1. Fabrics and How They Are Made

3. Approximately six weeks after seedlings appear, flower buds, begin to form. The buds mature for three weeks and then blossom into flowers which then fall off just three days after blossoming. After the flower falls away, a tiny ovary is left on the cotton plant. This ovary ripens and enlarges into a green pod called a cotton boll.Cotton: The Production Process

7. Nylon is created in a chemical plant using a controlled method of combining specific chemicals. Creating useful nylon is a two-step process: chemical combination to create the material itself and the manufacturing process required to make it useful. Nylon: The Production Process

8. To create nylon, two sets of molecules are used. One set has an acid group on each end and the other set has amine group on each end. The result of this combination is a substance that is known as nylon 6, 6.

9. The chemical reaction required to create nylon is conducted in a machine specially designed for this purpose at very high temperatures. Once the chemical compound is created, the chemicals combined to form molten nylon which is then forced into a spinneret. The spinneret is used to separate the nylon into very thin strands. When nylon goes through the spinneret, it hits the air and the fibers harden. The fibers are then stretched which creates nylon’s elasticity characteristic.

10. Cotton and nylon are used in many other products as well as in fabrics. Nylon: tents, sails, fishing line, tennis rackets, jackets, sports bags, parachutes, bathing suits, cooking utensils, rope Cotton: furniture padding, cotton swabs, plastics, household fabrics, candle wicks, hair products, packing envelope windows, yarn Other uses