Ever wondered what the fabric care tags on soft furnishing actually meant? What is acetate anyway? Learn how to identify fabric types including acetate, acrylic, cotton, linen, nylon, polyester, rayon, silk, satin, velvet, denim, felt, flannel, microfiber, and much more. Find out what fabric types you have in order to learn to care for your fabrics more effectively.
Cotton
Cotton is probably one of the most common fabrics you're likely to have in your home as clothing. Cotton is a natural fiber and is used in a wide variety of clothing and home furnishings. Cotton is easily washed and/or dry cleaned. Cotton is a good strong fabric that is absorbent, and easy to work with. Cotton has a tendency to wrinkle very easily, so cotton/polyester blends began to be popular. Many people prefer the year-round "breathing" and lack of pilling of one hundred percent cotton.
Polyester
Polyester is a strong and durable synthetic fabric. Polyester dries quickly and can be washable or dry clean only, so check your tags. Polyester is often used as a blend with other fabrics to lend wrinkle resistance. It is not the easiest fabric to remove stains from, and doesn't breathe as well as other fabrics may.
Linen
Linen is a natural fiber that is very strong and comfortable. Linen can be hand washed and/or dry clean only. It irons nicely to a nice crisp fabric. Linen is often used for tablecloths, sheets, and curtains. Linen also has a nice comfortable shape and feel that make it a popular choice for clothing.
Nylon
Nylon is a synthetic fabric that is strong and lightweight. Nylon is easy to wash and take care of. Because nylon resists absorbing moisture and dries easily, it is often used for swimwear and activewear.
Acrylic
Acrylic is a synthetic or manufactured fiber that is both soft and lightweight. It dries easily and is machine washable. Acrylics are popular because of their ability to retain their shape and texture after washing and drying, however they can pill easily. Static cling also happens frequently with acrylics.
Acetate
Acetate is a synthetic or manufactured fiber with a silky luxurious appearance. It dries easily and resists absorbing moisture. Most acetate fabrics will need to be dry cleaned for their care. Some newer pieces of clothing are being made with acetate knits. Some of these newer pieces are able to be washed. Acetate is a frequently used fabric in clothing and home furnishing uses.
Rayon
Rayon is a soft and comfortable fabric that absorbs well and has few static and pilling problems. Rayon can have problems with shrinking. There are both dry clean only and washable rayon fabrics on the market today. The only difference in these rayon fabrics is their finishing stages. Watch care labels closely to know what type your clothing is. Although rayon has many characteristics that make it a great fabric, it can also be easily ruined by disregarding care labels.
Curtains
Also known as draperies, curtains are often hung at the windows of buildings and homes to block out light or view, as well as for decorative purposes. Curtains come in a variety of materials and designs. Polyester, cotton, silk and organza etc are some of the fabrics for making curtains.
Polyester
Polyester usually refers to cloth woven from polyester fiber.Polyester fibers are often spun together with other fibers, producing a cloth with some of the better properties of each. It can be manufactured to be similar to materials like silk, linen or wool. Because of its make, polyester does not shrink when washed, therefore making it a well-received material for curtains.
Cotton
Cotton is a soft fiber that is produced from the cotton plant. The fiber is most often made into thread and used to produce a light and soft cloth. Cotton is the most widely used natural-fiber cloth in clothing today. The production process of cotton gives the fibers a high degree of strength, durability, and absorbency. It is due to these qualities that makes cotton a premium material for draperies.
Silk
Silk is a natural fiber that is obtained from the cocoon silkworm larvae. It is the fibers’ triangular structure that gives silk its shimmering appearance. These structures allow the cloth to refract incoming light at different angles Highly sought after since ancient times, silk is still a popular luxury fabric today for those with a budget. Organza is a sheer, plain fabric traditionally made from silkyarn worms. Today many organzas are woven with synthetic fibers such as polyester or nylon.However certain organzas are still woven in Silk. These can be found in parts of China, as well as France and Italy.Organzas are a popular choice for sheer curtains as it has similar shimmering effect as that of silk but at more affordable prices.
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