Artificial leather is the most popular material that allows you to simulate natural fabric at a lower cost. Anyone who cannot afford an expensive purchase knows everything about leatherette: properties, features, where and when to use it or not. And we will further find out how practical the fabric is, what distinguishes it from the purpose and capabilities of natural material.
What is artificial skin, or How to understand what is in front of you a substitute?
Artificial leather fabric is a material obtained by the production method. If natural fabric is someone's skin, then the alternative is made in factories. It can be used in industry, engineering, in a textile factory for sewing clothes, shoes, hats. There are a lot of varieties, but each kind of even non-natural fiber is designed for a particular product.
There are fabrics for technical use - leather substitutes are made from natural raw materials that allow you to simulate the surface of the skin. Many people have a contradiction: artificial leather is always an artificial product that is not able to last a long time. However, natural products still enable manufacturers to create high-quality material that is not inferior to expensive textiles.
Is it worth recalling Green Peace campaigns that fight for animal life? They are primarily ready to prove that:
- Leatherette has unique properties.
- Substitutes will always be cheaper and more affordable.
- Substitutes of the natural component are not necessarily taken from the technological environment. There are natural fractions of components that mimic the skin.
Polymeric composite fabrics have a multilayer structure. This allows you to use artificial leather for furniture and upholstery, sewing decorative covers and more. Technologically, scientists are already using the capabilities of virtual intelligence to print skin on a 3D printer.
The structure of artificial material: what is it made of?
Artificial leather is primarily a few layers of different textures. The basis is:
- knitted fibers that serve as the basis for the "application" of materials;
- non-woven fabrics;
- impregnating agents providing resistance and durability of some separate structures;
- polymer components that serve as a finish due to the lack of a porous coating.
A feature of the fabric is that its various types may differ from each other. This allows the manufacturer to create an imitation of any skin. In addition, non-natural materials are resistant to moisture and frost, but are not strong enough with frequent and strong bending.
Classification of leatherette: how do the structures differ?
Some foundations are superior to the components of natural fabrics. According to consumer and operational properties, leatherette is divided into types of bases:
- porous or monolithic;
- solid monolithic;
- single or multilayer;
- reinforced;
- baseless or fiber based.
This is the main difference between the substitutes among themselves. Also pay attention to certain features of the materials.
Tactile properties: distinguish the type of leatherette to the touch
If you do not know how to distinguish faux leather from genuine, we recommend that you learn a few features:
- By appointment, the fabric can be oilcloth when it is required to maintain its moisture-resistant qualities.
- Shoe fabric will have the same properties, but externally imitate genuine leather.
- Haberdashery products from the substitute are no different from leather products, only a brighter sheen, not characteristic of natural fibers.
- Upholstery and clothing fabrics made of leatherette are endowed with special properties that make the products strong and durable.
- Decorative household fabrics are intended only for interior decoration, therefore physical properties are weak.
- The stranded type is used for upholstering some textiles.
- Technical materials are made for subsequent use in industry.
By the way, artificial leather is not only a broad-based material, but also a good affordable option for those who like inexpensive imitations of natural objects. If you need $ 10 to buy a meter of natural fabric, then a dozen times less to choose a leatherette. We are talking about the cheapest analogue, which may not exceed the properties of expensive components of similar textile samples.
However, if you need to find a good bag for 3-4 years, it is better to pay 30-35% less than taking a natural pricey. The service life is one, but the "consequences" of socks can be different.
Synthetic soft and hard fabrics
Soft artificial leather is most often used in the field of cutting and sewing when creating sketches for seamless products. A dense solid base is used in shoe production. They also distinguish:
- synthetic fabrics;
- rigid, cardboard-like;
- synthetic type materials for the shoe bottom.
In this case, artificial leather is an opportunity to construct the cut of the future foundation technologically correctly. Soft fabrics do not always keep their shape, and impregnation requires natural ingredients, which is very expensive. For leatherette, this is not a problem, since tanning takes place at the manufacturing stage.
What is the difference between genuine leather and a substitute? Physical properties and features of artificial material
There are almost no significant significant differences between the two categories of materials, but leatherette will never smell and feel like genuine leather. This is not an advantage, but an essential point of difference. Also, artificial leather for furniture or sewing bags, shoes has some individual characteristics:
- The natural base never cracks from the cold, practically does not burn.
- Bonding of parts made of artificial leather is easier, although it takes more time. This process is neither costly nor time consuming.
- Artificial black leather is more airtight than genuine leather of the same color. The thing is the method of obtaining the color palette and shade.
- Some people are not lucky to wear genuine leather clothes, as they have an allergic reaction to it. Hypoallergenicity of artificial products is higher; harmlessness is guaranteed.
Also, natural textiles can never offer as many product variations as leatherette. From it you can make everything from shoes to children's goods. Reviews of artificial leather have long been positive, and buyers are only happy that the desired product can be purchased in the range of analog textiles, paying less, getting more (according to the properties and capabilities of the material).
Physical properties of genuine leather: what gives it along with artificial analogues?
