Fabric Manufacture

Many ingenious methods of making different fabric structures have been invented across the world, and complex machinery has been developed to make these structures cheaply and at high speed. At the same time, many people are making fabrics by hand in small-scale cottage industries. “Fabric Manufacture” offers an introduction to simple methods of making textile fabrics used throughout the world, and describes six basic structures used to form fabrics: weaving (interlacing), knitting (looping), fibre entanglement (felting), lace-making (twining), braiding, knotting (netting). This handbook is concerned with fabric production as part of small-scale textile production, and is particularly aimed at small, rural communities and the development organizations or individual field workers involved with them. “Fabric Manufacture” is part of the “Small-scale Textiles” series. The “Small-scale Textiles” series aims to present basic information about all aspects of small-scale textile manufacture from raw materials to finished products, and will be of use to fieldworkers, development agencies, and those starting small-scale manufacture or attempting to improve or extend manufacture.