Initial preparation

Initial preparation

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1994 6 June 3-4 Initial preparation (304)

One can never satisfactorily reach one’s ultimate destination without passing through and giving due attention to all of the preliminary stages.

One of the innumerable processes of the textile industry is the dyeing of fabric. For instance, most saris are originally woven in the natural colour of cotton and then dyed to make them attractive. Dyeing, however, is never done by dipping the woven saris straight into a cauldron of colour, because it takes a great deal more than this to make the colour uniform and permanent. Before dyeing, pre-treatment is necessary. Only then can the cloth go through the processes of dyeing, printing and finishing. In fact, statistics show that 70 per cent of all the defects occurring in dyed finished fabrics are traceable to the imperfect preparation of the base material.

Different kinds of pre-treatment, such as desizing, scouring and bleaching are carried out to remove any inherent or added matter in the cotton which would adversely affect its absorbency and whiteness.

Mercerizing enhances the accessibility and reactivity of cotton cellulose.

The characteristics possessed by cotton and the cloth made from it have been directly, invested in them by God. The physical rules governing them are, therefore, universal and invariable, and it is only by accepting them as such that man can take the right steps in the correct order to make the clothes of his choice. In this, God gives us a clear sign as to how we should construct our lives. That is, we cannot jump to the later, more refined stages, without going through all the processes of pre-treatment.’ It is only when the initial conditions have been fulfilled that we can proceed to the next stage to achieve the desired success. One can never satisfactorily reach one’s ultimate destination without passing through and giving due attention to all of the preliminary stages.