Fibre to Fabric

The clothes we wear are made of fabrics, and fabrics are made of yarns, which in turn are made of thin strands called fibres. In this chapter you will learn that fibres such as cotton, jute, silk and wool are natural fibres obtained from plants and animals, while polyester, nylon and acrylic are synthetic fibres made from chemicals. Cotton grows on plants in fruits called cotton bolls; the fibres are separated from the seeds by combing, a process called ginning. Jute is obtained from the stem of the jute plant, which is cut and kept in water so that the stems rot and the fibres can be separated. The chapter explains spinning, the process of making yarn from fibres by drawing out and twisting them, using simple devices such as the takli and the charkha, which Mahatma Gandhi popularised during the freedom movement. You will learn how yarns are made into fabric by weaving on looms and by knitting, and read about the history of clothing, from leaves, bark and animal skins to stitched clothes.

Detailed Worksheet: Fibre to Fabric Section A - Definitions (10 marks) 1. What are fibres? Distinguish between natural and synthetic fibres with two examples of each. (2 marks) 2. What is ginning? Why is it done? (2 marks) 3. What is spinning? Name two hand-operated devices used for spinning. (2 marks) 4. Define weaving and knitting. Give one example of a fabric made by each process. (2 marks) 5. What is retting? For which fibre is it done? (2 marks) Section B - Calculations and Applications (15 marks) 6. Classify into plant fibres, animal fibres and synthetic fibres: cotton, wool, nylon, jute, silk, polyester, coir, acrylic, flax. (3 marks) 7. Arrange these steps in the correct order for making a cotton shirt: weaving, picking cotton bolls, spinning, ginning, stitching, dyeing the fabric. Name the product formed after ginning and after spinning. (3 marks) 8. A cotton farmer picks 120 kg of raw cotton from his field. After ginning, about one-third of the mass is fibre and the rest is seeds and waste. (i) Find the mass of cotton fibre obtained. (ii) Find the mass of seeds and waste. (iii) Name one use of cotton seeds. (3 marks) 9. Give the plant part from which each fibre is obtained: (i) cotton (ii) jute (iii) coir. Name one product made from each fibre. (3 marks) 10. Cotton is grown in black soil and a warm climate, while jute is grown in rainy areas with alluvial soil. Name two Indian states where each crop is grown, and state when jute is harvested. (3 marks) Section C - Diagrams (10 marks) 11. Draw a labelled diagram of a cotton plant with an open cotton boll and show the fibres and seeds. Write the steps from boll to yarn. (4 marks) 12. Draw a labelled diagram of a takli or a charkha and explain how it twists fibres into yarn. (3 marks) 13. Draw simple diagrams to show the difference between weaving (two sets of yarns crossing) and knitting (a single yarn forming loops). (3 marks) Section D - Analysis and Higher-order Thinking (15 marks) 14. Pull out a thread from a torn cotton cloth and observe its end under a magnifying glass. (i) What do you see at the end? (ii) What does this show about how yarn is made? (iii) Name the process that makes yarn from fibres. (iv) Why are fibres twisted while making yarn? (5 marks) 15. Mahatma Gandhi encouraged people to spin yarn on a charkha and wear khadi. (i) What is khadi? (ii) Why did he promote it during the freedom movement? (iii) How did it help villagers? (iv) Give one reason why handloom products are still valued today. (5 marks) 16. In earlier times, people used bark, big leaves and animal skins to cover themselves. (i) Why did they need to cover their bodies? (ii) How did the discovery of farming change clothing? (iii) Give two examples of unstitched clothes still worn in India. (iv) What invention helped in making stitched clothes? (5 marks) Instructions: Time allowed 2 hours. Attempt all sections. Draw all diagrams neatly in pencil and label every part.