What is Egyptian Cotton Fabric? Benefits, Quality & Use
Thread count
Thread count refers to the size of the yarn. Higher the count, the resulting fabric is generally finer, smoother and more expensive. Thus 200s thread count yarn is finer and smoother than 180s, which is finer and more expensive than 140s and 120s and so on. To look at it the other way, lower the count, the heavier and coarser it is. Thus 40s thread count yarn is coarser and heavier than a 60s yarn and so on.
We manufacture and sell a wide range of yarn counts. 160s to 200s are ultra luxury thread counts and some of the highest counts and most exclusive fabrics available in the country. 120s to 140s are regarded as very premium fabrics having a smooth finish and being light-weight. 2-ply 80s and 2-ply 100s are best suited for professionals and for office wear as fabrics in these counts offer the most wrinkle resistance and crisp standing. Single 70s are usually satin weave counts which are in a construction that falls well. These are many times used for women garments as they drape very well. 50s and 60s are used for a major portion of the everyday formal and casual shirts. 40s counts are usually only used for garments and bulk shirts supply.
Thread count is only one aspect while selecting fabrics. The weave, ply and construction amongst other factors play an important role in the overall fabric quality. We help our customers in fabric selection by understanding their end use and vision of what they wish to achieve with the fabric and then short listing and suggesting those designs and fabrics which fit their need.
SINGLE-PLY VS TWO-PLY
Ply refers to the number of yarns twisted together to make a single thread.
Single ply means that a single yarn is made into a thread which in turn is used to weave the fabric. In two-ply (or double ply), two single yarns are twisted together to make the resulting thread that is woven into the fabric. This gives the resulting fabric more strength, durability, bounce and wrinkle resistance. Hence most formal shirts are preferred in 2-ply, since it inherently gives wrinkle-resistance properties to the fabric and prevents them from re-creasing once they have been ironed.
Two-ply 80s (represented as 2/80 or 80/2) means that two single 80s yarn are intertwined to give the resultant 2-ply 80s thread. (check). As a rule of thumb, this is equivalent in terms of thickness and feel to a singles 40s thread. Given what we have already learnt above about thread count, a 2/80s fabric is heavy and coarse compared to a 2/120s fabric, which is in turn equivalent to a single 60s (represented as 1/60 or 60/1). Basically dividing the number of ply with the yarn count gives the equivalent feel, thickness and fall of the fabric. Thus, if you know how a 70/1 fabric feels and falls, you can approximately tell how a 140/2 fabric will feel and fall (if all other things are kept the same).
A fabric can also be woven in a 2 by 1 configuration i.e with a two-ply warp and a single-ply weft. For example, in a 180/2 x 70/1 fabric, the 2 in 180/2 or the 1 in 70/1 refers to the ply of the fabric.
WARP AND WEFT
The Warp and Weft refers to the essential “building block” threads used to create any fabric. Warp threads run vertically i.e tightly stretched along the length of the fabric while the weft threads run horizontally and are woven between the warp threads to create various patterns. “End” is a single warp thread whereas “pick” is a single weft thread. A fabric will often use different thread counts in the warp and weft directions in order to get the desired effect. Warp threads tend to be stronger and coarser, because they must be able to withstand tight stretching.
GSM/GLM
The weight of a fabric can be measured in two ways, either as the ‘weight per unit area’ (GSM) or the ‘weight per unit length’ (GLM). GSM refers to the weight of the fabric in grams per square meter, whereas GLM is the weight in grams per linear/running meter. Since the width can be different for different fabrics, GLM depends on the width of the fabric. Both these units of measurement can help decide which fabric is lighter or heavier.
You can find out the GSM of a fabric if you know its construction
For E.g. If you have a 58” width 60/1 x 60/1 fabric with the construction as “177 x 87”
You can use the following formula to get the approximate GSM (not taking into account the “Crimp %”)
GSM = {(EPI/Warp count) + (PPI/ Weft count)} × 25.64
GSM = {(177/60) + (87/60)} x 25.64
GSM = 112.82
Once you know the GSM, you can also get the GLM easily as long as you now the width of the fabric
GLM = (GSM × Fabric width in inches) / 39.37
GLM = (112.82 x 58) / 39.37
GLM = 166
LONG STAPLE COTTON
In the Textile Industry, Staple refers to the length of the cotton fibre. Long staple cotton means that the cotton has long fibres and hence the resulting yarn which is made by joining these fibres have less joints (connections). Thus the strength increases as well as the shine/sheen and it also gives a smooth hand feel. Egyptian and Supima Cotton are both examples of Long Staple Cotton yarns. Both of these guarantee the highest levels of purity in making the fabric which gives brighter, deeper and more resistant colors apart from softer, finer, stronger and more luxurious fabrics. Egyptian and Supima cotton have to be sourced from the authorized agencies in Egypt and USA, who issue certificates and licenses to use these yarn in their looms.
