Ask A Scientist General Science Archive

name         Johanna H.
status       student
age          16

Question -   How is Terry Cloth processed? What are the uses of this Terry Cloth?  What are 
the specific characteristics of this Terry Cloth?  What makes Terry Cloth a good choice for 
its particular uses?
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As terry cloth is being woven, loops are drawn up above the ground cloth and locked into place 
with the subsequent one or two picks in the ground cloth.  Often the loops will come from a 
second warp which is much longer than the ground warp.  The loops can then be cut or they can 
be left uncut.  Velour type towels usually have cut loops, while more absorbent bath towels 
and such usually have uncut loops.  The choice of yarn used to weave the towels, as well as 
how many ends and loops there are per square inch, greatly affect the absorbency of the towels.
Various types of cotton yarn have differing degrees of absorbency, and the processing of the 
yarn can also affect how absorbent it is.  In general though, how much of the yarn surface is 
exposed in the towelling will determine how absorbent the towel is.
Terry cloth is most often used in towelling, bath robes, beach coverups.  It can be used in 
clothing, especially in exercise wear.  However, the newer specialized fabrics which have 
been designed to wick moisture away rather than absorbing it are better suited for exercise 
wear and are replacing terry.
Looping similar to that in terry cloth can be found in heavy weight sport socks, again for 
absorbency, as well as in headbands.  Those fabrics are knits, not woven, so the exact 
technique for creating the loops will be different.  I am not familiar with how loops are 
created in knit cloth.  If you look around you may find terry or similarly looped cloth in 
other uses that I have overlooked.


Korah A. Erbacher
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