Saving Your Treasures: Textiles

Types of Materials

TEXTILES

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Most historic textiles are made of organic fibers, including wool, cotton, linen, and silk. Modern textiles are made of natural and synthetic fibers, such as nylon and polyester.

Antique silk from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries must be handled very carefully. The silk may be chemically unstable due to a process called “weighting.” Metallic salts were added to the silk in order to add weight and body to the fabric because the fabric was sold by weight not length. The addition of the metallic salts accelerated the degradation of weighted silk, leaving it brittle and fraying.

Textiles can be made using many different technologies, such as weaving, knitting, and stitching. They can be decorated using embroidery, appliqué, beading, and dying.

Plant Materials: Structure	Plant Materials: Chemistry	Plant Materials: Technology	Plant Materials: Integrated Pest Management
Plant Materials: Deterioration - Environmental & Mechanical	Plant Materials: Deterioration - Chemical & Biological	Plant Materials: Preventative Care	How to Fold & Roll Textiles

Animal Materials: Skin & Leather

Animal Materials: Hair, Hooves, Etc.

Animal Materials: Bones, Shells, Etc.

Animal Materials: Deterioration

Animal Materials: Preventative Care

TYPES OF MATERIALS