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What are the types of cotton?
Not all cotton is the same. Tell someone with a tiny bit of fabric knowledge you’ve bought some cotton and they’ll get technical on you. You’ve got your poplin, seersucker, your Egyptian cotton, your corduroy, your flannel, your denim, your twill, your brushed cotton… Tip of the iceberg. Each of these different ways of manufacturing cotton gives the resulting fabric unique qualities, but we’re going to focus on how to care for cotton in general because, just like almost all mammals need food and water and the milk of their mother’s teat, all cotton fabrics have common care requirements.
What is organic cotton?
Organic cotton is grown without using pesticides, genetic modification, fertilizer, or any of that stuff that ends up getting spread through the food chain—like what they taught you in GCSE biology. It’s all natural, baby. Better for the environment.
How do you care for pure cotton?
To avoid shrinking, wash your cotton at 30°C or lower. This will also help to keep your cotton’s colour vibrant and unfaded. Pure cotton is a natural fibre so you don’t need fabric softener, and if you’re using detergent please make sure it’s mild. A good tip for washing and fabric is to wash it inside out to prevent wear & tear—this also applies to cotton.
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How do you care for cotton fabric?
Let’s get specific, shall we? Washing, drying, and ironing—how exactly are we going about it? Nitty-gritty time.
1: How to wash cotton clothes
Why should you avoid fabric softeners
Natural fibres don’t like fabric softener. Softeners have a tendency to leave a light coating on the cotton that you may not perceive with your human senses, but it can build up and take away your cotton’s breathability, and you will notice that when you’re sweating buckets on a mild spring day.
Can cotton be dry cleaned
Unless the label suggests that you dry clean your cotton, probably just avoid it. Most cotton doesn’t need it—it’s strong, it’s tough, it can handle a washing machine.
Does cotton shrink in the wash
Yes, if you’re not careful, so keep it below 30°C otherwise you might have to shrink yourself in the wash to fit into your favourite T-shirt. Don’t do that though, because you will die.
2: Drying cotton clothes
And now we move on to dryers…
That’s a Father Ted reference. Here’s how to dry your cotton properly.
How to dry 100% cotton without shrinking
Basically, don’t dry it using heat. If you pop your cotton in the tumble dryer, you’d better be prepared to deal with the consequences. Just hang it up on the line or a clothes horse, or even lay it out flat on a towel if you’re feeling fancy. If it’s seersucker or something a little more delicate you’re dealing with, the flat towel might be the way to go.
How long does cotton take to dry
Depends, doesn’t it? Put it in an air tunnel with 0% humidity and it won’t take very long at all, hang it up to dry on a cold day in a humid rainforest and you’re probably going to be waiting quite a long time. Generally speaking, your cotton will dry in a few hours to a day, but we’re not going to pretend we’re not guessing.
3: Ironing cotton clothing
Maybe you’ve always been rubbish at ironing and too embarrassed to ask someone. These things happen. We’re here for you, friend.
Can you iron cotton clothes?
Yeah. Ironing cotton is not a problem in this parish. Give it long, vertical strokes as opposed to doing that little circle-motion thing you see some folks doing, and make sure to iron the hem too.
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How do you make cotton last longer?
If you do all of the things we’ve mentioned above, if you store your cotton in a cool, dry place somewhere out of direct sunlight, if you can avoid caking your cotton in muck and red wine, your cotton will live a long and happy life, and what’s more—you’ll be a man, my son.