Wet processing and swelling treatments of cotton influence its reactivity and accessibility. Thus, pore structure, molecular order and crystallinity are structural parameters of prime importance. For this research scouring, slack mercerization and enzymatic hydrolysis with cellulases were performed on cotton yarn to create samples of varying crystal structure and internal surface. Various techniques including water retention, moisture regain and dye adsorption at equilibrium conditions were employed to elucidate the accessibility of these substrates. The overall integrity of the samples was determined by measuring tensile strength and microscopically.