| What is a Thread Count Refers to the number of threads, both vertical and horizontal, in a one-inch square of fabric. Thread count is affected by a number of factors, including ply and thickness of the threads used. The ply of the fabric refers to how many threads are wrapped together into a single thread. Single-ply fabrics use threads on their own, while two-ply fabrics twist two pieces together into a stronger thread, as well as doubling the thread count of the fabric. Using finer threads also allows for more thread to fit in a square inch. Finer thread often results in smoother, softer fabrics, part of the reason high thread count fabrics are considered more desirable than fabrics with a low thread count. Finer thread also results in a more fragile fabric, however, which may not always be ideal. Two-ply fabrics help solve this problem somewhat by strengthening the threads and creating a more durable, though heavier, fabric. |
| Egyptian Cotton, A Sign of Approval Look out for this Kite Mark as this is the ony guarantee that you will have that your products are 100% made from the best egyptian cotton yarns and made entirely in Egypt. All of our products are 100% genuine and made entirely in Egypt using the best yarns availble from the famous Nile Delta regions of Egypt. Well regarded to be the best cotton in the world, don't settle for anything else. |  |
| What is Percale Bedlinen This is an industry recognised minimum threads per square inch. As explained in the previous paragraph on "thread count" we reach on the "weft" a hundred threads and on the "warp" we reach eighty threads. When added we reach 180 threads per square inch. The term Percale is added to any fabric that reaches this minimum standard. |
| Why Have Your Bedlinen Mercerised? Mercerisation, a textile process named after its inventor, the English chemist John Mercer (1791-1866), was first developed in 1844. In 1889 Horace Lowe discovered the additional effect of enhancing the lustre by stretching the swollen materials while wet with caustic alkali and then washing off. Mercerization is a finishing process used to produce high quality fabrics, such as damasks. It consists essentially of impregnating stretched cotton with caustic soda (although other alkalis may be used). The treatment enhances the lustre of cotton (the fibres are swelled), making it similar to silk. It also increases the fibre strength and affinity for dyes. A related process (liquid ammonia treatment) produces some of the effects of mercerization. Double mercerization means both the yarn and the knitted fabric are mercerized. |
| Why Have Your Bedlinen Sanforised? A manufacturing process invented by Sanford Cluett in 1933, sanforisation is a treatment applied to fabric to reduce cloth shrinkage after washing. During the sanforising process, the fibres of the cotton fabric are stretched both in length and in width so that cloth that is washed and dried will not shrink much. |
| Why is your Duvet Measured in TOG (unit) The tog is a measure of thermal resistance, commonly used in the textile industry, and often seen quoted on, for example, duvets. The Shirley Institute in Britain developed the tog as an easy-to-follow alternative to the SI unit of m2K/W. Launched in the 1960s, the Shirley Togmeter is the standard apparatus for rating thermal resistance of textiles, commonly known as the Tog Test. A tog is 0.1 m2K/W. In other words, the thermal resistance in togs is equal to ten times the temperature difference (in °C) between the two surfaces of a material, when the flow of heat is equal to one watt per square metre. Lightweight summer duvet: 4.5 tog Spring/Autumn weight duvet: 9.0 - 10.5 tog Winter weight duvet: 12.0 - 13.5 tog |
