Exhibit 23.1


                          INDEPENDENT AUDITORS' CONSENT


The Board of Directors
Pillowtex Corporation:


We consent to the incorporation by reference in Registration Statements (nos.
33-65408, 33-84624, 33-81478, 333-39191 and 333-57727) on Form S-8 of Pillowtex
Corporation of our report dated February 14, 2002, with respect to the
consolidated balance sheets of Pillowtex Corporation and subsidiaries as of
December 29, 2001 and December 30, 2000, and the related consolidated statements
of operations, shareholders' equity (deficit), and cash flows for each of the
years in the three-year period ended December 29, 2001, and the related
financial statement schedule, which report appears in the December 29, 2001
annual report on Form 10-K of Pillowtex Corporation. Our aforementioned report
contains an explanatory paragraph that states that the Company and substantially
all of its subsidiaries (collectively, the Companies) have filed a voluntary
petition for relief under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code
(Chapter 11) and are currently operating their business under the jurisdiction
of Chapter 11 and the United States Bankruptcy Court in Delaware (the Bankruptcy
Court), and continuation of the Company as a going concern is contingent upon,
among other things, the ability to formulate a plan of reorganization which will
gain approval of the requisite parties under the United States Bankruptcy Code
and confirmation by the Bankruptcy Court, the ability to comply with the
debtor-in-possession financing facility, and the ability to generate sufficient
cash from operations and obtain financing arrangements to meet future
obligations. In addition, the Companies have experienced operating losses and
negative operating cash flows and are currently in default under all of their
pre-petition debt agreements. These matters raise substantial doubt about the
Company's ability to continue as a going concern. The consolidated financial
statements do not include any adjustments relating to the recoverability and
classification of recorded asset amounts or the amounts and classification of
liabilities that might result from the outcome of these uncertainties.

                                                        KPMG LLP


Charlotte, North Carolina
March 27, 2002