Here is 2 common methods you can follow to identify yarn fiber.
- Observation: you can touch or observe to identify. It’s simply but need our observer be professional with full experience.
a)Hand touch
| Fiber | Feeling |
| Cotton, Linen | Hard |
| Wool | Soft |
| Silk,viscose,nylon | Moderate |
b)Stretch level
| Fiber | Stretch level |
| Cotton, Linen | Low |
| Wool, Acetate | High |
| Silk, Viscose | Moderate |
c) Weight
Cotton, linen & viscose are heavier than silk; Nylon, acrylic & polypropylene are lighter than silk; Woo, polyester & acetate are equal to silk.
- Burning: it’s a common method to identify fiber by observe fiber’s characteristics when burning.
Cotton: Burning fast almost with no ash (soft, black or gray)
Silk: can hear a little bit sound, hard to burn again, will be gone out itself. Also with feather smell when burning.
Linen: burning fast with sound, smoke and ash(black or gray)
Viscose: Burning very fast with no ash.
