Welcome back to the surplus of fruitless information that is my blog. Today, we will be amounting an in-depth bulk of time to distinguishing different types of fabric. There is no benefit to knowing this, yet I am going to type it all out anyway. If you’re looking for a fantastically boring waste of time, you’ve come to the right place.
Let’s begin.
Types of Fabric
First, you need to have a comprehensive knowledge of the different types of fabric in order to be able to correctly identify them. I will not be teaching you that here. Instead, I will simply provide the names of the fabrics we will be examining today and leave it to you to educate yourself on the acute details of each.
We will be looking at broadcloth, brocade, cashmere, chiffon, corduroy, dobby, faille, satin, and velvet.
Most fabrics are made up of a variety of different fibers, most commonly being: polyester, cotton, linen, silk, spandex, polyester, and rayon.
More often than not, you frequently find certain combinations of these materials. Polyester pairs with cotton for comfortable clothes that don’t crease often. Linen and silk are a good match for clothes that drape and do not crease easily. Spandex and cotton are often used in athletic wear, for spandex is stretchy and durable while cotton is breathable. Cotton, polyester, and rayon are breathable (cotton), durable (polyester), and shiny (rayon).
Before I get into how I would go about, I will offer another method I found during my research.
Fabric Burn Test
This method entails what its name suggests. You can see how this technique could pose problems. I guess some fabrics do not burn as easily as others, but considering you don’t know the fabric you’re burning, hence why you are doing the test, it’s all up in the air. Maybe I’m interpreting the details of this method incorrectly, the imposing name deterred me a bit.
Identifying Fabrics
Now, here’s a good way to identify the different fabrics. We will begin with the natural fabrics.
BROADCLOTH: Finely woven, most often all cotton or a blend, slightly horizontal rib. Broadcloth is most commonly used in dress shirts. Appears lightweight, smooth, and flat.
BROCADE: Decorative cloth. Characterized by raised designs. Usually made of silk and has gold/silver threads. Commonly used in elegant decor and dressy occasions
CASHMERE: Wool from Cashmere goat, very warm and soft. A luxury product. Often used in sweaters and warm clothing. Finer and softer than sheep’s wool.
CHIFFON: Lightweight, airy fabric with very twisted fibers. Appears in pants, loose shirts or dresses, and scarves.
CORDUROY: Essentially a rigid form of velvet (see below). Usually made of cotton or cotton blend, composed of tufted cords. Often found in shirts and pants.
DOBBY: A decorative weave with small geometric patterns. Commonly used in dress shirts.
FAILLE: Soft and light fabric, shiny. Can be made of cotton or silk. Can be seen most often in dresses.
SATIN: Lustrous and glossy fabric most frequently used in expensive evening clothing.
VELVET: Luxurious fabric, has a plush feel. Once was exclusively made from silk, now can be composed of various fibers including cotton. Often used in nicer clothes.
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