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Made from cotton material c. About cotton and its production. Where does cotton come from

Section 1. History and basic properties of cotton.

Cotton — this is vegetable fiber obtained from cotton bolls When the fruit ripens, the cotton boll opens. The fiber together with the seeds - raw cotton - is collected at the cotton collection points, from where it is sent to the ginnery, where the fibers are separated from the seeds. This is followed by the separation of fibers in length: the longest fibers from 20-55 mm are cotton fiber, and the shorter hairs - lint - are used for the manufacture of cotton wool, as well as for the production of explosives.

History and basic properties cotton

The first tool for cleaning cotton from seeds in India was the so-called "chock", consisting of two rollers, the upper one being stationary, and the lower one rotating with a handle. Cotton with seeds is fed between the rollers, the roller grabs the fiber and pulls it to the other side, and the seeds that cannot pass between the rollers break off and fall in front. In this operation, two or three shift workers could peel no more than 6-8 kg of pure cotton per day. Therefore, large and cheap cotton production was out of the question.


In 1792, the sawing machine, or the sawing cotton-gin of Eli Whitney, was invented, which significantly accelerated and cheapened this work (with the same 2-3 workers, as with the "chock", first hundreds, and then one and a half thousand and more than kg per day with one machine, depending on the number of saws, that is, by the size of the machine and by the engine driving the machine into work, as the driving force in which the hands of workers, the power of animals, water, etc. could act.). Since that time, cotton has grown rapidly and universally like no other industry in the world. Cotton is, of course, one of the oldest natural fibers on earth. Cotton history dates back to antiquity and begins, apparently, around 12,000 BC. cotton products were found in a cave near the Mexican Hamlet Teuakan. Articles date back to around 5800 BC.


It is known that one of the first cotton began to grow, and in India... One of the first cotton fabrics, woven around 3250-2750 BC, were discovered in the Indian province of Mohenjo-Daro. In recent excavations in Pakistan, fragments of cotton cloth and cotton rope from 3000 BC have been found in the Indus Valley. There were also found in Pakistan, cottonseed, which was 9000 liters. According to Indian beliefs, cotton is a gift from heaven. One of the hymns, the Rig Veda "glorifies threads on a loom. From these threads the beds are made of gods. After they sleep on the beds of these gods, they are kinder and merciful to people.


In 445 BC. e. Herodotus reports on the production of cotton fabrics in India: "There are wild trees, which, instead of the fruits of growing hair, the beauty and high quality of wool is obtained from sheep. The Indians wear this wood wool.

Theophrastus (370-287 BC. E.) Greek philosopher and naturalist, to some extent highlighted the issue of cotton cultivation: “The trees from which the Indians make cloth are leaves, like mulberries, but in general, similar to those of the wild rose. They planted trees in these lines, so that from a distance they look like a vineyard. "

Nearchus, a military commander in the army of Alexander the Great, reported: “In India there are trees on which wool grows. The locals make its linen by putting on a knee-length shirt, a sheet, wrapped around the shoulders, and a turban. The fabric is made of this wool, thinner and paler than any other. "


The Greek geographer Strabo confirmed the validity of Nearchus' reports and noted that at one time (54-25 BC. E.) Cotton fabrics were produced in Susiana, the Persian provinces on the Persian Gulf.

For India, the first mention of the sale of cotton fabrics made by a Greek writer, merchant sailor and Flavius ​​Arrianom in the 2nd century. In the description of the voyages, he describes sale several Indian cities with the Arabs, and the Greeks, referring to the Arabs as imported goods of chintz fabric (chintz), muslin and other fabrics with floral patterns.

Arab travelers in the 9M century in their notes to confirm the high quality of Indian cotton fabrics, which cannot be compared with the improvement of others. Indian cotton fabrics and admiration in the 13th century, famous traveler Marco Polo.

Much later, around 2640 BC, cotton as a weaving material appeared in China. We also know that until this time, cotton was used as an ornamental plant. Development of cotton industry v China develops very slowly, since the main textile fiber since ancient times was considered silk.

At the beginning of the VIII century hlopkotkachestvo appeared in Japan, but soon the production of cotton fabrics in Japan, and stopped there was revived only in the seventeenth century by the Portuguese.

A very early acquaintance with the cultivation of cotton in Central Asia, which is the crossroads of the great caravan roads. In 1252 the monk William de Rubrikis, envoy of Louis IX, said that in trade cotton textile trade items and clothes using these fabrics in Crimea and in the south of the Russian Federation, where they were exported from Central Asia.

Interestingly, long cotton is supplied to Europe only in the form of ready-made fabrics and, therefore, the legend of it as a fabulous creature polurastenii-half-animal, which, after ripening, scissors like a sheep. The cost of cutting fabric in those days was estimated to be a quantity of gold coins equal to its weight. Not surprising, since this is a sign on which to dream of cotton - to business success and prosperity.

However, in the Europe cotton appeared only in 350 BC, when it was delivered from Malaya Asia to Greece. Subsequently, cotton cultivation spread to North Africa, Spain and southern Italy - thanks to the Moors, who are actively cultivated.


An important role in the distribution of cotton in Europe in the Middle Ages, Arabs, conquerors and traders played. According to numerous sources, VIII-IX centuries in Arabia, widely used cotton fabrics. Victory in the 8th century Spain, the Arabs brought cotton processing technology there. In Valencia and corduroy weaving gauze before the expulsion of the Arabs. In the thirteenth century in Barcelona and Granada, there was a significant cotton institution for that time, producing linen and velvet. However, in connection with the expulsion from the Arabs hlopkotkachestvo to Spain fell into decay. From Spain hlopkotkachestvo certain types of fabrics passed in the fourteenth century in Venice and Milan. In the XIV century in Milan, as well as southern German cities, pompous style, linen fabrics with warp and cotton weft.


