Yarns! What are they? Can they help towards a greener tomorrow? How are they made?
Don’t worry we are here to discuss everything about yarns, read further to know more
What are yarns?
In simple terms, yarn is a length of fibers. Yarn is the basic unit of textile comprised of one or more fibers twisted together to form long-length filaments which are then turned into threads to be woven into fabrics.
History of yarns
Yarns have been around ever since the onset of civilization hence the origin of yarns cannot be determined. The earliest specimen of the process of turning fibers into yarns are string skirts from about 20,000 years ago. Humans would roll plant and animal filaments between their palms or over the thighs to form long filaments adding more and more fibers towards the end. Once the filament would be thick enough, it would be tied to a rock and twirled around till it would all bind together.
5000 BC saw the development of spindles - the predecessor to the spinning wheel - spindles were essentially long sticks with a notch at the end to tie the yarn to, the later versions included a hook made of bones to ease the winding process.
The next development was that of a whorl, advanced version of the spindle, a whorl had a weighted disc or stone to ease up the winding process and keep spinning as one would add more fiber. The longer spinning period allowed for longer filaments.
While spindles were serving the purpose, the process was extremely time-consuming and tiring, this gave way to the invention of spinning wheels in India between 500 and 1000 AD.
The Indian spinning wheel or the “charkha” was popularized, new developments were made - spokes gave way to rims and by the start of the 14th century, women of Britain were seen spinning yarns.
The beginning of the 15th century saw the addition of foot pedals to avoid hand cranks and bobbin to automatically wind the yarns.
A Spinning wheel to revolutionize life
Spinning wheels helped speed up production by ten times. As a result, there were many positive changes.
Spinning wheel sped up the production of paper - initially, texts were written on parchments and single copy of the Bible would require sheepskin of about 10-15 sheep, but due to the sped-up paper production, books and print media was largely available to all - revolutionizing education.
The next big change that the spinning wheel brought upon was for the ships - initially, it would take years to build one sail, but due to the latest spinning wheels, the sail could be manufactured at a higher speed. This allowed for a quicker export and import.
Dawn of the textile mills
The 17th century saw developments like the water frame, spinning jenny, and the spinning mule, giving way to automated and semi-automated production of fabric. This posed to be an opportunity for budding an industry that didn’t exist before - the textile industry.
Soon enough the market was flooded with all kinds of blended fabric. The 19th century, however, saw the latest advancement of the now adopted spinning method called the open-end spinning. Yarns and sustainability
The development of a new industry meant a new way of adding toxins to the environment - huge processing plants, air and water waste, harm to the soil due to fertilizers and pesticides. To fight this a new approach - sustainability and green textiles are being sought after, zero waste living is the future.
Sustainable textiles include getting fibres free from toxins from the start - sustainable farming, negligible use of pesticides, and improved industrial protocols.
