FABRIC: Cloth or other material produced by weaving or knitting fibres.
We wear clothes to protect our bodies against the weather- strong sunlight, extreme cold or heat, and rain.
Clothing was invented between 50,000 and 1,00,000 years ago.
The clothing of a person depends on various factors such as climate, culture, profession, weather changes etc.
YARN: Spun thread used for knitting, weaving, or sewing.
FIBRE: A thread or filament from which a vegetable tissue, mineral substance, or textile is formed.
There are two kinds of Fibres – NATURAL & SYNTHETIC.
Natural Fibre
Natural fibres are obtained either from plants or animals.
Plant source:
Plant Source are cotton, jute, coir
COTTON
Cotton plant is a shrub.
Cotton is a soft fibre that grows around the seeds of the cotton plant.
The fruit of the cotton plant is called cotton ball.
It grows in Black soil.
It requires warm climate with moderate rainfall.
It is a soft fibre.
It is sown between May & September.
Harvesting begins in October.
GINNING: cotton balls burst open after maturing. It is a process in which the cotton fibres are separated from the cotton seeds or lint.
SPINNING: A process of making yarn from fibers. In this process a mass of cotton wool fibers are drawn out and twisted. It is an art where the fiber is drawn out, twisted, and then wound onto a bobbin. By this, fibers come together to form a yarn. Spinning can be done by hand and charkha. On high scale production, spinning is done with the help of machines.
WEAVING: The process of combining and organizing two different sets of yarns together to make fabric is called weaving. It can be done on looms that are either - hand operated or power operated. It is a method of textile production in which two definite sets of threads are braid together at right angles forming a fabric or cloth.
JUTE:
It is the second most important fibre after cotton.
Jute is a fibre obtained from the bark of the jute plant.
It is a long, soft, shiny plant fibre that can be spun into coarse, strong threads.
Grows best in warm, humid climate, with plenty of rainfall.
Alluvial soil is best.
It is a rainy season crop.
In India, jute is mainly grown in West Bengal, Bihar & Assam.
Sowing is done between February and may.
It is harvested from June to September depending upon whether the sowings are early or late.
After harvesting -> the stalk of the plants are tied into bundles and soaked in water for 20 days, this process is called retting.
It softens the tissues and permits the fibres to be separated.
The fibres are then stripped from the stalks in long strand & washed in clear, running water. Then it is dried for 2-3 days before sending it to the mills.
Obtained from the outer covering or the husk of the coconut.
Use – ropes, floor covering and also stuffing in mattresses and pillows.
SILK COTTON
It is obtained from the silky hairs that surround the seeds of kapok trees that grows in India & Malaysia.
It is light and fluffy.
Used for stuffing cushions, mattress, sound insulation.
Animal source
Animal Source are wool, silk
WOOL
Derived from the hair of sheep.
SHEARING – the process of removing the wool from ship using a special type of clippers.
KNITTING - In knitting, a single yarn is used to make a fabric. The process of making a fabric by interlocking loops of single yarn with knitting needles or machines, is called knitting. Knitting is done by hand and also on machines.
Wool is fluffy, hence retains air. -> Air is bad conductor of heat -> thus woolen cloths retains the body heat and makes us feel warm in cold weather.
Australia – leading producer of wool in the world.
India – ranks 9th.
SILK
Silk is obtained from the cocoon of the silkworm.
Silkworms feed on the leaves of mulberry plant.
India has the unique distinction of being the only country producing all the five kinds of silk namely, Mulberry, Eri, Muga, Tropical Tasar and Temperate Tasar.
The caterpillars of the domestic silk moth (also called ‘Bombyx mori’) are the most commonly used silkworm species in sericulture
Each worm spins a continuous thread up to 800 meter long to make a cocoon.
COCOON: The silky covering spun by the silkworm (or caterpillar) of silk moth is called cocoon. The cocoon is made by silkworm to protect its development as pupa.
The cocoon is boiled in water to kill the silkworm & then the silk fibre is removed.
SERICULTURE: Rearing of silkworms for production of silk is called sericulture.
First developed in China.
Synthetic Fibres
For thousands of years natural fibres were the only ones available for making fabrics.
Synthetic fibres are man-made fibres, made only from polymers found in natural gas and the by-products of petroleum.
Examples of synthetic fibres are polyester, nylon and acrylic.
Clothes made from synthetic fibres are stronger and do not wrinkle easily.
Can not absorb sweat, hence un suitable for hot and humid weather.
