Dobby, slub and textured cottons: everyday fabrics with character

The main textured cottons

• Dobby: woven on a loom with a dobby attachment, which creates small repeating geometric patterns such as dots, checks, stripes or tiny diamonds. Often tone on tone, so the pattern shows as texture.
• Slub: woven from yarn with deliberate thick and thin sections, giving an irregular, slightly nubbly surface. The slubs are a feature, not a flaw.
• Seersucker: woven so that some threads are slack, creating puckered stripes that sit away from the skin. Cool in heat and meant to be worn unpressed.
• Crinkle or crushed cotton: set with a crinkled finish, easy to pack and travel with.
• Self-striped and self-checked cotton: stripes or checks woven in the same colour as the ground, a quiet choice for workwear.
• Eyelet and schiffli cotton: cotton with embroidered eyelet patterns, somewhere between a textured fabric and a lace.

Wearing and cutting them

Textured cottons suit the clothes you wear most: straight kurtas for work, relaxed shirts for weekends, co-ords and trousers. Their surface hides small creases, which makes them good for travel and long days. Our travel-friendly kurtas guide and office wear ideas have outfit ideas, and our everyday page has more.

When cutting, stripes and small dobby repeats are best matched at the centre front and side seams where the fabric allows, and stripes should run the same way on every piece. Slubby fabrics look best in simple lines, because the texture already does the work. Seersucker is usually cut and sewn without pressing the puckers flat.

Textured cottons also pair well with smoother fabrics. A slub kurta over plain cambric trousers, or a dobby kameez with a printed lawn dupatta, gives an outfit depth without clashing prints. Our pairing guide has more ideas.

Care and stitching notes

Textured cottons are generally easy to live with, but their surface needs a little thought. Always check the care label and test any new method on a hidden area first.

• Snags: dobby patterns with raised threads can catch on jewellery and hook-and-loop fastenings, so wash inside out, in a mesh bag if the label allows.
• Shrinkage: textured cottons can shrink a little like other cotton, and seersucker and crinkle finishes may shrink more in length. Our pre-washing guide helps you decide what to do.
• Pressing: iron dobby and slub on the reverse to keep the texture raised. Do not press seersucker or crinkle cotton flat; a light steam is enough.
• Sheerness: slub lawn and fine dobby can be sheer in pale shades, so hold them to the light and consider lining.
• Colour: deep shades can bleed in early washes, as with any cotton, so try our colour-fastness test before stitching.
• Drying: hang textured cottons to dry in the shade straight after washing; the texture hides creases, but strong sun can still fade deep colours.

Ordering

Send close-up and full-length photos of the fabric, plus the label, through a Stitching Only quote. Tell us if you want stripes matched or a particular direction used, and how relaxed you like the fit. We confirm that the fabric is suitable, how much is needed and how to send it to us in Pakistan before you post anything. If you would like us to supply a textured cotton instead, ask for a Fabric + Stitching quote and describe the colour. The custom stitching page explains the rest.