Fibre to Fabric
Science Class Seven
Summary: Fibre to Fabric Quick Reading
* Fibre is a continuous filament. Fiber can be spun into filaments, string or rope.
* Fibre is used in making of fabrics.
There are two types of fiber. Natural fibre and Artificial fibre.
* Natural fibre is obtained from plants and animals while artificial fibre is produced in laboratory. Jute, cotton, wool, nylon, rayon, etc. are some examples of fibres.
* Fibres obtained from animals are complex proteins.
* Wool and Silk are animal fibres
* Animals that found in extremely cold climate usually have a thick coat of hair on their bodies. Dense hair on body traps air which acts as bad conductor of heat and saves animals live there from extreme cold.
* Wool is obtained from the hair of sheep, camel, rabbit, lama, alpaca, goat, etc.
* This warm coat of hair on the body of sheep is called fleece.
* Initially people did not know about wool. It is said that between 8000 BC to 5000 BC people could begin to spin wool.
* There are two types of hair found on the body of wool yielding animals. The coarse beard hair and under hair close to the skin.
* The under hair which is find close to the skin are soft and fine. These fine hair give fiber which is used in making of wool.
* There are more than 100 types of breed of sheep.
* Cashmere Goat: In India, Cashmere Goat is mainly found in the area of Ladakh. The Cashmere Goat is known as Changthangi Goat also.
* The wool obtained from the under fur of Cashmere Goat is called Pashmina Wool.
* The shawl woven using Pashmina wool is called Pashmina Shawl.
* The word Pashmina came from a Persian word Pashm which means Wool.
* The Merino is an economically influential breed of sheep prized for its wool. Merinos are regarded as having some of the finest and softest wool. Merino sheep is found in Australia and USA.
* There is a breed of Goat called Angora.
* It is believed that Angora is a Turkish breed of Goat.
* The fibre obtained from Angora Goat is called Mohair.
* Wool obtained from Angora Goat is known as Angora Wool also besides Mohair.
* The shawl woven from Mohair or Angora Wool is called Pashmina Shawl also.
* Angora Goat is found in the hilly region of Kashmir and Ladakh in India.
* Agnora Goat is found in Tibet also.
* Angora wool is obtained from a breed of rabbit also, this is known as Angora Rabbit
| Some Indian Breeds of Sheep | ||
|---|---|---|
| Breed | Quality of wool | State in which they found |
| Lohi | Google quality | Rajasthan, Punjab |
| Rampur Bushair | Brown fleece | Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh |
| Nali | Carpet wool | Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab |
| Bakharwal | For woolen shawls | Jammu and Kashmir |
| Marwari | Coarse wool | Gujrat |
| Patanwadi | For Hosiery | Gujrat |
| Source: NCERT Book Science Class 7th page no. 26 | ||
* Sheep are reared mainly to obtain wool. But sheep give meat and milk also.
* Wool is obtained from the fleece after cutting and processing it.
* Rearing and breeding of sheep is a subcategory of animal husbandry. It is also known as Sheep Husbandry.
* In India, sheep are reared mainly in hilly areas, like Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim, or the plains of Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat.
* Sheep are herbivores.
* Shepherds take sheep outdoor to graze in normal season. But generally, in cold days of winter they are kept indoor and fed on grain, dry fodder, and leaves.
* All sheep do not produce good quality and large quantity of wool. To obtain good quality of wool selective breeding are done in scientific way. This is called Selective Breeding of Sheep
* In selective breeding, one of the parent is chosen of good breed, so that the good breed of sheep can be obtained.
* The process of getting wool as finished product comprises of Shearing, Classing, Washing, sorting and some other steps.
* Shearing : Step (I) : The process of removing or cutting off or shaving off the fleece (hair) from the body of a sheep is called the shearing or clipping or sheep shearing.
* The person who removes the sheep's wool is called a shearer.
* Generally, shearing is done once in a year preferably in the summer.
* By the winter a new coat of hair is grown over the body of the sheep.
* Saving off of hair does not hurt a sheep. This is similar to hair cutting in human.
* Shearing is done using blades, which is known as blade shears. Shearing is done using machines nowadays.
* Scouring: Step (II): After the shearing, wool is washed and cleaned thoroughly. The washing and cleaning of fleece after shaving it off is called Scouring.
* Sorting: Step (III): After scouring the sorting is done. The separating out of different texture is called sorting.
* Step (IV): The small fluffy fibers, called burrs, are picked out from the hair.
* Dyeing: Step (V): Wool Fibres are dyed to get desired colour. The natural fleece are of black, brown and white in colour.
* Step (VI): After dying, fibres are straightened, combed and rolled into yarn.
* Silk : Silk is an animila fibre and is obtained from Silk Worm.
* Sericulture: The rearing of silkworm is known as Sericulture.
* Discovery of Silk : Silk was discovered in China. Once a cocoon dropped in a hot cup of tea and a delicate thread started coming out of cocoon. By this way silk was discovered accidently.
* Silk Route : Route which used by silk traders is known as Silk Route.
* UNESCO in June 2014 declared the Chang'an-Tianshan corridor of the Silk Road as a World Heritage Site.
* Life Cycle of silk moth : Silk moth ⇒ Eggs ⇒ Larva (caterpillar) ⇒ feed mulberry leaves for about 25 days ⇒ start spinning cocoon ⇒ Silk moth
* From Cocoon to Silk : Cocoons are either put under sun or boiled in hot water to separate out silk threads.
* Sericulture The rearing of silk worm is known as sericulture.
* About 3000 to 5500 silkworms are required to produce 1 kg of silk.
* The silk fibre obtained from the cocoon is known as raw silk.
* Reeling of Silk: The The farmers leave some cocoon having silkworm to breed the next generation of caterpillar.
* Types of Silk : The type of silk depends upon the types of silk moth. There are many varieties of silk moths. Different silk month produces different texture and variety of silk.
* Bombyx Mori is the most common silk moth. It is also known as mulberry silk moth because it only feed on mulberry leaves.
* Tassar silk, Mooga or Muga silk, Kosa silk, Eri silk, etc. are some of the varieties of silk.
* The silk fibre obtained from the cocoon of mulberry silk moth is soft, lustrous and elastic. Silk can be dyed in different beautiful colours.
* Use of Silk: Silk fabrics are used in making garments, Sari, and other type of fancy cloth.
* Sericulture or culture of silkworms is one of the very old occupations in India.
* India is the second largest producer of silk after China.
* Proof of making of silk is found from the remains of Indus Valley Civilization.
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