Fabric Science | Common Leather Fabrics
Artificial PU Leather
PU is the abbreviation of poly urethane in English. PU leather is a kind of artificial synthetic imitation leather material. Its chemical name is “polyurethane”. PU leather is the surface of polyurethane, also known as “PU artificial leather”.
PU leather has good physical properties, is resistant to bending, has high softness, high tensile strength, and has good breathability. The air permeability can reach 8000-14000g/24h/cm², has high peel strength and high water pressure resistance. It is an ideal material for the surface and bottom layer of waterproof and breathable clothing fabrics.
Microfiber Leather
Microfiber leather, also known as two-layer cowhide, also known as “artificial leather with cowhide fiber”, is not the leather from the cow, but the scraps of cowhide are broken and then added with polyethylene material to be re-laminated, and then the surface is sprayed with chemical materials or covered with PVC or PU film, and it still maintains the characteristics of cowhide.
The appearance of microfiber leather is most similar to that of genuine leather. Its products are superior to natural leather in terms of thickness uniformity, tear strength, color brightness and leather surface utilization, and have become the development direction of contemporary synthetic leather.
Protein leather
The raw materials of protein leather are silk and eggshell membrane. The silk is micronized and processed by non-chemical physical methods using the high moisture absorption and release properties of protein silk powder and its soft touch.
Protein leather is a kind of technological fabric and is a revolutionary environmentally friendly new product made of solvent-free polymer materials. It highly restores the wrinkled texture of genuine leather, has a baby-like touch, and has a soft texture with a certain drape and stretchability. The fabric is soft, skin-friendly, breathable, delicate, wear-resistant, durable, easy to clean, safe and environmentally friendly.
Suede
Suede is the skin of a wild animal suede, with more grain damage, thicker than sheepskin, and tighter fiber tissue. It is a high-quality leather for processing suede. Since suede is a national second-class protected animal and its number is rare, regular manufacturers now generally use deerskin, goat skin, sheep skin, and other animal skins to make suede products through multiple processes.
Due to the scarcity of natural suede, in order to wear beautiful and fashionable, people have developed imitation suede fabrics for natural suede, which is what we call suede.
Suede Nap
The feel and appearance of imitation Suede Nap are quite similar to natural suede. It is made of ultra-fine denier chemical fiber as raw material, and is processed by raising, grinding, dyeing and finishing.
Some physical properties and performance of artificial suede exceed those of real suede. It has high color fastness, water resistance and acid and alkali resistance that real leather cannot match; it has high washing and friction color fastness, plump and delicate velvet and good writing effect, soft and smooth feel, good water repellency and breathability, bright color and uniform texture.
Veloue Leather
The suede we usually see actually refers to a special leather craft, which is very close to real suede in texture. Its raw materials may be cowhide, sheepskin or pigskin, etc. After processing, it can present a very good texture. Whether it can become a good suede actually depends on the grinding process.
The inner side (flesh side) of the leather is polished, and the particles are larger. After tanning and other processes, it presents a velvet-like touch. The first layer of suede, suede, and second layer of suede in the market are this kind of grinding process. This also explains why suede is called Suede in English.
Goat leather
The structure of goat leather is slightly stronger, so the tensile strength is better. Because the surface layer of the leather is thicker, it is more wear-resistant. The pores of goat leather are arranged in rows in a “tile-like” shape, the surface is delicate, the fibers are tight, and there are a large number of fine pores arranged in a semicircle, and the feel is tight. Goat leather has pores arranged in a “tile-like” pattern, with a fine surface and tight fibers. There are a large number of fine pores arranged in a semicircle, and the feel is tight. Goat leather can now be made into many different styles of leather. Washable distressed leather is uncoated and can be directly washed in water. It does not fade and has a very small shrinkage rate. Wax film leather, this kind of leather is rolled with a layer of oil wax on the surface of the leather. This kind of leather will also have some folds that become lighter in color when it is folded or wrinkled. This is normal.
Sheep leather
Sheepskin, as the name means, comes from sheep. This leather is known for its natural softness and lightness, providing excellent warmth and comfort. Sheepskin is usually treated with a small amount of chemical treatment and dyeing during processing to maintain its natural texture and softness. Among sheepskins, sheepskin is more expensive than goat skin.
Sheepskin has similar characteristics to goat skin, but due to the large number of hair bundles, sebaceous glands, sweat glands and erector pili muscles, the leather is particularly soft. Because the collagen fiber bundles in the reticular layer are thinner, loosely woven, with small weaving angles and mostly parallel, the leather made from them has low fastness.
#Fabric #Popular Science #Leather Clothing #PU Leather #Microfiber Leather #Protein Leather #Suede Leather #Suede Velvet #Goat Leather #Sheep Leather
Post time: Jan-08-2025