The Textile Manufacturing ClipArt gallery offers 103 illustrations of ginning, scutching, carding, spinning, weaving, knitting, and finishing of cotton, wool, and other fibers. This gallery illustrates commercial scale processes. For illustrations of hand weaving, please see the Fabric Arts gallery in the Crafts section.

A bundle of goods corded for transportation.

Bale

A bundle of goods corded for transportation.

A bale-breaking machine.

Bale-breaking Machine

A bale-breaking machine.

Cotton bales on a horse drawn buggy.

Cotton Bales

Cotton bales on a horse drawn buggy.

Cotton Manufacturing. Fig. 5C, beam warping machine.

Beam Warping Machine

Cotton Manufacturing. Fig. 5C, beam warping machine.

A small cylindrical piece of wood or metal with a border at one or both ends, on which thread is wound; a kind of spool.

Bobbin

A small cylindrical piece of wood or metal with a border at one or both ends, on which thread is wound;…

An sectional illustration of a carding machine. Carding is the processing of brushing raw or washed fibers to prepare them as textiles. A large variety of fibers can be carded, anything from dog hair, to llama, to soy fiber (a fiber made from soy beans), to polyester. Cotton and wool are probably the most common fibers to be carded. Not all fibers are carded; Flax and bast, for example, is retted then threshed.

Sectional View of a Carder

An sectional illustration of a carding machine. Carding is the processing of brushing raw or washed…

"Roller and Clearer Carding Machine." — Encyclopedia Britannica, 1893

Carding Machine

"Roller and Clearer Carding Machine." — Encyclopedia Britannica, 1893

Cotton Manufacturing. Fig. 3B, roller carding machine.

Carding Machine

Cotton Manufacturing. Fig. 3B, roller carding machine.

Cotton manufacturing. Fig. 3, churka gin: cotton is crushed between wooden rollers by hand power.

Churka Gin

Cotton manufacturing. Fig. 3, churka gin: cotton is crushed between wooden rollers by hand power.

Manufacturing and sale of clothing.

Clothing

Manufacturing and sale of clothing.

"Combing Machine." — Encyclopedia Britannica, 1893

Combing Machine

"Combing Machine." — Encyclopedia Britannica, 1893

An illustration of a cotton chute in Savannah, Georgia.

Cotton Bundles

An illustration of a cotton chute in Savannah, Georgia.

A cotton press yard of the Cotton Centennial in the 1884 World's Fair in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Cotton Centennial

A cotton press yard of the Cotton Centennial in the 1884 World's Fair in New Orleans, Louisiana.

This illustration shows the machine used to compress cotton.

Cotton Compresser

This illustration shows the machine used to compress cotton.

"The Cotton-Gin, a machine that processes cotton."—E. Benjamin Andrews, 1895

Cotton Gin

"The Cotton-Gin, a machine that processes cotton."—E. Benjamin Andrews, 1895

A section of the cotton gin, showing the cotton passing frrom the feeder over the cylinders.

Cotton Gin

A section of the cotton gin, showing the cotton passing frrom the feeder over the cylinders.

Eli Whitney's cotton gin, which made the production of cotton many times more efficient.

Cotton Gin

Eli Whitney's cotton gin, which made the production of cotton many times more efficient.

A Cotton Gin (short for cotton engine) is a machine that quickly and easily separates the cotton fibers from the seedpods and the sometimes sticky seeds, a job previously done by workers. These seeds are either used again to grow more cotton or, if badly damaged, are disposed of. It uses a combination of a wire screen and small wire hooks to pull the cotton through the screen, while brushes continuously remove the loose cotton lint to prevent jams. The term "gin" is an abbreviation for engine, and means "machine".

Cotton Gin

A Cotton Gin (short for cotton engine) is a machine that quickly and easily separates the cotton fibers…

An illustration of a modified cotton gin.

Cotton Gin

An illustration of a modified cotton gin.

Cotton manufacturing. Fig. 2, roller gin.

Cotton Gin

Cotton manufacturing. Fig. 2, roller gin.

This mechanical drawing of a cotton gin depicts internal moving parts, where the machine was intended to separate cotton fibers from seeds.

Cotton Gin Machine

This mechanical drawing of a cotton gin depicts internal moving parts, where the machine was intended…

"Three-cylinder Opener, Beater, and Lap Machiine." — Encyclopedia Britannica, 1893

Cotton Machine

"Three-cylinder Opener, Beater, and Lap Machiine." — Encyclopedia Britannica, 1893

Cotton manufacture. Fig. 1, saw gin.

Cotton Manufacture

Cotton manufacture. Fig. 1, saw gin.

Spinning cotton in a mill.

Cotton Mill

Spinning cotton in a mill.

Looms in a cotton mill.

Cotton Mill

Looms in a cotton mill.

An illustration of a cotton mill in Columbus, Georgia. A cotton mill is a factory housing spinning and weaving machinery. Cotton was the leading sector in the Industrial Revolution, as a cotton spinning was mechanized in mills.

