Cotton is the most widely used fibre for apparel and home textiles. India is the first country where cotton was grown and used, and it continues to be one of the largest cotton growing areas. Cotton fibres are obtained from the seed pod of the cotton plant. Each seed has a large number of hair attached to it. When the seeds ripen the pod bursts open. The seeds are separated from the fibres by a process called ginning and sent as large bundles (bales) for spinning.

• Cotton is a natural cellulosic, staple fibre. It is the shortest fibre with length varying from 1 cm to 5 cms, therefore the yarn or the fabric made is dull in appearance and slightly rough to touch. It is heavier in weight than most of the other fibres.
• Cotton has good moisture absorbency and it also dries easily. Thus it is comfortable for summer use.
• It is available in fabrics of all types of weights, fineness, structures and finishes. Muslin, cambric, poplin, long cloth (latha), casement, denim, sheeting material and furnishing material are some of the cotton fabrics available in the market.

Linen is a bast fibre, obtained from the stems of the flax plant. The term bast means the fleshy part inside the bark. To obtain the fibres the stems are steeped in water for a long time to rot away the soft parts, in a process called retting. After retting the woody parts are separated and the linen fibres are collected and sent for spinning.

Jute and Hemp are also bast fibres like Linen. They are coarser fibres and do not have good flexibility, and are therefore used for making ropes, gunny bags and other such products.

Wool is obtained from sheep hair. It can also be obtained from other animals like goats, rabbits and camels. These fibres are called speciality hair fibres. Different breed of sheep provide different types of hair. Some breeds are raised only for good quality of fibres they produce. Removal of hair from the animal is called shearing. It may be done once or twice a year depending on the climatic conditions.

Silk is a natural filament fibre produced by the secretion of silk worms. If silk is produced in controlled conditions (cultivated or mulberry silk), it is smooth, and longer fibres are produced which results in a smoother, finer and lustrous fabric. If silk is produced in wild or natural conditions, the resulting silk is coarser, stronger and short in length, which results in a thicker, coarser but stronger fabric (e.g., tussar silk).

Rayon is a manufactured cellulosic fibre. Cellulosic because it is made from wood pulp and manufactured because this wood pulp is treated with chemicals and regenerated into fibres.

Nylon was the first true synthetic fibre (totally manufactured from chemicals) to be manufactured. It was first introduced as bristles for tooth brushes. In 1940, the first fabrics from Nylon were socks and stocking which were very successful.

Polyester is another manufactured synthetic fibre. It is also referred to as Terylene or Terene.

Acrylic is another synthetic fibre. It resembles wool so much that even an expert may not be able to find the difference between the two. It is commonly called as Cashmilon. It is cheaper than wool.

Apart from the fibres mentioned so far, there are a few less known ones. These are elastic, rubbers like substances and can be produced in various forms. In its natural form they include rubber and the synthetic equivalent is spandex or Lycra.