The Skinny on Woven Fabrics: What They Are & How to Care for Them

You’ve probably heard the term “woven fabrics,” especially if you’ve been browsing the Threadsy site for button-down dress shirts or blouses. But, there’s a lot of great apparel, from shirts to pants, made with woven fabrics. If you’re wondering what you “should know” about this versatile category, you’re in the right place. We’re going to share everything you need and want to know about woven fabrics, from their benefits, to special performance finishes, to how to care for them.

Let’s start with the basics. Woven fabrics get that name because the threads (either natural or synthetic) are placed at a 90-degree angle to each other until they’re woven together on a loom. Because the threads are woven together, they tend to be stronger than non-woven fabrics. 

It’s the strength of these fabrics that makes them so durable and versatile. You’ll see lots of types of apparel made from woven fabrics. Wovens can be made from a variety of fabrics as well, including wool, silk, and cotton and less common ones like chiffon, gabardine and flannel.

Many people find that woven fabric blends provide a lot of durability and sturdiness. That’s why, for example, a button-down shirt makes a great business uniform piece that dollars out since it’s so long-lasting. With woven fabrics, you also get a material that doesn’t easily stretch out of shape, especially with daily wear as a uniform piece. Wovens also do well through many wears, machine washes and dries.  

Overall, woven fabrics have the following qualities that make them a preferred material to use in a variety of clothing products:

• Thickness and density for durability
• Porosity, which allows for air to flow through easily so that the material “breathes”
• Insulation, which allows the fabric to trap heat so the person wearing it stays warmer longer
• Elasticity, so a woven shirt rarely loses its shape
• Resistance to tears and creases, for all-day, repeated wear.

Because woven fabrics are so versatile, manufacturers use them in a wide variety of apparel, including:

• T-shirts
• Women’s button-up blouses
• Men’s dress shirts
• Hoodies
• Jackets
• Pants

Woven fabrics are already hard-working clothes. However, when a manufacturer adds treatments and finishes to the material, then the apparel works even harder for you in ways that support your busy day-to-day lifestyle. 

These finishes and treatments include:

• UV-resistant: This treatment helps block ultraviolet radiation from the sun. A UV-resistant woven shirt can help prevent sunburns, but also keep the material from fading or being damaged.
• Antibacterial: This treatment prevents the growth of bacteria, which may cause bodily odors. A great option if you’re selecting a garment for all-day wear, like at a trade show or on sales calls.
• Anti-static: This treatment prevents the buildup of static and reduces static cling and discharge for ultimate comfort.
• Stain-resistant: Also called stain repellent, this special finish prevents water and oily spills from penetrating the woven fabric. Instead, the watery or oily stains bead up and roll off. This is a great feature for people who work in the hospitality, restaurant or healthcare industries.
• Chemical and fire resistant: This specialty treatment minimizes damage from chemicals and reduces the possibility that the item will catch on fire and/or spread a fire.

Not to state the obvious, but the clothing care instructions label is your best guide to cleaning any woven garment you may have. Here are some general guidelines to care for your woven apparel.

1. Start gently. If you really want to preserve your shirts and hoodies and prevent damage, use a gentle detergent coupled with cold water. Look for a clear detergent that’s made for sensitive skin. You should avoid any laundry detergents that contain bleach or similar additives that can ruin the color of the material.

2. Err on the side of caution. If your woven fabric is a blend of two materials (such as a cotton/silk blend), then wash the garment using the care instructions for the most delicate of the two materials (in this case, silk).

3. Keep it cool. Another big problem for most woven fabrics is extreme heat. That’s why throwing a woven shirt into a high-heat dryer isn’t a good idea. Instead, we recommend hanging your woven shirts or hoodies to air-dry. Once they’re dry, toss them into the dryer for no more than five minutes on a low setting to get any wrinkles out.

4. To dry clean or not to dry clean, that’s the question. If possible, you can’t really go wrong with dry cleaning. However, it’s not necessary to dry clean every single woven fabric. However, we highly recommend you dry clean any wool coats and jackets, as well as very delicate items such as silk blouses.

Certain woven materials may also have special care issues. These include:

Cotton: Probably the most common of the woven fabrics, cotton doesn’t hold up well to high temperatures. If you wash your cotton shirts or hoodies in hot or warm water, they may shrink. We recommend only using cold water and air drying these items if possible to prevent shrinkage.

Wool: Wool is another woven fabric that’s aggravated by heat. Besides shrinking, however, wool is also vulnerable to pilling – those little balls of fluff that appear on wool and wool blend clothes. Another issue with wool is that many of the chemicals found in detergents can break down the fibers. Because of this, we generally recommend that you always dry clean your wool products.

Fabrics treated to be water-repellent: The water-repellent chemicals that are used to treat the fabric also don’t respond well to heat. However, if you need to iron these clothes, you can still do so, as long as you’re ironing on low heat using a pressing cloth.

Linen: Linens are beautiful and versatile fabrics, but they should be dry cleaned whenever possible. If you do wash linen shirts, use cold water and dry them on the lowest setting.

Because of the way they’re woven together, these fabrics provide great value for their durability and versatility. But the fact that woven fabrics also run the spectrum from the common (cotton and wool) to the unusual (silk and linen), they can be incorporated into many different personal styles to suit your lifestyle. Shop Threadsy now for men’s dress shirts and women’s woven business blouses.