Cotton Mill

An illustration of a cotton mill in Columbus, Georgia. A cotton mill is a factory housing spinning and…

A machine used in the 19th century to open cotton.

Cotton Opener

A machine used in the 19th century to open cotton.

This illustration shows the tool used for pressing and baling cotton.

Cotton Press

This illustration shows the tool used for pressing and baling cotton.

An illustration of a cotton press which presses the cotton into compressed bundles which is helpful in transporting.

Cotton Press

An illustration of a cotton press which presses the cotton into compressed bundles which is helpful…

An image showing the process of picking cotton and then loading it upon merchant ships.

Picking and Loading Cotton

An image showing the process of picking cotton and then loading it upon merchant ships.

A short fruit limb of cotton bolls.

Short Fruit Limb of Cotton Bolls

A short fruit limb of cotton bolls.

An illustration of a river boat stacked with bundles of cotton.

Transporting Cotton

An illustration of a river boat stacked with bundles of cotton.

Whitney's cotton gin had a permanent influence on America's slavery. With-out a cotton-gin a slave could seperate only 1 pound of cotton a day. With the cotton-gin, a slave could seperate a thousand pounds.

Eli Whitney's Cotton-Gin

Whitney's cotton gin had a permanent influence on America's slavery. With-out a cotton-gin a slave could…

A primitive cotton-gin used to seperate seeds from the cotton.

Primitive Cotton-Gin

A primitive cotton-gin used to seperate seeds from the cotton.

Cotton manufacturing. Fig. 4D, Dobby motion: The knife beam (A), rises and falls with the motion of the loom, and the hooks in the upright position (B) rise and fall with (A); a revolving drum (D), fitted with pegs (E), forces back the springs (F), and y the rods (H) with hooks (G) are thrown back, and the healds attached to these do not rise with (A).

Dobby Motion

Cotton manufacturing. Fig. 4D, Dobby motion: The knife beam (A), rises and falls with the motion of…

Cotton manufacturing. Fig. 4B, drawing frame.

Drawing Frame

Cotton manufacturing. Fig. 4B, drawing frame.

Mather and Platt's Horizontal Drying Machine

Drying Machine

Mather and Platt's Horizontal Drying Machine

Diagram showing the Horizontal Drying Machine threaded with cloth

Drying Machine Diagram

Diagram showing the Horizontal Drying Machine threaded with cloth

Diagram showing the Horizontal Drying Machine threaded with cloth

Drying Machine Diagram

Diagram showing the Horizontal Drying Machine threaded with cloth

An illustration of a dye-jigger.

Dye-Jigger

An illustration of a dye-jigger.

An illustration of an automated dye-vat.

Automated Dye Vat

An illustration of an automated dye-vat.

"Self-stripping Flat Carding Machine" — Encyclopedia Britannica, 1893

Flat Carding Machine

"Self-stripping Flat Carding Machine" — Encyclopedia Britannica, 1893

This gig mill uses a rotating drum head which carries a series of rotating napping roles. This machine is covered with wire teeth that teasel cloth.

Cloth Napping Machine used for Teaseling Woolen Cloth

This gig mill uses a rotating drum head which carries a series of rotating napping roles. This machine…

A machine that separates the seeds, seed hulls, and other small objects from the fibers of cotton.

Cotton Gin

A machine that separates the seeds, seed hulls, and other small objects from the fibers of cotton.

Invented by Eli Whitney, the cotton gin is a machine that quickly separates the cotton from the seeds.

Cotton Gin

Invented by Eli Whitney, the cotton gin is a machine that quickly separates the cotton from the seeds.

A machine seed in separating the seeds from the cotton fiber.

Cotton Gin

A machine seed in separating the seeds from the cotton fiber.

Cotton manufacturing. Fig. 1D, hand loom.

Hand Loom

Cotton manufacturing. Fig. 1D, hand loom.

An illustration of a man hauling cotton.

Hauling Cotton

An illustration of a man hauling cotton.

One of the sets of vertical cords or wires in a loom, forming the principal part of the harness that guides the warp threads.

Wire Heddle

One of the sets of vertical cords or wires in a loom, forming the principal part of the harness that…

Originally the Jacquard machines were mechanical, and the fabric design was punched in pattern cards which were joined together to form a continuous chain. The Jacquards often were small and only independently controlled a relatively few warp ends. This required a number of repeats across the loom width. Larger capacity machines, or the use of multiple machines, allowed greater control, with fewer repeats, and hence larger designs to be woven across the loom width.

Jacquard Machine and Harness

Originally the Jacquard machines were mechanical, and the fabric design was punched in pattern cards…

Cotton manufacturing. Fig. 5D, Jacquard motion.  The hooks are held upright by rods connected by spiral springs, a card pressing against the ends of these, pierced with holes opposite the ends of the rods connected with the required hooks; the arrangement of holes in the card thus determines the pattern which is woven.

