Cotton Blanket

We take blankets for granted these days, they're really an amazing example of simple ingenuity. I can't count the number of times my wife and I have cuddled up together under a blanket and watched a movie in the living room, or sat out on our lawn next to the pool and watched the sun set. Far beyond just keeping you warm (which they do in spades), blankets are great at bringing people closer together. If you're looking at some new blankets, which we all could use, I recommend making sure you get a cotton blanket - they have the best quality, most affordable prices, and impact the environment as little as possible - a cotton blanket is a responsible and smart decision. They're also more complex than we give them credit for - two cotton blankets aren't necessarily the same just because they're made of the same material or weave. If you're in the market for new bedding, or just a new set of sheets for your bed, cotton is the material for you.

For almost 200 years now, cotton has been the most important fabric material in the world. While other things like steel have also changed the world, the economic and cultural expansion that allowed the Industrial revolution to occur came from innovations in growing and harvesting cotton for use in textiles in the early 19th century. Strangely enough the shape of cotton fibers as they come out of the plant's seed pod, shaped like ribbons themselves, is what makes cotton such an ideal material for textile production. The cotton gin allowed cotton to become a viable trade commodity in the fledgling United States, and was instrumental in the early economic growth of the world's most powerful nation. These days we use it for everything, most importantly clothing, but also pretty much anything that has some fabric component (large cushions, outdoor pillows, etc) has cotton in it in varying amounts.

Cotton Blanket Types

We've all used cotton material before, in fact I'll bet you're wearing a large amount of cotton clothing right now. In fact, if you're snuggled up in bed or on the couch, your blanket is likely made of cotton. We use it so much because of how it feels against our skin - soft and comforting, not to mention how well it keeps and spreads heat without getting stuffy - breathability is a crucial element when stitching or sewing the clothes people will be spending most of their time in, which was true back then. Even though it's less the case now, the quality still helps, in addition to cotton's quick drying and absorption properties. There are cotton blankets for sale on the internet in any color and size you could conceive of, so do lots of research online and pick the best ones you find - most retailers have deals for free shipping and lower prices to compete with regular stores.

There are many different types of cotton, though we don't always think of them as different types. Egyptian cotton is the high end stuff - my bed sheets are made of 1500 thread count hand woven Egyptian cotton, and let me tell you, I have never slept on anything so comfortable. Other weaves and types of cotton have different length staples and stitches, and when combined with thread count, texture, and weight, can be combined to make fabric and material in any shape or form, for pretty much any use you'd need a fabric for, all with very little memory of former shapes. That's a benefit that allows us to move around in cotton clothing and snuggle under a cotton blanket, but hurts in the washing, fading, and shrinking departments - make sure you always read the directions on each blanket, as there can be unexpected results if you assume they all wash the same. In general, though, stick to colder washing environments to get the most use out of your blankets and clothing made of cotton. Wrinkle resistance is another feature you can find on some cotton products, and can help keep things looking orderly and clean. Stay away from cotton blends as they can lower the quality of the garment or blanket.