Is It Really 100% Cotton?

Is it really 100% cotton?

If you have bought a cotton top online in India, you know that drop in your stomach. The word cotton was on the page. The fabric in your hands disagrees. Here is the part nobody tells you. You do not need a lab to settle it. You need just ten seconds, one drop of water, and a window to test pure cotton at home.
At Athraah, we use 100 % pure cotton lawn, honest cotton not heavy on your pockets.

Our fabric clears the three tests which can be performed at home:

Test 1: crush it in your fist

Gather a handful of fabric. Squeeze as hard as you can. Count to ten. Open your hand.

Pure cotton stays crumpled. The creases sit there and look back at you. A polyester blend springs flat almost at once, like nothing happened.

Wrinkles are not a flaw in cotton. They are the receipt.

Our signature shirt styled tops can be held in your fist, they are so lightweight and the fabric itself tells you the story.

Test 2: give it a drop of water

Put a single drop on a flat part of the fabric. Watch it.

Cotton drinks it. In a second or two the drop is gone and a soft dark ring spreads outward. Polyester keeps the drop sitting on the surface as a bead you can roll around with a fingertip.

One catch: brand-new fabric sometimes carries a little finish or starch that sends water skidding. Wash it once, dry it, test again.

The fabric at athraah instantly absorbs body sweat and dries in no time leaving you at your best.

Test 3: hold it up to a window

Daylight shows you the weave. Fine cotton lawn, the weave in our Sukoon collection looks like a grid of very thin threads crossing, even and tight, slightly translucent, and completely matte.

Polyester looks flatter and glassier, and picks up a faint sheen when you tilt it. Blends often look more solid than they feel thin. 

The best part, weave in athraah's fabric can be seen even when you hold it upclose.

The flame test: skip it (we don't want you to try this though)

Fabric people identify fibre by burning one thread. Cotton smells like burning paper and leaves soft grey ash. Polyester smells chemical and melts into a hard bead.

The three tests above will tell you what you need. Leave the matchbox in the drawer.

We have tested fabric for an year before reaching at your doorsteps, worn it multiple times, washed in all possible ways, just to assure it ican be worn even after 50 washes and look new.

What most of the clothing label is not telling you?

• 100% Cotton. If it claims with a number in it. Hold the brand to it.
• Cotton rich, cotton blend, PC, poly-cotton. There is cotton in there. But nobody has clearly defined how much cotton is present.
• No fibre line at all. Very common on loose garments. You are juat buying on faith.

A label is only as honest as the brand printing it, which is exactly why these three tests exist.
At Athraah, we have simple and clean label mentioning 100% Cotton. 

The fabric we use is 100% cotton lawn sourced from a city in South India, Tiruppur , known for its best cotton production. For dyeing, we have trusted India's legacy in a city called Jetpur , a small town of Gujarat. Stitched and styled in the fashion city of India, Mumbai. Packaged and sent over to you with love from Surat.

So what is pure cotton lawn, actually?

Since it is the fabric we keep mentioning: Cotton lawn is a plain weave, spun very fine and woven very tight. Lighter than poplin, crisper than mulmul, and the thing it does best is get softer. Soft on the second wash. Softer on the tenth. A cotton lawn top two summers old is better than the day it arrived.

One last thing

Our first drop : The Sukoon collection is cut from 100% cotton lawn, in beautiful nine shades : Gulabi, Laal, Dhoop, Neela, Raas, Mitti, Raat, Safed and Neem.

When yours arrives, do not take our word for any of this. Crush it in your fist. Put a drop of water on it. Carry it to the window.

We would genuinely love to hear it from you.

Athraah.
Made for every hour of her.

Questions we get asked

Does 100% cotton shrink?

It does not shrink, use cold water, a gentle cycle and drying in shade keeps it in perfect condition.

Is cotton lawn see through?

Semi-sheer against direct light, opaque in a room. In the light shades like Safed and Dhoop, wear it the way you would wear any fine cotton.

Can a blend pass one of these tests?

Yes, and this is the important part. A sixty-forty blend can crease quite convincingly, or absorb a drop of water while you are watching. What it almost never does is pass all three.

Why does cotton wrinkle so much?

Because the fibre bends and then stays bent. Synthetic fibres are built to spring back to shape, and that springiness is the same property you feel as trapped heat on a warm afternoon. You are choosing between a crease and a sweat patch.

My top passed all three tests but still feels warm. Why?

Check the stitching thread and the trims. A garment can be 100% cotton and still be lined, interfaced or stitched with polyester, which is most noticeable around the neckline and the hem.