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Linen Guide
COTTON:
Known
for its softness and comfort, cotton is grown on
over 90 million acres in more than 80 countries
worldwide.
TOWEL EDUCATION
TOWELS:
A good
terry towel has to be highly absorbent and very
soft and gentle to skin. Both these essential
requirements are determined by the yarn quality,
construction and weight.
Terry towels are formed from three types of
yarn. The first type of yarn is the ground warp.
The ground warp is longitudinal set of yarn
forming base fabric. The second type of yarn is
the pile warp. Pile warp is placed in the
longitudinal direction and produces the pile
loops on the towel surface. Pile loops provide a
large surface area to maximize the absorption of
water.
Designs of the jacquard towels appear on the
surface of the pile yarn. The third type of yarn
is the weft yarn. The weft yarns are laid
perpendicular to the pile yarns, and interlace
with pile or ground yarn to form the fabric of
the towel. The ground, pile and weft yarns are
typically 100% cotton
yarn.
Yarn can be carded, combed, Ring Spun, Zero
Twist, Low Twist etc.
The word’ terry’
comes from French word’ tirer’ which means to
pull out referring to pile loops which were
pulled out by hand to make absorbent Turkish
towels.
TOWEL
CARE
Always
wash your new towels before using them - this
will remove extra dye, lint and other coatings
left over from the manufacturing process. And to
keep towels extra fluffy, simply shake them when
they come out of the dryer.
COMBED
COTTON
is cotton
that has been processed additionally to remove
more of the short fibers, leaving more of the
longer, softer fibers. This makes it softer and
look better.
VELOUR
TOWEL
is one which
has normal terry loops on one side, but is
sheared very closely on the other side, so that
the sheared side looks more like velvet than
loops.
MERCERIZING
is a chemical
treatment which produces increased strength and
a sateen finish which accepts dyes more readily
BED
SHEET EDUCATION:
THREAD COUNT:
Thread count is
simply the number of threads per square inch
of fabric. These consist of vertical threads
(warp) and horizontal threads (weft) woven
together. It can range anything between
80mto 1000. These days many products in the
market have thread count(TC) written in per sq,
centimetre instead of sq. inch. So be careful
when comparing two products.
CONSTRUCTION refers
to how the thread count is achieved (# of warp
and weft yarns, # of picks in the weft, use of 2
ply yarns etc.) To achieve higher thread counts,
sometimes 2 ply yarns are used and sometimes
multiple yarns (picks) are inserted into the
weft. In weave quality terms alone, the best
fabric will be made with single ply yarns and
have a single pick. The highest thread count you
can get with this type of construction is 360.
Above that, 2 ply yarns and/or multi-picks must
be used.
In terms of weave-quality alone, the best fabric
will be made with single-ply yarns and have a
single pick
SATEEN
is usually a cotton fabric that has a satin-like
feel. It's often found in bed sheets and other
textiles throughout the world. Sateen is usually
100% woven cotton, although it is occasionally
formed from rayon Sateen
does not refer to the material of the sheet. It
refers to the method in which the sheet was
woven. The weave is what gives the sateen sheet
its soft, satin-like feel. The material is
lustrious and smooth to the touch. Only carded
or combed yarns are used.
PILLING
Pilling of a fabric occurs when groups of short
or broken fibers on the surface of the fabric
become tangled together in a tiny ball called a
pill. Pilling results from rubbing (abrasion) of
the fabric during normal use or improper
laundering. Bad (short-staple) cotton can also
be a major factor. While pilling cannot be
eliminated completely, it can be minimized by
proper handling during washing of the fabric.
Use a slower agitation and a shorter wash cycle.
And, remove the garment from the dryer as soon
as it is dry.
PERCALE
‘Percale’
refers to a specially woven fabric that is very
often woven for sheet sets and other bed linens.
Percale can be either 100% cotton or also a
blend of cotton and polyester. Fabric with a
thread count of 180 and more is generally
considered as percale. Other different types of
woven fabrics are flannel and
sateen.
Thread count can go as high as 800 to 1000 but
you can buy a perfectly good linen at thread
count of 180.
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