Textile manufacturing
American cotton, Gossypium hirsutum, produces the longer staple needed for mechanised textile production.
A knife blade, set close to the roller, detaches the seeds by drawing them through teeth in circular saws and revolving brushes which clean them away.
Commercial cotton is graded and priced according to its quality; this broadly relates to the average length of the staple and the variety of the plant.
The cotton, aided by fans, then collects on a screen and gets fed through more rollers where it emerges as a continuous soft fleecy sheet, known as a lap.
[12] In a wider sense, carding can refer to these four processes: Combing is optional, but is used to remove the shorter fibres, creating a stronger yarn.
This is a technique where the fibres are blown by air into a rotating drum, where they attach themselves to the tail of formed yarn that is continually being drawn out of the chamber.
The spinning machines takes the roving, thins it and twists it, creating yarn which it winds onto a bobbin.
It was a continuous process, the yarn was coarser, had a greater twist and was stronger, thus suitable for use as warp thread.
The process of drawing each end of the warp separately through the dents of the reed and the eyes of the healds, in the order indicated by the draft.
When a hand loom was located in the home, children helped with the weaving process from an early age.
When weaving moved from the home to the mill, children were often allowed to help their older sisters, and laws had to be made to prevent child labour from becoming established.
The working conditions of cotton production were often harsh, with long hours, low pay, and dangerous machinery.
It should also be noted that Children who worked in handlooms often faced extreme poverty and were unable to obtain an education.
The working conditions of cotton production were often harsh, with long hours, low pay, and dangerous machinery.
It should also be noted that Children who worked in handlooms often faced extreme poverty and were unable to obtain an education.
[28] Finishing is a broad range of physical and chemical processes/treatments that complete one stage of textile manufacturing, sometimes in preparation for the next step.
[29] Fresh off the loom, cotton fabric not only contains impurities, including warp size, but it also requires further treatment to develop its full potential and to add to its value.
A kier is usually enclosed, so the solution of sodium hydroxide can be boiled under pressure, excluding oxygen, which would degrade the cellulose in the fibre.
Calendering is a process in which the fabric is passed between heated rollers to generate smooth, polished or embossed effects.
Printing is the application of colour in the form of a paste or ink to the surface of a fabric in a predetermined pattern.
Native Indian varieties of cotton were rainwater fed, but modern hybrids used for the mills need irrigation, which spreads pests.
[6] The consumption of energy in form of water and electricity is relatively high, especially in processes like washing, de-sizing, bleaching, rinsing, dyeing, printing, coating and finishing.
Power dominates consumption pattern in spinning and weaving, while thermal energy is the major factor for chemical wet processing.
Human rights groups have expressed concerns over healthcare professionals and children being forced to pick cotton.
[36] There was a 1.5 million tonne cotton deficit in 2018 due to adverse weather conditions, limited water, and pest issues.
[39] Jute can be blended with other fibres to make composite fabrics and work continues in Bangladesh to refine the processes and extend the range of usage possible.
It is subject to retting, separating and pounding[41] These bast fibres can also be used: kenaf, urena, ramie, nettle.
[42] Spinning them together, like in lopi, produces a unique yarn that combines the strength of the guard hairs with the loft and softness of the undercoat.
Whereas silkworms require mulberry leaves, sheep eat grass, clover, forbs and other pasture plants.
Nylon, the first synthetic fibre, made its debut in the United States as a replacement for silk, and was used for parachutes and other military uses.
