Teddy's Summer Essentials: The Fabric Edition


With summer arriving quickly things are heating up. Whether you find yourself hanging by the pool, playing in the yard with your kids or attending an outdoor wedding, the last thing you want is for your clothes to feel sticky. Have you ever wondered what makes certain garments more bearable than others? You got it—fabric content! 

This week we are bringing you Teddy’s Summer Essentials—Fabric Edition. We have invited our on-staff textile specialist Alexa Womack to inform us on of a few fabric choices that can make all the difference for summer’s hottest peaks. We hope you find these as helpful as we have. After all, our goal is to have you looking great and shopping smarter. So here are the three fabric choices we recommend for the high temperatures along with a few of our favorite picks for summer.

Linen

First up is the go-to of all summer fabrics—linen. Linen is a fabric that has been around since the time of ancient Egypt and continues to take the lead for the best fabric choice to withstand warmer climates. So why is it so great?

Durability. Like most fabrics that fall into the bast fiber family, linen is comprised of a plain weave structure. In simplest terms, this structure involves the interlacing of single linen fibers being laid one on top of the other. This structure increases the fabric’s strength and longevity ensuring your garment’s lifespan beyond just one season. 
Cooling Properties. Linen’s excellent cooling properties are derived from the basic fiber structure. Linen fibers are much larger than other fiber structures, giving more space for air to freely flow, making it perfect for the southern heat. 

Now we know you may be concerned about wrinkling, so we wanted to suggest trying a linen blend. Blending linen with other fibers such as cotton or polyester can cut down on those unwanted creases while still giving you the cooling effect you love.  

Cotton

Up next is cotton. Cotton is without a doubt the most commonly known and worn fiber on the planet. It serves as one of the best fabric options we have for withstanding tough humid conditions, not to mention it’s readily available. The U.S. serves as the third largest cotton producer in the world.  Cotton’s most loved properties include:

Comfort. Cotton makes for a comfortable fabric for skin contact because of its high absorbency, soft hand, and good heat conductivity. 
Durability. Surprisingly cotton fibers are 30% stronger when wet. Because of this higher wet strength, cotton can be handled more roughly during laundering and in everyday use, making it perfect for short or jean fabric.

Bamboo

Last but not least is Bamboo. Bamboo fabric is a natural textile made from the pulp of the bamboo grass. This textile made a later entrance into the market of fabrics, but its impression has been continuous. Brands such as TASC have taken advantage of this transformational fiber and have worked hard to showcase its amazing properties in the realm of performance materials. A few things you may not know about bamboo are:

Anti-Odor. Bamboo contains “Bamboo Kun” a bio-agent that kills off unwanted bacteria and fungi. This agent works tirelessly to reduce sweat odors and in turn keeps you feeling fresh.
Moisture Wicking. Bamboo is highly sweat absorbent. The microfiber gaps of the bamboo fibers increase the amount of moisture absorption and ventilation for the wearer.
UV protectant. With high summer temperatures, comes the risk of harmful sun rays. Bamboo is known to block out 98% of damaging UV rays, reducing your risk of potential sun damage.  

A fabric that keeps you feeling fresh and smelling good? I know, we can hardly believe it ourselves! Be sure to stop by and check out our wonderful selection of TASC performance materials.   

So, there you have it, our three fabric suggestions for facing the summertime heat. If you have read this far we hope you have become more informed on the fabrics that make up your wardrobe. If you are interested in learning more about textiles feel free to talk with Alexa the next time you are in the store and she will be happy help answer any questions you might have. 


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