Types of Cotton Fabric Weaves

Cotton fabric is woven from cotton bolls

Most dressers and closets contain cotton garments. Unlike synthetic fibers, cotton threads or yarns are spun from the twisted fibers of the cotton boll, which is part of the cotton plant's flower. Cotton is fashioned into fabric in a number of ways. The majority of cotton fabrics are woven, but some are not.

Plain Weave

Gingham is produced using plain woven cotton fabric

To make a basic cotton plain weave, a long network of cotton threads is separated into two groups. As a shuttle passes back and forth between them, the filling yarn or weft contained in the shuttle builds a simple network of over and under threads. After each shuttle pass, half the warp threads are alternately raised or lowered and then the entire weave is tightened and compressed. Plain woven cotton fabrics include gingham, percale, and chambray.

Twill

Blue jeans are fashioned from cotton twill fabric

Another very popular cotton weave is the twill weave. In the twill weave, the cotton yarns or threads are interlaced to form strong diagonally-oriented ridges. Twill woven fabric is stronger than plain woven fabric and is used to create gabardine, ticking, and herringbone fabrics. Twill can also be fashioned into denim, the fabric used to make blue jeans.

Satin Weave

The least common cotton weave is the satin weave. It is an extremely smooth fabric with a high sheen or luster. Satin weaving uses many less warp yarns (threads) than do either the plain or twill weaves. Satin weave is used to produce a type of cloth known as sateen.

Knitted Cotton Cloth

T-shirts are manufactured from knitted, as opposed to woven, cotton cloth

As opposed to being woven, cotton yarn is sometimes knitted into fabric. As a type of cotton fabric, knitted cotton cloth is used to make an American clothing icon--the t-shirt.

References

• Cotton: The Fabric of Our Lives

Resources

• Cotton Counts: Cotton: From Field to Fabric