Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Day 140 | What makes cotton wrinkle?

Today I decided to find out a little more on cotton itself. This time I found a website called CottonInc.com, and they have all you ever need to know about cotton, including a huge textiles and agriculture research archive.

Here's an answer for everyone who admires their wrinkles and moustaches on their jeans. Here's CottonInc's answer when they were asked, what makes cotton wrinkle? "During wearing and cleaning, fabrics are temporarily distorted to accommodate the stress of use. If the fabric does not recover its original shape, the results are described as wrinkling. Untreated cotton fibers do not have a permanent memory. The cellulose chains in the fiber move by breaking and re-establishing hydrogen bonds. There are no natural forces to promote the cellulose chains to return to their original configuration."

To follow up on what I published yesterday on day 139 about the origins of the name denim, here's their answer to, where does denim come from? "Two of the fabrics most symbolic of American fashion - chambray and denim - are in reality French imports. A soft comfortable fabric with contrasting coloured and white yarns, chambray was first found in Chambrai, France. Denim, originating in Nimes (as in "serge de Nimes"), was introduced to this country via work pants designed for the mining industry by a Mr. Levi Strauss."

There's so many knowledgeable people out there, willing to share their knowledge, and so much information if you're willing to search for it.

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