THE BENEFITS OF COTTON

Pure cotton percale bed linen ensures that you sleep in comfort in any season

The senses provide important clues as to what promotes a sleep-friendly environment in your bedroom. Many factors can influence your sleep. Your mattress, bed linen and even your room’s colour scheme all have an impact on how well your body rests. Natural tones are more restful on the eye and bedding should be practical and comfortable. Specialist bed linen manufacturers, Linen Drawer, know how important sleep is for your health. That’s why they create bed linen from 100% cotton percale, without synthetic additives. Cotton allows the skin to breath, creating a comfortable environment under the covers whatever the season.

“Household linen was once meticulously hand-crafted from quality fabric and handed down as family treasures from mother to daughter,” says Mark Howes at Linen Drawer. “These high standards can still be applied to modern store bought bed linens. The feel of the sheet depends on the fibre used to manufacture the fabric and the number of threads per square inch. A higher thread count indicates a better quality sheet that feels softer and smoother to the touch.”

Linen Drawer imports a top quality 200 thread count cotton percale fabric and specialised seamstresses manufacture the products in South Africa. This plain weave fabric is woven from a fine thread and combed to remove short staple fibres to improve the strength and silkiness of the fabric. Percale is also a very durable fabric ensuring years of service without the pilling and balling effect often found on low thread count poly blends. Those with sensitive skin will also benefit from the pure cotton luxury as it is hypoallergenic and doesn’t irritate the skin.

Here are some other ways to help you get a good night’s sleep:

• Establish a routine before bedtime to help your body unwind. Have a bubble bath or relax with a quiet book.
• Give your body about three hours to digest your last meal before turning in.
• Keep an optimum temperature in the room and don’t make it too warm in winter. 
• Regular exercise can help you sleep better but avoid it in the last few hours before bed.
• Nicotine and alcohol can disturb your sleep, so avoid them close to bedtime.
• If you sleep better in hotels, your mattress probably needs replacing.

           

Cotton products are easy to clean and can be washed at high temperatures. Extra sentence here about drying method and ironing tip. Linen Drawer products are available online at www.linendrawer.co.za. Ordering is easy and convenient. Payments can be made by credit card or electronic transfers and the site is secure. Other payment options are available if required. Orders can also be placed by phone or via email. Delivery is free of charge. For more information, contact their offices on 021 863 3223.

           

We all know that cotton is used to make a number of textile products, from denim to corduroy and dozens of fabrics in between. Cotton is such a strong versatile fabric that it is also used to produce fishnets, coffee filters, gunpowder and cotton paper is used in bookbinding. In fact, the first Chinese paper, was made out of cotton fibre.

Egyptian cotton and wondered what it was and where it came from. The term is usually used to describe the extra long staple cotton which is produced in Egypt (not too surprisingly).
The cotton species which produces "Egyptian" cotton is in fact a native American species of cotton known as American Pima cotton, which was only introduced to Egypt in the 19th century. In ancient Egypt, the clothing was not made from cotton at all, but from linen which is not cotton, but a product of the flax plant.

According to Wikipedia – the online encyclopedia, during the late medieval period, cotton became known as an imported fiber in northern Europe, without any knowledge of what it came from other than that it was a plant; noting its similarities to wool, people in the region could only imagine that cotton must be produced by plant-borne sheep.

John Mandeville, writing in 1350, stated as fact the now-preposterous belief: "There grew there a wonderful tree which bore tiny lambs on the endes of its branches. These branches were so pliable that they bent down to allow the lambs to feed when they are hungrie." This aspect is retained in the name for cotton in many European languages, such as German Baumwolle, which translates as "tree wool". By the end of the 16th century, cotton was cultivated throughout the warmer regions in Asia and the Americas.

Hypoallergenic is a term first coined in 1964 by a small cosmetics company based in Maryland, USA and is used by the advertising industry (based on the Greek prefix hypo meaning “below” or “less”).This designates the characteristic of provoking fewer allergic reactions in allergy sufferers, to have a decreased tendency to cause allergies.

