Page 25 - Curriculum Visions Dynamic Book

(Above) Cotton was a favoured material for early settlers because it kept them cool in summer when they still had hard work to do. We still use cotton for its cool, fresh feel.
Cotton
(Below) A selection of dyed cotton threads.
Cotton
Cotton is a subtropical shrublike plant with white flowers. As the seeds mature, they become surrounded by a mass of fine, soft seed hairs or fibres. The whole seed pod is called a cotton boll. The cotton is harvested when the boll bursts, for it is then that the cotton fibre is easiest to collect. The seeds are separated from the fibres by a mechanical combing process called ginning.
The fibres range from 1 to 6 cm long and contain 90% cellulose. This length is called the staple length. The cotton is collected and bound up in a bale.
It is hardest to cultivate plants with a long staple length. They are mainly Egyptian and Sea Island (near Florida, South Carolina, and Georgia) cottons, and their staple length is from 3 to 6 cm. They make the most expensive fabrics. More plentiful is the cotton with less than 3 cm staple length, such as is mainly grown in mainland America. These cottons are used as blends with other fibres and for carpets and blankets.
The cotton is processed by removing any impurities such as soil by combing and getting the fibres to line up in a process called carding. The fibres are then drawn together and spun into a yarn and wound onto a bobbin.
The spun yarn can be woven in the same way as other fabrics.
Cotton fabrics last well because
they resist rubbing. Cotton will also accept many dyes. It is comfortable to wear because it acts like a natural wick, soaking up body moisture and releasing it to the air.
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