After the main distributors of the Arab cotton culture were the Crusaders, which gave a powerful impetus to commercialization goods opening of permanent trade between the cities of Asia Minor and Italy. By the way, the names of all materials (except for the official Latin letters Gossypium are used more algodon and cotton) comes from the Arabic "al-igutum" - the name by which cotton was known in antiquity.

Among the imported goods of cotton to England, it was first mentioned in 1212, but until the 14th century only wicks for lamps were made from it, and until 1773, cotton yarn was used only as a weft. Cotton fabrics have been produced only since 1774. In the same year, it was adopted about their labeling: forgery of a trademark or sale of fabrics with a fake brand of retribution.


In parallel with this, the culture of cotton cultivation developed in the New World: in the Peruvian Republic, cotton fibers were discovered, which date back to 2500 - 1750 BC. It is believed that for the first time in America began to use cotton, where, in the country of the Incas. Growing cotton and living in this area of ​​Guatemala and the Yucatan Peninsula, the Aztecs also actively used cotton in their daily clothes. When Christopher Columbus reached America, he noticed that the Aborigines were using cotton yarn hammocks. The Spanish conquistadors drew attention to the fact that Montezuma was wearing a handmade cloak work cotton.

Thus, according to historical information, Spanish colonists began cultivating cotton as early as 1556 in Florida. However, cotton industry in the United States developed on a large scale until the end of the 18th century. The main thing was "Eli Whithney" - saw the gin. Southern states - Alabama, Louisiana, Tennessee, Arkansas became more - cotton basin. They stopped growing rice and tobacco. Many slaves were recruited to work on the cotton plantations. Cotton is called "King Ottonn" or "White".


In Russian literature, mentions of hlopkotkachestve date back to the reign of Ivan III (1440-1505), when Russian merchants brought from Kafa (Feodosia) "Fly cotton, muslin and paper. With the discovery of the British North Russian Federation and cotton Products from it in the middle of the XVI century, began to arrive in country through Arkhangelsk. However, until the beginning of the 19th century, the production of cotton fabrics in Russian Federation was relatively small, concentrated in certain places such as Astrakhan, Moscow and Vladimir provinces.

Despite the fact that the history of cotton thousands of years ago, a key for the textile industry, this natural material began to play only in the 19th century.


Properties

cotton is a thin, short, soft fluffy fiber. The fiber is somewhat twisted around its axis. Cotton is characterized by relatively high strength, chemical resistance (it does not deteriorate for a long time under the influence of water and light), heat resistance (130-140 ° C), medium hygroscopicity (18-20%) and a small proportion of elastic deformation, as a result of which the item of trade from cotton crumples strongly. The abrasion resistance of cotton is low.

Advantages:

Softness

Good absorbency in warm weather

Ease of coloring

Disadvantages:

Easy to wrinkle

Tends to shrink

Turns yellow in the light.

It is estimated that 300-500 thousand people are poisoned by pesticides on cotton plantations in the world every year, 20 thousand of them die.

Cotton is used for textile processing to produce cotton fabric. Cotton wool is obtained from it, it is used in explosives.

The average cotton yield is 30 t / ha (3 t / ha or 300 t / km²). Maximum 50 c / ha (5 t / ha or 500 t / km²)

Organic cotton is cotton grown from cotton seeds that have not undergone genetic modification, without chemical fertilizers, insecticides and pesticides, i.e. "environmentally friendly" material.

The largest quantities are grown in Turkey, India, China.

V countries The CIS produced 730 thousand tons of cotton. About 40% of the world's cotton exports come from the United States, which produces about 1.2 million tons of this crop per year. Pakistan is also the largest cotton producer.

Cotton (Cotton) is

Fabrics such as chintz, cambric, calico, flannel, satin are made from cotton. These cotton fabrics differ from each other in texture and durability. All of these fabrics are used in the production of bed linen.

100% cotton - this means that the bed linen is made of pure cotton, without impurities or additives. The cotton will not stick to your body, shock or slide on the surface of your bed. Cotton fabrics are breathable and you won't get too hot or too cold under cotton bed linen. To check what your bedding is made of, just pull out the thread and set it on fire - synthetics will give themselves away. Artificial fiber will give black smoke, while natural fiber will give white smoke.

Cotton is a white, brownish-white, yellowish-white or bluish-white fibrous substance that covers the seeds of some plants of the genus Gossypium, the Malvaceae family. Cotton is used to make linen, clothes, decorative, as well as technical fabrics, sewing threads, cords and much more. It is suitable for making not only low-grade, cheap types of harsh gauze and print cloth, but also thin linen, as well as lace and other openwork materials. Cotton is characterized by the length and thickness (“fineness”) of the fiber, as well as the ability to absorb paint.


Whereas, by nature, cotton is a perennial tree (lasting about 10 years), when cultivated extensively, it mainly grows as an annual shrub. The cotton flower has five large petals (bright, cream-white, or even pink), which quickly fall off, leaving capsules or "cotton bolls" with a teak and hard outer layer. The capsule ruptures when ripe, revealing seeds and masses of white / cream and fluffy fibers. The varieties of Gossypium hirsutum cotton fibers range from about 2 to 3 centimeters in length, while Gossypium barbadense cotton produces long fibers up to 5 centimeters long. Their surface is delicately serrated and intricately intertwined. Cotton was cultivated almost exclusively for its oily seeds and the original fibers growing in them (i.e., strictly speaking, because of the cotton). In common use, the term "cotton" also refers to fibers that produce yarns suitable for use in the weaving industry.

