WEBVTT

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Only antiquity knows when cotton was first used in the manufacture of cloth.

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Traveling through history tells us how early developments were made

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and how changes in technology continually pushed

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cotton manufacturing ahead of its time.

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With each advancement,

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the textile industry has seen cotton use diversify

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and expand in new and inventive ways.

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Although the spinning of cotton yarn and the weaving of

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cotton cloth are said to have originated in India,

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Egypt claims to be the first to have explored these techniques.

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Across the globe in Peru,

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similar yarn manufacturing techniques were being developed.

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The Bible talks about the cotton curtains that hung in Solomon's temple.

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Early Greek historians wrote of preferences for cotton

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fleece over wool in its quality alone.

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Cotton was increasingly grown for textile purposes from

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these early years throughout the succeeding centuries.

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Knowledge of cotton goods spread by armies,

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explorers,

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and traders allowed for increased interest,

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and by the end of the 15th century,

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Britain had recorded the first trade of cotton.

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Techniques in manufacturing were improved upon during these early centuries,

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and advancements continued to this day.

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Earliest techniques began as basic ideas of twisting and rolling fibers

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between the thumb and forefinger to form a single thread.

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Early designs used this theory as a basis for the first spinning wheel.

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Leonardo da Vinci developed drawings that were later turned into the invention

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of the Saxony wheel in 1555 by Johann Juergen of Germany.

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This invention in the midst of the great industrial revolution

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differed from the original spinning wheel with a

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foot treadle by which the spindle could be revolved

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and with a cranked axis on a larger wheel.

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This new design enabled production to increase as well

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as greatly improving the quality of the yarn.

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A tremendous technological breakthrough,

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this first spinning wheel was the foundation for

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most future developments in yarn production technology.

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Most notable of the early inventions were the

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introduction of the self-acting mule in 1825,

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ring spinning in 1828,

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and revolving flats on the card in 1834.

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A machine that could automatically comb cotton was introduced in 1846,

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and 50 years later,

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a more improved form emerged.

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New yarn manufacturing technologies continue to impact the industry today

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by increasing efficiency and improving quality.