SQA National 5 Fashion and Textile Technology: the Textile Technologies area - fibres, fabric construction, properties, care and finishes
A deep-dive SQA National 5 Fashion and Textile Technology guide to the Textile Technologies area. Covers natural and manufactured fibres, fabric construction, textile properties and end use, the care-labelling symbols and fabric finishes, and how to match a textile to an item.
Reviewed by: AI editorial process; not yet individually human-reviewed
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What the Textile Technologies area actually demands
Textile Technologies is the knowledge backbone of National 5 Fashion and Textile Technology. It teaches fibres (where they come from and what they do), fabric construction (how fibres become fabric), textile properties (what fabrics can do), care (how to clean them) and finishes (how to improve them). The question paper tests this directly, and the practical work depends on it: you cannot choose textiles for an item without knowing their properties. Each topic has its own dot-point page with worked questions; this guide ties them together.
Fibres: natural, synthetic and regenerated
Natural fibres are grown. Plant (cellulose) fibres are cotton (from the seed boll: absorbent, cool, creases) and linen (from the flax stem: very strong, very cool, creases badly). Animal (protein) fibres are wool (sheep fleece: warm, elastic, flame-resistant, can felt) and silk (silkworm cocoon: smooth, lustrous, delicate, costly). Synthetic fibres are made from oil: polyester (strong, non-absorbent, crease-resistant), nylon (strong, elastic), acrylic (warm wool substitute). Regenerated fibres are made by processing natural cellulose: viscose (soft, absorbent, drapes, weak when wet).
Fabric construction
Fabric is built in four main ways, and the method decides the properties. Woven (warp and weft at right angles): firm, stable, little stretch, frays. Knitted (interlocking loops): stretchy, warm, can ladder. Felted (matted wool fibres): warm, no fray, weak. Bonded/non-woven (glued or needle-punched web): cheap, no grain, no fray, often disposable.
Properties, care and finishes
A textile is chosen by matching its properties (absorbency, warmth, durability, elasticity, crease resistance, drape, breathability, flammability, cost) to the demands of an item, usually by weighing trade-offs. Care labels carry five basic symbols (wash tub, triangle, square, iron, circle), and a cross through any symbol means "do not". Finishes (waterproof, flame-resistant, crease-resistant, stain-resistant, antibacterial, brushed, shrink-resistant) are added to improve a property for the end use.
How the Textile Technologies area is examined
A typical SQA profile for this area:
- Identifying fibres and sources. State where a fibre comes from and its key properties.
- Matching textiles to items. Choose a fibre, construction or finish and justify it by a named property.
- Reading care labels. Identify the five symbols and explain why a garment needs particular care.
Check your knowledge
A mix of recall and reasoning questions covering the Textile Technologies area. Attempt them, then check against the solutions.
- Name the plant and animal sources of cotton, wool and silk. (3 marks)
- State the difference between a synthetic and a regenerated fibre. (1 mark)
- Name the two sets of yarns in a woven fabric. (1 mark)
- State what a cross through a care symbol means. (1 mark)
- Name two fabric finishes and what each does. (2 marks)