Egyptian cotton has become wildly popular in recent years. Why exactly? Does it really matter?
It was thought for ages that cotton was cotton and thread count was king when choosing quality fabrics. That is no longer true.
Consumer guidelines for buying fabric suggest that cotton from Egypt is superior to other cotton. Is this true and, if so, what is the big difference?
The varieties of Egyptian cotton are used to create fabric of all types from sheets to pillowcases to comforters to shirts. The long staple or long fiber of Egyptian-grown cotton means that there is more continuous fiber to use when creating threads or yarns.
This yarn is smaller in diameter yet stronger than other cottons. Smaller yarn means that more threads per square inch can be used to create stronger fabric which is light in weight yet breathes well.
More threads per inch means that the thread count on the fabric label will be higher. Many buyers think that choosing high thread count sheets is the only gauge of quality. This is not true, but in the case of cotton grown in Egypt, the higher thread count means the fabric will be incredibly strong and will last for years and years. If cared for properly, Egyptian produced cotton fabric can last for decades.