Mirror Mirror on the wall…which is the coolest cloth of all. Everyone wants cool summer underwear and sleepwear, but what fabrics work best? Many ladies find clothing labels confusing. Here we tie a bit of science, with customer feedback, and all Stephanie’s experience in working with different fabrics and options.
Natural fibres
Cotton
Everyone knows and loves cotton for its absorbent and comfortable feel. It grows as a hollow, fully formed fiber producing fabric with a soft texture and insulating properties. Cotton is easy to maintain – avoid hot water, sun and clothes dryers – and cotton garments will get softer with washing and wearing.
But there are differences in the quality and feel of cottons:
Pima, Egyptian or Sea Island cotton – long staples in the boll make for the smoothest, softest and longest lasting cotton. You have to try this to believe how amazingly light and cool it feels on the skin. This fabric is strong, it resists wear and pilling and keeps its shape and colour extremely well. Limited production (it only grows in specific climates) makes for a higher priced garment.
Upland Cotton – Easier to grow, and more plentiful production world wide means this cotton is found in the majority of cotton garments.
Silk
Silk is also a hollow fiber, but it is a protein fiber from animals, not a plant. The natural insulating properties make it cool in summer, and warming in winter. The natural lustre and soft texture of silk make it attractive to look at and beautifully sleek on the skin. However, the short supply of raw materials make it expensive. It has been estimated that a single kilo of finished silk thread requires an input of 220kg of mulberry leaves – in production situations these are picked and hand fed to silkworms. Silk threads as they are spun from the silk worm are half the width of a human hair, and have to be wound together to be strong enough for fabric production. Silk then, is naturally strong, but delicate. When woven, it has no stretch. It must then be carefully cut and sewn to provide a quality, wearable garment, especially in sleepwear. All these factors contribute to the retail cost to a gorgeous pair of real silk pyjamas!
Silk is available in silk jersey – a light weight knitted form of silk – in underclothes. Again these garments are three to four times the price of wool or cotton.
All silk requires careful washing – by hand or in a delicate machine cycle, with a very mild detergent, laying flat to dry, and ironing (where required) on the reverse side.
The difference between satin and silk? Silk is a natural fiber, and is lustrous on both sides of the garment. Satin is a way of weaving fabrics that gives a glossy finish on one side, and dull on the reverse. A satin weave can appear on silk, cotton or nylon fabrics. Satin in nylon fabrics is not breathable, and can be hot. Satin is however, an inexpensive option for glamorous sleep and lounge wear. Satin shorts can be teamed with a cotton tank or vest for a comfortable and casual sleepwear option.
Woven Vs Knit
Woven: Weave or criss/cross threads make for THE coolest, lightest, and often, the strongest garment, but there is no stretch. Woven fabrics will drape and fall gently over the figure and not cling. Note, that woven cottons and silks will wrinkle and require ironing after washing to look their best.
Voile: A type of woven cotton, but it has a higher thread count than most cotton fabrics, making it especially light and cool on the skin. It has a slight sheen and a more silky feel than regular cotton. It can be quite sheer, nearly gauzy or transparent. It falls in soft folds and gathers well, so will make for dainty and delicate intimates. Voile is particularly suited for half and full slips, as a cool under layer under thinner summer dresses. It also makes excellent summer wraps, as a light layer over sleepwear.
Knit: A knitted fabric of any type is denser due to the knitting loops, but gives stretch and movement. In close fitting garments, it can be figure hugging, and in a looser garment, it can be baggy and not shapely at all, due to the combination of density and weight. Knits are very comfortable, as they move with you – no tight armholes or necklines.
Synthetics
There are a large range of fibers now which start out as plant material, or cellulose fibre. Bamboo and Viscose are common marketing names used with such fabrics. These fabrics are soft to the touch, drape well, and have a subtle silk-like lustre. Due to the low cost of the raw material (wood pulp), these fabrics are often much lower priced. They can be easily blended with other more expensive fabrics such as cotton, silk, or wool, making interesting textures and functional garments.
Low creasing, easy care (no ironing) and great stretchablity makes them ideal for sleep, lounge and underwear. Other names for these fabrics, depending on their manufacture and base material include Rayon, Orlon, Nylon, Tencel, and Lyocell (eucalyptus fiber base). Many of these fabrics are slow to dry, especially in humid conditions, and tend to wear more quickly than natural fibers.
Back to knits now…Jersey knit in a nylon (man made) fiber can have a surprisingly silky, almost “cold” feel. Some ladies find this type of fabric, due to the stretch, movement and texture, very suitable for hot climates.
Elastane, manufactured from Polyurethane, is a fabric that can stretch up to 8 times its size. Combined with other fabrics, especially bamboo or cotton, it makes ideal underwear, activewear and sleepwear.
Through the summer, many ladies make a request for pure cotton underwear – bras or briefs. It is very unlikely that such garments today will be made without any elastane. It is such a versatile fabric that it is included in nearly every type of underwear. You will recognize it by its common marketing names: Spandex and Lycra. Stephanie’s does carry a range of 100% cotton underwear, but due to small production, and specialized manufacturing processes, costs are about three times average garments that have about 5 – 10% elastane content.