Wool and some synthetic fibres like nylon and polyester can aggravate eczema by causing itching. Those suffering with eczema find that over-heating of the skin can make their eczema worse. Many people find that cotton or silk bedding is more comfortable against the skin.

It is generally accepted that cotton fabrics are kinder to the skin of eczema sufferers.

Our bedding is manufactured from 100% cotton percale. This is the obvious choice when considering the comfort of your guests in your establishment.

• Cotton.

Cotton is a natural fibre grown all around the world including South Africa.

Cotton has a moisture regain of 12-14% which makes it an extremely “comfortable” fibre as it absorbs perspiration and avoids the “clammy” feeling especially when conditions are warm. Cotton is also more comfortable than polyester in cool conditions.

Cotton is a highly durable fibre due to it’s structure.

Polyester has a moisture regain of only 2-4% resulting in a fibre that is not as “comfortable” in both warm and cool conditions.

It is a synthetic fibre manufactured from oil based products. Some people experience an allergic reaction to polyester.

Bedding made with blends of cotton with polyester is a compromise and is often used to reduce the price of the product and also to impart more “easy care” properties as polyester is easier to iron. 

Linen is no longer used for manufacturing bedding as it is a very rough fibre. It is more durable than cotton with a higher moisture regain. It is also a very expensive fibre to process.

100% cotton bedding is considered world wide to be a more superior product than blends with polyester.

The theory behind non iron products is as follows:

1. Non iron bedding will not be TOTALLY non iron. It will require some ironing but less than the    normal product.

2. This may be OK for the average household but will not apply to hotels etc. that must have a totally crease free item on the bed.

3. The resins used in the non iron process have 2 negatives. Firstly, they contain formaldehyde which is a carcinogen. This will eventually wash out. Secondly, the resins reduce the tensile strength of the fabric by up to 30% and this will reduce the life span of the product.

Please buy a p/case and I will arrange to get it from you and I will test the product together with ours.

BENEFITS OF COTTON BEDDING AND TOWELS.

• COMFORTABLE - NATURAL FIBRES SUCH AS COTTON, ABSORB PERSPIRATION FROM THE SKIN PREVENTING THE “CLAMMY” FEELING OFTEN EXPERIENCED WITH SYNTHETIC FIBRES.

• HARD WEARING - COTTON CAN WITHSTAND HEAVY USAGE - INCLUDING CONTINUED LAUNDRY, GIVING YOU YEARS OF GOOD SERVICE.

• DOES NOT “PILL”- PURE COTTON FABRICS DO NOT PILL (FIBRE BALLS ON THE SURFACE OF THE FABRIC) AS EXPERIENCED WITH SYNTHETIC FIBRE BLENDS. PURE COTTON LOOKS AND FEELS GREAT FOR YEARS.

• HYPOALLERGENIC- NATURAL FIBRES SUCH AS COTTON, DISPLAY HYPOALLERGENIC PROPERTIES. TO AVOID THE ALLERGIC REACTIONS THAT MANY PEOPLE EXPERIENCE WITH SYNTHETIC FIBRES, STICK WITH PURE, NATURAL COTTON.

• HEALTHY- THERE IS REALLY NO ALTERNATIVE - CONSUMERS AROUND THE WORLD ARE MOVING TOWARDS NATURAL, WHOLESOME PRODUCTS. WE AT LINEN DRAWER BELIEVE THAT THIS TREND SHOULD BE SUPPORTED….AND HOPE THAT YOU DO TOO.

NATURAL COTTON DOES TEND TO CREASE DURING THE LAUNDRY PROCESS. THE CREASING CAN BE MINIMIZED HOWEVER, BY WASHING AT LOWER TEMPERATURES AND BY NOT “OVER DRYING” THE PRODUCTS.

WE RECOMMEND THAT THE PRODUCTS ARE IRONED WHILE STILL SLIGHTLY DAMP.

INFORMATION SUPPLIED BY LINEN DRAWER – www.linendrawer.co.za