Contents
Egyptian, Pima, Supima, organic – and what long staple really means.
From the flax stem to Belgian, French and Irish linen.
Percale, sateen, twill, jacquard, muslin – drawn thread by thread.
Thread count, fabric weight, staple length and other terms, minus the marketing.
Washing, drying, ironing, stains, storage.
Egypt, Belgium, France, Ireland, India, Portugal, Italy.
Egyptian clothing and textiles: cotton, linen, weaving and traditional dress.
An interactive comparison of eight materials.
A one-page profile of each main fabric.
Every article, in the order it was written.
Section
Nine terms you will find on labels and in fabric descriptions. What they mean, how they are measured, and what they cannot tell you.
threads per square inch
The total number of warp and weft threads per square inch. It tells you how densely the fabric is woven, not how good the fibre is. Under the technical definitions a plied thread counts as one – figures above a thousand usually come from counting its plies separately.
GSM, g/m²
The mass of one square metre of fabric. It tells you whether a fabric is light or heavy; it says nothing directly about durability or softness.
fibre length
The length of the individual fibres in the raw material. For cotton, the most important indicator of quality: longer fibre allows a finer, smoother and stronger yarn.
how warp and weft interlace
The rule by which the warp and weft cross each other. It determines sheen, drape, strength and creasing. The basic weaves are plain, twill and satin.
the raw material of yarn
The raw material from which yarn is spun. We distinguish natural fibres (cotton, linen, wool, silk), fibres regenerated from natural cellulose (viscose, modal, lyocell) and synthetic fibres (polyester, polyamide). In the EU, only the names listed in Annex I of Regulation (EU) No 1007/2011 may be used on labels.
dimensional change in washing
The reduction in size after washing. In cotton and linen it is caused mainly by the release of tension put into the threads and the fabric by weaving and finishing, and by heat and agitation in the tumble dryer. Pre-washing or a pre-shrinking finish reduces it considerably. If you sew, wash fabric bought by the metre before cutting it.
A dedicated article is in preparation.
air and vapour permeability
A fabric’s ability to let air and water vapour through. It depends on the fibre (cellulose fibres absorb moisture, polyester hardly at all) and on the weave and density: an open linen breathes better than a dense sateen.
abrasion, tension, washing
A fabric’s ability to withstand abrasion, tension and repeated washing. Linen is one of the strongest natural fibres; in cotton, durability increases with staple length. Weaves with long floats (sateen) are more sensitive to abrasion than plain weave.
A dedicated article is in preparation.
absorb, spread, evaporate
How a fabric absorbs sweat, spreads it and releases it into the air. Cotton and linen absorb moisture into the fibre; linen also evaporates it quickly, which is why it feels cool. Polyester does not absorb moisture but can spread it across its surface – the principle behind sports jerseys.
A dedicated article is in preparation.
Last checked 12 October 2026. How we correct errors