7.4.2.3 Terry cloth weaving

For the various uses of terry cloths, the ability to absorb moisture is important to a greater or lesser extent, depending on the use of the product.

Cotton is therefore most commonly used for towels. Hemp (and flax) absorb more moisture than cotton, have better strength in the dry state and have a greater gloss effect. Despite these advantageous properties, hemp (and flax) is still little used in towels, presumably due to its limited availability and higher cost.

The less the fibres are twisted, the better they will absorb moisture. In a yarn with a lot of twist, there are fibres in the middle of the yarn that are shielded by fibres on the outside and therefore do not come into direct contact with moisture. As a result, its ability to absorb moisture is less than yarns with less twist where all the fibres come to the yarn surface. Yarns based on cottonised fibres absorb moisture better than classic wet-spun yarns.

To produce terry cloths it is possible to use pile yarns^[1] with relatively low twist because they are not subjected to much tension and resistance during the weaving process (Figure below). Nevertheless, minimal twist is necessary to avoid breaking of yarns or fluffing too much during the weaving process.

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Cross-section of a classic terry cloth with a pile warp (red and blue) every 3 wefts (beige, perpendicular to image); ground warp (brown). Copied from Motiv.^[2]

[1] https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuften

[2] Motiv, ‘Aankoopwegwijzer voor circulair textiel 1 – Module 3B: Doeken uit textile’, https://data.secureserver.be/databases/bedrijven.nsf/webopen/downloads/$file/GDCA3Bdoeken.pdf