How to Test Polyester Fabric
Polyester is a synthetic material that was invented in 1941 and created from oil products. This versatile fabric is known for strength and easy cleaning, as it washes and dries well. Perhaps synonymous with the double-knit leisure suit of the 1970's, polyester has many more functions. To test whether or not your fabric is polyester, you will need a swatch of the fabric and a match. Testing fabric to determine if it's polyester is a simple process that you can do at home without any complicated or fancy products or machinery.
Things You'll Need
- Swatch of fabric (1 inch width by 1 inch length)
- Matches
- Can or jar
- Tweezers (optional)
- Tap water
Instructions
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Hold the fabric swatch in your fingers or grasp in the tweezers and hold it over a clean can or jar.
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2
Light the match and ignite the corner of the fabric swatch. Blow out the match and drop it into the can or jar.
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3
Watch the fabric as it burns. If the fabric burns, it is a natural fiber such as cotton or linen and the burning will produce ash and an odor of burning vegetation. If the fabric is polyester, the fabric will melt and harden, resulting in a hard, melted plastic-type crust forming on the edges of the ignited area of the fabric swatch. The "ash" created from the burning polyester will look like hard black beads. The odor will smell sweet and the smoke produced will be black.
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Blow out the flames on the fabric swatch and drop the swatch into the jar or can. Ensure that the flames or embers are completely extinguished by running tap water into the can or jar, over the fabric swatch and the used match.
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Tips & Warnings
Some fabrics are a polyester and natural fiber combination. When this is the case you might see both a burning and a melting. Without complicated machinery or a care label, you won't be able to determine the percentages of polyester and/or natural fiber content in the fabric. Polyester used to be regarded as a cheap cloth, but due to the rising prices of oil, polyester may become an expensive fabric.
If testing fabric for inclusion in a quilting or sewing project where the fabric will be mixed with other fabrics and the fabric is polyester or a polyester blend, take caution when using it in that project. Polyester shrinks at a different rate than cotton or natural fibers and the project may take on a puckered appearance.