Jacquard Motion

Cotton manufacturing. Fig. 5D, Jacquard motion. The hooks are held upright by rods connected by spiral…

"The modern system of cotton manufacture dates no further back than back 1760. Prior the mechanical inventions of Hargeaves, Arkwright, Crompton and Cartwright, the arts of spinning and weaving were entirely domestic, and the instruments of manipulation much the same as those which had been in use in the East for centuries before." -Lupton

The Spinning Jenny

"The modern system of cotton manufacture dates no further back than back 1760. Prior the mechanical…

Jute, also known as Calcutta Hemp, is a fiber obtained from several species of the genus Corchorus of the order Tiliaceæ, and employed in the manufacture of the coarser textiles. The great bulk of the world's supply is derived from two species, C. capsularis and C. olitorius (Jew's Mallow), both of which are indigenous to Bengal, India, where from remote times they have been cultivate for economic purposes. The two species are similar in appearance, but may be distinguished by the form of the seed pods, which are nearly spherical in C. capsularis, and long and narrow in C. olitorius. Both plants are herbaceous annuals with straight, slender stalks from 5 to 15 feet in height, branched at the top, and bearing small yellow flowers. The fiber, which is derived from the inner bark, is of a creamy yellow or light buff color and of a silky luster. It spins well, but is not as strong as flax or hemp, and deteriorates rapidly. The young shoots are used as pot herbs.
Jute is grown chiefly in Bengal, though it is raised to a limited extent in China, Formosa, and Southern Japan. It can be grown successfully in the South Atlantic and Gulf States of the United States, but lack of mechanical methods for preparing the fiber has prevented its cultivation on an industrial scale. Attempts to naturalize it elsewhere have generally failed.
For its most successful cultivation, jute requires a soft, deep soil and a hot, moist atmosphere, alluvial lands being especially adapted to its production.
This illustration shows Corchorus capsularis.

Jute

Jute, also known as Calcutta Hemp, is a fiber obtained from several species of the genus Corchorus of…

An illustration of a jute opener.

Jute Opener

An illustration of a jute opener.

An illustration of a jute softening machine.

Jute Softening Machine

An illustration of a jute softening machine.

After the softening process in the manufacturing of jute, the fibers are about six feet long, and are passed onto the breaker card, where they are reduced in length, finely divided, thoroughly mixed, cleared of impurities, and laid in parallel order. The chief features of the card are a cylinder about four feet in diameter covered with wooden staves filled with steel teeth, and around this cylinder a number of smaller cylinders, known as strippers and workers, also covered with steel teeth. The jute fibers are carried around the large cylinder, being finely divided by the workers and strippers in their course. A doffer roller then strips the elongated lap from the main cylinder and sends it down a broad channel, which compresses it to a strand or sliver about four inches wide. Twelve of these slivers are then fed into the finisher card, which is similar to the breaker, but has finer teeth, and are drawn out into a finer, smoother strand.

Carding Process in the Manufacuring of Jute

After the softening process in the manufacturing of jute, the fibers are about six feet long, and are…

After the carding process in the manufacturing of jute is completed, the jute is taken into the drawing frames, whose function is to draw out the sliver, by means of rollers, to a smaller size, and to straighten or comb the fiber, so as to make it spin into a strong and level thread. Four of the slivers from the finisher cards are put through he first drawing frame, and are discharged by it in one small sliver. Two of these slivers are hen put through a second and finer drawing frame, and further combed and drawn out into one end. The cans of slivers are then taken to the roving frames to continue the manufacturing process.

Drawing Process in the Manufacturing of Jute

After the carding process in the manufacturing of jute is completed, the jute is taken into the drawing…

After being drawn through the drawing frames during the manufacturing process, the jute slivers are put into cans, which are then taken to the roving frames, where the material is again drawn out, twisted, and wound on to the rove bobbins. The latter are taken to spinning frames for the final manufacturing process.

Roving Process in the Manufacturing of Jute

After being drawn through the drawing frames during the manufacturing process, the jute slivers are…

In the manufacturing of jute, the jute fiber must first be softened. The softening machine consists of many pairs of fluted or corrugated rollers arranged in horizontal succession and driven with a reciprocating motion. The jute as it passes through may receive a sprinkling of oil ad water from automatic apparatus attached to the machine overhead, or it may be arranged in the layers and sprayed with oil after emerging from the softener, a process known as batching. In either case, the material is then allowed to lie a certain time in bulk, to permit of the fiber being thoroughly permeated with the oil.

Softening Process in the Manufacturing of Jute

In the manufacturing of jute, the jute fiber must first be softened. The softening machine consists…

In the last step of the manufacturing process of the jute plant, the material is taken on bobbins to spinning frames of the throstle type, and spun into yarn of various sizes, with a hard twist for warps and a softer twist for wefts. The warp yarns on bobbins are then passed on to the spooling and dressing machines, or are reeled in hanks and bundles for the purpose of being bleached or dyed in various colors for stripes in the fabric to be woven. The weft yarns are taken to the cop winding machines.

Spinning Process in the Manufacturing of Jute

In the last step of the manufacturing process of the jute plant, the material is taken on bobbins to…