Wool and silk are two common animal fibers. Wool is obtained from the fleece of sheep, goats, camels, yaks, llamas and alpacas. These animals have thick coats of hair or fleece that insulate their bodies from heat and cold. Sheep wool is most commonly used. Silk is obtained from the cocoons of silkworms. Silkworms are caterpillars that eat mulberry leaves and spin cocoons made of silk fibers to pupate. The cocoons are processed to reel out the silk fibers, which are then spun into thread and woven into silk fabric.

1. CHAPTER - 3
FIBRE TO FABRIC

2. 1) Animal fibres :-
The common animal fibres are wool and silk.
Wool is obtained from sheep, goat, yak, camel, llama,
alpaca etc.
Silk is obtained from silk worm.
Sheep

3. Goat

4. Yak

5. Camel

6. Llama

7. Alpaca

8. Silkworm

9. 2) Wool :-
Wool is obtained from the fleece (hair ) of sheep, goat,
camel, yak, llama, alpaca and other animals.
These animals have a thick coat of hair on their bodies
because the hair traps air and air is a poor conductor of
heat. So the hair keeps their body warm.
The most common wool is sheep wool.
Yak wool is common in Tibet and Ladakh.
The wool obtained from Angora goats of Jammu Kashmir
is soft wool used for making shawls.
Camel hair is also used as wool.
Llama and Alpaca found in South America also yield
wool.

10. 3) From fibres to wool :-
For obtaining wool sheep are reared and then their hair
is cut and processed into wool.
a) Rearing and breeding of sheep :-
Sheep are reared in many parts our country like Jammu
and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttaracnhal, Sikkim,
Arunachal Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat
etc.
Sheep feed on grass and leaves. They are also fed with
a mixture of pulses, corn, jowar, oilcakes and minerals.
In winter sheep are kept indoors and fed on leaves,
grain and dry fodder.
Some breeds of sheep have thick hair on their body
which yield good quality wool in large quantities. They are
selectively bred to get sheep of good breed.

11. b) Processing fibres into wool :-
The processing of fibres into wool is done in six steps :-
i) The fleece (hair) of the sheep is removed from its body
along with a thin layer of skin by using machines. This
process is called shearing.
ii) The sheared skin with hair is washed in tanks to remove
grease, dust and dirt. This process is called scouring.
iii) The hairy skin is sent to a factory where hairs of
different textures are separated. This process is called
sorting.
iv) The small fluffy fibres called burrs are separated from
the hairs and again washed and dried.
v) The fibres are then dyed in different colours.
vi) The fibres are then straightened, combed and rolled into
yarn. They are then spun and woven into fabric.

14. 4a) Silk :-
Silk is obtained from silkworms.
The rearing of silkworms for obtaining silk is called
sericulture.
b) Life history of silk moth :-
The female silk moth lays eggs which hatch into larvae
called caterpillars or silk worms. The larva feeds on
mulberry leaves and grows in size. Then it secretes fibers
made of protein and weaves the fibres around itself
completely and forms pupa. This covering is called
cocoon. The pupa then develops into a young silk moth.
Silk yarn (thread) is obtained from the cocoon of the silk
moth.
The most common silk moth is the mulberry silk moth.

15. Silk moths
Male Female

16. Adult silk moth
Eggs
Larva
(Caterpiller)
Pupa
(Cocoon)
Life history of silk moth

17. Adult silk moth Female silk moth with eggs
Eggs
Caterpiller (Larva)Cocoon (Pupa)
Cocoon with developing moth
Life history of silk moth

18. Mulberry tree

19. 5) From cocoon to silk :-
Silk moths are reared and their cocoons are collected to
get silk yarns (threads).
a) Rearing of silkworms :- The female silk moth lays
eggs. The eggs are warmed to a suitable temperature.The
eggs hatch into larvae called caterpiller or silk worms. The
silkworms are kept in bamboo trays and feeds on mulberry
leaves and grows in size. After 30 to 40 days the silk worms
stop eating and begins to spin cocoons. Inside the cocoon
the silk worm develops into silk moth.
b) Processing of silk :- The cocoons are collected and kept
in sunlight or boiled or exposed to steam. The silk fibres
separate out. The process of taking out the fibres from the
cocoons is called reeling. Reeling is done by machines. The
silk fibres are then spun into threads and woven into silk
cloth.

20. From cocoon to silk

21. Rearing of silkworms

22. Processing of silk