Choosing Bedsheet Fabric for a Hotel
A home-furnishing supplier is shortlisting fabric for 200 hotel bedsheets. The hotel wants bed linen that survives about 300 industrial washes, needs low ironing, feels absorbent and stays within a tight budget. Two samples are offered. Sample A is a 100% cotton plain weave, 40s yarn, 120 g/m2, costing ₹180 per metre and shrinking 6% in warp after three washes. Sample B is a 55% cotton/45% polyester blend, 40s yarn, 130 g/m2, costing ₹160 per metre and shrinking 2% in warp. A burn test on A gives a fast flame, smell of burning paper and soft grey ash; B melts, forms a hard black bead and smells sweet-chemical. The supplier has 2,500 m of B in stock and can deliver in five days; A needs a 12-day procurement. The hotel's housekeeping team uses chlorine bleach occasionally and hot pressing. The supplier must also print care labels before dispatch.
1. Interpret the burn-test results and state what they confirm and what they cannot confirm.
Read the worked answer
Sample A burns quickly with a paper-like odour and leaves soft grey ash, which is consistent with a cellulosic fibre such as cotton. Sample B melts, forms a hard black bead and gives a sweet-chemical odour, which indicates a synthetic thermoplastic component, consistent with polyester. The tests therefore support the stated fibre families, but they do not confirm the exact 55/45 blend ratio, the presence of finishes, dye fastness, shrinkage or durability. A burn test is a screening tool, not a quantitative composition test. The supplier should rely on the mill's fibre-composition certificate and its own wash-test data before printing a care label that makes a blend claim. If the label says 55% cotton/45% polyester, that claim must be supported by a laboratory or supplier declaration, not by the burn test alone.
2. Recommend Sample A, Sample B or a different blend for the hotel. Justify the choice with at least three trade-offs.
Read the worked answer
For a hotel that prioritises 300 washes, low ironing and budget, Sample B is the stronger commercial choice, provided the blend is verified. Its 2% warp shrinkage is much lower than A's 6%, and its polyester content should give better wrinkle recovery, faster drying and higher abrasion resistance. It is also cheaper per metre and available in five days. The trade-offs are real: B is less absorbent than 100% cotton, may retain oily odour if poorly washed, and can glaze or shrink if hot-pressed above the correct setting. Sample A offers better absorbency and a cooler feel, but its 6% shrinkage creates cutting and fit problems, and it needs more ironing. A 60/40 or 50/50 cotton-polyester blend could improve the balance, but changing blend at this stage would require a new sample, wash test and buyer approval. The decision should be B with a pre-production wash test, not B on the strength of the burn test alone.
3. Write suitable care-label instructions for the recommended fabric and describe one pre-production test the supplier should run.
Read the worked answer
A reasonable label for a 55/45 cotton-polyester bedsheet is: machine wash warm at 40°C on a gentle cycle; use non-chlorine bleach only when needed; tumble dry low; remove promptly; warm iron; do not iron over any print; do not dry clean unless the buyer specifies it. The exact wording must follow the buyer's market regulations. Before bulk production, wash a 50 × 50 cm sample for three cycles at 40°C with the detergent and bleach regime the hotel actually uses. Measure warp and weft shrinkage, check colour change, pilling, seam strength and hand feel, and compare the result with the buyer's tolerance. This test is more useful than a burn test because it predicts the failure mode that matters in a hotel laundry: shrinkage and appearance after repeated washing.