Although cotton is native to tropical countries, cotton production is not limited to the tropics. Indeed, the emergence of new varieties, as well as improvements in cultivation methods, led to the spread of this culture within areas ranging from approximately 47 degrees north latitude (Ukraine) to 32 degrees south (). Although cotton is widely planted in both hemispheres, it remains a sun-loving plant that is highly vulnerable to low temperatures. Cotton is critically important in some developing countries. Of the 85 countries producing cotton in 2005, 80 were developing countries, 28 of which were designated by the United Nations among the least developed countries.

Cotton offers superior performance in use, wash, stain removal and high temperature resistance. These properties and the fact that cotton does not change shape make it one of the most suitable fabrics for garment production.


In addition, the most important characteristic of cotton is that it is the only fabric that can withstand process sterilization.

Care of Cotton Trade Items

The care of cotton merchandise depends on the particular finish of the fabric. White kitchen towels and white linens can be machine washed at 95 ° C. Colored linen - at temperatures up to 60 ° C, thin colored linen - at temperatures up to 40 ° C.

For washing white linen, use a universal washing powder, for colored linen - mild detergents or powder for colored linen without bleach. Terry towels and underwear will feel very soft when tumble dry, even without softening agents. However, there is a high risk of shrinkage of trade items, so only use the dryer if recommended by the manufacturer.

Trade items made of cotton fabrics with an ennoble finish must be hung up to dry wet, and then, when dry, ironed, putting the thermostat on the “wool” position. However, you can put the thermostat on "cotton", but in this case, the product must first be moistened or use an iron with a humidifier. For ironing thin and transparent fabrics, the thermostat is set to the “silk” position. Of course, it is recommended to try on a patch first to avoid trouble.

If you need to bleach very washed cotton linen, it should be soaked for a day in a solution containing 2 - 3 tablespoons of detergent for cotton fabrics and the same amount of turpentine per 10 liters of water. You can also use another method: soak things in water with a temperature of 30 - 40 ° C with the addition of vinegar (1 teaspoon per 1 liter of water).

Duvet covers should be turned out and shaken out well before washing. Laundry with a high content of grease (tablecloths, napkins, kitchen towels, overalls) is best pre-soaked and then washed with powder.

If the laundry has turned yellow from time and repeated washings, it can be bleached with the help of special bleaching agents, strictly following the recommendations given in the instructions.

You can use the old easy way. On a bucket of hot water (60 - 70 ° C) take 2 tablespoons of hydrogen peroxide and 1 tablespoon of ammonia. The washed and rinsed laundry is immersed in this solution for 15 - 20 minutes and mixed well. Then the bed linen is rinsed twice, wrung out and dried. Heavily soiled trade items are bleached as follows. Linen, which has a gray tint, is first soaked for 5 - 7 hours in a warm detergent solution, and the dosage of the detergent should be 2 - 3 times higher than normal for washing. Then the laundry is washed in a machine or by hand, and only then is it bleached.

Laundry not very darkened with stains, tea, wine, fruits and berries, it is enough to wash and boil in a solution of a detergent containing chemical bleach. Boiling should be carried out in an enamel or aluminum container, in which there should be no rusty stains, otherwise the laundry can be damaged. In the boiling tank, the laundry is laid loosely so that it can be stirred. The washing solution is prepared at the rate of 10 liters of water per 1 kg of dry laundry. The boiling tank should be heated slowly so that the laundry boils in 30-40 minutes, and it is recommended to boil it for 20-30 minutes. After boiling, the laundry should be rinsed several times, gradually decreasing the temperature for rinsing.

To disinfect linen, which is undesirable to boil, you can use bleaches and agents that destroy microbes and pathogens of various diseases. It should be remembered that repeated processing of the fabric with chemical bleaches reduces its strength. Sometimes during washing, a nuisance can happen due to our inattention: stains appear on light laundry - these are traces of faded colored laundry. The situation can be tackled in two ways. Add 3 teaspoons of "jelly water" and a coffee spoon of vinegar to 4 liters of hot water (60 - 70 ° С), mix everything thoroughly and put the painted cloth in this solution for 15 minutes. Then rinse several times, first in warm, then in cold water. This is an old proven recipe and is very effective as long as the recipe is accurate.

Cotton (Cotton) is

"Javel water" was produced on an industrial scale in the Parisian suburb of Javelier since 1789 and was intended for bleaching fabrics. Its composition is similar to TC bleach.

If the laundry is lightly stained, it is enough to fill it with hot water with the addition of soda and leave for 10 - 12 hours, then wash and rinse several times.

Cotton trade items are very durable, they tolerate high temperatures well. The peculiarity of cotton is its excellent ability to absorb moisture. The disadvantages of cotton are considered its high creasing and strong shrinkage during washing. Cotton dries for a very long time after washing.





White cotton trade items, bed linen can be machine washed at maximum temperature, colored linens at temperatures up to 60 degrees, delicate colored items at temperatures up to 30 degrees. For washing white linen, use universal detergents, for colored linen - mild detergents and products without bleach.

Cotton items can also be tumble-dried, but remember that they can shrink a lot. It is advised to hang items of trade with an ennobling finish wet to dry. Cotton fabrics are ironed with an iron and a humidifier.

It is planned to take about 36 million hectares of land for the cotton crop for the 2011/12 harvest, which is an additional 7% plus in relation to the previous year. To meet the huge cotton trade, record growth is expected in 2011 harvest cotton by 9%. This is more than 27 million tons of cotton.

Cotton is the most important raw material used in the textile industry. In the world, in percentage terms, this is about 50-60% of all raw materials. Cotton is grown in tropical and subtropical regions of the Earth:, Russia, Pakistan, Brazil, Egypt, America, and republic of peru.

