What is Poly cotton?

You have probably worn a garment composed of a polyester-cotton blend at some point in your life. The rationale for this is that the properties of this material make it less expensive to utilize.

Poly cotton is a common fabric that is widely utilized in the tactical field. Its numerous exceptional characteristics make it an excellent material for tactical clothes.

Cotton vs. Polyester

Cotton: is a soft, fluffy staple fiber (fibers of different, varying lengths) that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus Gossypium and spun into a yarn then woven to create a soft, durable fabric.

Cotton is comfortable and breathable. It is hypoallergenic. All of these properties make cotton the natural fiber of choice for nonwoven hygiene products, from feminine pads to baby care and adult incontinence.

But cotton has an even greater array of attributes suitable for a variety of nonwoven applications. In the fiber world, the strength of cotton is considered moderate to above average. The strength (tenacity) of cotton is 3.0-5.0 grams/denier when dry. This fiber is unique in that its strength increases when wet to 3.3–6.0 grams/denier. Cotton has a natural moisture recovery rate of 8.5% under normal temperature and humidity conditions. It also features a heterogeneous length distribution.

Polyester: is a synthetic fiber derived from coal, air, water, and petroleum. “Long-chain polymers chemically consisting of at least 85% by weight of an ester, a dihydric alcohol, and a terephthalic acid” is how polyester is frequently defined. Polyesters are easily flammable at high temperatures. Due to its wrinkle-resistance capacity, it is widely spun with other natural fibers.

Polyester is hydrophobic. For this reason, polyester fabrics don’t absorb perspiration or other fluids, leaving the wearer with a moist, clammy feel. Polyester fibers typically have a low level of wicking. Relative to cotton, polyester is stronger, with a greater ability to stretch. Fiber strength can range from 2.5 grams/denier to 9.5 grams/denier.

Environmentally concerned purchasers frown on polyester use. Since it’s a man-made fiber derived from petroleum-based products, polyester is not considered sustainable, nor is it biodegradable.

Cotton and polyester are often mixed to create garments with qualities that neither material can accomplish on its own. A fabric made from a poly cotton blend combines the strengths of the two fibers.

Polycotton fabric is manufactured by combining the natural fiber cotton with the synthetic or manmade fiber, polyester.

History of poly cotton

The earliest recorded mentions of cotton date back roughly 7,000 years ago. It was available in most places around the world by the 16th Century.

Cotton use really took off with the dawning of the Industrial Revolution in the 1700s. In fact, the arrival of that era was ushered in by the invention of a machine to separate the seeds of the harvested cotton plant from the valuable fibers. Cotton went on to become the most well-known fabric in the apparel industry.

There was also polyester. It has a far more recent pedigree than cotton. Polyester was discovered by British chemists John Rex Whinfield and James Tennant Dickson during a period when synthetic fibers were becoming more popular economically. Terylene was the trade name for polyester, but it was also known as Dacron.

Why Poly Cotton?

Mixing polyester and cotton gives people the ‘best of both worlds’ in terms of features and benefits. Here are a few illustrations of why polycotton has become so popular.

Wrinkle resistant
Tear-resistant
Shrink resistant
Cost (affordability)
Comfortable
Breathable
Strong and Durable fabric
Easy to care for
lower maintenance
Keeps Dyes in Place
Softer Material
Can be washed more often.

Types of Poly Cotton

There are different types of poly-cotton blend proportion (combinations), and they have different properties.

50/50 Blend Yarn: is most popular in this industry because of a balance between breathability and durability.

2. CVC Yarn:(Chief Value of Cotton yarn) in a cotton polyester blended yarn, when the amount of cotton fiber is more than polyester fiber it is called CVC yarn. The ratio of cotton fiber is always above 50%.

Example: 30 s/1 Ne (65/35) CVC Yarn means it is a 30-count single-ply cotton-polyester blended yarn where the ratio of cotton fiber to polyester fiber is 65:35.

3. PC Yarn:the amount of polyester fiber is higher than cotton fiber. It is a cheaper poly-cotton made up for mainly polyester.

Example: 30 s/1 (60/40) Ne PC Yarn means it is a 30-count single-ply cotton-polyester blended yarn where the ratio of polyester fiber to cotton fiber is 60:40.

How is Poly Cotton Processed?

The fusing of the fibers can be done at either the fiber stage or at the yarn stage. Although it results in a slightly more expensive fabric, combining them at the fiber stage tends to give a more superior quality.

To produce a polycotton yarn, the fibers must be blended before they reach a ring frame machine as roving. This blending process can mainly be done in two ways.

A. Fiber Blending

The quantity of cotton and polyester bales are listed in the laydown in the blowroom utilizing bale management according to the proportion of cotton and polyester fibers in the yarn. Following this, the two fibers are sequentially run through a fiber pluckering machine (often a Uniflock (Rieter) or Blendomat (Trutzschler) machine) and a series of ever more sophisticated cleaning devices. At mixing devices, most commonly referred to as Unimix (Rieter) or Multimixer (Trutzschler) machines, fibers are blended uniformly.

Fiber blending is the name given to this form of mixing or blending. Card slivers that have undergone this form of mixing can be produced. After that, the spinning flow chart is repeated until the ring frame machine creates yarn that is a blend of PC and CVC.

B. Sliver Blending

Cotton and polyester fibers are handled separately in this procedure from the blowroom to the carding stage. Then, cotton and polyester are used to create the individual card slivers. The polyester carded slivers are next passed through a one-phase draw frame known as the pre-pass phase to maintain the best possible sliver hank in order to enable better mixing. The slivers are then combined in a breaker draw frame using the necessary blend ratio. Slivers are doubled, sketched, and blended to the necessary ratio in a draw frame. The traditional spinning procedure is then carried out on a ring frame machine to create PC or CVC yarn.

Numerous tests have revealed that silver blending performs marginally better than fiber blending. Compared to fiber blending, silver blending allows for more exact maintenance of the cotton to polyester ratio.

Uses of Poly Cotton

Poly cotton fabrics are used in all kinds of sectors because they are easy, reliable and cost effective.

The most common practical applications of polycotton in today’s world are:

Fashion clothing:make it the go-to fabric material for clothing manufacturers globally.
Uniforms:Poly cotton is possible for workers to wear clothing that is breathable and absorbs moisture in demanding work settings when they become hot and perspire a lot.
Household textiles:is a versatile fabric material used for a range of textile products in virtually all homes. Examples include bed linen (fitted sheets, pillowcases), curtains, tablecloths, and more.