Cotton Textile Production Slides

This collection contains color slides illustrating the process of producing cotton fabric, from the cotton bale to the cloth. The material is undated and unlabeled. Based on the box that appears in VAC377-51, these images may be from the Avondale Mills in Pell City, Alabama (closed 2006).

The transformation of cotton to textile is a multi-step process. Cotton arrives at the factory in tightly packed bales. Bale breakers are used to loosen the compressed cotton. The cotton is then sent through machines called pickers that help separate impurities. Next are the carding machines. Carding further eliminates impurities and removes cotton fibers that are too short. These machines comb the fibers so they are smooth and parallel, forming ropes of fibers called slivers. In the next stage, multiple slivers are pulled through drawing frames to create one sliver of a more uniform thickness. Next is the spinning process which stretches and twists the sliver to create a finer thread. These threads are then woven into cloth.

Cloth can be created from dyed threads, or the cloth as a whole may be dyed or printed after it is woven. Various treatments to alter the look or texture of the finished cloth can be applied at different points in the production process.