Cotton Count is a way to tell how thin or thick a piece of cotton yarn is. Imagine if you had a long piece of yarn, and you measured how many bunches of 840 yards (like the length of eight football fields) would fit in one pound of it. If more bunches fit, the yarn is thinner, like a skinny string. If fewer bunches fit, the yarn is thicker, like a fat rope!
Why 840 yards you ask? Blame that on the English.
The choice of 840 yards as the standard length for cotton count comes from historical practices in the textile industry in England. It originates from the English system of measuring yarn, more specifically for cotton spinning, and relates to practical units used by early spinners and weavers.
A single hank of yarn was standardised to 840 yards, which was, back in the day, a manageable and consistent length for spinning, measuring, and trading. Since yarn weight and fineness are critical in fabric production, using this standard length helped create a uniform system for determining how fine or thick the yarn was. The Cotton Count system was then built around this 840-yard measure as a way to relate the weight of the yarn to its length.
What is NE then when referring to Cotton Count?
The Ne in Cotton Count stands for Number English or Number of Ends and is a unit used to express the fineness or coarseness of cotton yarn. It signifies the number of 840-yard hanks of yarn that weigh one pound.
This system helps manufacturers and designers understand the thickness of the yarn and how it will behave in weaving or knitting processes, influencing the texture, weight, and appearance of the final fabric.
So, an Ne 30 yarn is finer than an Ne 24 yarn. T-shirts are commonly made of these 2 counts. An Ne 30 t-shirt will naturally be lighter than an Ne 24 t-shirt as it is a finer yarn.
If you didn’t know this before, now you know.
Why 840 yards you ask? Blame that on the English.
The choice of 840 yards as the standard length for cotton count comes from historical practices in the textile industry in England. It originates from the English system of measuring yarn, more specifically for cotton spinning, and relates to practical units used by early spinners and weavers.
A single hank of yarn was standardised to 840 yards, which was, back in the day, a manageable and consistent length for spinning, measuring, and trading. Since yarn weight and fineness are critical in fabric production, using this standard length helped create a uniform system for determining how fine or thick the yarn was. The Cotton Count system was then built around this 840-yard measure as a way to relate the weight of the yarn to its length.
What is NE then when referring to Cotton Count?
The Ne in Cotton Count stands for Number English or Number of Ends and is a unit used to express the fineness or coarseness of cotton yarn. It signifies the number of 840-yard hanks of yarn that weigh one pound.
This system helps manufacturers and designers understand the thickness of the yarn and how it will behave in weaving or knitting processes, influencing the texture, weight, and appearance of the final fabric.
So, an Ne 30 yarn is finer than an Ne 24 yarn. T-shirts are commonly made of these 2 counts. An Ne 30 t-shirt will naturally be lighter than an Ne 24 t-shirt as it is a finer yarn.
If you didn’t know this before, now you know.
