From Cotton To You: How Are Cotton T-Shirts Made?

T-shirts are versatile and classic garments that are perfect for any occasion. With a wide range of styles and designs available, there is a t-shirt for everyone. Tees are a staple in any wardrobe and are a must-have for every fashionista.

The cotton t-shirt is one of the most popular and iconic garments in the world. T-shirts are made from cotton, a soft and sturdy fabric that can be worn comfortably all year round. But before these cotton shirts end up on the shelves of your favourite retailer, it actually goes on into several processes. 

Field to Gin

Cotton balls are placed into a gin in order to separate the usable cotton from the seeds and chaff. Modern cotton gins use multiple powered cleaning cylinders and saws to increase productivity and reduce labour intensity. This is a marked improvement over previous methods, which were much more labour-intensive.

Spinner to Loom

Cotton fibres are carded, combed and blended at a facility to create bales of cotton ready for spinning. The cotton is taken off a picking machine before it goes through the carding stage, which involves separating the fibres into loose strands. The cotton is then spun on a loom into a rough greyish fabric.

Wet Processing

To achieve the final appearance of the fabric, it has to be treated with heat and chemicals. Printing, dyeing and bleaching are examples of this. The fabric is inspected for grey textiles at this stage. The process involves three stages- preparation, coloration and finishing. When "finished", the fabric should achieve the desired colouring and softness. 

Cut and Sew

The finished fabric often travels long distances to its next stop, the sewing facility. Most of the time, sewers cut away 15% of the fabric when creating blank garments.

Transforming Into a Perfect Print

Cotton t-shirts are a staple in any wardrobe - they're comfortable, versatile, and easy to care for. But what if you want to take your t-shirt game to the next level? With a little bit of creativity, you can transform a plain cotton t-shirt into a work of art. Clothing Planet offers a variety of cotton t-shirts custom branded with your designs. With so many printing methods available - from screen printing to colourflex transfer to embroidery - the possibilities are endless.

So whether you're looking to create a one-of-a-kind gift for someone special or you want to make a statement with your own personal style, Clothing Planet will help you out!