All the fabrics that we manufacture and sell have either the Egyptian or Supima Cotton licensees, which our customers can then use to market their end-products.
SPECIAL FINISHES
We can provide the following finishes to any of the fabrics we manufacture.
ETI – Easy to iron. Wrinkle less
Speedy Iron – Easy to iron. Wrinkle less
Wrinkle Free – Highly wrinkle resistant. Easy to wash and iron. S A Rating / DP rating 2.0-3
Stain free – No stains on the fabric. Water, oils, stains rolls off the fabric
Organic cotton – Sustainable yarn which is soft and absorbent
NINA – Non iron Non Ammonia finish creaseless appearance. Easy to wash
Actifresh – Fressness or Antiodour finish
Aroma – Different fragrance finishes as per requirement like lavender etc.
Antimicrobial – Easy on skin with comfortable feeling. Acts as a deodorant for long lasting freshness
Cool and Comfort – Moisture management finish to keep you cool by testing the absorbency, surface evaporate rate.
NanoTex – Basically a stain guard finish which is Oil and water repellant. Good air permability
Vitamin E – Health care functional finish
Chemical Peach – Smooth feather touch finish
American Soft – Soft finish
American Crisp – Crispy effect
Dura White – Whiteness and Brightness remain for multiple washes
Stiff finish – Permanent stiffness with super surface smoothness and crease resistance
FABRIC CONSTRUCTION
Fabric Construction refers to the number of threads per square inch in a fabric. It is found out by counting the number of threads in the warp and weft in a square inch of the fabric. Fabric construction is written as “136 x 96”, which means that the fabric has 136 Ends per inch (EPI) and 96 Picks per inch (PPI). Alternatively this can be written as EPI x PPI = 136 x 96. This means that if you take a specimen of 1 inch X 1 inch of this fabric, you will find 136 number of warp yarns and 96 number of weft yarns.
The number of threads in the warp (EPI) is usually higher than that in the weft. If the difference between the number of threads in warp and weft are very small, then it is a known as square construction fabric. These are regarded as good construction fabrics, which will inherently wrinkle less. Generally speaking, higher the picks per inch, the costlier and finer the fabric gets.
WEAVES
POPLIN/BROADCLOTH
Poplin or Broadcloth weave is the most simple and commonly produced weave in fabrics. It is made by alternately passing weft yarns over and under the warp yarns along the full length of the fabric. These are tightly woven flat fabrics with very little sheen, given the lack of texture. Poplin weaves are thus ideal for professionals and for office wear.
TWILL
The Twill weave is easily identifiable by the diagonal texture or pattern in the fabric. Depending on the count and construction, Twills vary from being very fine and noticeable only on closer inspection (Royal Twills), to having very thick and prominent diagonal cords. Twills will almost always have more sheen, opaqueness and wrinkle resistance to Poplins. They are also not as crisp and hence drape better than Poplins. These thus make good smart casual shirts.
FIL-À-FIL
In a Fil-à-Fil weave (also known as End-on-End weave), the fabric is woven by alternating a white thread with a colored thread, resulting in a heathered effect. Variations are created by alternating light and dark warp and weft threads, to give an inconsistent yet rich texture. Fil-à-Fils work well as under-the-suit shirts, since they look solid from far and only when closer you see the pattern. These are extremely cool and comfortable fabrics and often worn with a pair of jeans or cotton trousers.
CHAMBRAY
Similar to Fil-à-Fils, Chambrays have a colored thread inter-woven with a white thread creating an irregular color to it. However, chambrays are generally much heavier and more appropriate for casual wear than Fil-à-Fils since they have a faded look, with soft colors, rather than sharp shades. Chambrays work well for summer and resort wear.
SATIN
Satin is the weave with the most shine or luster. It is woven by interweaving four or more weft yarns over a single warp yarn or vice versa. It thus has a “loose construction” which drapes really well and often used in garments for women. The luster gives a very exclusive impression and is often worn under the suit
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