r/Fabrics

Cotton is not just cotton.

The things that matter are fiber quality and fabric construction.

The biggest quality difference is fiber length.

Short-staple cotton uses shorter fibers, which means:

rougher texture
more pilling
faster wear
loses shape quicker

Long-staple and extra-long-staple cotton use longer fibers, which create:

smoother fabric
better durability
less pilling
softer feel
better color retention

Here are the main cotton types:

Regular Cotton
Standard everyday cotton. Cheap, practical, but usually pills and wears faster.

Pima Cotton
Extra-long-staple cotton that feels smoother and softer. Great for quality basics and premium T-shirts.

Supima Cotton
Certified American Pima cotton with verified origin and traceability. Strong, soft, and holds color extremely well.

Egyptian Cotton
Known for luxury bedding and shirting. Very smooth and breathable, but heavily faked in the market. Real Egyptian cotton is expensive.

Organic Cotton
About farming methods, not softness or durability. Better environmentally, but still depends on fiber quality and construction.

Combed Cotton
Cotton that’s mechanically combed to remove short fibers. Smoother and cleaner than regular cotton. Most good T-shirts use combed cotton.

Construction matters as much as the fiber itself.

The same cotton can become completely different fabrics:

Jersey - soft stretch knit used for T-shirts

Poplin - crisp dress-shirt fabric

Oxford Cloth - textured casual shirting

Twill - durable diagonal-weave fabric used for chinos

Denim - heavy cotton twill designed for durability

Sateen - smoother, slightly shiny luxury fabric

Seersucker - puckered summer fabric that keeps airflow between skin and cloth

Flannel / Brushed Cotton - soft warm fabric brushed for texture

A few practical things:

“100% cotton” tells you almost nothing about quality
Long-staple cotton is almost always worth paying more for
Construction changes how fabric behaves more than people realize
Organic doesn’t automatically mean luxurious
Heavyweight cotton usually lasts longer than ultra-thin cotton

Match the fabric to the purpose_

Soft jersey for comfort.
Poplin for structure.
Denim for durability.
Seersucker for heat.
Long-staple cotton when you actually want pieces to age well.

Need help finding this particular fabric

My short manufacturer in Pakistan doesn’t know (or won’t tell me) the fabric percentages of this particular fabric, he calls it ‘FATA plain polyester aka super soft’ supposedly 100% polyester he once mentioned. It is a two way stretch and works very well for swim shorts.

Does anyone recognise this fabric and or know the fabric percentage make up?

This was purchased in Nov 2025 but I didn't actually start wearing it until February since it was so cold.

It became a favorite dress and I wear it multiple times a month. The last 3 washes I've noticed its condition getting worse and worse.

There's a possibility I washed this with fabric softener one time, but this happened about my third or fourth time EVER washing it.

Always cold water gentle cycle, hang to dry, which is exactly the instructions on the label. Emailed EF support, all they did was reiterate the label instructions.

Thank you in advance for your help. Pic in comments maybe???!!! The add photo icon isn't working on my phone right now!!!! But it looks CHALKY, PILLY, DULL, FADED!!!!!!

i bought some drapey, light weight fabric with "italian silk couture collection" printed at the edges, and thought it would be great for summer, but when i did the burn test it melted just like polyester, with no dust in sight.

i'm not sure if i should throw it away or what. i really hope there's something special about it being italian that will make it breathable and perfect for the summer or something. if not; it was too smooth and really hard to sew anyways.

Hey guys! I'm making a shirt out of a 70 lea linen fabric & I'm looking for all natural floating interlining material suggestions. I've tried cotton organdy but it turned out to be stiffer than expected & doesn't match the flow of linen. Any help would be appreciated

Needing more cottons, linen and wool clothing so I can get rid of my polyesters etc. where can I buy work and daily clothing that’s 100% those materials? Preferably online and affordable

Has anyone *successfully* hemmed a chiffon or satin dress by cutting it and simply sealing the raw edge with fray check?

(No sewing - quick fix)

I posted in another subreddit about a problem I'm having with my jeans. I got a lot of advice so I don't really need more, but some of the answers I've gotten makes me wonder if the cotton itself is a problem?

Long story short, I bought 4 pairs of jeans in February and 3 of them have already developed holes in the materials, not the stitches.

I have an older pair of jeans that get treated exactly the same as the other jeans and is holding up just fine.