Natural fabric will always have its โnativeโ qualities that are unique to it. It is impossible to endow them with other textiles, and from here it is necessary to proceed from checking the material for naturalness:
- Heat transfer. The skin is always heated by the warmth of human hands. If you touch it, it remains dry, but the artificial fabric will become slightly damp.
- The thickness of the product. The edges of the artificial material are always thin compared to genuine leather. The hem is round, slightly endowed with roughness. A smooth edge is found only in artificial fabrics.
- Elasticity is the main difference between natural textiles. If you bend a piece of skin, it will manifest itself in the form of fine wrinkles, but after straightening it will become smooth, which can not be said about a substitute.
- The color scheme when bent, pressed or squeezed does not change on a natural basis. Artificial material will change color when exposed to it.
- The smell will be sharp only with artificial material. Now you can find good quality substitutes in Moscow. Artificial leather is often treated with sprays, fragrances, so it is very difficult to distinguish a fake. This does not mean that manufacturers are trying to fool the customer, on the contrary. The maximum similarity of the substitute is deliberately created so that the thing meets the basic requirements of the properties of natural fabric as much as possible.
- Pores of a non-natural fiber will be even, the same in size and depth. Arbitrary arrangement is inherent in natural skin.
- The basis. Are interlaced fibers visible on the cut? So, before you is "natural product". The fabric base indicates the opposite.
There are also other ways to check the naturalness of the proposed accessory or item. And how to do it in the store, you will learn from the video.
Exposure by fire and water
In the market, these verification methods cannot be applied. Only at home can mechanical effects on tissue be realized:
- Genuine leather does not respond to contact with fire for 3-6 seconds. Some manufacturers treat the surface of leatherette with an aniline coating, which allows it to not melt.
- Genuine leather absorbs moisture and the leatherette will remain moist.
But what a professional will say about the differences between leather and non-genuine products:
In addition to checks, there is a way to read information on a label.
Tag: will she tell you everything about the purchase?
It is known that tags are required to contain genuine product information. This is so, therefore, you must read and browse them without fail, especially when buying expensive items.
- A label in the form of a regular rhombus indicates the presence of a substitute. Figured diamond - in front of you genuine leather.
- Faux leather colors are also indicated by names that determine the gamut of the product.
Natural fabric will be accompanied by the inscriptions:
- genuine leather (in English);
- vera pelle (in Italian);
- cuir (in French);
- echtleder (in German).
If there is nothing similar on the label, rather, you will see leatherette in front of you.
Varieties of natural fabrics
Natural skin is divided not only by color, but also by the method of production, the choice of the animal and the processing method:
- Pigskin is the most affordable in the price segment. Used for the manufacture of budget products: shoes, linings, jackets.
- Bovine skin is thick, tough, durable, but not so strong due to physical properties. Backpacks, belts and shoes of the middle price range are made from it.
- Sheepskin - soft and durable, designed for the manufacture of bags, jackets, gloves.
- Calf tissue is very soft, but has a high degree of wear resistance. Creases and wrinkles never occur.
- Goat skin is dense but soft, most often premium products are made from it - wallets, accessories, wallets, bags and jackets.
- Deer skin has the best characteristics, but there are practically no products from it on the Russian market. It retains heat, suitable for making warm winter jackets with fur. It is found in the production of a Scandinavian or Finnish brand.
- Crocodile and snake skin - the first has increased strength, and the second has an original appearance.
There is also ostrich skin, which differs from other species in its strength and elasticity. They make raincoats, jackets and luxury accessories from it.
A variety of colors of natural material
If artificial white leather is the result of dyeing, then natural fabric of the same color is the art of craftsmanship.
- Nappa - the skin is treated with chemical products to give plasticity and softness. The basis is the skin of cattle.
- Safyan is the skin of goats, which was subjected to vegetable tanning.
- Velor is the result of chrome tanning, the process of which falls on the side of bakhtarma. The material is given velvety smoothness by grinding.
- Suede is the skin of small cattle on the front side. There must necessarily be a thick pile, a minimum of fluffiness and a maximum of softness.
- Shagreen leather - skin after vegetable tanning, endowed with a relief pattern.
- Laika - the skin of sheep, dogs, which goes through the process of tanning with aluminum alum with the addition of salt, flour and yolk. It turns out a thin soft fabric for the production of gloves.
- Nubuck is the fleecy skin of cattle that feels like suede.
- Patent leather - varnished fabric that does not withstand low and high temperatures.
Artificial leather - leatherette, eco-leather, obtained by applying a polyurethane film coating to the fabric base. Depending on the type of additive, the name is supplemented by the prefixes elasto- (rubbers), vinyl- (polyvinyl chloride), amido- (polyamides), nitro- (nitrocellulose), urethane- (polyurethanes).
Artificial fabric care: how to extend leatherette life?
To make the product last longer, there are several rules that you must follow:
- use of cosmetics;
- urgent removal of pollution;
- cleaning with a washing solution;
- drying in an upright position;
- prohibition of washing in manual mode or in a typewriter;
- stains of fat should only be removed with soapy water.
If you follow these simple rules, you will preserve the properties of artificial leather, and the product will last much longer.