The largest cotton producers are China, India, America and Pakistan. The only country in Europe with a significant 10th place in the world for growing cotton is. Cotton production in Spain is insignificant, and Turkey already belongs to Asian countries, since the main cotton plantations are located in its Asian part. The growing conditions of cotton also determine its main characteristics such as: strength, heat resistance - heat regulation, moisture absorption - hygroscopicity and elasticity.

The standard is cotton "Upland" from USA(fiber length 20 - 30 mm). The longer the cotton fibers are, the softer and softer they are. The advantage of short staple cotton is that it absorbs moisture better because it is fluffier.

Cotton (Cotton) is

The main world quality standards are possessed by cotton fabrics from America (the Mako variety produced from the seeds of the American cotton Mitafifi reaches a length of ~ 40 mm), Egypt (Abassi is considered one of the best types of Egyptian cotton), and, of course, Peruvian republic(grade "Pima").

The highest quality is possessed by the "Sea - Island" variety ("Premium Sea Island Cotton") from USA sourced from the shores of Florida, the Gulf of Mexico and the offshore islands. It is distinguished by a thin (0.016 mm) silky fiber with an average length of ~ 43 mm and reaching ~ 56 mm. The collection of this cotton is extremely small, therefore, prices it is superior to many other finished fabrics. The standard is Upland cotton from the USA (fiber length 20 - 30 mm). The longer the cotton fibers are, the softer and softer they are. The advantage of short staple cotton is that it absorbs moisture better because it is fluffier.

Cottonseeds are used to produce cottonseed oil, and on its basis, soap, glycerin, margarine, and lubricants are produced. After removing the oil, cake remains (if the oil is squeezed out by pressing) or meal (if the oil is extracted with organic solvents). This waste goes to the production of animal feed or directly to livestock feed. In some countries, this waste is used as fertilizer.


Mercerization is process based on the processing of cellulose with a concentrated NaOH solution. It is named after the English inventor John Mercer (J. Mercer-1791-1866), who first identified and investigated it. mercerization is based on the change in the properties of cellulose under the influence of alkali.


Mercerization is a special treatment of the thread, when natural burrs are removed from it - "fleece" and the thread becomes less fluffy. As a result, the fabric is refined, special strength, exquisite shine and silkiness appear. Thanks to mercerization, cotton fibers are easier to dye in bright, juicy colors. Unfortunately, often this shine, unknowingly, is perceived as an admixture of synthetic fiber. Processing cotton fabrics or other cellulose fibrous materials in the process of mercerization consists in processing fabrics with a concentrated iodine solution of alkali NaOH (usually at 15-18 ° C). With this treatment, the cotton fiber is greatly shortened and swells, it becomes smooth with a barely noticeable inner channel.


Sources of

Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia, WikiPedia

profi-forex.org - Market Leader

hors.lg.ua - All about fabrics

fomges.de - Fomges


Investor encyclopedia. 2013 .

Reading time: 6 minutes

Cotton fabric or simply cotton is the most demanded type of material in the world textile industry. What is it made of? It is made from fibers extracted from ripe fruits (capsules) of a mallow plant - cotton - and is 100% natural. Fibers are 95% cellulose, the rest is fat and mineral impurities. The main producers are China, India, America, Pakistan.

After the flowering of cotton, fruits are formed on it in the form of bolls from several departments, in which the seeds ripen. Each seed is covered with soft, finest hairs up to 50 mm long.

  1. When the seeds are ripe, the pods open and harvest begins.
  2. After the raw material is collected, the fibers are separated from seeds and debris, combed out and bleached in cotton ginning factories.
  3. Then they are sorted by length and pressed.
  4. The fibers obtained are used to make yarn for the production of fabrics and knitwear. Mostly they use plain linen, twill and satin (satin) weaves.

Fibers vary in length depending on the plant variety. The quality and type of the produced textiles directly depends on this.

The highest quality ones are long fibers (from 35 mm). They are soft and fluffy, they are used for the manufacture of thin and very smooth yarn, from which the highest quality cotton fabrics are obtained:

Medium length fibers (27-35 mm) are used to make:

Fluffy voluminous yarn is made from short cotton fibers, which is then used to produce:

Many characteristics of cotton fabric depend on its type: type of weave, thickness, density of cotton.

pros

Most of them have the following hygiene and physical properties:

  • high degree of hygroscopicity. Absorb moisture well;
  • breathability. The skin in such products "breathes";
  • mechanical strength. Are resistant to abrasion and tear;
  • low thermal conductivity. Cotton fabric is a warm material. Products made from it retain heat well and keep you warm (better than flax);
  • softness. Pleasant to the body, drape well;
  • good staining ability. When using high-quality dyes, the canvas can be given any shade that will differ in durability;
  • hypoallergenic;
  • not affected by moths.

Minuses

Disadvantages:

  • a high degree of crease and the possibility of shrinkage after washing due to the low elasticity of the fiber;
  • products made of thick cotton or, as it is also called cotton paper, dry for a long time;
  • cotton (cotton) white fabrics and products made from them can turn yellow from exposure to aggressive detergents and sunlight;
  • loss of strength under the influence of direct sunlight.

Often synthetic, linen and silk fibers are added to cotton to improve the strength characteristics and make the fabric more attractive.

VARIETIES OF COTTON FABRICS

The names of cotton fabrics come mainly from the name of their creator or the city in which he lived. But there were other options as well.

The name SITZA came to us in such a way that it is difficult even to immediately understand its original source. The Bengali name for the variegated cotton fabric "chits" (English - "chints") was converted by the Dutch to "sitz", and here it began to be called chintz.

BATIST is a thin, transparent fabric from which blouses and linen are sewn. It is obtained from high-quality thin cotton, its threads strongly twisted. The creator of this fabric is considered to be a French weaver who lived in the XIII century, François Baptiste.

