tasc Performance

French Terry Fabric: Characteristics and Breakdown

 

It isn’t often that we dig deep to find out how our clothing is made or how to care for it.  Usually, we only seek this information when a piece of clothing isn’t performing as we feel it should.  More often than not, the clothing we demand the highest level of performance from is our outdoor and/or workout related gear.  Some of the best performance gear available is crafted from french terry cloth fabric. 


Workout gear isn’t a need for people with active lifestyles; it’s a requirement.  If our clothing can’t keep up with us, we’ll be inhibited from moving freely and doing the activities we need to do because of poor clothing choices.  French terry cloth is not only an excellent choice for performance gear, but it’s also beautifully constructed and fashionable.  


Tasc Performance specializes in gear for the lifestyle that deems it a necessity.  We don’t just make athletic clothing; we make clothing that can be worn all day, keep up with your nine to five, and hit the gym or trail after.  Not only that, our clothing does it in style.  When creating our french terry cloth pieces, we check all the boxes.  


  • Comfort.  If it isn’t comfortable, you aren’t going to wear it, and you definitely won’t perform as well in an article of clothing that doesn’t move with your body.  Our french terry cloth fabric moves and stretches with, utilizing our four-way stretch technology.  You’ll never experience binding, bunching, or uncomfortable fibers.  

  • Moisture Wicking.  If your performance gear can’t effectively remove excess moisture from your body, it’s not really doing much.  Our french terry cloth fabric is exceptionally effective at moisture-wicking because it is constructed from a bamboo and cotton fabric blend.  Bamboo fabric is naturally moisture-wicking due to the nature of how bamboo grows in the wild.

  • Odor Resistant.  Call us particular, but we don’t like workout gear that smells like, well, workout gear.  Our bamboo cotton blended french terry fabric has antibacterial properties that allow it to resist mold, mildew, and odor retention.  

  • Hypoallergenic.  If you have sensitive skin, you may have had reactions to other workout and/or performance-related clothing made from synthetic fabric.  These fabrics are generally treated with chemicals that allow them to wick away moisture.  Unfortunately, they can be irritating to the skin.  Bamboo fabric doesn’t need to be treated with chemical finishes to maintain its performance-related qualities, so if you have sensitive skin or simply want to limit the number of chemicals you expose to your skin, it’s the best option for you. 

  • Sun Protection.  Our french terry cloth fabric features UV protection without the use of chemicals.  Most fabric that claims UV protection achieves this protection by using chemicals sprayed on the fabric to block the sun’s rays.  Bamboo is naturally UV resistant, so chemicals aren’t necessary, and the UV protection lasts wash after wash. 
  • Easy care.  The last thing anyone wants is a bunch of workout clothing that has a “hand wash only, hang to dry” label.  Our performance clothing goes in the washer and dryer and comes out wrinkle-free.  

Characteristics of French Terry Cloth


We use numerous fabric blends when creating clothes that keep up with your own performance level, but one of our most popular fabrics is french terry cloth.  If you’re unfamiliar with textiles, here’s a little background information on how this fabric is made.  


Terry cloth fabric’s claim to fame is definitely its moisture-wicking capability.  Terry cloth is generally made from cotton and cotton blends.  Terry cloth features a high loop pile design, which means that the fabric is woven such that the texture is more porous than a normal flat weave fabric.  Terry cloth fabric can be made with uncut loop piles or closed loop piles.  


French terry cloth is essentially the “sportswear” version of terry cloth fabric because it stretches a bit more than traditional terry cloth fabric and is known for being incredibly comfortable.  Unlike traditional terry cloth fabric, french terry cloth is constructed such that the high loop pile is on the backside of the fabric, leaving a smooth finish to the exterior.  


French terry cloth is:


  • Excellent at keeping sweat locked away.  Because the high loop pile fabric is next to the skin, sweat and moisture are easily wicked away into the fabric, leaving your skin fresh and preventing an excess of dripping sweat while you work. 

 

  • Completely comfortable.  The internal finish of french terry cloth is some of the softest material on your skin.  The soft finish on the outside of the fabric is smooth and velvety soft.  

