Cotton A Natural Fiber By Robin Nelson Cotton is a natural fiber. It comes from a plant also known as Cellulosic. By Robin Nelson

History of Cotton The Cotton Gin. A machine for cleaning short-staple cotton was invented by Eli Whitney in 1793. His cotton engine consisted of spiked teeth mounted on a boxed revolving cylinder which, when turned by a crank, pulled the cotton fiber through small slotted openings so as to separate the seeds from the lint. Simultaneously a rotating brush, operated via a belt and pulleys, removed the fibrous lint from the projecting spikes. Although patented in 1794, the design was imitated so much by others that Whitney gained only a modest financial reward from his simple but ingenious invention.

Patent Drawings for Cartwright's Power Loom 1785: Cartwright patented the power loom. It was improved upon by William Horrocks, known for his invention of the variable speed batton in 1813 Edmund Cartwright was originally from Nottingham. After graduating from Oxford University in 1779, he became the rector of Goadby church, Marwood in Leicestershire. In 1784 he visited Arkwright's cotton-spinning mill at Crompton. Cartwright was sure that he could develop similar technology to benefit weaving. In 1785, he patented the first version of his power loom and set up a factory in Doncaster. He was no businessman, however, and he went bankrupt in 1793, which forced him to close his factory. Patent Drawings for Cartwright's Power Loom Edmond Cartwright

Major Producers of Cotton United States Russia China India The major producers of Cotton are United States, Russia, China and India. The lessor Producers are Pakistan, Brazil, Turkey, Egypt, Mexico, Iran and Sudan.

Cotton Production Harvesting Harvesting: Cotton comes from seed pods. The flowers then blossom, ripen, wither, and fall off. The part left on the plant is the green seed pods or cotton bolls. The fibers grow and push out of the boll.

Ginning Blending Cleaning Carding & Combing Ginning: The cotton bolls are cleaned, the burs, dirt, and leaves are removed. The cotton lint is then packed into bales. Blending: The fibers are then blended from several bales. This provides uniformity, and maintains constant yarn quality. Also any fiber lumps are reduced. Cleaning: Fibers are then cleaned some more, and formed into a continuous wide sheet called a lap. The lap is rolled around and around a cylinder. Carding: Continues to clean, and becomes separated into individual fibers. Fibers are drawn into a funnel-shape device that forms the fibers into a sliver. A sliver is a round, rope-like strand of fibers about the diameter of a person’s finger. Combing: Combing is done for high quality fibers, for exceptional smoothness, fineness, and strength. The short fibers are combed out and the long fibers remain. They are also put into a sliver.

Drawing Roving Spinning Frame Drawing: Drawing is done to combine and pull several slivers into a drawn sliver. The fibers are arranged in parallel order, and increases uniformity. Roving: Slivers are fed into a roving frame. Slight twisting and pulling makes a smaller roving strand. Spinning frame: The twisted sliver is fed into the spinning frame. It is then drawn out to form the final size and twisted into yarn. The twist hold the fibers together and gives strength to the yarn.

Characteristics of Cotton Cotton has many characteristics to describe it. Following are some of those characteristics.

Advantages Inexpensive Soft and absorbent Does not pill Blends well Can be treated Cotton has many advantages. It is relatively inexpensive. Soft and absorbent. Since it is absorbent it will dye well. It will not cling, and it becomes stronger when it is wet. Cotton will not pill. And it will blend well with other. Cotton can be treated to make it better. Fire resistant, mildew resistant, and water repellent.

Disadvantages Wrinkles easily Shrinks Not resilient Burns easily Absorbent Cotton has many disadvantages. Cotton will wrinkle easily It shrinks due t the relaxation of yarns It is not resilient or elastic, will not stretch. It will burn easily and rapidly, It smells like paper when burning. It can also smolder. After it is burned it will leave a fluffy gray ash behind. Being absorbent can be a disadvantage because it will pick up stains easily. Also cotton dries slowly making the wearer become chilled fast. Overtime absorbency is lot.

Care of Cotton washing ironing bleach Cotton is very easy to take care of. Washing can be done with almost all detergents. The water temperature can be hot or cold. Cotton fabric can have vigorous agitation, wringing, or twisting to remove water. Cotton can hang to dry. Cotton does shrink due to relaxation of the fibers. The temperature of the iron can be hot. It will take out the wrinkles and Both chlorine and oxygen bleaches can be used. However prolonged use of bleach caused degradation of the cotton fibers.

Uses of Cotton Household items Apparel items Cotton can be used in many things. Cotton is used for baby diapers to fashion garments Household items – towels to upholstery to awnings Apparel and household items are the largest uses of cotton Cotton is biodegradable – ecologically sould fabric choice The cotton seal is known for 100% cotton. Look for the seal when buying clothes and other things. You will know you have 100% cotton.