For example, KOLENKOR comes from the name of the city of Kolkata. This is how much this name has been transformed, you don't even recognize it right away.

The MADAPOLAM fabric is also named after an Indian city.

There were names of fabrics and purely Russian, for example, ALEXANDROVKA, or KSANDREIKA. This fabric was very common in Russia in the 19th century. It was produced at the Aleksandrovskaya Manufactory, had a red color and was very cheap. A scarlet (less often blue) simple fabric used in Moscow Russia of the 15th - 17th centuries for sundresses (much later for flags) was called KUMACH.

BIKE (head.< стар.-фр.) - мягкая, рыхлая, тяжелая хлопчатобумажная ткань с густым двусторонним начесанным ворсом, применяется при шитье белья, детской и женской одежды.

PAPER (it.) - cotton (originally called paper) heavy fabric of twill, less often plain weave with a combed pile on the wrong side. The fabric is loose, fluffy and soft. Underwear, children's things are sewn from it.

FABRIC - strong, dense cotton fabric of plain weave. A wide calico is called a canvas. It is mainly used to make bed linen.

VELVET (English) is a durable cotton fabric with a thick, abrasion-resistant pile on the front side. Used for sewing jackets, for decorative purposes.

VELVET-KORD - has wide (about 5 mm) ribs and high pile.

VELVET-RUBCHIK - has narrow (2-3 mm) ribs and low pile.

VELVET shaped - has a pattern consisting of combinations of a smooth and brushed surface.

DENIM (French, literally “from Nimes”) is a durable cotton material used as denim. It has been known since the end of the 19th century, although it became famous for its fashion for jeans.

KOLENKOR (fr.) - light tough one-colored or bleached cotton fabric, polished, plain weave. It is used as a lining and interlining fabric when sewing clothes, in bookbinding.

CRETON (fr.) - dense tough cotton fabric with a colored pattern for upholstery and draperies.

ERASER - dense thin cotton satin weave with a smooth shiny surface. Goes mainly to sewing women's dresses.

MARKIZET (FR.) - a soft thin transparent fabric of plain weave with a silky smooth surface. Produced from cotton yarn or rayon silk.

MARLYA (FR.) - a light transparent cotton fabric of a plain weave of low density, reminiscent of a net. A similar fabric of higher density, often with a pattern, is called gauze.

MITKAL (Pers.) - unfinished (severe) lightweight cotton fabric of plain weave. It has the color of cotton fabric. It is used as a semi-finished product for the production of chintz, madapolam, calico, muslin, etc.

NABOIKA - printed cotton fabric, the pattern on which was applied using printed wooden boards in black or blue oil paint; patterns of velvet or silk fabrics with plant motifs and geometric ornaments were often repeated here. Heaps on canvas were made by Russian artisans, while the bulk of heaps were brought from abroad.

NANKA - Chinese, light yellow cotton scabbard. Named for the city in China where this fabric was created.

OXFORD - striped or plaid fabric, usually cotton, for sewing shirts, shirts. Named after the city of Oxford (England), famous for its university; it is believed that the fashion for sports shirts with stripes and a cage has gone from students.

SAILING - a very strong, dense, thick, heavy, tough fabric made of linen or cotton yarn of low numbers. Used for sewing work clothes, mittens, raincoats, shoe tops, etc.

PERCAL (fr.< перс.) -прочная тонкая хлопчатобумажная ткань. Применяется, например, для шитья наволочек, не пропускающих набивок - пух и перья.

PLUSH (German) - pile fabric with an elongated (up to 8 mm) pile on the front side; the pile can be silk, woolen and cotton, while the linen is in all cases made from cotton fabric. Used for decorative purposes, for sewing women's dresses,

REPS (fr.) Is a dense cotton or silk fabric of plain weave, on the front side of which there are narrow parallel-convex scars, in most cases running across the fabric. Thin reps are used for shirts, thick ones for decorative purposes.

GUNNY is a dense and durable fabric in which, when manufactured, squares are formed on both sides, arranged in a checkerboard pattern. Has a pleasant silky sheen, smooth surface.

SARZH (fr.) - cotton, silk and staple twill weave fabric, with a diagonal arrangement of stripes on the front side. Goes to sewing dresses, lining, etc.

SATIN (fr.) - dense thin cotton fabric of satin or satin weave. In the XV-XVII centuries. in Muscovite Rus it was called "satyn". It is currently used for the manufacture of linings, quilts tops, women's, men's and children's shirts.

CITETS (German) - lightweight cotton fabric of plain weave, obtained as a result of trimming calico. The so-called Ivanovo chintz with a pattern in a small flower on a light or dark background are widely known all over the world.

TERRY (English) - terry cloth for towels, bathrobes, etc.

TIK (Dutch) - dense cotton and linen fabric with wide colored longitudinal stripes. Used as a cover fabric.

TUALDERON (fr.) - cotton fabric, in which white threads, intertwined with black, create a gray color; resembles a calico, but denser and stronger than it. Used for sewing men's shirts and dressing gowns.

FILDEKOS (fr., Literally. "Scottish thread") - twisted cotton yarn, which looks like silk. Used to make knitwear such as stockings.

FILDEPERS (French, literally "Persian thread") - the highest grade of fildekos.

FLANEL (FR.) - cotton or woolen fabric of plain weave with double-sided pile. It goes mainly on linen, shirts, dressing gowns.

SHERSTYANKA - cotton fabric, produced by combined and patterned weaving weaves; resembles woolen fabric. Goes to sewing dresses for women and children.

The textile market provides a large selection of fabrics from fibers of various origins, but natural samples have always been and will be out of competition. Cotton fabric is one of the available and widespread fabrics of natural origin. Its field of application is sewing clothes, bed linen and other home textiles, furniture upholstery. Various methods of processing cotton threads and their weaving have made it possible to create a large assortment of cotton fabrics.

