What is good about percale, what is its difference from other similar types of fabric and what to sew from percale.
What is percale?
According to the definition, percale is a cotton fabric of increased strength from untwisted yarns.
Less commonly, it happens that percale is made not of cotton, but of linen fibers. Also in the composition can be found silk, polyester and polyester. But the classic percale fabric is cotton.
Cupro - "copper" fabric for beautiful products
Percale: properties and qualities
The main thing that percale is valued for, in addition to its naturalness, is strength. Once percale was even used for covering the wings of aircraft! True, for this they took a particularly dense fabric, and even soaked it with a special varnish. Then percale received the funny nickname "baby diaper of aviation." Tourist tents were also made from this fabric, and sails and parachutes are still being sewn from it.
By the way, in the Russian language there are discrepancies about what kind of word the word “percale” refers to. According to the rules, this is a feminine gender (percale - she), but in the context of use in aviation, the word is more often used in the masculine gender, so now both options exist.
So, even those kinds of percussion that do not look like material for sails, but like ordinary calico-like fabric, are very durable. This property is achieved by production technology. Firstly, long cotton fibers are used - this in itself increases the strength of the finished fabric (about cotton fibers of different lengths andhow this length affects the quality of textiles, read more here). Secondly, the fibers are not twisted into threads, but are connected with a special indelible solution. This composition is safe and durable, it does not wash out after hundreds of washings. Also, it does not give additional weight.
Properties percale:
* strength;
* Density even for thin fabrics (fluff and feather, for example, won't come out of a percale bedcloth);
* at the same time - lightness, hygroscopicity;
* resistance to peeling (no spools are formed on the surface);
* wear resistance;
* Percale prints are clear and durable.
Poplin - papal cotton fabric
What is sewed from percale?
Blouses, dresses, shirts can be sewn from percale, but bed linen is sewn first of all from this fabric. Such linen can withstand up to 1000 washings! And the ease, hygroscopicity, naturalness of percale make the use of linen from it pleasant and safe. Among European manufacturers of percale bedding, it is customary to classify it as luxury.
What kind of fabric is cotton: properties, care, sewing recommendations
Percale, calico or satin?
* Percale differs from calico and satin, the closest competitors in terms of sewing bed linen, in the first place: durability is stronger.
* The interweaving of threads in the canvas was felted - like in calico, in a simple checkerboard pattern. But the threads in the fabric are smoother due to the fact that they were not twisted. Therefore, the surface of percale is smoother than that of calico, but less smooth than that of silky satin.
* At a price, percale is usually located somewhere in the middle between these fabrics: more expensive than calico, cheaper than satin.
Photo: peacockalley.com, bollandbranch.com, overstock.com, matalan.co.uk, biome.com.au
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