Question

A cotton shirt, before it reaches you, completes a long journey. Elaborate this journey starting from cotton bolls.

Answer 1

The journey starting from cotton bolls to a cotton shirt is as follows:

1. Picking: Cotton bolls burst open after maturing. The seeds covered with cotton fibres are handpicked from the cotton bolls.
2. Ginning: The process of separating the seeds from fibres by combing is called ginning. These days ginning is done with the help of machines.
3. Spinning: In spinning, fibres from a mass of cotton wool are drawn out and twisted. This brings the fibres together to make a strong yarn. Spinning is done with the help of hand-operated devices such as charkha or by using spinning machines.
4. Weaving and knitting: Weaving and knitting are the two methods of converting cotton yarns into cotton fabric. A cotton shirt is usually made by weaving. In weaving, two sets of yarns are arranged together to make a fabric.
5. Stitching: The cotton fabric is then stitched into cotton shirt.