| The machines used for different fibres vary slightly in | | | | by combining several slivers together a more |
| the initial steps, but once the fibre is in a rolag (ready to | | | | consistent size can be reached. |
| spin) the process and machinery is pretty much | | | | Since combining several slivers produces a very thick |
| universal. Slight changes are made depending on the | | | | rope of cotton fibres, directly after being combined the |
| coarseness of the fibre or yarn desired. | | | | slivers are separated into rovings. These rovings are |
| Cotton Cotton Gin The cotton boll is white, roughly | | | | then what are used in the spinning process. Generally |
| spherical and fluffy. After being harvested, the cotton | | | | speaking, for machine processing a roving is about the |
| is sent through a cotton gin because the seeds have | | | | width of a pencil. |
| to be removed before carding. A modern day cotton | | | | Spinning The spinning machines stake the roving, thin it |
| gin looks similar to a carding machine, in that the fibre | | | | and twist it, creating yarn. The roving is pulled off a |
| goes through many different rollers. The teeth on the | | | | bobbin and fed through some rollers, which are feeding |
| gin are different from those on a carding machine. The | | | | at several different speeds. This thins the roving at a |
| ginning process removes the seeds from the cotton | | | | consistent rate. If the roving was not a consistent size, |
| fibre. The first cotton gin was produced by Eli Whitney. | | | | then this step could cause a break in the yarn, or could |
| At this point, the ginned cotton is normally put into bales, | | | | jam the machine. The yarn is twisted through the |
| and shipped to the cotton mill. | | | | spinning of the bobbin it is rolled on, exactly like a |
| Picking When the cotton comes out of a bale, it is all | | | | spinning wheel but just in a different configuation. |
| packed together and still contains vegetable matter. In | | | | Plying Plying is done by pulling yarn from two or more |
| order to fluff up the cotton and remove the vegetable | | | | bobbins and twisting it together, in the opposite direction |
| matter, the cotton is sent through a picker. A picker | | | | than that in which it was spun. Depending on the |
| looks similar to the carding machine and the cotton gin, | | | | weight desired, cotton may or may not have been |
| but is slightly different. The cotton is fed into the | | | | plied. |
| machine and gets beaten with a beater bar, to loosen | | | | Yucca While not an especially common fibre, Yucca |
| it up. The cotton then collects on a screen and gets | | | | fibres were at one time widely used throughout |
| fed through various rollers, which serve to remove the | | | | Central America for many things. Currently they are |
| vegetable matter. | | | | mainly used to make twine. |
| Carding The cotton comes off of the picking machine | | | | Leaf to Rolag After being harvested, the yucca |
| in large bats, and is then taken to carding machines. | | | | leaves are put on a conveyor belt, and then cut to a |
| The carders line up the fibres nicely to make them | | | | standard size. In order to separate the fibres from the |
| easier to spin. The carding machine consists mainly of | | | | rest of the leaf, the leaves are crushed in between |
| one big roller with smaller ones surrounding it. All of the | | | | two large rollers. The waste, a pulpy liquid that stinks, |
| rollers are covered in small teeth, and as the cotton | | | | can be used as a fertilizer. At this point the fibres are |
| progresses further on the teeth get finer (ie. closer | | | | bundled up and dried. This is easily done by draping |
| together). The cotton leaves the carding maching in the | | | | them over trelises and leaving them out in the sun to |
| form of a sliver; a large rope of fibres. | | | | dry. Once the fibres are dry they are combined into |
| Combining the Slivers Next, several slivers are | | | | rolags. Then several rolags are combined to produce a |
| combined. Each sliver will have thin and thick spots, and | | | | more consistent rolag. At this point it is ready to spin. |