COTTON USA IS SOFT, SENSUAL AND NATURAL
FABRICS
The various types of cotton give enormous versatility and enable a great diversity of yarns, knitted fabrics and clothes to be manufactured.
Cotton cloth ranges from the classic cotton twill to the fashionable cotton stretch. Cotton is the raw material for denim jeans and shirts as well as for casual corduroy and the elegant velvets of evening dress. Plus, of course, cotton is used for underwear, shirts and blouses, T-shirts, sweatshirts, shorts, dresses and children's wear.
Cotton is extraordinarily important to our daily lives. It knows no cultural or social boundaries and adds a special touch of quality to people of every age and on each continent around our world.
The most important cotton materials:
MILLRAYE
A fine light corduroy with a pile fabric.
MOLTON
A double-sided, roughened, soft linen weave cotton fabric that is normally made to be medium or heavy quality. Common uses include sheets and medical applications such as pads and dressings.
MUSLIN
A light loosely woven cotton fabric made from fine yarns. It is used a mosquito netting in some countries.
OXFORD SQUARE
Features a square pattern in a twill weave with regular dark beams on a bright background. It is often used for shirts and outerwear.
PANAMA
A sleek fabric manufactured in the so-called panama weave. Its special weave creates little squares and rectangles.
PERCALE
Percale is the trademark for a type of smooth linen weave cotton fabrics that are available in different, mainly printed, versions. Despite being made with finer yarns, when compared to satin, percale has a firmer hand and appears to have a less compact yet bright surface.
PIQUE
A knit fabric commonly used for polo shirts and sportswear.
POPELIN
A cotton fabric with a plain weave. It is particularly suitable for shirts, blouses, coats and blousons.
RENFORCE
A basic cotton fabric in linen weave. In degrees of fineness, renforce falls midway between cretonne and calico. It is often used as a base for prints.
RIBBED FABRIC
A double sided knit fabric in which tight and relaxed yarns alternate one or more at a time which creates a stretchy, ribbed construction.
There are two common varieties:
Fine rib: Fine, elastic weft-knitted fabric with a ribbed structure. Traditionally used for underwear and T-shirts.
Double rib: More coarse and flexible.
SEERSUCKER
The term for a cotton fabric with a creped, bark-like, stripe structure. The relief-pattern runs in tracks or waves.
SINGLE-JERSEY
A smooth, hardly elastic knitwear that has one side showing purl and the other showing knit. Commonly used for T-shirts and underwear.
STOCKINETTE
An generic term used to describe jersey knit fabric.
TERRY TOWELLING
A cotton fabric, looped on either or both sides, which is commonly used for bathrobes and towels. The irregular loops of the 'walk frottier' version absorb moisture well and are softer than yarn fabrics (which have a better grip). The loops of the 'velour frottier' version are cut which helps give products a velvet like appearance and a reputation for being particularly soft.
TWILL
A general term used to describe fabrics with a 1:2 or 1:3 weave pattern that give the fabric a diagonal weave appearance. It is a very versatile fabric often used for jeans and casual trousers.
VELOURS
The term used to describe cotton fabrics that have sanded surfaces and a soft velvety feel.
VELVET
A luxurious soft feel cotton fabric with a 1-3 mm long pile.
WIDE WALE CORD
A cord fabric with up to 23 wales per 10 cm. See CORD.
BABY CORD
Also known as Micro Cord. It is a corduroy fabric with 51 or more wales per 10 cm. See CORD.
BATIST
An umbrella term for fine cotton fabrics.
CANVAS
A solid woven cotton fabric. Ideal for outdoor jackets and sportswear trousers.
CHAMBRAY
A woven cotton fabric with a traditional unobtrusive variable pattern is created by using different colours or fancy yarn in warp and weft.
CHENILLE
A flat fabric with velour commonly used for ornamental home textiles.
CHINTZ
These are fabrics that have a lasting glaze. The colours are not fast and have no finishing to improve stiffening or brightness. Chintz is frequently used for decoration materials.
CORD / CORDUROY
An umbrella term for cotton fabrics with differently raised parallel lines. The type of lines created distinguish the various types and qualities of cord. See BABY CORD and WIDE WALE CORD.
COTTON CLOTH & CALICO
A medium-fine cotton fabric in twill weave.
COTTON SATIN
A fine silky fabric in satin weave with a comparatively structureless, glossy surface. Cotton satin is generally manufactured monochromatic and is frequently used for high quality linen and fashion outfits.
DAMASK
A monochrome shiny jacquard fabric with a woven pattern that becomes visible when seen at a certain angle. It is widely used for tablecloths and napkins.
DENIM (BLUE DENIM)
Originally a very dense, solid and durable cotton cloth in twill weave. Today you will find denim in many weights, colours and varieties including stretch denim, lightly printed and embroidered. Denim is the leading material for leisure clothing, particularly for jeans, shirts and jackets. It is also widely used in niche areas such as interior design.
FLANNEL
A one or two-sided roughed cotton fabric with a wide range of applications. Soft cotton flannel is often used for sports and children's wear.
GABARDINE
The special warp twill binding makes this a classic among cotton fabrics. Cotton gabardine is celebrated for today's fashionable chinos, khaki trousers and five-pocket jeans. Gabardine is also used for coats, jackets, blazers, trousers, skirts and suits. Down-proof fabrics are invariably woven from a very solid and fine type of gabardine.
INTERLOCK
A very elastic, knitted fabric that looks the same on both sides. Interlock is commonly used for high quality underwear, T-shirts and bed linens.
JACQUARD
There are two definitions of jacquard:
Woven patterns inserted into knitted goods that show on the rear either as deposited or incorporated yarns.
An umbrella term for fabrics with fine or coarse patterns, which can be created by complex weaving patterns.
JERSEY
Cotton jersey is a knit fabric with a dull surface and is clearly different on the rear side. Jersey is noted for its softness, full grip, solidness and strength.
LAWN
A fine woven almost transparent fabric that retains a linen-like sheen through its glaze. Lawn is found readily in India and the Middle East.
MERCERISATION
This is a chemical process that opens the lumen of the cotton fibre allowing it to absorb more natural dye, resulting in a shiny appearance.