What Makes You Beautiful
By:Briana Lea
Cotton
In the Indus River Valley in Pakistan, cotton was being grown, spun and woven into cloth 3,000 years BC. At about the same time, natives of Egypt’s Nile valley were making and wearing cotton clothing.
Arab merchants brought cotton cloth to Europe about 800 A.D. When Columbus discovered America in 1492, he found cotton growing in the Bahama Islands. By 1500, cotton was known generally throughout the world.
Cotton seed are believed to have been planted in Florida in 1556 and in Virginia in 1607. By 1616, colonists were growing cotton along the James River in Virginia.
Cotton was first spun by machinery in England in 1730. The industrial revolution in England and the invention of the cotton gin in the U.S. paved the way for the important place cotton holds in the world today.
Eli Whitney, a native of Massachusetts, secured a patent on the cotton gin in 1793, though patent office records indicate that the first cotton gin may have been built by a machinist named Noah Homes two years before Whitney’s patent was filed. The gin, short for engine, could do the work 10 times faster than by hand.
Arab merchants brought cotton cloth to Europe about 800 A.D. When Columbus discovered America in 1492, he found cotton growing in the Bahama Islands. By 1500, cotton was known generally throughout the world.
Cotton seed are believed to have been planted in Florida in 1556 and in Virginia in 1607. By 1616, colonists were growing cotton along the James River in Virginia.
Cotton was first spun by machinery in England in 1730. The industrial revolution in England and the invention of the cotton gin in the U.S. paved the way for the important place cotton holds in the world today.
Eli Whitney, a native of Massachusetts, secured a patent on the cotton gin in 1793, though patent office records indicate that the first cotton gin may have been built by a machinist named Noah Homes two years before Whitney’s patent was filed. The gin, short for engine, could do the work 10 times faster than by hand.
Advantages
Advantages: extremly versatile; strong and durable; comfortable and soft; absorbs moisture.
Disadvantages:Not, resilient or elastic; wrinkles unless treated; shrinks in hot water.
Care: Easily laundered at high temperature; can be ironed at high temperatures
Uses: Shorts, sweaters, dresses, jeans, underwear, socks, diapers, towels, sheets, placemats, napkins,curtains.
Silk
Silk is a luxury fabric with an enchanting history.
Silk comes from worms called silk worms they spin into a cocoon and the cocoon is made of silk.
Advantages
light weight, distinctive look (washed silk is remarkably light and comfortable).
Disadvantages
Kills silk worms and is easy to wrinkle, can be fragile - especially at the seams
Flax/Linen
Advantages: Stronger than cotton; comfortable absorbs moisture.
Disadvantges: No resillent wrinkles.
Acetate
Advantages: Silk like appearance; soft and durable dries quickly
Disadvantages: May Wrinkle low abrasion resistance heat sensitive
Rayon
Advantages: Soft and comfortable high moisture
Disadvantages: May wrinkle or shrink.
Lyocell
Advantages: Exceptional strength; lustrous; soft drape.
Disadvantages: Wrinkle; susceptible to mildew and silverfish
Nylon
Advantages: Very strong; resilient; lustrous; dries quickly
Disadvanages: May yellow or gray heat sensitive low.
Olefin
Advantages: Unique wicking properties; strong and lightweight
Disadvantages: Doesn't absorb moisture and heat sensitive
Polyester
Advantages: Excellent wrinkle resistance strong resistance to abrasion dries quickly.
Disadvantages: Absorbs oily stains; low absorbency.
Spandex
Advantages: Excellent elasticity and recovery; stronger and more durable then rubber.
Disadvantages: Damaged by chlorine bleach; damaged by heat.