Mercerized cotton: a better buy for smart shoppers
Casual and formal clothing made from 100% cotton has many advantages. It can be used all year round and is soft and comfortable. It retains body heat in cold weather and absorbs perspiration in hot and humid weather. It is hypoallergenic and is the fabric of choice for people with sensitive skin.
Although clothing made of cotton wrinkles and shrinks, it is easy to care for and is machine washable. Designer children’s clothing, as well as designer cotton clothing for men and women that have particular finishes, trims and dyes, can be dry cleaned. The fabric is strong, durable and easy to darn. Gently covers the body without sticking, and can be printed and dyed in a variety of colors. These qualities have made cotton the most widely used clothing fabric in the world. What could be better?
Mercerized cotton
When cotton yarn or fabric is mercerized, some of the above qualities are greatly enhanced. Clothes made with this cotton have a softer touch and are more lustrous than conventional ones. As a result of the treatment, it has a higher moisture absorption capacity and is more comfortable to wear in hot and humid climates than conventional cotton. This ability also enables the treated fibers to better absorb and retain dyes and display richer, brighter colors and prints. Clothing made from mercerized fabric is stronger and more durable, and is less likely to shrink or lose shape or color after multiple washes.
The treatment process generally requires the use of higher quality, long staple cotton such as Egyptian, Sea Island or Pima greige products to achieve the best results. The latter is one of the reasons why this is one of the favorite fabrics used to make designer children’s clothing, as well as elegant and exclusive clothing for men and women. Both the mercerization process and the quality raw products used make the product much better and a better purchase and value of clothing than clothing made with conventional cotton.
What does mercerization do to cotton fiber?
Mercerized cotton is made by briefly dipping pre-treated cotton yarns (singed, washed, bleached, etc.) or cotton fabric in a strong sodium hydroxide solution under tension and then washing the yarn or fabric until clean. This chemical treatment modifies and improves the physicochemical surface and the internal structure of cotton fibers.
Mercerization under tension causes the cotton fibers to swell irreversibly. This swelling causes the flat, twisted, bean-shaped fibers to unwind and become permanently cylindrical, straight, and nearly circular like a tube. Cotton fiber cross sections can increase by up to 50%. As the cell walls swell, the exposed surface of the cell wall and the size of the pores in the cell wall increase significantly. Additionally, the fibrous secondary cell walls and cell contents become more solid, gelatinous, and translucent. These physical changes are directly related to the increased brightness, strength, durability and affinity of the cotton fiber for moisture and dyes.
Unlike the flat, twisted shape of conventional cotton fibers, the smooth, rounded cylindrical shape of puffed cotton fibers (made under tension) are similar to thousands of polished surfaces that receive and reflect light. And with a new gelatinous, translucent interior that prevents light absorption, the soft, round, reflective cotton fibers take on a lustrous sheen.
When the fibers swell and unwind during the mercerization process, the previously twisted fibers relax and soften. Simultaneously with the swelling, the cellular material within the fibers compacts more strongly. This change strengthens the cotton fiber making it better able to resist stretching and tearing and making it more durable and able to hold its shape.
The mercerization process alters the fiber so that it adsorbs more water on the surface of the expanded crystalline cell wall and absorbs more water in the spaces within the fiber through the enlarged pores. With this modification, the mercerized fiber absorbs more perspiration and improves wearing comfort. Also, dyes are more easily absorbed.
making color penetration longer and more pronounced than conventional cotton.
Why buy?
Thanks to John Mercer’s discovery of the basic process more than a century and a half ago, today we can enjoy this luxurious fabric that makes cotton clothing more comfortable to wear, more attractive, more durable, of higher quality and easier to care for. than normal cotton. dresses. Although it is usually more expensive than ordinary cotton garments, it is a better buy for smart shoppers.
