Cotton vs. Cambric

Main Difference

The main difference between Cotton and Cambric is that the Cotton is a plant fiber from the genus Gossypium and Cambric is a soft, plain-woven cotton or linen fabric with a lustrous finish

• Cotton

  Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus Gossypium in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. Under natural conditions, the cotton bolls will increase the dispersal of the seeds.

  The plant is a shrub native to tropical and subtropical regions around the world, including the Americas, Africa, and India. The greatest diversity of wild cotton species is found in Mexico, followed by Australia and Africa. Cotton was independently domesticated in the Old and New Worlds.

  The fiber is most often spun into yarn or thread and used to make a soft, breathable textile. The use of cotton for fabric is known to date to prehistoric times; fragments of cotton fabric dated from 5000 BC have been excavated in Mexico and between 6000 BC and 5000 BC in the Indus Valley Civilization. Although cultivated since antiquity, it was the invention of the cotton gin that lowered the cost of production that led to its widespread use, and it is the most widely used natural fiber cloth in clothing today.

  Current estimates for world production are about 25 million tonnes or 110 million bales annually, accounting for 2.5% of the world’s arable land. China is the world’s largest producer of cotton, but most of this is used domestically. The United States has been the largest exporter for many years. In the United States, cotton is usually measured in bales, which measure approximately 0.48 cubic meters (17 cubic feet) and weigh 226.8 kilograms (500 pounds).

• Cambric

  Cambric (US: , UK: or ), or batiste, one of the finest and densest kinds of cloth, is a lightweight plain-weave cloth, originally from the French commune of Cambrai, woven in greige, then bleached, piece-dyed and often glazed or calendered. Initially it was made of linen; later, the term came to be applied to cotton fabrics as well. Cambric is used as fabric for linens, shirts, handkerchieves, ruffs, lace and needlework. The term “cambric cloth” also applies to a stiff, usually black, open-weave cloth typically used for a dust cover on the bottom of upholstered furniture.Chambray, though the same type of fabric, had a coloured warp and a white weft, though it could be “made from any colour as you may wish, in the warp, and also in the filling; only have them differ from each other.” Chambray differs from denim in that “chambray’s warp and weft threads will alternate one over the other, while denim’s warp thread will go over two threads in the weft before going under one.” As a result, the color of chambray cloth is similar front and back, while the reverse side of denim is lighter in color.