Cotton

Cotton is a plant grown in warm climates such as America and India. Once the cotton plant has flowered, the bloom is replaced by a pod called a cotton boll. This contains the seeds of the plant and in the warm air it dries to produce a white, clean, fluffy fibre.

Prior to harvesting the leaves are removed from the plant to minimise staining and the mature cotton seed is then ready to be harvested.

The cotton fibre once harvested is cleaned and conveyed to stands where revolving circular saws pull the lint through closely spaced ribs that prevent the seed from passing through. Some of today’s high capacity machines can turn out 60 500 pound bales of lint in one hour.

Seed removed from the cotton is crushed in order to extract the oil, the remaining husk is used as livestock feed and fertiliser.

Samples of the lint are taken to grade the lint for fibre length, staple length, length uniformity, grade and fineness.

Once the cotton bales have arrived at the textile mill, carding machines separate and align the fibres into a thin web, which is condensed into a rope like strand. Drawing frames provide additional blending and pull the soft rope thinner.

High speed open-end spinning machines further draw out and twist the strand making it tighter and thinner until it reaches the thickness or count needed for weaving or knitting, and finally wind the yarn onto bobbins. The yarn is then ready for the next process of fabric manufacture.

Some yarns are dyed before being woven.