ABSTRACT
Early Steps. The spinning jenny, the water-frame, and the carding engine boosted the fustian and calico branches of the cotton trade enormously. Muslins, 1 however, still could not compete effectively with the finer goods imported from India. The water-frame was strictly limited on higher yarn counts; in addition, it could not produce an even yarn because it lacked the jenny’s “stretch” principle. The jenny, however, could produce only soft yarn suitable for weft. Samuel Crompton, subsequently the inventor of the mule, was aware of this shortcoming, as well as the inconvenience of attaching broken ends when spinning on the jenny. A brief attempt to simulate Indian muslins by using the jenny’s yarn as weft failed in Lancashire around 1780. 2
