Ring spinning is one of the most common spinning methods in the world. Other systems include
air-jet and
open-end spinning, a technique where the
staple fiber is blown by air into a rotor and attaches to the tail of formed yarn that is continually being drawn out of the chamber. Other methods of break spinning use needles and
electrostatic forces. The processes to make short-staple yarn (typically spun from fibers from ) are blending, opening,
carding, pin-drafting,
roving, spinning, and—if desired—plying and
dyeing. In long staple spinning, the process may start with stretch-break of tow, a continuous "rope" of synthetic fiber. In open-end and air-jet spinning, the roving operation is eliminated. The spinning frame winds yarn around a bobbin. Generally, after this step the yarn is wound to a cone for knitting or weaving. In a
spinning mule, the roving is pulled off bobbins and sequentially fed through rollers operating at several different speeds, thinning the roving at a consistent rate. The yarn is twisted through the spinning of the bobbin as the carriage moves out, and is rolled onto a cop as the carriage returns. Mule spinning produces a finer thread than ring spinning. Spinning by the mule machine is an intermittent process as the frame advances and returns. It is the descendant of a device invented in 1779 by
Samuel Crompton, and produces a softer, less twisted thread that is favored for fines and for
weft. The ring was a descendant of the Arkwright
water frame of 1769 and creates yarn in a continuous process. The yarn is coarser, has a greater twist, and is stronger, making it more suitable for
warp. Ring spinning is slow due to the distance the thread must pass around the ring. Similar methods have improved on this including flyer and bobbin and cap spinning. The pre-industrial techniques of
hand spinning with a spindle or
spinning wheel continue to be practiced as handicraft or hobby and enable wool or unusual vegetable and animal staples to be used. ==History and economics==