History Textile machinery at the Cambrian Factory, Llanwrtyd, Wales in the 1940s. Textiles themselves are too fragile to survive across millennia; the tools used for spinning and weaving make up most of the prehistoric evidence for textile work. The earliest tool for spinning was the spindle, to which a whorl was eventually added.
Textile, any filament, fiber, or yarn that can be made into fabric or cloth, and the resulting material itself. The term is derived from the Latin textilis and the French texere, meaning ’to weave,’ and it originally referred only to woven fabrics.
From natural fibers to cutting-edge synthetics, and from traditional weave structures to complex computer-designed hangings, textiles teach us about the past, connect us through the present, and pose opportunities and challenges for the future.
Certain nations and their citizens have created distinctive textile designs that are an integral aspect of their culture. For instance, tartan, which originates in Scotland, is a characteristic design of crisscrossed horizontal and vertical bands.