Hand spinning is where most eri yarn in Assam is still made. The degummed cocoon must first be converted into a cake — a flat pad of loosened fibre — before any spinning device can draft it.
Cake preparation
Degummed cocoons are stretched open in plain water into thin sheets. Three to five sheets are joined and hand-stamped to squeeze out water and loosen the fibre, forming a cake resembling a cotton pad. Cakes are sun-dried retaining at least 20 % moisture, then loosened and lapped on a pencil-sized stick for uniform drafting.
Spinning devices
| Device | Principle | Productivity | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Takli | Hand spindle with a disc base of 30–50 g; intermittent drafting, twisting and winding | About 40 g / day | Used by roughly 57 % of spinners; simple and inexpensive, with continuing domestic and export demand for takli yarn |
| Flyer-operated machine | Pedal-driven flyer spindle; continuous simultaneous drafting, twisting and winding | 60 – 100 g / day | Hand-fed with fleece or cakes from cooked cocoons |
| CSTRI motorised spinning machine | Ring-traveller principle at 4,500 rpm with yarn distribution on the bobbin | Nearly double the pedal machine | Compact steel construction; produces finer counts; now available with pedal drive and solar backup against power failure |
The takli still accounts for more than half of all spinning despite yielding a quarter of
what the motorised machine does. Its advantages are capital cost and independence from
power — and there is a standing domestic and export market that specifically wants
takli yarn, so the older device is not simply an efficiency failure to be designed away.