Poplin fabric

Characteristics, manufacturing

Cotton fabric is the widest range of fabrics based on plant fiber. Cotton material entered Russia in the 15th century, and already during the Soviet era, up to 75% of textile production was based on cotton.

Fun fact: Where did the name "cotton" come from? The fact is that initially in the technical literature, cotton was called "cotton paper". Perhaps this is due to the fact that when burning cotton fibers emit a papery smell.

The raw material for the material is a plant called cotton. Fibers are extracted from its fruits - hollow plant cells of various lengths (it ranges from 1 to 55 mm). Previously, this was done manually, but the laboriousness of the process prompted people to create special combines. Most cotton is now farmed by machines, with the exception of the most expensive varieties.

When the cotton is picked, it is weighed, cleaned, sorted by length, then the fibers are woven into continuous threads, from which the fabric is subsequently created.


 Floral cotton fabric

Depending on the millimeter size of the cotton raw material, the yarn is divided into short (20-27 mm), medium (28-34 mm) and long-fiber (35 mm and longer). It is impossible to make yarn from fibers shorter than 20 mm. The longer the initial raw material, the smoother and more durable the finished fabric (cambric,) will be. From short fibers, a loose, fleecy, non-uniform fabric (for example, flannel) is obtained. The bulk of cotton fabrics are made from medium-length fibers (chintz, corduroy).

Cotton fibers come in milky white, pinkish and yellow-greenish colors, which is why natural raw fabrics have such delicate shades. Cotton lends itself well to dyeing, even at home.

Views

At present, polyester, acrylic, acetate, viscose, and flax threads are added to cotton to impart new properties and improve the existing ones. Ham cotton is also often incorporated into the composition of materials, for example, wild silk, wool, etc. One of the advantages of mixing threads is cost reduction.


 Calico fabric

Types of cotton fabric are determined by the method of alternating warp and weft threads:

  1. Plain weave (or "thread through thread"). In this way, a material with a flat and smooth surface is produced; its main property and advantage over other types is high strength. Coarse calico, cambric, chintz, taffeta and others are made in linen weave.
  2. Twill weave (asymmetrical thread shift). In this way, fabrics are woven with small protrusions, dense, rough and heavy. Examples of cotton twill weave fabrics: denim, bumazey, tartan,.
  3. Satin weave (weft threads on the right side). Such materials are distinguished by a shiny surface and smoothness. An example is satin, eraser.

Cotton fabrics are also classified according to the method of finishing:

  • harsh - fabric from under the machine, without dyeing, bleaching and finishing;
  • bleached - harsh cloth after exposure to bleaches;
  • plain-colored - monochromatic;
  • printed - with a pattern;
  • multicolored - in a cage or strip;
  • - fabric made of yarn based on threads of different colors (in small specks, less often - gradient, with a gradual transition from one color to another).

Separately, it is necessary to highlight the bio-cotton fabric, or. This species is environmentally friendly. Both the cultivation and assembly of fiber and the production of matter are carried out without the use of chemicals. Organic cotton is cultivated in ecologically clean areas, collected by hand. These fabrics are natural in color, they are not dyed or bleached.

Advice! Ideal organic cotton for baby clothes, as well as for people with sensitive skin prone to irritation.

Features, application

The use of cotton fabrics in the field of sewing clothes has no boundaries. These are casual and party wear, suits, skirts, trousers, home wear, lining, etc. Cotton is indispensable for sewing home textiles.


How Plain Weave Samples Are Used:

  1. - lightweight fabric for sewing shirts, bed linen, tablecloths, summer dresses.
  2. - dense matter, the addition of artificial fibers is allowed. Suitable for making bed linen, curtains. From coarse calico, in addition to bedding, a durable lining is obtained.
  3. Batiste created from twisted yarn, this is a thin translucent fabric. Blouses, dresses, underwear are sewn from it.
  4. Veil- translucent thin matter. Dresses, blouses, scarves, veils are sewn from a veil, light veil curtains from it are popular, and hats are decorated with a veil.
  5. Poplin- fabric with a small transverse rib, obtained by weaving a thinner warp and a coarser weft. Suitable for sewing bed linen, including pillow covers (bedclothes), shirts, dresses.
  6. - dense, glossy and rather rigid material. Draped well. Scope - bulky parts of clothing and home textiles.

 Taffeta fabric

From fabrics of twill weave, good lining and drapery are obtained, as well as dense clothing:

  1. Denim is a material for sewing work or casual denim clothing.
  2. Bumazeya is a warm and soft fabric with a fleece on the inside. Shirts, dresses, warm underwear, pleasant to the body, are obtained from the material.
  3. Flannel is a sample of softness, sometimes with one-sided and double-sided fleece. Everyday clothes for children and adults are sewn from it. Flannel shirts are especially popular.
  4. Tartan - the famous fabric for Scottish kilts in a large cage. Skirts, dresses and suits are sewn from it.

Satin is a satin fabric of a new type of weave - it is distinguished by its silkiness and shine. Outwardly, matter is similar to silk. Shirts and robes are sewn from satin. Suitable for sewing light shoes. Sportswear and children's clothing is made from the eraser. Such dense samples of cotton fabrics as diptin and cretonne are suitable for demi-season outerwear and upholstery.


Jeans or denim?

The first jeans were made from French canvas, which was woven in the city of Nîmes, i.e. from de'Nim fabric - hence the name. A little later, the matter was transformed. She received her unique colorfastness in indigo, and the production of raw materials moved to American plantations. Another unique feature of jeans is that it is not the canvas that is dyed, but the warp threads. At the same time, the weft remains colorless - it forms a milky white back and leaves the smallest specks on the front side.

