Flannel: what kind of cloth? Characteristics, types, application, care

In the cold season, in bad weather naturally man's desire to surround himself with soft, cozy, and most importantly, warm fabrics. Ideally suitable for this purpose flannel. What kind of fabric? The question is perhaps superfluous. But for those who do not know - this is a fairly dense material with a pile, which can be located both on both sides, and only with the purl.

Flannel has long been used as a fabric for warm underwear. From the time of Peter the Great, it was an indispensable attribute of the Russian (and Soviet) army - it was made of footcloths.

Characteristic

Flannel can be cotton and woolen, linen and serge weave. The yarns of the fabric are interlaced so tightly that they do not have lumens. Flannel is natural, ecological. It has a vapor permeability, so they say that the skin in it "breathes". When buying fabric flannel, it is better to view the photo in advance. On them you can see the correctness of cut and sewing. By its heat-saving properties, the flannel is not inferior to wool, but it does not prick or irritate. The material absorbs moisture well, however, it dries long enough.
There are the following flannel varieties:

• Printed.
• Smoothly dyed.
• Bleached.

Now it became clear what virtues flannel possesses, what kind of fabric and what it is. Now you can pay attention to the picture. If it is applied from two sides, it means that pre-painted threads were used, from which the flannel cloth was created. If the picture is only on the front side, then it was applied to the finished fabric. The cost of the first type of fabric is higher, however, and the pattern will not fade after a lot of washing.

Types of flannel

The printed flannel can be both cotton and woolen. It is dense, strong to break. The name of this type of flannel is due to the way the drawing on the fabric. It is stuffed, printed with special equipment on the finished fabric. Each color is applied separately to a pre-bleached or colored flannel on one side.
The printed flannel can be white earth, when the pattern on the bleached surface occupies a small area. Typically, a fabric stained in a similar way is used to make diapers to reduce the risk of allergy to dyes in newborns. In addition to the white earth, there is a covered and ground flannel. The area occupied by the figure in these species is increased.

Quite often you can find a smoothly colored flannel. What kind of fabric and how is the image applied to it? Drawing on the smoothly dyed flannel is created due to threads of different colors. This method of painting is more durable than the printed one. Whitening flannel is the initial stage of "painting" works. With the help of special technologies it is possible to achieve a uniform, even, light shade. The bleached flannel is the most eco-friendly and cheap, but somewhat faded.

Application of flannel

For a long time, before the advent of modern synthetic linen, flannel fabric was used as a material from which underwear for men, women and children was sewed. However, even today many people prefer it. People working in the open air (builders, loggers), enjoying winter sports (skiers, skaters), fans of winter fishing appreciate the flannel for naturalness, high heat-saving properties.

In cold weather, especially in the off-season, when the heating has not yet been turned on, flannel bedding becomes popular. Even sweating in a dream, a person does not get cold and does not catch cold after a while, as the underwear absorbs moisture well and has an optimal coefficient of vapor permeability. In other words, the cold from the room will not reach the human body, and excess moisture in the form of steam will be output outside, contributing to the creation of a cozy and useful "microclimate" in bed.

For making home clothes (dressing gowns, nightgowns) natural fabrics are used: cotton, flannel. Calico items are worn in the warm season, and flannel homemade outfits are a real salvation on cold days.

Flannel for children

Young mothers try even before the birth of crumbs to answer their own question: flannel, what kind of fabric, what things for the baby are sewn from it? It is an ideal material for children's things, it is soft, warm, hypoallergenic. All this makes it the best material for sewing children's things. Flannel sliders, semi-overalls, ryazhonki and bonnets, traditionally become the first clothes of the baby. Such things can be dressed as a first layer for a more dense suit or overalls, for example, for a walk. In any case, you can be sure that the crumb is warm and cozy.
If you need a warm cloth for diapers, flannel also becomes the best option. In addition to softness and environmental friendliness, it should be noted the high absorbent properties of flannel matter, which is important when sewing diapers.

Care of flannel fabric

It is not burdensome to take care of this material. It is interesting that after washing it becomes softer, more pleasant to the touch. Flannel products can be washed both in automatic mode and manually using warm water, as hot promotes shrinkage of the fabric. Preliminary thing to soak in cold water, then the fabric will become soft.

Do not rub the products intensively, because the material quickly forms spools that make things look untidy. To get rid of stale dirt, it is better to use stain remover.