Assuming you’ve never seen bamboo fabric before, you might be wondering how something so stiff could possibly be turned into something soft enough to sleep on. The answer lies in the process. Read on to learn all about the process, from start to finish. From harvesting the bamboo to weaving it into the fabric, there’s a lot that goes into making these soft, sustainable sheets. So next time you’re snuggling up in your cozy bamboo bedding, you’ll know just how much work went into creating it.
This article aims to answer the question “how are bamboo sheets made?” by describing bamboo sheet materials, what are bamboo sheets made of, and what makes Bamboo Bed’s bamboo sheets superior to other sheets.
Bamboo Sheet Materials
Before we can help you understand how bamboo sheets are made, we must first describe the materials and fabrics of bamboo sheets. You may have heard of rayon, viscose, lyocell, or modal fabric. What these materials have in common, however, you may not realize is that they are all derived from bamboo fibers.
Although rayon, viscose, modal, and lyocell fall under the bamboo sheet materials umbrella, they can vary widely. Bamboo blend materials are the standard for bamboo sheets, but high-quality sheets are made from 100% bamboo. Bamboo Bed is the leader in premium quality 100% soft bamboo sheet sets.
How Are Bamboo Sheets Made?
Now that we have discussed bamboo sheet materials, let’s answer another commonly asked question: “how are bamboo boards made?”. Bamboo sheets are made from bamboo fibers acquired from a specific species of bamboo (there are more than 1400 species of bamboo!).
The way bamboo sheets are made depends on the type of fiber they are made from. Remember our previous mention of rayon, viscose, modal, and lyocell fabrics? The manufacturing process is unique for each of them. We’ll take a look.
The Manufacturing Process
Making bamboo sheets is an interesting process to explore. How is it possible to transform such a strong plant into soft and luxurious sheets? Believe it or not, the manufacturing process for bamboo viscose sheets is very simple!
Transforming the bamboo stalk into viscose sheets requires only four easy steps. These steps include soaking the stalk, pressing the bamboo pulp, spinning the fiber, and weaving the yarn into a piece of bamboo fabric. For more information on these four steps, see the information below.
Harvesting The Bamboo Stem is The First Step in Making Bamboo Sheets
If you wondered how they made bamboo sheets, you might have thought that the plant had to be harvested first. Bamboo stems are cut just above the root when harvested, leaving the roots in the ground to regenerate new stems.
Once the bamboo reaches the production plant, the manufacturers cut it into small pieces. Manufacturers then place these bamboo pieces in an environmentally friendly soaking solution to remove the cellulose. We recommend you choose brands that have the Oeko-Tex Green certificate. This environmental standards body regulates these manufacturing processes to ensure sustainability and safety.
Mashing Bamboo Chips into Pulp to Create a Parchment-Like Material
The bamboo chunks are then ground into a bamboo pulp. After the bamboo viscose sheet manufacturers remove the bamboo pulp from the chemical, it needs to rest for a while. This hibernating period allows the bamboo pulp to break down into a usable product.
Finally, the processors extract the liquid from the bamboo pulp through a pressing process. Any re-usable solution is reserved for use on the next batch of bamboo. It is an important part of the bamboo sheet manufacturing process.
The pulp forms a parchment-like material after pressing. The ease of storage directly results from the pressing process, which makes pulp sheets available whenever they are needed to make more viscose sheets.
Spinning into Bamboo Viscose Yarn
During storage, the bamboo pulp sheets have time to dry out. Once dry, they are crushed and placed on spinning wheels to be spun. This forms a weaving yarn called viscose from bamboo or rayon from bamboo that is extremely fluffy and soft. Because bamboo viscose fibers are longer than typical cotton, their surface has smoother fiber sides than smooth fiber ends. This results in smoother and stronger yarns for the bamboo sheets.
Weaving Bamboo Viscose into Bamboo Bed Sheets
The final part of making bamboo sheets is to weave bamboo viscose threads into fabric. Weavers can transform this yarn into bamboo bedding using one of many weaving styles. The two most common weave styles for bamboo viscose bedding are sateen and twill.
Sateen weave uses a one-under-three-over pattern. This weave pattern creates a soft fabric with a luxurious feel. However, sateen weave bamboo viscose sheets can encounter issues with adhering to hard objects, causing the threads to tear and pill over time.
Twill weave features diagonal zigzag patterns that interlock the bamboo viscose threads. It is tight and secures the yarn in the bamboo viscose sheets to protect it from damage and snagging. The twill weave pattern creates a soft, smooth fabric that covers your body well.
From The Bamboo Grove to Your Room
Now you know how bamboo bed sheets are made and how the bamboo plant is processed into a smooth, soft, and breathable fabric. These bamboo viscose sheets not only help the whole family get a better night’s sleep but are also perfect for hot sleepers as they are breathable, moisture wicking and highly absorbent.
Choose 100% Bamboo Sheet Sets for A Brighter Future
Bamboo Bed’s selection of premium 100% bamboo bedding is superior to other materials available on the market. We only use sustainably farmed bamboo, produce the best possible quality, and are proud to be Oeko-Tex Standard 100 certified.
Bamboo Bed’s 100% bamboo sheets are not only ethically sourced and long-term biodegradable, but they’re luxuriously soft for a comfortable night’s sleep. Choose from a variety of queen, king, twin, twin sheets, and bamboo duvet covers at Bamboo Bed‘s online store.
