Name that fabric

I bought a couple of bolts of fabric from a friend yesterday who inherited a
bunch of stuff from her mother.

One was muslin, the other, hmmm, not sure. Can't tell if its linen, a very
raw muslin, or interfacing. Its stiff, coarse, scratchy, has little woody
pieces in the weave and you can see between the threads, i.e. relatively
coarsely woven.

I guess this is a long shot, but, anyone got an idea as to what this is? I
brought it to one store, but they said they'd only be able to tell if it was
natural or synthetic.

Dwight

"duh who" wrote:

I bought a couple of bolts of fabric from a friend yesterday who inherited a
bunch of stuff from her mother.

One was muslin, the other, hmmm, not sure. Can't tell if its linen, a very
raw muslin, or interfacing. Its stiff, coarse, scratchy, has little woody
pieces in the weave and you can see between the threads, i.e. relatively
coarsely woven.

I guess this is a long shot, but, anyone got an idea as to what this is?


Might be unwashed osnaburg.

Do a burn test on it:
http://www.fabrics.net/fabricsr.asp
http://www.fabriclink.com/Burntest.html
http://sewing.about.com/library/sewn.../aafab0303.htm

That will tell you if it's a natural fiber or a synthetic, and will
possibly narrow down the options within those two.

Take a swatch of it (4"x4" or so), zig-zag the edges (so it doesn't
fray) and dump it in the washer with your towels or sheets.

If it's really osnaburg, it will be cotton; and will shrink up a bit
and get softer.

Osnaburg is one of those fabrics that looks really awful as it comes
off the bolt, because it's rough and scratchy, but it softens up
beautifully when washed. It does shrink the first few times it's
washed, though.

jenn

--
Jenn Ridley

Might be unwashed osnaburg.

I thought it might be Osnaburg, and it still might, but its coarser than
I've seen. And those woody pieces....


Do a burn test on it:
http://www.fabrics.net/fabricsr.asp
http://www.fabriclink.com/Burntest.html
http://sewing.about.com/library/sewn.../aafab0303.htm

Thanks Jenn. I'll try out your suggestions.

"duh who" wrote in message
...
Might be unwashed osnaburg.

I thought it might be Osnaburg, and it still might, but its coarser than
I've seen. And those woody pieces....


Do a burn test on it:
http://www.fabrics.net/fabricsr.asp
http://www.fabriclink.com/Burntest.html
http://sewing.about.com/library/sewn.../aafab0303.htm


OK, natural fiber, smells like paper burning.

If it is osnaburg, the rough kind, what can be done with it?

Could it be burlap?

Linda

"duh who" wrote in message
...
I bought a couple of bolts of fabric from a friend yesterday who inherited
a
bunch of stuff from her mother.

One was muslin, the other, hmmm, not sure. Can't tell if its linen, a
very
raw muslin, or interfacing. Its stiff, coarse, scratchy, has little woody
pieces in the weave and you can see between the threads, i.e. relatively
coarsely woven.

I guess this is a long shot, but, anyone got an idea as to what this is?
I
brought it to one store, but they said they'd only be able to tell if it
was
natural or synthetic.

Dwight

"Arlinda" wrote in message
...
Could it be burlap?

Linda


I don't think so. The threads aren't that thick.

duh who wrote:
I bought a couple of bolts of fabric from a friend yesterday who
inherited a bunch of stuff from her mother.

One was muslin, the other, hmmm, not sure. Can't tell if its linen,
a very raw muslin, or interfacing. Its stiff, coarse, scratchy, has
little woody pieces in the weave and you can see between the threads,
i.e. relatively coarsely woven.

I guess this is a long shot, but, anyone got an idea as to what this
is? I brought it to one store, but they said they'd only be able to
tell if it was natural or synthetic.

Well, that part's easy :-) Cut off a small strip and set light to it.
Cellulose fabrics like cotton, linen, ramie, hemp and rayon will burn
readily with a smell like burning paper and leave a fine smooth ash.
Proteins like wool and silk burn less readily with a smell like burning hair
and leave a fine smooth ash. Synthetics will burn with a chemical smell and
leave a hard beady ash; sometimes the edge of the fabric, where the flame
is, can be seen to melt.

Mixtures are tricky. You have to guess a bit.

Your "little woody pieces" sound like muslin (UK: calico) but it's hard to
tell. Why not wash it on hot then tumble dry it and see what it's like? Then
you can decide what you can use it for. If it's a cellulose you can dye it
easily using Procion MX dyes.

HTH

--
Sally Holmes
Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England

"Sally Holmes" wrote in message
...
duh who wrote:
I bought a couple of bolts of fabric from a friend yesterday who
inherited a bunch of stuff from her mother.

One was muslin, the other, hmmm, not sure. Can't tell if its linen,
a very raw muslin, or interfacing. Its stiff, coarse, scratchy, has
little woody pieces in the weave and you can see between the threads,
i.e. relatively coarsely woven.

I guess this is a long shot, but, anyone got an idea as to what this
is? I brought it to one store, but they said they'd only be able to
tell if it was natural or synthetic.

Well, that part's easy :-) Cut off a small strip and set light to it.
Cellulose fabrics like cotton, linen, ramie, hemp and rayon will burn
readily with a smell like burning paper and leave a fine smooth ash.

Did that. Its cellulose.

Name that fabric

(duh=A0who)
I bought a couple of bolts of fabric from a friend yesterday who
inherited a bunch of stuff from her mother.
One was muslin, the other, hmmm, not sure. Can't tell if its linen, a
very raw muslin, or interfacing. Its stiff, coarse, scratchy, has little
woody pieces in the weave and you can see between the threads, i.e.
relatively coarsely woven.
I guess this is a long shot, but, anyone got an idea as to what this is?
I brought it to one store, but they said they'd only be able to tell if
it was natural or synthetic.
Dwight
---
I had a chunk of raw silk similar to what you describe. Sort of
loosely woven, thick/thin threads, relatively coarse and scratchy, with
mulberry twig bits caught in the weave. The bits of bark and stem gave
an unpleasant hand to the yardage. This sort of raw silk is very slubby,
and comes in natural hues--tans, beiges, dark cream shades.
Dry cleaner's--the good ones--are trained in fabric identification.
You could try calling a few local cleaner's to see if they have an
expert on hand. I suggest this, because when you are new to using the
burn test, it is easy to confuse ash residue, and besides, the test only
gives general categories, it doesn't tell you what the fibers actually
are.
Cea