Cotton Spinning

– Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Laos, Malaysia, Nepal, Philippines, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan

Afghanistan

Spinning cotton is done on a drop spindle in Afghanistan.[1]Cotton has been grown in Afghanistan since the 3rd millennium BCE.[2]  

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Banglidesh

The Banglideshi are known for making cotton, specifically Dhaka cotton.[3] Dhaka cotton was processed very uniquely. The cotton staple was so short and the fibers so fine that the fibers were spread out by boats at dawn and late afternoon and that when they were spun.[4] The process was so specialized and so intense that it took the entire region to make the fabric.[5] The spinners would use charkhas to spin the cotton while on the boat, then sell the teeny threads to the weavers in the next town.[6]

 

Bhutan

Cotton is common fiber found in Bhutan[7]

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Brunei

A lot of cotton is spun and woven in Brunei.[8] This is mostly due to the fact that religiously, men can only wear cotton.[9]

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Cambodia

Fibers produced in Cambodia were silk, cotton, and hemp. [10]

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China

Cotton has been grown in China since 200 BCE.[11] However, it was a household crop, and was not processed in factories or warehouses until the Qing dynasty (1644-1800).[12]

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India

Silks are super common to see spun in India. As are cottons. Those are probably the two most common fibers depending on exactly where you are in India (it’s a big place!) with the north seeing a little more silk than the south, though the south would see silk in the cities and wealthier areas.

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Indonesia

In Indonesia, it was said that the first human couple, Miala Ratu Nggela and Mamu Ratu Ngguku, dropped from the sky in a basket of red cotton, and Miala Ratu Nggela made clothes for her husband with it, so red cotton was sacred.[13]

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Japan

Japan started growing and producing cotton in the 6th century. While it started as a cottage industry, it quickly grew to be a very popular industry.[14]

 

Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan does grow cotton, but has only done so recently. There is not much evidence of them importing unspun, unwoven cotton.[15]

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Laos

When the Tai Kadai arrived in Laos, the people there, the Mon- Khmer, had a tradition of weaving cotton and hemp.[16] While it’s possible they imported spun cotton and hemp, it’s more likely they spun it themselves.

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Nepal

The primary fibers in Nepal were yak, camel, hemp, and cotton.[17]

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Philippines

In the Philippines, fibers are mostly cotton blends with other plants, such as abaca, pineapple, and banana fibers.[18]

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Sri Lanka

The spinning and weaving of cotton in Sri Lanka can be traced back to at least 543 BCE.[19] The story goes that Prince Vijaya saw Kuveni, Queen of the Yakshas, spinning cotton at a wheel, and they fell in love and started a dynasty of Sri Lankan royalty.[20]

 

Thailand

In Thailand, whorls for cotton thread have been found in excavation sites in Sukhothai.[21] Cotton was imported from India as early as 100 CE.[22] With the date of these imports, it's likely that cotton was also grown, just in small amounts. By the 12th century cotton was a cash crop.

Dating to the Sassanian Empire (224 to 651 CE), the fibers found and produced in Turkmenistan were wool, cotton, and silk.[23] During this time period, cotton was spun on a drop spindle.[24]

 

Uzbekistan

The agricultural people of Uzbekistan would also grow cotton and silkworms (sericulture) and spin on hand cranked wheels.[25]