[Northkeep] Identifying fabrics (was: linen-rayon blends...?)

Anawyn at aol.com Anawyn at aol.com
Mon Oct 18 09:59:49 PDT 2004


Talana would be the better one to answer this. Hopefully she will see this 
post and add her wisdom to it. I know that one of the ways you can tell 
synthetic is with a "burn test."  Take a small bit of the fabric and light it with a 
match. If the charred remains looks like a clump that melted together (like 
melted plastic), it is a pretty sure bet you have a synthetic. Natural fibers 
will not react that way, they will simply char and turn to ash. Another is a 
"crush" test, grab a palmful of fabric and squeeze it, if it wrinkles it is most 
likely, at least in large part, a natural fiber. If it does not wrinkle at all, 
most likely it is synthetic. Now that is not an absolute, some natural fibers 
spring back well, and I have known some synthetic to wrinkle, but it is a 
good general rule of thumb.
Hope that helps!
Anawyn



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