Clothes — How Things are Made

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Six ideas about clothes

Cloth has a hidden story. Tap each term to follow fibres on their journey into clothes.

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The three big ideas

Every piece of cloth begins as thin threads called fibres.
Some fibres come from plants: cotton from the fluffy cotton plant, and jute for sacks and bags. Some come from animals: wool from the hair of sheep, and silk from the thread of the silkworm.
There are also man-made fibres like nylon and polyester. So the shirt you wear may have started as a plant in a field or hair on a sheep.

Everyday example. Gently feel a cotton shirt and a woollen sweater. Where did each one begin?

The cool cotton shirt began in a cotton field; the warm sweater began as wool on a sheep’s back.

Fibres are short and loose, so they must be turned into cloth in steps. First, fibres are cleaned and twisted into long thread called yarn — this is spinning (long ago done on a charkha, now mostly by machines).
Then the yarn is crossed over and under, again and again, on a frame called a loom — this is weaving — to make a sheet of cloth.
Finally the cloth is cut and stitched into clothes by tailors. Knitting, with needles, makes stretchy items like sweaters.

Common mix-up: Cotton does not come off the plant as ready cloth. It is fibre first, then spun into yarn, then woven into fabric — several careful steps.

We pick clothes to suit the weather and the work.
Light cotton clothes keep us cool in hot summers because they let air through and soak up sweat, while woollen clothes trap warm air and keep us cosy in winter. Raincoats and gumboots, made of waterproof material, keep us dry in the rains.
People also wear special clothes for their work — a farmer, a doctor and a firefighter all dress differently for good reasons.

Everyday example. Which clothes would you reach for in a Delhi summer, and in a Shimla winter?

A cool cotton kurta in the Delhi summer, and a warm woollen sweater in the Shimla winter — same person, different cloth, because of the weather.

Where you'll see it

Clothes around you

Summer and winter clothes

When you open your cupboard, you store cotton for the hot months and wool for the cold — matching cloth to the season.

The weaver’s loom

In many Indian villages, weavers still make beautiful cloth by hand on looms, turning plain yarn into sarees and shawls.

Caring for clothes

Washing, sewing on a loose button, and passing on outgrown clothes makes them last longer and wastes less.

Check yourself

Competency quiz

A friendly set of questions — mostly multiple-choice with an assertion–reason and a case study — to check that you can use these ideas, not just remember them.

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