Cotton, Polyester or Both?

We have all been to the store looking for new shirts and come across the three big fabrics. Ever wonder wonder what the difference between cotton, polyester or a mix of the two mean? Take a few seconds and read on to become an expert for your next shopping trip.

Cotton
Cotton is what can called a tried and true fabric. There are several age ranges for how long it has been around but it seems that cotton was first used for fabric around 5000 bc. Cotton has some excellent properties that has made it so popular.

• Soft on the skin
• Breathes well
• Releases perspiration quickly
• Some variations can hold up to 27 times it's weight of water

The biggest drawback of cotton is that it tends to wrinkle easily but with some finishes even that can be minimized

Polyester
Compared to cotton polyester is a young contender since the first patent was in 1941 but has played a major role in clothing for many years. Polyester has been an ugly duckling since the late 1960's because of the negative public image of the double knit fabric. Polyester has some excellent benefits that include:

• Strong
• Resists stretching and shrinking
• Quick drying
• Wrinkle and mildew resistant
• abrasion resistant
• easily washed

Polyester is less comfortable to wear than cotton and because it doesn't absorb water as well it don't breath as well either.

Poly/Cotton
What happens if you take two items that have advantages to one another and mix them? If done correctly you get the best of both worlds. That's what they have done with Poly/Cotton material. With these two blended you get most of the advantages of both cotton and polyester the biggest differences are:

• Don't dry as fast as polyester but faster than cotton
• May hold more stains than polyester
• Holds less water than cotton

There are several different blends out there and they will be tagged something like 65/35 which means 65% polyester and 35% cotton. There are many other blends like 50/50 or 70/30 but just remember that the first number is polyester and the second one is cotton. The more of one material it has means that the more of its benefits it takes on. So if you want something soft that don't wrinkle then a 65/35 or 70/30 might be right for you but if your looking for a shirt that will release perspiration quickly but is strong and mildew resistant then you would want to try a 50/50 blend.

The next factor that can make a huge difference in a shirt is the weave such as microfiber which is also polyester but we will cover those in a later article.