CLASS - 6 SUBJECT - SCIENCE CHAPTER - 3

1. FIBRETOFABRICwith NIDHI
KAUSHIK

2. INTRODUCTION
Clothes are made offabric.
And fabrics are made of
fibres. Fabric is synonym of
cloth. Fabric is not onlyused
in making of clothes, rather
fabrics are used in making
bed–sheets, bags, door mats,
mats, and many endless
items.

3. Clothing is
necessary for the
following reasons:
It protects us from windand
weather.
It protects us from injury.
It maintains the body heat.

4. History Of
Clothing:
About30,000years ago,peoplestarted using
animalskinsfor clothing.It isbelievedthatwool
wasusedasearly as6000yearsago.
Domesticationof silkwormsto producesilk
occurredaround3000BCinChina.In India,cotton
cameintowidespreadusearound3000BC.These
fabrics were notstitched.Theywere just
wrappedaroundthebody.Eventoday,sari, dhoti,
andturbanareunstitchedpiecesof cloth.

5. Fibres
Fibres arevery thin, thread- like
strands fromwhich fabrics or cloth is
made.
Examples of fibres arecotton, wool , Silk
, flax , Jute, nylon, polyester, polyacrylic.
Thefibresarespunintoyarnwhichcan
thenbewovenonaLoomto make
afabricor cloth.

6. Yarn:Yarnisdefinedasalong,
twisted andcontinuousstrand
composedof interlocked
fibres or filamentswhichare
usedinknitting andweavingto
form cloth.

7. Wheredofibres comefrom?
Fibrescanbebroadly classifiedintotwo broad
categories:
NaturalFibres:
Thesefibres are naturally obtainedfrom
plantsandanimals.Cottonandjute are
fibre obtainedfrom plants.Silk andwool
are fibre obtainedfrom animals.
Synthetic Fibres
Thesefibres areartificiallysynthesized
by humanswithin theindustry by the
applicationof simplechemicals.
Examples:Acrylic, polyester, nylon,
rayon, acetate,areafew examplesof
Synthetic fibre.

8. Cotton
Cottonisobtainedfrom cottonbolls,whicharetaken
directly from thesurfaceof cottonseeds.
It isgrowninblackclayey soilwith awarmclimate.
Theprocessingof cottoninvolvesGinning,Spinning,
WeavingandKnitting.

9. Ginning
Theplantfrom whichcotton
ispickedcontainsseeds.The
processof removingthese
seedsfrom cottonpodsis
knownasginning.
Ginningcanbedoneusing
handsor bymachines.
Spinning
Theprocessof making
yarn from thinstrands
of fibres iscalled
spinning.
It canbedoneby hand
or onaspinningwheel.

10. Weaving
Twodistinct yarns are
arrangedtogether on
weavingmachines,known
aslooms,to makea
fabric.
Knitting
Knittingisoneof themost
popularmethodsto make
fabrics from yarns.
In this process,asingleyarn is
usedto makeapieceoffabric.

11. Charkha:Charkhaisamachineonwhichyarn wasspundirectly from ginned
cottoninoldendays.
Bales:Ginnedcottoniscompressedtightly intobundlesweighingapproximately
200 kgcalledbales.
Sliver: Rawcottonfrom balesiscleaned,combedandstraightenedandfinally
convertedintoropelike strandscalledsliver.Asliver of cottonisaloosestrand
or ropeof cottonfibres.
Yarn:Sliver ispulledandtwisted sothat thefibre forms astrong threador
yarn.

12. F L OW
CH A R T

13. Wheredoescotton
woolcomefrom?
Cottonplantsaregrowninfieldsusuallyatplaceshavingawarmclimateandblack
soil.SomecottonproducingIndianstatesarePunjab,Gujarat,Madhya Pradesh,
Karnataka,Maharashtraetc.Cottonplantsbearfruits thesizeofalemoncalled
CottonBallswhichburstopenuponmaturingandtheseedswrapped upincottonfibre
becomevisible.Cottonis generallypickedbyhandfromtheseballs.n.

