Mercerized Yarn vs Unmercerized Yarn? — Blog Post
We are often asked if mercerized or unmercerized yarns are better for towels. Our answer is always a resounding...it depends!
Mercerized (or Perle) Yarn
Mercerization is a process that makes the yarn smooth, stronger and takes dye better. John Mercer, and English textile chemist, developed the technique in 1844 to improve the dye qualities of cotton yarn. He found that when you run a cotton yarn through an alkaline bath under tension, the structure of the fibers change, and these structural changes allow the cotton fibers to take dye better and make the resulting yarns smoother and stronger.
Mercerized yarns are also called Perle yarns in the craft world. Mercerized and Perle can be used interchangeably.
Towels made of mercerized yarns retain their beauty longer than those made from unmercerized yarns. While they do not absorb the water as quickly as an unmercerized towel, a towel made of mercerized yarn will go through the whole sinkful of dishes without becoming overly saturated. They will also have brighter colors at the beginning of their life, and retain their bright colors for longer, and they will hold up through more trips through the washing machine.
Unmercerized Yarn
Cotton fibers are typically short, and as a result, the yarns produced from them are fuzzy from the ends sticking out in various directions. Unmercerized yarns have the greatest amount of fuzziness. This leads to soft fabrics that feel nice next to our skin.
Cotton yarns that have been minimally processed can have a lovely hand and are very absorbent. Fabrics made from unmercerized yarns do absorb water quickly, but as a result, they become saturated more quickly. Additionally, the unmercerized yarns are softer, and so they feel great when you first get them off the loom and after the 10th time you wash them. However, they will wear out more quickly because the cotton fibers have not undergone the structural changes and are not as durable and stain more easily.
It depends!
So, with that in mind, you get to decide which function you would rather have from any particular project! Our recommendations are as follows.
Use unmercerized yarns if you want:
- A soft hand right off the loom with less durability and less dye saturation.
- Perhaps a bath towel from American Maid™ unmercerized cotton yarn is the right choice.
Use mercerized yarns if you want:
- A durable, bright fabric that softens as it ages.
- Perhaps the Tubular Spectrum™ Towel made from mercerized cotton yarn is the right choice.
Perhaps there is room for both!
Bumberet Napkins
Mix and Match
Because mercerized and unmercerized cottons shrink differently, if you mix them as warp stripes you can get a seersucker effect. That can be a lot of fun or it can be a frustration if you didn't expect it.
The thicker the stripe of each type of yarn, the greater the chance of differential shrinkage. If you have 2" stripes, you will notice the shrinkage and a towel might be unlovable. However, if you mix the yarns thread by thread in the warp; the resulting fabric will be a mixture of the 2 yarns. Because they are interspersed so closely, the seersucker effect shouldn't really be noticeable. Or it might add a pleasing, overall texture and make a lovely towel.
You can easily and safely use one as warp and the other as weft. Plan for the unmercerized yarn to shrink more than the Mercerized yarn.
And then, you can mix fibers too...the Bumberet napkins have hemp and cotton in the warp. A great combination!
Originally Posted February 7, 2016
What would happen if you mixed mercerized with unmercerized for towels?
You would get the dishes done or nicely dried off after a bath.
Teresa,
The answer depends on the project and how you mix them. Because mercerized and unmercerized cottons shrink differently, if you mix them as stripes you can get a seersucker effect, and that can be a lot of fun. You can easily and safely use one as warp and the other as weft; the unmercerized direction will shrink more than the Mercerized direction, but that isn’t a huge problem. You can also mix them thread by thread; the resulting fabric will be a mixture of the 2 but because they are interspersed so closely, neither will cause striping. So, mixing mercerized and unmercerized can be an adventure!
Thank you for this education. I was told, no, never do you mix. Now I have to try. Never liked rules that do not make sense. ?