Some people have said it's "enshittification" and it could be but the older jeans have a lower cotton percentage than the new ones do. Doesn't a higher cotton percentage mean they should hold up better?

Long story short, I'm just wondering if the cotton itself has gone down in quality.

I want to make/buy mesh bags that have a maximum hole size of 0.1 mm or less.

I am conducting an experiment that will involve leaving the mesh on the forest floor all summer with decomposable materials inside the bag. I want to exclude all insects from entering the bag, but I want bacteria and fungi to be able to get it in.

Any suggestions for where I can find mesh/mesh bags with 0.1 mm hole size that is non-biodegradable?

Needing more cottons, linen and wool clothing so I can get rid of my polyesters etc. where can I buy work and daily clothing that’s 100% those materials? Preferably online and affordable

I’m in the early stages of transitioning my wardrobe. I want to avoid clothing pieces that are mixed fabrics and I want to avoid clothing pieces that are synthetic fabrics. I previously wore a lot of ribbed halter neck tops and bodycon crewneck dresses from Fashion Nova, and I want to find a few new pieces that are similar in style and comfort but upgraded in quality and material.

What are some links to clothing brands where I can find dresses and tops that are pretty, somewhat form-fitting and/or somewhat stretchy, and 100% cotton? Not 92% cotton 8% elastane, not 95% cotton 5% spandex, but 100% cotton. Is it even realistic to have that form-fitting/stretchy element to a piece without adding spandex or elastane?

I'm thinking of writing the MS Fabric certification exam.What are all the things I should know before booking a slot to write the exam.

Hey guys. I just spray painted my car mats and I wanted to put a heart design on it, but the tape I used didn’t cover enough I guess and you can see so in the image. Anything I can do to remove that but keep the rest of the paint on?

Hey i hope everyone is doing well , i have a plan to make my own fabric i need a factory that hires a advanced team to help me with my vision

What does ‘modal_tencil’ mean in the description? Is this fabric suitable for everyday wear, or is it entirely synthetic? I am fine with the elastane. I thought modal and tencel were separate fabrics.

Amazon Essentials Men's Long Sleeve Super Soft Modal Undershirt https://a.co/d/03JfgRHl

Hi! First post here, so sorry I'm missing a rule or something with this post.

I've been trying to find fabric in a certain color for a few months now with little success. It's for a gold trim (old gold, PMS: 4515) on a piece of different white fabric that's machine embroidered (the color of the embroidery thread matches that of the target well).

I've searched my local Michaels, Joann (back when it was still around), and Hobby Lobby, as well as the websites of those stores, some businesses in my town, and a bunch of wholesale distributors. They all have golds and yellows, but they're all so distinctly different from the reference color that they look bad next to each other. I've tried using custom Spoonflower prints, but the color always turns out off. Is there a different/better approach to find this fabric?

Hello,

So recently I got some new T-Shirts made of Pima Cotton from a brand called True Classic because my old T-Shirts were a little too small, probably from being washed and dried at too high a temperature over time

The new shirts are very nice and comfortable, and you can really tell that the cotton is far better quality, however there's a slight problem when washing at a low temperature and letting them air-dry - debris clings to them very, very easily

So when I went to collect them all and add them back to my wardrobe, I always notice that hair and debris has clung to them and I have to brush them off all the time, and just wondered why. I assume it's not the material itself, is it because air-drying has that effect? How could I prevent it?

I also recently got some socks made of Bamboo from Giovici (sounds fancy, but they're very cheap, 15 for 5 pairs). However also after washing them at a low temperature and letting them air dry with my shirts, they have a worse problem - they don't retain their shape at all and crumple up like leaves. Is that something that could be improved?

Thank you

I have a silk slip dress that I bought a few years ago. I started wearing it very casually as it got older and I needed fabric that didn’t make me sweat.

I wash it in a washing machine, as it something I wear often and it’s actually held up really really well.

As the shape is simple and perfect for what I wear it for, I want to make my own as I can’t buy it any more.

I’d love to know what type of silk would hold up the best as I want to keep washing it as I do my current one.

I’d appreciate any advice! Thanks!

I want to dip dye the outerskirt of a white 100% polyester dress that's a little less than 40 years old. It was a deb dress and there's a fair bit of skirt but I'm planning on dying the outskirt and polyester lace over it using rit dyemore, but am unsure how well this will work and how rit colour formulas work.

my customs broker said it would cost over $10k.. I feel they are just trying to take advantage of me because I am a woman. is anyone familiar with the process?