What Is Cotton
I’m sure if you look around your home, you’ll find many products made from cotton. Try towels, t-shirts, socks, sheets, curtains. So you might already know quite a lot about this fabric. But let’s get back to the basics for a moment.
Cotton is harvested from the genus of the flowering plant called Gossypium. The plant is a shrub and grows in tropical and subtropical parts of the world. Cotton Field In Louisiana – Best Egyptian Cotton Sheets Gossypium needs plenty of sunshine, a long frost-free period, and moderate rainfall. In areas that are lacking in the rain, the necessary water is obtained from irrigation. Although there are around 50 species of Gossypium, only a handful are used for commercial purposes.
· Gossypium hirsutum aka upland cotton, which includes >90% of worldwide cotton production,
· Gossypium barbadense aka extra-long-staple cotton, giving 3-4% of world production,
· Gossypium arboreum and Gossypium herbaceum, together amounting to around 2%.
The biggest producers of cotton are China, India, the United States, Pakistan, and Brazil.
What is Egyptian Cotton
Egyptian cotton belongs to the Gossypium barbadense group. The G. barbadense species also contains other varieties, such as American pima, Indian Suvin, Chinese Xinjiang, and Sea Island cotton.
Flower of Gossypium barbadense – Best Egyptian Cotton Sheets What distinguishes them from other cottons, is the length of the cotton fiber. Egyptian cotton has either long staple (LS) or extra-long staple (ELS) fibers. But more about than a bit later.
The Gossypium barbadense flower is a delicate yellow color, while cotton itself starts forming in the bracts that remain after the fertilized flower falls off. This bract is what we call a cotton boll. A boll is home to 27 to 45 seeds and each seed grows around 10,000 to 20,000 fibers. So overall each cotton boll contains hundreds of thousands of fibers. Cotton Boll – Best Egyptian Cotton Sheets
At first Egyptian cotton was true to its name – it referred only to cotton grown in Egypt. The delta of the Nile river was an especially fertile ground for the cotton plant to prosper. This cotton was a synonym for luxury. Over time, others also wanted a piece of the luxury pie and today, the Egyptian cotton label is used more loosely. Not all cotton products that carry the label Egyptian cotton, actually come from cotton grown in Egypt. And since there is quite a lot of cotton grown in Egypt in general, not all of that cotton is actual extra-long or long staple cotton.
With time, the meaning however changed. It now covers all long staple cottons, even if the origin is not Egypt. True Egyptian cotton is thought to be superior to other types of cotton sheets available, such as Pima (or Supima) cotton.
How to choose best qualities of egyptian cotton
Cotton
is widely know as a fabric that breathes nicely.
Great
Recommendation for those who tend to run hot during the night. A breathable
fabric lets air move more freely between the threads. As a result, the sheets
will remain cool and will keep you cool also.
Another
Great quality of cotton is the fact that it loves water also has excellent
moisture-wicking qualities. This, coupled with all the excellent breathability,
makes cotton among the greatest choices for sweaty sleepers.
Cotton
Sheets become softer with every wash. It may happen that when you buy a new bed
set, the sheets seem a bit rough. You may give your sheets a wash or 2, or even
more, before laying them onto your bed.
What
Is special about Egyptian cotton is it is basic length.Egyptian Cotton has
extra-long staple fiber. This makes for higher quality sheets which are softer
and last longer.
Egyptian
Cotton is also hand-picked. This puts less strain on the fibers and they stay
straight and undamaged. If You’re looking for an extra touch of softness, keep
a watch for combed cotton. The cotton boll obviously contains fibers of various
lengths.
Egyptian
Cotton has long or extra-long staple fibers but these also have slight
differences between them.
So to
Make sure that the sheet set doesn’t contain shorter fibers, producers remove
Them by way of combing the fibers before they are spun into yarns. As a End
result, the sheet receives extra bits of softness.
