Spinning

Spinning - twisting the fibres together to give them strength - is carried out in two ways: on a mule, which is the direct descendant of Arkwright's famous Spinning Jenny, or on a ring spinning frame. The thickness of the yarn is decided at this stage by drawing the rovings out to a pre-determined degree. Many different regional systems of measurement of yarn thickness were developed in the early years of the British textile industry and some of these are still used today.

Depending on the end use, the resulting yarn may be plied together several times. The yarn is automatically checked for evenness at frequent intervals throughout the carding and spinning process.

Next: Warping & Weaving