Cotton
A plant-based cellulose fibre. Familiar, breathable and widely used for summer knitwear.
Module 02
Fiber Guide
What each fibre actually does, where it comes from, and how it behaves once it is knitted, dyed and washed. This is not a ranking. It is a map of the trade-offs.
Three families, different origins.
Natural fibres come from plants and animals. Regenerated fibres are made from plant cellulose that is dissolved and re-spun. Synthetic fibres are built from polymers. The families behave differently in the hand, in the wash and at the end of a garment's life.
Linen / Flax
A bast fibre with a naturally crisp hand and a distinctive slubby texture.
Wool
A natural protein fibre that regains its shape and keeps warmth even when damp.
Merino Wool
Fine-fibre wool with a soft hand feel and low odour retention.
Cashmere
A fine undercoat fibre prized for softness, warmth and low weight.
Alpaca
A warm, smooth fibre with minimal hairiness and a soft halo.
Mohair
A lustrous, hairy fibre that adds a distinct sheen and fuzzy texture.
Silk
A continuous filament fibre with high lustre and smooth drape.
Yak
A coarse guard hair and warm undercoat blend used for cold-weather knits.
Viscose / Rayon
A regenerated cellulose fibre with a fluid drape and a silk-like surface.
Modal
A high-wet-modulus viscose variant with a softer, more stable hand.
Lyocell
A solvent-spun cellulose fibre with a smooth, dry hand and good wet strength.
Acrylic
A synthetic fibre valued for colour range, consistency and easy care.
Polyester
A versatile synthetic fibre with good strength, quick drying and colour fastness.
Nylon / Polyamide
A strong, abrasion-resistant synthetic fibre that adds durability and shape retention.
Natural fibres.
Cotton and linen come from plants; wool, cashmere, alpaca, mohair, silk and yak come from animals. They bring character and they bring their own constraints.
Plant-based
Cotton is the reference point for warm-weather knitwear: breathable, familiar and easy to explain to a customer. Linen is crisper and more structured, and it is a more demanding fibre to knit.
Animal-based
Wool warms and recovers. Merino is wool defined by fine diameter. Cashmere, alpaca and mohair are fine undercoats and long hairs chosen for softness, halo and warmth. Silk is a filament rather than a staple, and behaves like one.
Regenerated cellulosic fibres.
Viscose, modal and lyocell are all made from wood pulp, and they are easy to confuse with synthetics because the process is industrial. They are neither. Their distinguishing traits are a smooth, fluid drape and a tendency to lose strength when wet.
Modal is a high-wet-modulus variant of viscose, softer and more stable. Lyocell is solvent-spun, with better wet strength and a drier hand. If a garment will be washed hard, this distinction decides whether the specification works.
Synthetic fibres.
Acrylic, polyester and nylon are all built for consistency. Acrylic wins on softness and colour range, polyester on strength and colour fastness, nylon on abrasion resistance and shape retention.
They are also the practical answer to a durability complaint, and the honest answer when a cost target has to be met. What they cannot offer is the natural character of a fibre that came off an animal or out of a plant.
Move from the fibre to the specification.
The fibre is only the start. Count, ply, twist, spinning route and construction decide what the yarn does in the finished garment.