ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines the nature of yarn formation, and begins by reviewing how various fibres are cleaned, blended, combined in sliver form, attenuated and parallelised in preparation for twisting into continuous structures known as yarns. The chapter considers the processing of loose (or staple) fibres and the importance of removing non-fibrous impurities and extra-short fibres. The importance also of regularity of the fibrous sliver and the advantage of combining slivers through a process known as doubling are stressed. Various stages of processing are identified and explained, as are important technological innovations. A brief explanation is given also of the post-spinning stage known as winding.
