excerpts of the Dance theatre rendering of textile processes

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Hand-picking of local cottons as pods are small and at variable heights. Though the fiber is short stapled it's highly irregular tubular fibers are conducive for hand-spinning.

Combing away of fibres from cotton seed with fish jaw bone/comb.

Separation of seed from fibre with metal rolling pin. Unbroken seeds are used for next planting and broken seeds are sold at half the cost of cotton pod as high protein animal feed to local animal herders.  

Carding with bow brings all fibres in alignment.

Rolling of carded fibres into slivers with central gap over wooden pin so that fibres can be drawn from center for hand-spinning.

Hand-spinning on traditional spinning wheel with each sliver held between palm leaf so that even the heat of the hand does not hold back/press the fibres for drawing into yarn.

Measuring of yarn into meter lengths so that irregularities in spinning can be detected/checked before preparation of hank.

The calculation of count/fineness is determine by the number of thousand meter hanks that makeup a kilogram of yarn. 100s count means a hundred thousand meter length make one kilogram.

Dyeing of yarn in vat or other azo free or natural dyes is carried out by families of dyers.

The warp is layed-out without metallic gold/silver yarns as they do not require rice starch sizing with brush moving in single direction to ensure settling of all surface fibers and even shrinkage of yarn to facilitate weaving.

Joining of new warp to threads through reed and heald before weaving can start.

With three shuttle weaving, the weaver can achieve pure contrast colors in borders and body with innumerable serrated edge patterns.

Three pairs of hands can be seen here working in unition on inlay patterns that can change form, scale and direction at will, referred to as Jamdani.