METHODS OF SPINNING | FOOD SCIENCE & NUTRITION | L-11|

Natural fibres can be devided into three categories: animals (sheep, goat, rabbit, silkworm), minerals (asbestos, gold, silver[3]), or plants (cotton, flax, sisal). These vegetable fibres can come from the seed (cotton), the stem (known as bast fibres: they include flax, hemp, and jute) or the leaf (sisal).[4] Many processes are needed before a clean even staple is obtained. With the exception of silk, each of these fibres is short, only centimetres in length, and each has a rough surface that enables it to bond with similar staples.

Artificial fibres can be processed as long fibres or batched and cut so they can be processed like a natural fibre.

Spinning Methods

Different spinning methods are available in making yarns, including ring-spun, rotor-spun, twistless, wrap-spun and core-spun yarns.

Ring-spun yarns: This is the most widely used method of staple-fibre yarn production. The fibres are twisted around each other to give strength to the yarn.

Rotor-spun yarns: These are similar to ring-spun yarns and usually made from short staple fibres. They produce a more regular and smoother, though weaker, yarn than ring spinning.

Twistless yarns: The fibres are held together by adhesives, not by the twist, and are often laid over a continuous filament core.

Wrap-spun yarns: These yarns are made from staple fibres bound by another yarn, which is usually a continuous man-made filament yarn. The yarns can be made from either short or long staple fibres.

Core-spun yarns: Core-spun yarns have a central core that is wrapped with staple fibres, and are produced in a single operation at the time of spinning. For example, a cotton sheath for handle and comfort, with a filament (often polyester) core for added strength; or cotton over an elastomeric core.