rebecca's pocket
.: domestic --> cooking | textiles | sewing | knit/crochet | diversions
the chart that follows is reproduced from the Singer Sewing Book by Mary Brooks Picken, published in 1949. no warranty stated or implied, etc, etc.
Tests |
Cotton |
Linen |
Silk |
Rayon |
Wool |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Touch lighted match to scrap | Smells like burning paper. Flame sputters and smothers. Burns slowly. | Like cotton but burns more slowly. | Smells like burning hair. Burns fast and steadily. Leaves very tiny globules like hair. Weighted silk slower burning. Leaves gritty ash. | Smells like burning paper. Quick flame but slower than silk. Leaves carbon ash. Acetate melts and leaves hard globule. | Smells like burnt hair. |
| Drop caustic soda on scrap to tell pure wool from that which is mixed with cotton | Pure wool dissolves. Any cotton fiber mixed with it is left. | ||||
| Wash or drop water on scrap | Drop of water remains whole a moment before sinking in | Drop spreads and absorbs quickly | Drop will spot silk. Washing will remove sizing and cloud water. Dries quickly. | Feels gummy when wet. Fibers weak when wet. Dries slowly. Acetate absorbs very little water. Feels dry almost at once. | |
| Drop oil or glycerine on scrap to tell cotton from linen | Spot is opaque. | Spot is translucent when held up to light | |||
| Drop ink on scrap to tell pure linen from cotton and linen mixture | Spreads evenly and rapidly on pure linen. If cotton is mixed with fabric, spreads further on some threads than on others. | ||||
| Rub scrap with fingernail or coin to tell rayon from other fibers | Threads may slip or separate more than in any other fabric. | ||||
| Ravel a thread to compare it with one you are sure of | Fiber short and fuzzy. Not lustrous or hairy. | Fibers longer, mor elustrous than cotton. May seem woody. | Lustrous as compared with wool or cotton. | Lustrous. Feels cool and slippery as compared with other fibers. | Feels springy and hairy. |
| Old white fabrics can be compared for whiteness to tell rayon from other fibers | Remains white; all natural fibers end to yellow with time. |
by Mary Brooks Picken
©1949 Singer Manufacturing Co.
used without permission