Watertown NY Bed Sheet - It is interesting to learn the background of bed sheets. They were made of a flat-woven textile that covered the mattress. Generally it was a rectangle broadloom fabric without a center seam. Today, they have hems on the top and the bottom of the sheet. The finished edges of the sheet made on a loom are used as side seams so there is no need to hem the sides. The bed sheet is part of a set consisting of a fitted bottom sheet, flat top sheet and a pillow case.
Bed sheets can be made of a variety of materials that include linen, cotton, and synthetics which is usually a natural fiber such as cotton and sometimes silk. Another popular cloth used is percale which could be all cotton or cotton polyester blend that is smooth and cool to the skin. Another weave is muslin that is a little harder than cotton. During the winter months, flannel sheets made of a nappy cotton material that will keep you warm. There is also silky satin sheets which are quite expensive. Linen sheets are imported from Eastern Europe and are sometimes used commercially in the finer hotels but not available in this country since they are not processed here in America.
Linen was probably the first material used and is made from the flax plant which has been cultivated for centuries and spun and woven by the Egyptians. It is a labor intense procedure to cultivate but when finished, it is perfect for bedding.
Europe brought linen to the New World and it flourished in the northeast and the middle colonies for 200 years. Cultivating linen is a long process. Throughout the 17th to 19th centuries, American women worked tirelessly making pillow cases, bed sheets, napkins and towels for their families.
Around 1830 in the United States, cotton processing was a growing industry. It was difficult to remove the seeds from the cotton bales until Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin thus eliminating manual labor. Southern plantations began growing and as a result, slave labor was used to plant and pick the cotton. Around this same period, New England textile mills were using British cotton techniques thus allowing them to spin, weave and dye in tremendous quantities. The cotton fibers were made from bales of raw cotton that was processed to make ready to spin. Once loaded on a section beam, they were spun on the bobbins that were coated with sizing making weaving much easier. Looms automatically tied old yarn by a machine called a knotter. Looms became mechanized so human hands hardly touched the fiber. Bed sheets have been made on looms since the end of the 19th century.
Sheet manufacturers carefully pick cotton bales. The bales of cotton are categorized by length and quality. Short fibers are used for batting while long fibers are used for finer quality products. Egyptian cotton is noted for the longer fiber. The medium fiber is considered a medium grade. Surprisingly, there are 9 grades of cotton. The lower grade bales will never produce a quality product.
Next cleaning the fabric was necessary since it was gray in color. It was finished by singeing bits of yarn that was burned off the surface. The sheeting is then ready to be bleached. First, it is bathed in water and soap that removes contaminants. Followed by caustic chemicals that are applied to get rid of dirt and any remnants of debris found in the cotton yarn. The caustic solution is washed out and bleaches are applied to dissipate the gray color. Once it is whitened, the sheeting will be rolled into a rope and place in a dryer which removes the moisture prior to dyeing. Automatic cutting equipment cut the rolls into standard sheet lengths and the hems are then sewn.
Nowadays, the material is a blended fiber which is cotton and polyester that keeps the sheets wrinkle free. Also, colors and design patterns are quite popular.
Today, Georgia is the state with the most cotton processors and weavers nationwide. Since labor is cheaper outside the United States, a great many of our sheets are made in other countries and imported here. The South is the producer of most of the American cotton sheets.
Great effort has been made in present times to reduce polluting with cotton lint. In the past, cotton lint was hazardous to the factory workers. Today, we have air-jet looms which generate very little cotton lint. The Federal Government now has regulations in effect to control caustic liquids from polluting the environment and mills are required to have a national discharge system permit. Emissions are now controlled by the Clean Air Act and must have acceptable guidelines.