The thin strands of thread are called fibre.
Natural fibres- The fibres which are obtained from plants and animals are called natural fibres.
Examples: cotton, jute, silk, wool.
Synthetic fibre- The fibre which is synthesized in the industry from simple chemicals obtained from petroleum is called synthetic fibre. Examples: Nylon, Acrylic, Polyester.
Wool
We get wool from the hair of the sheep, goat, rabbit, yak, and camel. Wool is used for making warm clothes, such as sweaters, caps, shawls, gloves, and blankets, etc. Wool is also used in making carpets and upholstery.
Rearing: It is a breeding process, feeding and providing medical care to sheep. These animals are kept since they produce valuable products for human beings.
Breeding: Some particular breeds of sheep are specially chosen to give birth to sheep which have only soft under hair. This process of selecting parents for obtaining special characters in their offspring is termed ‘selective breeding.’
The skin of the sheep is hairy, having two types of fibres forming its fleece:
(i) the coarse beard hair
(ii) the fine soft under-hair near the skin is the fleece.
This fleece is the primary source of fibres of wool.
Making fibre into wool follows a series of processes: Shearing, → Scouring → Sorting → Dyeing → Straightening, Rolling, and Combing.
Sometimes the sorters get infected by a bacterium, anthrax, which causes a fatal blood disease called sorter’s disease.