Here’s a simple guide to know if your fabric is made of natural fibers, synthetic fibers or both.
To start, cut a small piece of the fabric of your choice and grab a lighter. You can also have some water by your side, be careful making this test.
Fabric with natural fibers tends to burn like paper and leave a similar, strong aroma. When you burn it from the centre, it takes a while to start burning. In the next example, you can see two types, the left is a cotton printed fabric and right is muslin.
Next is the wrong side of the printed fabric.
Next is the muslin when you burn a corner.
When you have a fabric made of synthetic fibers, it tends to burn fast and leave a plastic-like aroma. When you burn it, it melts, and like I said, it does fast.
Next you can see the details of the burnt from the middle and a corner.
And finally, when you have a fabric with both fibers, natural and synthetic, it may be a little harder to know, but here’s a tip: it will take a while to burn, but meanwhile, it will distort. It leaves a burnt aroma mixed with plastic, and when you touch it, it’s going to tear apart and feel like plastic.
By doing the test, the percentage of natural and synthetic fibers will show. As you can see, the left fabric has more polyester than the right one.
Depending the craft you’re making, remember to always ask first the composition before buying fabric.
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