Introduction: Cotton is everywhere. Cotton is used to make a variety of fabrics and the cotton plant dates all the way back to 3,000 BC. Cotton makes such excellent fabric that find in many different styles, textures, and weights. Cotton fabric is used in creation of hundreds of products, including clothing, bedding, and curtains. There are hundred types of cotton fabric. As a textile engineering student, you should know types of cotton fabric and their commercial / trade names. Some commercial names of cotton fabric are given below:
Cotton Fabric Types, Names and Uses:
Denim: Denim – warp-faced and made from cotton using colored (usually blue) warp and white weft; often 2×1 or 3×1. Usually left hand twill using a Z twist yarn to produce a high ridge. True denim is twill weave cotton-like fabric made with different colored yarns in the warp and the weft. Due to the twill construction, one color predominates on the fabric surface. It is strong, durable and light to heavy in weight. It is used mainly for work clothing (traditionally), fashionable trousers and jeans, jackets and skirts.
Gabardine: A tightly woven, twilled, worsted fabric with a slight diagonal line on the right side. Wool gabardine is known as a year-round fabric for business suiting. Polyester, cotton, rayon, and various blends are also used in making gabardine. Gabardine fabric is used for coats, trousers and other garments.
Canvas: Canvas is one of the most sturdy and durable types of cotton fabric. It is a plain-weave fabric, which means that it consists of weft threads that alternate under and over warp threads. Canvas fabric made from cotton, hemp, flax, or jute, for 200 to 2000 g/m2. Covers cloths with a great variety of uses but salient features being strength and firmness.
Velvet: Velvet, a luxurious fabric, is commonly made with a filament fiber for high luster and smooth hand. It is a sleek, soft fabric that is commonly used in intimate wear, upholstery and other textile applications. Velvet is a medium weight cut-pile constructed fabric in which the cut pile stands up very straight. It is woven using two sets of warp yarns; the extra set creates the pile.
Muslin: An inexpensive, medium weight, plain weave, low count (less than 160 threads per square inch) cotton sheeting fabric. In its unfinished form, it is commonly used in fashion design to make trial garments for preliminary fit. A light weight plain open weave bleached and died (not exceeding 68 g/m2).
Oxford: Oxford is a weave structure very similar to a plain weave of good quality having two warp ends weaving as one often striped with fancy weave effects. A fine, soft, lightweight woven cotton or blended with manufactured fibers in a 2 x 1 basket weave variation of the plain weave construction. The fabric is used primarily in shirtings.
Corduroy: Corduroy is a fabric with evenly spaced vertical rows of soft pile. Corduroy fabric is used in cold-weather clothing such as jackets, pants, and suits.
Batiste / Cambric: A soft, fine plain woven fabric traditionally of flax but made in other fibers 100g/m2. Batiste is a lightweight fabric used in button-down shirts, dresses, and skirts.
Lawn: A light, fine cloth made using carded or combed linen or cotton yarns. The fabric has a crease-resistant, crisp finish. Linen lawn is synonymous with handkerchief linen. Cotton lawn is a similar type of fabric, which can be white, solid colored, or printed. It is a lightweight fabric best for dresses, skirts, and summer shirts.
Poplin: A plain weave cotton type fabric with weft way ribs and high warp sett. The construction is characterized by having a slight ridge effect in one direction, usually the filling. Poplin used to be associated with casual clothing, but as the “world of work” has become more relaxed, this fabric has developed into a staple of men’s wardrobes, being used frequently in casual trousers. Midweight garments like heavier shirts, trench coats, jackets, and skirts.
Organdy: Organdy is a lightweight, sheer, stiff fabric, usually made of cotton. End-uses include blouses, dresses, and curtains/draperies.
Double Cloth: A fabric construction, in which two fabrics are woven on the loom at the same time, one on top of the other. In the weaving process, the two layers of woven fabric are held together using binder threads. The woven patterns in each layer of fabric can be similar or completely different.
Double Knit: A weft knit fabric in which two layers of loops are formed that cannot be separated. A double knit machine, which has two complete sets of needles, is required for this construction. Runtang Textile specializes in the production of high-end double-sided knitted fabrics.
Double Weave: A woven fabric construction made by interlacing two or more sets of warp yarns with two or more sets of filling yarns. The most common double weave fabrics are made using a total of either four or five sets of yarns.
Duck: A tightly woven, heavy, plain weave, bottom-weight fabric with a hard, durable finishes. The fabric is usually made of cotton, and is widely used in men’s and women’s slacks, and children’s play clothes.
Flannel: A medium-weight, plain or twill weave fabric that is typically made from cotton, a cotton blend, or wool. The fabric has a very soft hand, brushed on both sides to lift the fiber ends out of the base fabric and create a soft, fuzzy surface. End-uses include shirts and pajamas.
Lace: Fine openwork fabric with a ground of mesh or net made by looping twisting or knitting on which pattern may be worked – crocheting, tatting, embroidery, weaving or knitting.
Madras: A lightweight plain weave cotton fabric with a striped, plaid, or checked pattern. True madras will bleed when washed. This type of fabric is usually imported from India. End-uses are men’s and women’s shirts and dresses.
Net: An open mesh fabric in which a firm structure formed by twisting interlocking or knitting.
Pique (woven): A fabric showing rounded cords in the weft direction with pronounced sunken lines between. Weave on the face of the cord plain with warp floats the width of the cords on the back. Wadding picks are used to accentuate the prominence of the cords.
Sailcloth: It is originally tightly woven cotton or linen canvas (now made from nylon or polyester for actual sails).
Sateen: A weft faced fabric in which the binding places are arranged to produce a smooth fabric and avoid twills fabric. A fabric made from yarns with low luster, such as cotton or other staple length fibers. The fabric has a soft, smooth hand and a gentle, subtle luster. Sateen fabrics are often used for draperies and upholstery.
Satin: A warp faced weave in which the binding places are arranged to produce a smooth fabric and avoid twills. Satin is a traditional fabric for evening and wedding garments. Typical examples of satin weave fabrics include: slipper satin, crepe-back satin, faille satin, bridal satin, moleskin, and antique satin.
Taffeta: A lustrous, medium weight, plain weave fabric with a slight ribbed appearance in the filling (crosswise) direction. For formal wear, taffeta is a favorite choice. It provides a crisp hand, with lots of body.
Bedford Cord: A cord cotton-like fabric with raised ridges in the lengthwise direction. Since the fabric has a high strength and a high durability, it is often used for upholstery and work clothes.
Brushed Cotton: A raised fabric produced by brushing, teazling or rubbing i.e. the fabric in open width is passed over roller covered in teazles (usually for wool) or fine wires to pull out the surface fibers to give the required effect. Brushed jersey/fleece usually for sports use with a brushed back.
Founder & Editor of Textile Learner. He is a Textile Consultant, Blogger & Entrepreneur. Mr. Kiron is working as a textile consultant in several local and international companies. He is also a contributor of Wikipedia.
