Alike But Different

Day 149: As I mentioned yesterday, spinning wool and spinning cotton require two separate skill sets. Both are alike in some regards, but also quite different from each other in the same manner, one might say, as barbering is to dog-trimming. In this case, the overlap is in the fact that fibers are being twisted together to form a cohesive strand of thread/yarn by using a rotating spindle of some sort. That said, the difference lies in the length of the fiber being spun. If "wool" is defined as coming from sheep (as opposed to rabbits, goats, etc.), almost any type is considered "long staple," i.e., having individual fibers an inch or more in length. On the other hand, cotton has a "short staple." Its individual fibers are roughly half an inch long. This means that more twist has to be imparted to a cotton thread than to a wool thread or it will come apart. Cotton is spun with a great number of revolutions of the spindle on which it is wound, even when the resultant thread is the same diameter as one spun in wool. In comparison, the wool fibers in that lovely multi-coloured top are about five inches long. Now you might suppose that it would take longer to spin 50 yards of cotton thread than it would for wool, but in fact because the spindle (tahkli) rotates so much faster, the time is fairly close to being the same.