Burn
Test - CAUTION. WARNING. BE CAREFUL! This should only be
done by skilled burners! Make sure there is a bucket of water nearby
and that you burn in a metal bucket or non-plastic sink.
To identify fabric that is unknown, a simple burn test can be done
to determine if the fabric is a natural fiber, man made fiber, or
a blend of natural and man made fibers. The burn test is used by
many fabric stores and designers and takes practice to determine
the exact fiber content. However, an inexperienced person can still
determine the difference between many fibers to "narrow" the choices
down to natural or man made fibers. This elimination process will give
information necessary to decide the care of the fabric.
WARNING: All fibers will burn! Asbestos treated fibers are, for
the most part fire proof. The burning test should be done with caution.
Use a small piece of fabric only. Hold the fabric with tweezers,
not your fingers. Burn over a metal dish with soda in the bottom
or even water in the bottom of the dish. Some fabrics will ignite
and melt. The result is burning drips which can adhere to fabric
or skin and cause a serious burn.
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Natural Fibers
Cotton is a plant fiber. When ignited it burns
with a steady flame and smells like burning leaves. The ash left
is easily crumbled. Small samples of burning cotton can be blown
out as you would a candle.
Linen is also a plant fiber but different from cotton in that the
individual plant fibers which make up the yarn are long where cotton
fibers are short. Linen takes longer to ignite. The fabric closest
to the ash is very brittle. Linen is easily extinguished by blowing
on it as you would a candle.
Silk is a protein fiber and usually burns readily, not necessarily
with a steady flame, and smells like burning hair. The ash is easily
crumbled. Silk samples are not as easily extinguished as cotton or
linen.
Wool is also a protein fiber but is harder to ignite than silk
as the individual "hair" fibers are shorter than silk and
the weave of the fabrics is generally looser than with silk. The
flame is steady but more difficult to keep burning. The smell of
burning wool is like burning hair.
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Man Made Fibers
Acetate is made from cellulose (wood fibers), technically cellulose acetate.
Acetate burns readily with a flickering flame that cannot be easily extinguished.
The burning cellulose drips and leaves a hard ash. The smell is similar to
burning wood chips.
Acrylic technically acrylonitrile is made from natural gas and
petroleum. Acrylics burn readily due to the fiber content and the
lofty, air filled pockets. A match or cigarette dropped on an acrylic
blanket can ignite the fabric which will burn rapidly unless extinguished.
The ash is hard. The smell is acrid or harsh.
Nylon is a polyamide made from petroleum. Nylon melts and then
burns rapidly if the flame remains on the melted fiber. If you can
keep the flame on the melting nylon, it smells like burning plastic.
Polyester is a polymer produced from coal, air, water, and petroleum
products. Polyester melts and burns at the same time, the melting,
burning ash can bond quickly to any surface it drips on including
skin. The smoke from polyester is black with a sweetish smell. The
extinguished ash is hard.
Rayon is a regenerated cellulose fiber which is almost pure cellulose.
Rayon burns rapidly and leaves only a slight ash. The burning smell
is close to burning leaves.
Blends consist of two or more fibers and, ideally, are supposed
to take on the characteristics of each fiber in the blend. The burning
test can be used but the fabric content will be an assumption. |
