Versatality:
Cotton can serve for food (cotton seed products) for clothing and for shelter. Cotton fibre can be spun alone or it can be blended with other textile fibres such as linen, wool, silk, viscose rayon, polyster, nylon. It serves the purpose of clothing or apparel, home furnishing and industrial fabrics by giving comfort, durability, fashion and ease for care etc
Durability: Due to natural twist cotton spins so well that it can be twisted very tightly. Hence tightly twisted yarns produce durable fabrics.
Comfort: Cotton conducts heat away from the body and allows the cooler temperature outside to reach the body, so it is a cool material for summer or tropical wear. Knitted cotton is used as comfortable wear.
Fashion rightness: Fashion designers of various countries have considered cotton glamorous enough to include in their collections.
Ease of care: The factors of light, laundering, ironing and perspiration are common consideration in color fastness to cotton.
Economy or price: Cotton materials are flexible to fit into all types of economic group. By products of cotton are used for many purposes.
Major end uses
Cotton is used for home furnishing : Towels are most common as it is high in absorbency, wide range of colors, washability and durability. Sheets and pillow cases are mostly blends of cotton with polyester or made of pure cotton. Drapes, curtains and upholstery fabrics are made of cotton and its blends. Since cotton can be autoclaved at high temperatures, absorbency, washability and low static build up are important factors for use of cotton in hospitals. Industrial uses include book bindings, luggages, and hand bags, shoes and, slippers, tobacco cloth, woven wiping cloths as and wall covering fabrics.
Wide range of wearing apparels: blouses, shirts, dresses, children wear, active wear, separates swimwear, suits, jackets, skirts, pants, sweaters, hosiery, bedspreads, comforters, throws, sheets, towels, table cloths, table mats, napkins.
Cotton continues to be the world’s major textile fibre despite of many synthetics. It is the oldest and most versatile of all fibres with good properties when blended with other fabrics. The main reason for use of cotton is its good weaving qualities, low cost, high absorption, excellent, abrasion, stability to repeated blending. It can be safely ironed even at high temperature of 425 degrees F. It has excellent wash and wear and wrinkle resistance and also good if resin treated