15. Usesofcotton:
Cotton is used:
In manufacturing of
textiles.
As an absorbent in
hospital.
As fillers inmattresses,
pillows and quilts.
As a main raw material for
the manufacturing of
rayon and paperindustry.

16. Jutefibreisobtainedfromthestemoftheplant.
Unlikecotton,juteiscultivatedintherainyseason.
SomejuteproducingIndianstatesareBihar,Assamand
West Bengal.
Theplantisharvestedduringits flowering stage.
Thestemsoftheseharvestedplantsarethensoakedin
waterfor fourtofivedays
Thestemsarelefttorot andthenthefibresarepickedout by
hand.
Yarn:Yarnisthespunthreadthatismadefromfibresin
ordertoproduceafabric.
J U T E

17. Extraction of fibres:
Jute plants are cut at the time of
flowering stage.
The cut plants are grouped at different
places in the fields for few days when
most of the leaves dry up and fall down.
Plants are tied into small bundles.
Retting: The bundles are made to sink in
stagnant water of pond for few days
when the gummy skin rots out to separate
fibres. The process is called‘retting’.
Fibre is extracted from retted jute by
hand, with jerks and pulls.

19. Usesofjute:
Juteisextensively usedfor
makinggunnybags,potato
sacks,carpets,curtains,coarse
clothes,ropes,etc.
Thesedays,fine quality of jute
isalsousedfor makingjute
fabrics.

20. Other UsefulPlantFibres
Hemp fibres are obtained
from the stem of the hemp
plant. Hemp fibres areused
in the production of ropes,
carpets, nets, clothes, and
paper.
2
Silk cotton is another plant fibre
that is commonly used as a stuffing
in pillow, sleeping bag, and life
jacket. This fibre is obtained from
the silk cotton tree, also called
kapok.The fruits of the kapok tree
contain fibres that are light and
fluffy (like cotton). When the fruit
ripens, it bursts open, releasingthe
fibres.
1
Coir is the fibre obtained from the outer
covering or the husk of the coconut.
Usually coconuts are left in water for a
few months. The husk is then separated
from the nut and beaten with wooden
mallets to get the fibre. The fibre thus
obtained is spun and dyed and is ready
for weaving. Coir is used to make several
household products like rope and floor
covering and also as a stuffing in
mattresses and pillows.
3

21. 1
2
3
Q.3.Fill in the blanks:
(a)Plant fibres areobtained
from
and .
(b)Animal fibres
are
and .
NCERT
EXERCISE
Q.1.Classify the following fibres as
natural or synthetic: nylon,wool,
cotton, silk, polyester, jute.
Natural fibres: wool,
cotton,jute, silk.
Synthetic fibres: nylon,
polyester.
Q.2. State whether the following
statements are ‘true’ orfalse’:
(a) Yam is made fromfibres
.(b) Spinning is a process of making fibres.
(c)Jute is the outer covering of coconut.
(d)The process of removing seeds from
cotton is called ginning
.(e) Weaving of yam makes a piece of
fabric.
(f)Silk fibre is obtained from the stem of a
plant
.(g) Polyester is a naturalfibre.
(a)True
(b)False
(c) False
(d)True
(e)True
(f) False
(g) False
(a)cotton plants,jute plants
(b)wool,silk

22. Q.4.Fromwhichpart of the plantcottonandjute are obtained?
Ans.
(i) Cotton– Cottonbolls(from the surface of cottonseeds)(fruit)
(ii) Jute– Stem
Q.5.Nametwo items that are madefrom coconutfibre.
Ans.
(i) Ropes
(ii) Mats
Q.6.Explainthe processof makingyam from fibre.
Ans.Yarnsare madeupof thin strandscalledfibres. Theprocessof makingyam from fibres is called
spinning.In this process,amassof cottonwoolare drawnoutandtwisted. Thisbringsthe fibres
together to form yarn.