Talk:Mercerisation

message: On July 30, 2006 I emailed Tom Beaudet about permission:
 <<if you would mind giving permission for part of your article on mercerized cotton to be included in the Wikipedia article>>
Granted, with reference made to the full article for those that wish to pursue. Tom Beaudet
Note: I forgot to login to Wikipedia before I posted today's update to the main article.--Kaze0010 09:20, 31 July 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Permission for including part of Tom Beaudet's mercerization article in the history section

message: Mercerized cotton is cotton which has been treated with sodium hydroxide to bring out certain properties first discovered by John Mercer in 1851. In 1890, Horace Lowe added an additional step to the process, and the British cotton industry began to take an interest in mercerized cotton, which is available today in a wide range of incarnations from thread to completed garments. When treated properly, mercerized cotton is stronger, smoother, and shinier than regular cotton. In addition, it takes dye more readily so that manufacturers can create rich color saturation in their cottons. The brilliant, lustrous hues of Mercerized cotton can be found in fabric stores, yarn shops, and department stores all over the world.
John Mercer discovered that immersing fibers such as cotton and linen in a caustic soda bath would increase their strength and also allow them to take dye more readily. He patented his fiber work, but the cotton industry did not express very much interest in it. It was Horace Lowe who popularized the process, by discovering that keeping the fibers under tension while they were soaked yielded a more lustrous thread. Mercer's name is presumably given to the process to recognize his important initial discovery, which paved the way to Lowe's refinement of the treatment.
Mercerization starts with gathering the cotton and spinning it normally. Because cottons with long fibers take better to mercerization, Pima, Egyptian, and Sea Island cotton are usually chosen for the process. The cotton thread is held under tension and submerged in a highly alkaline bath of sodium hydroxide in a percentage which ranges, but usually hovers around 22%. After treatment, the mercerized cotton is placed into an acidic bath to neutralize it. Once this process is complete, the cotton can be dyed and knitted, woven, or packed as stand-alone spools of thread.
The terms "pearl cotton" and "pearle cotton" are also used to refer to Mercerized cotton, because of the deeply lustrous appearance of the finished cotton thread. In addition to having rich color saturation and a shimmering appearance, mercerized cotton is also much stronger than conventional cotton thread. The process shrinks the cotton fibers, tightening and smoothing the grain of the thread. Because the cotton is preshrunk, mercerized cotton also tends not to shrink as much as regular cotton, so consumers can be more confident about the fit of mercerized garments.
Mercerization is a treatment for cotton fabric and thread that gives cotton a lustrous appearance. The series of processes was devised by John Mercer of Great Harwood, Lancashire, in the middle of the 19th century, but did not become popular until improvements were made to the process in 1890.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 202.134.188.26 (talk) 13:34, 5 October 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Some writing on mercerized cotton

message: Bsmith0000 (talk) 17:51, 29 June 2010 (UTC)
thread_title: Article inaccuracies

message: Perle cotton, pearl cotton, or French coton perlé is an S-twisted, 2-ply thread with high sheen, sold in five sizes or weights (No. 3, 5, 8, 12 and 16 (Finca), with 3 being the heaviest and 16 the finest).
98.206.86.187 (talk) 15:43, 10 July 2013 (UTC)
thread_title: Perle cotton

message: The redirect Fil d'Ecosse has been listed at redirects for discussion to determine whether its use and function meets the redirect guidelines. Readers of this page are welcome to comment on this redirect at  until a consensus is reached.  Utopes (talk / cont) 23:10, 9 April 2024 (UTC)
thread_title:  "[[:Fil d'Ecosse]]" listed at [[Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion|Redirects for discussion]]