How do you identify the quality of cotton? (2024)

Cotton being one of the most sought after fabrics in the world, often comes along with a lot of confusion with regard to the identification of its quality. For most of the world, the struggle to identify high quality cotton fabric is as real as you and us! And if you happen to be one of them, we are here to help you out!

The first impression goes a long way, be it people or fabrics! When it comes to judging the quality of cotton, the first impression usually accounts for the look and feel of the fabric. High quality cotton is often characterised by being soft and smooth to the touch, sturdy in feel and consistent in colour. Hence, more often than not, the quality of cotton becomes very evident to the naked eye itself!

On a deeper level, the most fundamental characteristic of cotton is the length of its fibres, also known as staples, and the fineness of their combing. Finely combed, long fibre cotton fabrics are in general considered to be of high quality. The fabrics are the most durable beauce of their finer yarn, which makes them pretty strong. Additionally, they are very soft to touch and can be manipulated to determine the required breathability of the final fabric.

Most garment brands that use good quality cotton also advertise extensively about the same. An “ELS” mark on fabric or on the brand’s description signifies that the fabric is made of “Extra Long Staple”, and hence can be trusted to be very durable and of the highest quality. This can specially come in handy when shopping online, where you cannot touch or feel the fabric firsthand! Do look out for an ELS mark during your next shopping session!

However, if you do get a chance to examine the fabric in your hands, an optic or light test might just help you identify the quality of cotton. Holding the fabric against a source of light, you can analyse the amount of light that passes through the fabric. If a considerable amount of light does pass through it, it is a sign of a very transparent fabric, which in turn is not considered to be of good quality and is not very durable in the long run! Hence, you might want to avoid buying fabrics that are not opaque enough.

Finally, the pattern of the cotton threads is another good indicator of the quality of fabric. If the row pattern of the threads is uneven or irregular, the fabric would not be very durable, with a questionable quality. Hence, finely woven, regular threads is something you might want to look for!

This is just the guide for your next shopping trip, especially if you are as vary of the quality of your cotton fabric as we are!