Jute fabric is widely used both in everyday life and in production. This environmentally friendly material has a lot of interesting features. It is made from the stems of jute - a plant found in the wild, mainly in the tropics.
How to grow raw materials
In common people such a fabric is usually called burlap. The cultivation of jute in tropical countries involves the use of mainly manual labor only. These plants are cultivated in third world states, in Asia and Africa. About 150 days after planting, jute - a tall powerful plant - blooms. At this time, the time comes to harvest in the fields with this crop. The jute is cut, collected in sheaves and left on the field until the leaves are showered.
Next, the plants are transferred to the nearest body of water and left to soak for several days. Then the jute stalks are cleaned of bark and divided into fibers. These raw materials are subsequently hung on poles for drying. Finished jute fiber is collected in bales and sent to the market.
How to make fabric
In light industry enterprises, twisted threads are made from jute. Then on the machines they actually weave burlap. The density of jute fabric can be different and depends on how close the warp and weft are to each other. Burlap used for packaging various kinds of products, as you know, has a rather loose structure.
Weaving in the manufacture of jute fabric usually use linen. In this case, either a purely jute thread or made with the addition of cotton, silk, linen, and polymeric yarns can be used as raw materials in weaving industries.
Basic properties
The advantages of natural jute fabric include primarily:
- lack of propensity for electrification;
- hygroscopicity;
- resistance to deformation;
- high tensile strength;
- breathability;
- good thermal insulation properties.
Of course, the unconditional advantage of such a material is its very low cost. Jute is by far the cheapest fabric. This is largely due to its great popularity among consumers.
Natural jute fabric, of course, has some drawbacks. This material is rather rough to the touch. When using raw materials of low grades, it can also be brittle and too dry. In addition, natural jute can be exposed to putrefactive bacteria and deteriorate when exposed to sunlight.
In order to make this fabric less coarse, cotton threads are used as an additive in its manufacture. It is possible to reduce the fragility and dryness of jute by using flax in the manufacture of this material. It is in this way that a traditional loose fabric intended for the manufacture of bags is usually made today.
What is used for
Jute is used mainly for sewing bags. And also this fabric is often used to make water filters. This material is absolutely environmentally friendly. In addition, from jute, unlike synthetics, the residual monomers are not washed out during filtration. That is, water after passing through this material becomes almost crystal clear.
Sometimes jute is used to make various kinds of interior items. For example, some parts of upholstered furniture may be sheathed. And also screens are often made from jute. In some cases, this material can also be used for the manufacture of various kinds of decorative crafts - boxes, bags, etc.
The use of packaging jute fabric
The widespread use of such material for the manufacture of packaging is determined primarily by its high tensile strength. Jute burlap is a fabric capable of supporting the weight of even the heaviest goods. Among other things, jute has a loose structure, and therefore is very well suited for packaging food products. For example, root crops packed in such bags are well ventilated and, therefore, are stored longer.
In addition to potatoes, beets, carrots and other vegetables, packaging jute fabric can be used for the following:
- bulk products - sugar, flour, salt;
- piece goods;
- building materials.
How can it be dyed and bleached
The color of the jute fabric is most often beige: from light to almost brown. In the manufacture of screens or decorative crafts, the thread intended for the manufacture of such material is pre-bleached and dyed. Perform these procedures with the exact observance of certain technologies.
In order to obtain white jute material, for example, use the following technique:
- the chlorine-containing solution is diluted with water in certain proportions;
- the solution is poured into a large container, a jute thread is placed in it and kept for several hours;
- I take out the jute from the container, rinse and dry.
At home, jute bleaching can be done using the usual "White". This product is diluted with water in a proportion of 1 liter per 250 ml. Soak the thread in such a solution for 8–9 hours.
For coloring jute intended for the manufacture of decorative products, usually use acrylic paints and paste. Such agents are also pre-diluted with water. Dye for jute fabric or thread is diluted in certain proportions. The amount of water used for breeding depends on what shade is supposed to be obtained in the end.
Interesting products
Jute is very often used for the manufacture of various kinds of DIY crafts. From this material, for example, a very beautiful filigree is obtained. The jute thread in this case is woven according to the patterns into spectacular patterns. Curls from such a cord are smeared with glue and laid on some flat surface. After drying, the resulting patterns are removed and used to make boxes, panels, etc.
They also knit rugs for entrance doors out of jute, make laces for amulets, decorative tassels, etc. Such items made of jute fabric as bracelets, pendants, and earrings look very nice. Such jewelry is made, of course, from a very dense material of this variety with a substrate.