Have you ever wondered what processes cotton fibers undergo before becoming your favorite t-shirt? Here's a brief summary of the processes that produce two types of cotton that are very common in the promotional clothing industry: carded cotton and combed cotton .
Carded cotton is cotton processed to remove impurities, thin the yarn fibers, and align them for easier workability. This type of cotton owes its name to the machine used to process it, called a carder, after the thistle plant, whose dried inflorescences were once used by wool workers for this purpose. The carder processes the fibers with machines equipped with rotating cylinders with metal teeth, which reduce them to a flat, very thin fabric called a carder's sliver.
Carded cotton is durable and comfortable, and is primarily used to produce inexpensive promotional clothing. However, to obtain a better quality cotton and therefore a more valuable product, it can be combed, a further process performed after carding, at the end of which the carded cotton is transformed into combed cotton . This latter type of cotton is fine to the touch, as well as lighter and cooler than carded cotton, making it suitable for garments such as t-shirts and spring and summer sweatshirts . Before the Industrial Revolution, combing was done by hand, using combs with one or two sets of teeth. Currently, this process involves further aligning the fibers and selecting the longest ones, preventing the phenomenon of piling. The shorter fibers are discarded and used to make further carded fabric. On an industrial level, the products of this process are called tops. After obtaining the tops, the roving in the machine is twisted, making the yarn more resistant and uniform. Twisting, the process that allows us to obtain the so-called " twisted combed cotton ", involves the twisting of two or more threads at the same time and gives greater strength and body to the fabric.
Still curious? Check out our selection of combed cotton T-shirts!
