About Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. Under natural conditions, the cotton bolls will tend to increase the dispersion of the seeds.
The plant is a shrub native to tropical and subtropical regions around the world, including the Americas, Africa, and India. The greatest diversity of wild cotton species is found in Mexico, followed by Australia and Africa. Cotton was independently domesticated in the Old and New Worlds. The English name derives from the Arabic (al) qutn قُطْن, which began to be used circa 1400 AD. The Spanish word, “algodón”, is likewise derived from the Arabic.
The fiber is most often spun into yarn or thread and used to make a soft, breathable textile. The use of cotton for fabric is known to date to prehistoric times; fragments of cotton fabric dated from 5000 BC have been excavated in Mexico and the Indus Valley Civilization (modern day Pakistan and some parts of India). Although cultivated since antiquity, it was the invention of the cotton gin that so lowered the cost of production that led to its widespread use, and it is the most widely used natural fiber cloth in clothing today.
Cotton fibres are very comfortable next to the skin because of their fineness and softness. Cotton also has the advantage of being able to absorb water very quickly without feeling wet to the touch. Indeed cotton can absorb up to 20% (of its own weight) of water vapour without feeling wet and up to 65% without dripping.
Foster Barry Cotton Fabric
Foster Barry Poplin shirting fabrics are produced in Italy and made using traditional methods. The cloth is a classic two fold cotton shirting fabric, produced in the tradition of fine English cloth using the best Extra Long Staple Egyptian cotton from the Nile Delta region.
Poplin is a fabric where the vertical warp threads are very closely set and are exactly double in number to the horizontal weft threads.The combination of a special twist given to the fine yarns, plus the traditional pure finishing method, confer a special lustre and softness, characteristics which make our fabrics quite unique in their class. Foster Barry shirting fabrics make our garments stand apart, defining their style, enhancing their excellence and ensuring the highest quality end product.
Shirts made in poplin soften with washing, and being both quick and easy to iron, thus combine practicality with the highest tradition of quality. Foster Barry is the ideal choice for customers who love a classic style typical of Jermyn Street. Many of the finer establishments on Jermyn Street use these same high quality fabrics.
Cheaper fabrics in the market often achieve their feel by undesirable chemicals and resins added in the finishing process. All cotton fabric purchased by Foster Barry is guaranteed for its purity of finish and freedom from harmful substances and chemical residues.
Cotton Poplin – Two Fold 100
Two fold is a term that refers to the twisting of two much finer yarns together to create a new two fold (U.S. Two-Ply) yarn. Foster Barry cotton poplin is woven in two fold 100 cotton. Many Jermyn Street ‘names’ use a cheaper two fold 80 fabric for their standard ready to wear shirt ranges.
The number 100 refers to the fineness, or yarn count of the original yarn .The higher the number the finer the yarn. Specifically 100 refers to the fact that 100 hanks of 840 yards length (84,000 yards in total) of cotton thread weigh one (imperial) pound.
A cotton fibre is classified in four ways, by its staple (length), micronaire (width), strength and uniformity. The most important factor is the staple length as this determines the fineness of the cotton being spun.
Our Cotton Sock Yarns
Our Pantherella socks use the world’s finest yarns to make our premium quality socks.
Fil ‘dEcosse / Mercerised Cotton Lisle Socks
Our Fil d’Ecosse socks (also called Cotton Lisle socks) use the finest Italian sourced, extra-long staple Egyptian grown cotton. The extra-long staple determines the highest quality of cotton, as it uses uniform lengths of fibres of over 33 mm. This yarn is composed of two strands that are twisted together with an extra twist per inch than lesser quality cottons, creating one single, strong thread. Once spun, the cotton goes through a process of Mercerisation (devised in 1844 by John Mercer of Great Harwood, Lancashire, England) whereby it is passed through a flame at high speed, to eliminate any stray surface fibres. The result is a shiny, shrink & pill resistant yarn that absorbs dye brilliantly while maintaining its silky lustre.
Egyptian Cotton
Our socks contain Giza 86 Long Staple Egyptian cotton, which is grown in the Nile delta in Egypt and spun and dyed in Italy. The long staple determines a high quality of cotton, as it uses uniform lengths of fibres of around 33 mm and from 4.3 to 4.9 micronaire.