Occasionally clients will find some fabrics at special estate sales and other places and ask how to determine the type. It can sometimes be difficult to tell if a fabric is natural or synthetic. The easiest way to determine this is to snip of a tiny piece and perform what is known as a fabric burn test. This should be done by adults and only in a safe area with water.
Find a mystery fabric? Perform a burn test to determine if it is a natural or synthetic blend!
Reading the results of a fabric burn test:
- Hold the small fabric piece over a flame over a sink. Use a piece of wood intended to burn incense or similar to avoid charring your sink area.
- If it is a natural fabric, it will not shrink from the flame or begin to fuse. It will smell a bit like burning newspaper and the ash left behind will be grey and light.
- Once the fabric has burned, douse with water and rinse out sink area.
- If the fabric is synthetic, it will fuse and curl up. It will smell more like unpleasant burning hair than paper. These types of fabrics will generally put themselves out when aflame and leave behind a heavy, sooty black ash. There are various smells released by synthetic fabrics, ranging from light to fairly difficult to tolerate.
Conducting a burn test will determine if the fabric is natural or synthetic. It will not pinpoint exactly what type of fabric it is, but can help you get closer to the mystery! Do you have any favored tips or tricks to finding out what type of fabric you have found? If so, share them with us on Facebook!
Post by J&O Fabrics