What kind of fabrics should I use?

Cotton-Based

Cotton is a natural fiber with a soft and fluffy texture, which grows around the seeds of the Cotton plants. Depending on how you process the Cotton, the texture and persistence of the fabric differ. There are 4 main subtypes: Cotton, Combed-Cotton, Ringspun Cotton and Organic Cotton. These fibers are often combined together. For example, the combination of ringspun and combed-cotton makes an amazing quality fabric ‒ regardless if it is organic or not.

Cotton

The most basic Cotton is made in two steps. First, soft vegetable fibers are twisted together to make a yarn. Then, the material is constructed by weaving the yarn together. This material is relatively cheaper than other subtypes, which makes it popular among Fast Fashion manufactures.

Combed Cotton

Combed Cotton goes through extra combing processes before the yarn is constructed. The combing process removes all the short fibers, which are prone to breakage. As the fibers are longer, it allows the Cotton to be more robust with longer life.

Ringspun Cotton

Ringspun Cotton is made by spinning, twisting, and thinning the Cotton strands. This procedure produces soft, durable and extremely fine Cotton.

Organic Cotton

Organic Cotton is, as you can guess, processed without using any synthetic agricultural chemicals ‒ such as pesticides that harm the environment and moreover our health. Organic Cotton differs from Non- Organic Cotton in that the seed is treated during the harvesting process.

Blended

Blended fabrics refer to a unique kind of fabric, created using a mixture of two or more different fibers. One of the most common combinations is hybriding natural and synthetic fibers.

Polycotton

As you can see from the name, Polycotton is a blend of Cotton and Polyester. The combination helps iron out the kinks, you could say, of each material. While pure Cotton shrinks or changes shape and pure Polyester lacks breathability, Polycotton is the more durable and breathable lovechild of them both. The ratio of natural to synthetic varies. For example, normally the combination is 50/50, but when the proportion of Cotton is higher, it becomes the perfect canvas for printing!

Triblend

Triblend is made by adding an extra fibre, called Rayon, to the Polycotton blend. Rayon is a semi- synthetic fibre and by adding it to the combination of Polyester and Cotton, the material becomes much softer. That being said, the combination of the 3 fibers lessens the boldness of color when printing. However, nowadays, newer fabrication techniques put the cotton in the upper layer, and as the ink fixes on the Cotton, this color problem is solved.

Polyester-Spandex

Polyester and Spandex are both synthetic fibers. Combining the stretchiness of Spandex and the durability of Polyester makes the mixture perfect for active sportswear.

Organic Fabrics (Besides Organic Cotton)

We call a fabric ‘Organic’ when it is grown in the earth without the use of any chemicals such as pesticides, for at least three years. There are several types of fabrics that apply to this section.

Bamboo

Quite obviously, made from the Bamboo plant, Bamboo fabric is highly breathable and often stretchier than Cotton. This fabric is popularly used for garments that have direct skin contact as its texture is soft.

Tencel Lyocell

Lyocell is a form of Rayon, whilst Tencel is a branded Lyocell fiber that is produced from wood pulps. This type of fiber is strong, great at absorbing moisture and smooth. It combines well with other fibers such as Cotton, Polyester and Wool.

Viscose

Viscose is another type of Rayon fibre made from natural sources. Viscose is sustainable and has a low environmental impact as it ́s made of sustainable wood and pulp.

Recycled

The Fast Fashion industry generates a lot of textile waste, which takes a serious toll on the environment. Using biodegradable fabrics is one way  to solve this, but we can also create a better and more sustainable solution by recycling the materials.

Recycled Cotton

Used Cotton fabric is shredded down to the Cotton fiber to be re-used in other textile products. The shredded Cotton is sorted into colours during this process, rendering it unnecessary to redye the final fabric. The shredding process shortens and weakens the fibers, which makes it difficult to recycle several times over.

Recycled Polyester (Blended with Organic Cotton)

While Polyester is known for being a strong and durable material, it is not so eco- friendly (unless it is blended with Organic Cotton) as it is made out of plastic, which degrades with difficulty. By recycling them, we can reuse the plastic waste that would have ended up in the landfill! However, it must be said that recycling Polyester can be complicated, as it is usually already blended with other materials.