of "self-powering nanosystems", using vibrations created by everyday actions like wind or body movements to generate energy.<ref>{{cite news |author=Keim, Brandon |title=Piezoelectric Nanowires Turn Fabric Into Power Source |url=http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/02/piezoelectric-n.html |date=13 February 2008 |work=Wired News |publisher=CondéNet |access-date=2008-02-13 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080215001128/http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/02/piezoelectric-n.html |archive-date=15 February 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Yong Qin, Xudong Wang & Zhong Lin Wang |title=Letter/abstract: Microfibre–nanowire hybrid structure for energy scavenging |journal=Nature |volume=451 |pages=809–813 |doi=10.1038/nature06601 |date=10 October 2007 |pmid=18273015 |issue=7180 |bibcode=2008Natur.451..809Q }} cited in {{cite web |title=Editor's summary: Nanomaterial: power dresser |url=http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v451/n7180/edsumm/e080214-06.html |work=Nature |publisher=Nature Publishing Group |date=14 February 2008 |access-date=2008-02-13 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080215185507/http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v451/n7180/edsumm/e080214-06.html |archive-date=15 February 2008 |volume=451 |issue=7180}}</ref>