What is Terry?

Terry is a cloth with either loops all over on both sides of the fabric or patterned loops on both sides. It is formed through a weaving process with an extra warp yarn to make the loops. Characteristics of terry cloth are as follows; long wearing, easy to launder with little or no ironing required. Terry can be bleached, dyed, or printed (similar to screen printing). Better quality terry has a close, firm underweave, with very close loops (the genreal rule of thumb is the closer the loops, the better the quality of terry). Terry is very absorbent, and the longer the loop, the greater the absorbency. When the pile is only on one side, it is called "Turkish toweling".
What is velour?

Velour towels are terry towels where the loops have been cropped to give a smoother texture and to make the design clearer.
What makes terry cloth towels so absorbent?

Most terry cloth is made with cotton because the absorbent fibre gets stronger when wet and it can be washed in very hot water using strong bleach and detergent without harm. Terry cloth is usually made with looped pile because the loops act like very small sponges. Looped pile is also better able to withstand the strain of rubbing, pulling twisting and tugging by the user. Loosely twisted loops are softer and more absorbent than tightly twisted loops, which produce a rougher fabric. Long pile is more absorbent than short pile. Terry cloth is most absorbent when it has loops on both sides. Cotton can absorb up to 27 times its own weight in water.Here at Richard Haworth we have a number of terry products within our range including plain terry facecloths, terry guest towels, open toe terry slippers and Malibu bathrobes with an absorbent terry inner.