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 climates and absorbs perspiration in hot and humid climates. It is hypoallergenic and is the fabric of choice for people with sensitive skin.

Although clothing made of cotton does wrinkle and shrink, it is easy to care for and can be machine washed. Designer children’s clothing, as well as men’s and women’s designer cotton clothing that has particular finishes, trims, and dyes, can be dry cleaned. The fabric is strong, durable and easy to mend. It smoothly covers the body without sticking, and can be printed and dyed in a range of colours. These qualities have made cotton the most used fabric for making clothes in the world. What could be better?

mercerized cotton

When cotton yarn or fabric is mercerized, some of the above qualities are greatly improved. Clothes made with this cotton have a softer touch and are brighter 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 weather than conventional cotton. This ability also allows treated fibers to better absorb and retain dyes and exhibit richer, more brilliant colors and patterns. Clothing made with 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 calls for the use of the best quality long staple cotton such as Egyptian, Sea Island or Pima greige to achieve the best results. The latter is one of the reasons why this is one of the favorite fabrics used to make designer clothes for children, as well as stylish and elegant clothes for men and women. Both the mercerization process and the quality of the raw products used make the product much better and the purchase and value of the clothing better than clothing made with conventional cotton.

What does mercerization do to cotton fiber?

Mercerized cotton is made by briefly immersing pretreated (singed, defatted, bleached, etc.) cotton threads or cotton fabric in a strong sodium hydroxide solution under tension and then washing the thread or fabric to clean it. This chemical treatment modifies and improves the physicochemical surface and internal structure of cotton fibers.

Mercerization under stress causes cotton fibers to swell irreversibly. This swelling causes the flat, twisted bean-shaped fibers to uncoil and become permanently cylindrical, straight and almost circular like a tube. Cotton fiber cross sections can be increased by up to 50%. As cell walls swell, the exposed surface area of ​​the cell wall and the size of the pore in the cell wall increase significantly. In addition, the fibrous secondary cell walls and cell contents become more solid, gelatinous, and translucent. These physical changes are directly related to the increase in brightness, strength, durability and the affinity of the cotton fiber for moisture and dyes.

Unlike the flat, twisted shape of conventional cotton fibers, the smooth, rounded cylindrical shape of swollen cotton fibers (manufactured under tension) is similar to thousands of polished surfaces that receive and reflect light. And with a new translucent, gelatinous interior that prevents light absorption, the soft round fibers of reflective cotton take on a lustrous shine.

As the fibers swell and unwind during the mercerization process, the previously twisted fibers relax and soften. Simultaneously with swelling, the cellular material within the fibers becomes more compact. This change strengthens the cotton fiber making it better able to resist stretching and tearing and makes it more durable and able to hold its shape.

The mercerization process alters the fiber so that it absorbs more water at the surface of the expanded crystalline cell wall and absorbs more water into 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 the color penetration more durable and pronounced than conventional cotton.

Why buy?

Thanks to John Mercer’s discovery of the basic process over 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 more. easy to care for than common cotton. dresses. Although it is usually more expensive than ordinary cotton garments, it is a better buy for savvy shoppers.