  • Breathable.  Nothing is worse than fabric that traps in body heat when you don’t want it to.  Our french terry clothing is more breathable than others because it’s constructed from a cotton bamboo blend.  Bamboo fiber contains micro gaps that allow bamboo clothing to allow for better airflow than many other fabrics.  

  • Easy care.  French terry cloth is an amazing easy-care fabric.  It resists wrinkling, so it always looks amazing, even when thrown on at the last minute and can be tossed in the washer and dryer without worries of performance loss.  

What is the Fabric Breakdown of French Terry Cloth?


Most french terry cloth clothing you’ll find today is made from some type of cotton/polyester blend.  When used as workout or performance gear, you’ll find french terry that is sometimes blended with additional materials to give it added stretch and mobility.  With these additional textiles come added weight and the introduction of fibers that may not be odor resistant or moisture-wicking.  Many inexpensive french terry cloth fabrics go heavy on polyester and light on cotton and other natural fabrics, making them less “french terry” and more “poly blend.”  While it is necessary to include some polyester materials to give french terry cloth enough stretch for proper mobility, we blend our fabric with naturally flexible organic fibers to keep synthetic fibers to a minimum. 


Tasc Performance french terry cloth fabric is constructed from a blend of bamboo viscose, organic cotton, and elastane.  


  • Bamboo viscose.  Our bamboo fabric comes from bamboo that is sustainably grown and crafted in our own patent-pending process that specially releases the natural performance features of bamboo into the end-resulting fabric.  This is why our french terry is breathable, moisture-wicking, supremely soft, and features UV protection.  

  • Organic Cotton.   Crafted from the highest quality, sustainably grown cotton available, our organic cotton pairs perfectly when woven with our bamboo viscose to deliver french terry cloth that is not only performance ready, but also features cloud-like comfort you won’t find in other french terry cloth fabrics.  

  • Elastane.  Just 4% of our french terry cloth fabric consists of elastane, which means you get the benefit of maneuverability without the weight of heavier polyester fabric blends.  Additionally, this allows our french terry cloth fabric to be odor resistant, unlike many performance blended french terry fabrics that are heavily blended with synthetic fibers and chemically treated to add moisture-wicking properties.  We don’t have to use chemicals to treat our fabric because bamboo viscose is moisture-wicking naturally.  

What Can I Expect from French Terry Cloth Performance Wear?


You can expect supreme comfort and flexibility from your french terry cloth performance wear.  And as with most all Tasc Performance pieces, the subtle design and classic styles mean you can wear your favorite gear outside of the gym or off the trail as much as you want.  In fact, we bet you’ll end up virtually living in some of our signature legacy pieces, which are highly versatile, feature detailed styling, and as always, are ready to perform the minute you are.  


You can also expect to appreciate the ease of care you’ll get from french terry cloth fabric.  French terry cloth is wrinkle resistant, which means even if you leave it hanging out in the dryer overnight, a simple “fluff” will bounce the wrinkles out and make it wearable.  


Your french terry cloth can be placed in the washer and dryer without the risk of losing vital performance features.  For instance, many clothing articles that claim to have UV protection can offer it because they’ve been finished with a chemical spray.  That spray deteriorates after numerous washings, and over time, the fabric loses its ability to block UV rays.  


Bamboo is a natural UV protectant, and as such, it will retain its UV protection no matter how many times you wash and dry it.  


French terry cloth is an exceptional fabric for performance, comfort, and style.  Made from a blend of high-quality cotton and bamboo, tasc Performance french terry cloth is breathable, lightweight, moisture-wicking, and UV protectant.  French terry cloth moves with our body, so whether you’re holding on to the side of a massive rock, perfecting your downward dog, or simply checking out the local farmer’s market on a Saturday, you’ll look and feel your best.  You can count on french terry cloth to be dependable and durable, and easy to care for.  


Sources:


https://www.hunker.com/13411478/characteristics-of-terrycloth

https://americanhiking.org/hiking-resources/

https://www.skincancer.org/skin-cancer-prevention/sun-protection/sun-protective-clothing/

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