A Midsouth cotton was harvested to simulate possible harvest conditions: early harvest, normal harvest, and late harvest. The results were a high-trash-content crop, a normal crop, and a weathered crop, respectively. Combinations of ginning, opening and cleaning treatments for cotton were evaluated to define the optimum balance between lint cleaning at the gin versus cleaning at the mill. The cottons were processed through minimum, intermediate, and maximum levels of lint cleaning in the gin. Three different mill opening sequences were applied to each level of gin-cleaned cotton. Each sample was then single carded and double carded, producing 18 different cleaning sequences for each harvest. Yarns and fabrics were produced and analyzed.