A ? This is a dense fabric of twill weaving, obtained from cotton raw materials of the highest standard. In this he is identical to jeans. However, denim is not necessarily woven from dyed fibers or blue.

Denim and denim are merging concepts today, as consumers love thick fabric and want to see it in a variety of colors, including prints.


Advantages and disadvantages

The properties of cotton fabric depend on the fiber itself, on the method of weaving and finishing. There are several common positive characteristics of natural cotton materials:

  1. They are pleasant to the touch, do not cause irritation.
  2. Hypoallergenic.
  3. They have a healing effect and are used in medicine.
  4. The main property that distinguishes cotton fabrics is hygroscopicity. Cotton fiber absorbs a large amount of moisture, while increasing up to 40%. The moisture-wicking property means that such clothes will be comfortable in the summer heat.
  5. Wet cotton has increased durability.
  6. Cotton is breathable. The skin in such clothes breathes.
  7. High strength allows cotton fabrics to withstand heavy loads.
  8. Keep you warm and warm.
  9. Dry quickly.
  10. Convenient for sewing: non-slip, easy to cut, cuts almost do not crumble.
  11. Elasticity - does not impede movement.
  12. At high temperatures, cotton remembers the shape in which it is located. This allows you to create the necessary folds when modeling products, as well as smooth fabric.
  13. The fabrics are affordable.

What are the disadvantages of natural cotton:

  1. Unlike synthetics, cotton has a slightly shorter lifespan.
  2. Cotton fabric wrinkles. The addition of synthetic fibers solves the problem.
  3. Poorly stretches.
  4. Matter is susceptible to microorganisms which, under suitable conditions (dampness), cause it to rot.
  5. Not resistant to aggressive cleaning agents based on alkalis and inorganic acids.
  6. At high temperatures.
  7. Organic cotton is expensive.

Care rules

To smooth out the imperfections of matter, just follow the rules for caring for it:

  1. Washing at a temperature not exceeding 60 degrees, otherwise the product will shrink.
  2. Do not use bleach on colored items.
  3. To make the product easier to iron, dry it on a hanger or flattened.
  4. Cotton is ironed on either side with steam at an iron temperature of up to 200 degrees. If heated more, the cotton will ignite.

Advice! Wash synthetics and cottons separately so that the surface of the fabric does not roll.


How to distinguish real cotton from fake:

  • when trying to tear the fabric, strong resistance is felt;
  • cotton is not electrified;
  • crumples when compressed;
  • if the fiber is ignited, a yellow flame, smoke and a characteristic papery smell appear.

If you need to sew a comfortable, breathable and hypoallergenic product, cotton fabric will come to the rescue. This canvas is truly versatile: depending on the structure of cotton, they create a variety of products, from handkerchiefs to demi-season coats. There are many reasons for purchasing cotton products, but its main advantages are naturalness and affordability.

This type of fabric, with which each of us is familiar from childhood, is an excellent representative of natural materials. Of course it's cotton. Due to its excellent qualities, it was appreciated at all times and remains incredibly in demand until now. , produced in different countries, finds application in various spheres of human life. Cotton history and properties deserve special attention, since this material has been known since time immemorial and for many millennia has gone hand in hand with man.

“Cotton has been spun, woven and dyed since prehistoric times. The population of ancient India, Egypt and China dressed in it. Hundreds of years BC, cotton textiles were woven in India with inimitable skill, and the use of cotton spread to the Mediterranean countries. "

Colombian Encyclopedia

People who lived on the banks of the Indus 7000 years ago knew how to cultivate cotton. Confirmation of this was found during archaeological excavations. In Mexico, cotton fabric began to be produced several centuries before our era. Then it came to Europe and the Greco-Roman Empire and gradually spread westward. And since the discovery of America, the active cultivation of cotton began there as well. Millions of local residents, turned into slaves, worked on the cotton plantations.

Cotton is the most widely grown crop. It is cultivated in 80 countries of the world, on five continents. Cotton accounts for 40% of the total production of fabrics in the world, ahead of wool and silk. There are about 50 species of it.

What is he like? This is nothing more than a shrub that grows from one meter to one and a half meters high. It is very thermophilic and grows well at temperatures around + 30 degrees. Although there are many types of cotton, only four are used for mass cultivation. Different types of cotton grow in different regions of the planet.

Cotton is a very interesting plant, the stage of development of which is difficult to determine: a bud (flower bud), flower, fruit (seed pod) - all this can be on a cotton bush at the same time. This box contains cotton fibers. But even the flower changes color in the process. At first, it blooms white, and after pollination it turns pink. An ordinary miracle !!!

The fact is that cotton is a hermaphrodite and pollination takes place inside the flower itself. The crucial point is that if pollination does not occur within 24 hours, then the flower withers and dies. After the flower turns into a box, there are about 50 seeds in it, which begin to produce cotton.

Cotton fruits ripen at different times. When is it harvested? The fact is that boxes with valuable cotton are constantly monitored and when they open 95% of them begin to be picked. By this time, there are practically no leaves on the bushes. This comes from the use of a special defoliant, which speeds up leaf fall. Initially, cotton has a lot of foliage, and it is quite difficult to collect bolls in this case. Therefore, they try to get rid of the leaves.

The cotton fibers grow inside the seed pod, which is divided into 3 or 5 separate nests. And each nest contains 10 to 12 seeds. After the seeds ripen, the fibers stop growing. Their length can be from 1.5 cm to 4 cm. At this time, the box dries up and opens. That's when you can start picking cotton.

