What material is best for my towels?

There are so many choices for material in your clothes and towels these days that it’s hard to pick the best ones. Let’s start with cotton since it’s the most popular material especially in towels.

Cotton is durable, strong, breathable, great elasticity, can withstand high temperatures and is easy to launder. There are four types of cottons. Egyptian, Micro, Standard and Supima cotton and the first two, Egyptian is most commonly used.

Egyptian cotton towels are the very best towels. You would want Egyptian cotton towels as a bath towel. It’s great for sensitive skin because it’s so natural and soft. You’ll find Egyptian cotton in wash cloths, hand towels, and bath towels.

Terry has loops on both sides of it. Terry towels are very absorbent and are comfortable to use. Terry can be bleached, dyed, or printed. Turkish towels have loops on one side only.

Linen is made from natural fibers like cotton, silk and others. Linen bath towels shrink when they are washed the first time. Linen can also be washed in hot water and it softens after each wash.

Microfiber is very light in weight and finer than cotton, silk and wool. Acrylic, nylon, polyester, and rayon are different types of microfiber. Microfiber towels retain their shape and don’t wrinkle or pill.

Velour towels are terry towels in which the loops have been sheared to provide a smoother texture. They are stretchable, soft, absorb well, and have a plush look to them. Velour is great to decorate using embroidery, appliqué, and monograms because the sheared part of it gives a high resolution to the decoration.

Jacquard is made by weaving threads of different colors together. Jacquard towels are made of many different fabrics: velour, linen, cotton, microfiber and many others.

Suede towels look similar to suede leather. They dry fast and are very compact which makes them great for traveling. Suede cloth is often used for polishing glass, mirrors, CDs, jewelry and TV and computer screens. Suede towels also give a streak free cleaning result so they are used to clean golf accessories.

Rayon is made from wood pulp. Although they rayon is a man-made product, it absorbs well and is very soft. When you go on your next camping trip, take along rayon towel because they weigh less, are more compact and have fast drying capabilities.