FIBRE TO FABRIC
IMPORTANT TERMS
Fleece The thick coat of hair on the body of wool-yielding animals.
Filaments A thread like structure secreted by silkworms.
Cocoon The covering of silk fibres by which a caterpillar wraps itself.
Pashmina The fur obtained from the Kashmiri goat is known as Pashmina.
Moriculture The cultivation of mulberry plants is known as Moriculture.
Sericulture Rearing of silkworms for the production of silk is known as sericulture.
Reeling The process of taking out threads from the cocoon to be used as silk.
Selective Breeding The process of breeding of selective parents for obtaining special characteristics in the offspring.
Rearing Raising and breeding of domestic sheep for the purpose of milk and wool production.
WOOL
Wool is obtained from the fleece of animals such as sheep, goat, camel and rabbit, so it is an animal fibre.
ANIMALS THAT PROVIDE WOOL
Goats - Angora goats are generally found in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. They provide with fine quality of wool. Their fur provides a fibre called Mohair.
Kashmiri is a breed of goat found in the high plateaus of Asia. The fibre obtained from it is soft. It is woven into shawls known as Pashmina shawls.
Yak - Yak gives us wool. It is mainly found in Ladakh in India.
Camel - Wool is also obtained from camel. Some breeds of camel such as the Bactrian camel, Alpaca and Llama give wool.
Angora Rabbit - The wool obtained from the Angora rabbit is known as Angora wool.
Sheep The wool that is commonly available in market is obtained from sheep. The hairy skin of sheep has two types of fibre: the coarse beard hair and the soft under hair. The soft under hair provides the fibre for making wool. Several breeds of sheep are found in different parts of India. Some of the Indian breeds of sheep and examples of products made from wool are given below:-
Name of Breed |
Products made from wool |
State Where Found |
Lohi |
Carpets |
Rajasthan, Punjab |
Nali |
Carpets |
Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana |
Bakharwal |
Woollen Shawls |
Jammu & Kashmir |
Marwari |
Carpets |
Gujarat |
Patanwadi |
Hosiery Socks and stockings |
Gujarat |
Rampur Bushair |
Brown Fleece |
U.P., Himachal Pradesh |
PROCESSING FIBRES INTO WOOL
The processing of fibres into wool involves the following steps:-
Shearing
Shearing is the first step in the production of wool. The process of removing fleece or hair along with a thin layer of skin from the body of sheep is called shearing. It is done with the help of manual razor or special clippers.
Sheep are generally shorn during summer season because they do not need fleece in that season to keep themselves warm.
Scouring
The sheared skin from sheep is thoroughly washed to remove grease, dust and dirt which is known as scouring.
Sorting
After the process of scouring, the sheared hair of different textures is sorted on the basis of length and colour which is known as sorting. Wool is sorted on the basis of length, colour and texture.
Dyeing
The fibres are dyed in various colours as the natural colour of fleece is brown, white or black.
Weaving
The fibres are straightened and rolled into yarn. Then, the fibres are woven into woollen clothes.
SILK
Silk is an animal fibre as it is obtained from the cocoon of the silkworm.
There are different varieties of silk moth, which produce silk of different quality and texture.
The most common silk moth is the mulberry silk moth. The silk fibre obtained from it is the highest quality of silk.
Tassar is a kind of silk fibre obtained from moths that are yellowish-brown in colour. It is also referred to as wild silk.
Mooga is a variety of silk obtained from a silk moth which is usually found in Assam.
Kosa is a kind of silk produced from an Indian silkworm. It is a variety of Tussar silk.
LIFE CYCLE OF A SILK MOTH
A female silk moth lays about 300-400 eggs at a time. Once the eggs hatch, the caterpillars or silkworms emerge. It is known as the larvae stage.
When the silkworm is about 35 days old, it weaves a net to hold itself. It secretes a fibre and completely covers itself with this fibre. This covering is known as cocoon. The caterpillar changes into a pupa inside the cocoon.
Adult moth is the final stage in the life cycle of a silkworm.
PROCESS OF SERICULTURE
Rearing of silkworms for the production of silk is known as sericulture.
The healthiest moths are selected for breeding and laying the eggs. The eggs are warmed at a temperature that is suitable for hatching.
After hatching, the larvae are fed with chopped mulberry leaves for 20-35 days. They increase in size and are ready to spin the cocoons. The spinning takes about 3-7 days.
Then, the cocoons are put in hot water to kill the worms inside them and also to loosen the filaments.
The filaments are taken out from the cocoons by the process of reeling. The filaments from other cocoons are joined and twisted together to make a thread that is wound on a reel. The threads are woven into silk clothes by weavers.
INTERESTING FACTS