Cotton plantations are sometimes just huge and in this case they use a mechanized method of harvesting. However, manual assembly is more gentle and gentle. But in one day a person can pick only about 80 kg of cotton, and a 800 kg machine only in an hour of work. The difference is very significant. For example, in Africa, entire families work on cotton plantations and live off it.

After the cotton is harvested, it is cleaned. Previously, it was done by hand, but now in special factories. In the 19th century, a machine was invented that separated seeds from fibers and was many times greater than the amount of processed material. This was truly a revolution in cotton production.

The fibers are bunched and pressed, and the seeds are not thrown away, but left for later use. Some of them are planted again, and cottonseed oil is squeezed out of the rest for cooking. The cake, obtained during processing and rich in proteins, is sent to livestock feeding.

Cotton fibers are specially classified. There are certain standards by which the quality and condition of cotton is assessed: the color and length of the fibers. The length of the fibers is measured using a special device similar to a ruler. Fiber colors are white, cream and yellow. Transparency and the degree of soiling are also some of the criteria for the quality of cotton.

A small digression into history). Previously, cotton fibers were carefully combed by hand with special combing brushes. In Britain, all this was done at home by women and children. And then they spun the thread using a spindle. The process was very long and monotonous. The spinning wheel was invented back in the 10th century, but when the amount of fine cotton fabric supplied from India to Europe flooded the market, then home hand spinning wheels could no longer cope with such a flow.

Despite the large selection of Indian cotton, British producers wanted to take the market back into their own hands. In 1760, the Jenny spinning machine was invented by James Hargreaves, which also did not cope with the volume of production. And whoever could invent a more efficient machine could get rich.

In 1764, Richard Arkwright (a barber and wig seller from the North of England) invented the ring spinning machine powered by a water wheel. It has become a real breakthrough in the production of cotton threads. And since this machine was too bulky and did not fit at all at home, special large buildings were made, which then turned into factories. They appeared in England already in 1769. And this was the beginning of mass production, for which home spinners were completely unnecessary.

With the development of production, the price of cotton has greatly decreased and has become available to almost all segments of the population. And since the time of the British Empire's conquest of Indian territory, cotton production in India itself began to decline. Over time, laws were even introduced that forced India to buy finished cotton fabric from England.

Then the cotton fibers go to the factory, where they are used to make yarn and threads. At the factory, in order to make the threads strong, they are pulled about 50 times and twisted, and sometimes synthetic fibers (polyester) are added. On special machines, fabric is made from the threads obtained.

In the process of numerous treatments, as a result, cotton becomes hydrophilic, since the fibers are deprived of the wax film that protects them from moisture. That is why cotton fabrics absorb it so well. The cotton is dyed or left unchanged. For staining, artificial ones are also used.

But it turns out that cotton can already have its own color, different from white, when grown. Other colors are obtained by crossing different varieties of cotton. They come in brown, green, and even purple!

To increase yields, many countries use a variety of chemicals, such as pesticides, to which not only pests but also people working on cotton plantations are exposed. About 20 thousand people die every year from the effects of pesticides on the body. The statistics are terrifying! Therefore, not everything is so rosy in the cotton kingdom (.

But in some countries, organic cotton is still grown, without fertilizers and harmful chemicals. It is more expensive than usual, but unfortunately, when buying in a store, you are unlikely to be told what kind of cotton is on the shelf.

Even fashionistas of the 18th century gladly wore bright and cheerful dresses on crinolines with chintz. It was then in India that they came up with a method of very high-quality dyeing of fabrics. But then there were no chemical dyes and the ladies had the opportunity to wear outfits made of very high quality materials.

A lot of different things are made from cotton threads. They are used in sewing, fabric production, knitting (hand and machine). All of us loved ones are also made of cotton fabric. In order for it to become soft and silky like satin, it is subjected to many treatments.

After the fabric is produced, it is sent to different countries to garment factories, where it is transformed into a wonderful variety of products. These are mainly the countries of the East and Asia, where labor is cheaper. And this ultimately affects the pricing of finished products.

Cotton has a number of beneficial properties:

  • It is hypoallergenic, which is why children's clothing is mainly made from cotton fabrics.
  • It is hygroscopic (absorbs moisture well).
  • It is easy to care for.
  • It lends itself well to deformation during heat treatment.
  • Possesses heat-shielding properties.
  • Convenient in sewing products.

Negative properties:

  • Wrinkles pretty quickly.
  • Shrinks during washing.
  • If you stay in direct sunlight for a long time, the cotton thread becomes thinner.
  • On contact with moisture, cotton begins to rot.
  • Does not stretch at normal temperatures.

Cotton accompanies us everywhere. It is used to make cotton wool, cotton fabrics, threads, cotton yarn, paper. The range of fabrics made from cotton is quite wide: calico, satin, chintz, cambric, lace, velvet, corduroy, flannel and others.

In order to obtain fabrics with other more wearable characteristics, cotton is interlaced with other artificial threads. Themselves, cotton fabrics are distinguished by the thickness of the thread, the method of weaving, the type of cotton.

It is quite easy to care for cotton fabric.

If you are not afraid that the fabric will shrink, then you can wash in hot water, and if you are worried, then it is better not more than 40 degrees.

Some cotton fabrics are best ironed with slightly damp to smooth out better.

Do not dry in direct sunlight to prevent fading of the fabric.

If the fabric is dyed in different colors, then the use of powder with bleach is not advisable.

Cotton fabrics are widely used in bedding, kitchen utensils, children's clothing, handicrafts, bath accessories, sleepwear, and upholstery for interiors. A lot of people around the world prefer cotton fabrics over others. And the manufactured cotton products are part of many fashionable ones.

This is such a wonderful cotton bush. Nature gives a person everything he needs. The generous land shares its riches with us, we just need to be able to take care of them and use them correctly.

Tell your friends about this wonderful plant!

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