How is yarn made?
Some synthetic yarns (nylon, polyester, etc.) are made by forcing hot material through tiny holes–picture meat through a sausage grinder, but on a smaller scale. Metallic yarns come from sheets of aluminum or other metal combined with a polyester film and cut into filaments. Wool and cotton, the traditional materials for yarn, are spun into yarn. Before spinning, the fiber is cleaned, untangled and carded (brushed smooth and straight.) Some fiber are also combed, which further straightens them and sorts them by length. Bundles of these fibers are drawn slightly into ‘slivers;’ if they have a slight twist to them, they are called roving. Fibers are pulled from the roving and twisted into plies. Twisting these plies together produces different weights and types of yarn.
