How to tell good lawn from bad
· 2 min read
Every brand quotes a thread count and almost nobody explains it, which makes it a marketing number rather than a useful one. Here is what we actually look at when we buy.
Hold it to the light
Good lawn is even. Hold a piece up to a window and look for cloudiness — patches where the weave is thinner. Those patches wear through first, and they are usually where the shirt takes the most strain.
Rub it between finger and thumb
Cheap lawn feels slick because it has been finished with a softener that washes out. After two washes it goes limp and slightly rough. Good lawn feels dry and a little crisp in the hand and gets softer with washing rather than worse.
Look at where the print stops
On a digital print, check the edge of a dark motif against a pale ground. If the colour bleeds a millimetre into the background, the dye was not fixed properly and it will move again in the wash — usually onto the pale part of the same shirt.
Check the back of the embroidery
Turn the embroidered panel over. Neat, dense stitching on the reverse with the threads trimmed means it was done properly. A tangle of loose floats means it will pull, and the first time it catches on a bangle you will lose a section of the motif.
The short version
Even weave, dry hand, clean print edges, tidy reverse. Those four tell you more than any number on the packaging.