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Grades K–2 · Everyday Life

How do tiny hooks and loops hold fabric together?

Hook-and-loop fabric has two different sides. One side has tiny curved hooks. The other has small loops of thread. The drawing makes these parts much bigger so they can be seen.

J11 visual explanationMagnified hook-and-loop fabric schematic in state caught. Three drawn hook positions yield 3 catches. Curved hooks catch looped fibers when the materials meet and release as the strips separate. This mechanism does not use glue or a zipper's interlocking teeth; real fabrics contain many smaller catches.Tiny hooks catch soft loopsMagnified fabric model · not a zipperHooksLoops3 hooks caught in this drawn arrangement.

In the diagramTiny hooks catch soft loopsMagnified fabric model · not a zipperHooksLoops3 hooks caught in this drawn arrangement.

Three magnified hooks catch three loops in the initial arrangement; alternative drawings show one remaining catch or separated strips.

When the sides meet, hooks can catch the loops. Many small catches help hold the strips together. This does not need a line of zipper teeth or a layer of glue.

As the strips separate, the catches let go. Some may release before others. The fabric can come apart because hooks and loops can stop catching each other.

About this explanation

Starting knowledge: Recognize a curved hook and a loop and understand together and apart.

Sources

  • Lemelson Center, Smithsonian Institution — George de Mestral: Velcro® Inventor
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