Simba Towels

Some Towel Questions answered!!

Q: How do I measure the quality of a towel?
A: There are many different components to a towel, but the general rule is that a heavier towel is suitable for the bathroom, where it can dry out easily between uses, whereas a lighter weight towel is better suited to the beach, where it gets more frequent use in one period. The yarn is very important and will reflect in the price of the towel.

Q: What does Gm2 mean?
A: Gm2 is a measure of weight: ‘grams per square meter’. Take care not to confuse that with ‘Grams pp’, which mean ‘grams per piece’. While both measurements are perfectly valid, the results will be quite different.
For example, a towel 75cm wide x 150cm long that weighs 500 gm2 will be 0.562 grams per piece.

Q: What is a jacquard towel?
A: A jacquard towel is a towel made from coloured yarns to weave the pattern into the towel. A jacquard towel is often made with two colours, but sometimes more colours can be woven. A jacquard towel usually has the pattern in reverse on the back of the towel.

Q: What is velour?
A: Velour is part of the finishing process of a towel. When a towel is made on a towel loom, there are loops on either side of the towel. Part of the finishing process is to shave the top of the loops off one side to create a soft velvety finish on the towel. If you look carefully, you can see! You cannot ‘velour’ both sides of the towel.

Q: Why don’t velour towels dry as well as terry towels?
A: The velour side of the towel is definitely not meant for drying…it is meant to be sat on or laid on the beach! The scientific action of water on the velour means that the water does not absorb as easily and you should always use the terry side to dry yourself.

Q: What is the difference between a jacquard towel and a plain towel?
A: A jacquard towel is made on a jacquard loom and uses coloured (dyed) yarns to create a pattern (or logo or photo) on a towel. A plain towel is made on the loom from yarn in its natural or raw state and then the whole towel is dyed, hence piece dyed towels.

Q: What is a printed fiber reactive printed towel?
A: Reactive dyes are used where many colours are required. Fiber reactive dyes react chemically to combine with and dye the fibers of the towel. The soft handle is achieved by washing the towel after printing, which removes any excess inks and gives the towel a soft handle.