is it natural or synthetic??

[Auryn]

I am hoping someone here will be able to enlighten me.

A few weeks back I went to a party rental company's "garage sale""
among the things I bought was a roll of beautiful orange gold fabric. I was told it was 6 yards and paid $10- I just unrolled it to wash it and it turns out its actually 16 yards - $0.63 cents a yard- go me .

Anyway
my question is, aside from a burn test, is there any way to tell if a fabric is natural or synthetic??

This is a high end rental place and I bought olive green silk crepe scarfs (3 yards longs- $0.50 each) so they do have high end fabrics. The person that was manning the place wasn't sure- he was just hired to run the sale.

[LadyShadow]

What an awesome steal.  Way to go.

Although I have no clue on how to tell.  Best of luck with that.

[gem]

I can usually tell by looking at it.  Full synthetics often have a strange glittery sheen to them when seen in bright sunlight.  What kind of fabric is it?  Sometimes you can tell by feel (poly velvet feels *nothing* like silk or cotton velvet, which feel nothing like each other, either).  Also, it could very well be a blend of synthetic and natural, but I don't know how you'd determine the ratio of what to what.

Great find!  We want pictures!

[Auryn]

Well I did a burn test on a piece of the fabric- washed and dried
it melted like synthetic but smelled like burnt hair. Best I can guess is that its a mix of synthetic and natural.

Here are a couple of pics, best I could get to represent the color. its a deep deep -but bright-orange with red and gold undertones and shimmers

[Welsh Wench]

From what I can see, it looks like dupioni silk.

The only reason I know is because I have some that looks very similar.
Beautiful fabric, by the way.

When I prewashed mine, it wrinkled alot and it kind of changed colours when I ironed it until it cooled off from the iron.

[verymerryseamstress]

I agree - from the pictures it looks like dupioni. 

[Auryn]

You guys have just made me very very happy 

now I just gotta figure out what to make with it.
I have one 13yd piece and one 3 yd piece

[DonaCatalina]

You guys have just made me very very happy 

now I just gotta figure out what to make with it.
I have one 13yd piece and one 3 yd piece

With shot silk the first thing that comes to my mind is Italian.....like something from Mantua or Verona.

[gem]

With shot silk the first thing that comes to my mind is Italian.....like something from Mantua or Verona.

Dona C, do you have links for Veronese or Mantuan gowns?  All I ever seem to see is Florentine and Venetian.

Gramercy!

[operafantomet]

With shot silk the first thing that comes to my mind is Italian.....like something from Mantua or Verona.

Dona C, do you have links for Veronese or Mantuan gowns?  All I ever seem to see is Florentine and Venetian.

From what I've seen, gowns from Verona would in large follow the style of those from Venice, but maybe with a tad more "provincial" flair. Sometimes they would also be a bit more buttoned-up than the very open Venetian dresses. But the style of Veneto didn't differ much until reaching Bergamo and the other "outer limits" of the county.

There are some Mantuan portraits here, but they're all high Renaissance in style - scroll down:
http://geocities.com/pisslei/gallerymilano

Some inspirational pics for that gorgeous fabric of yours:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/operafantomet/renaissanceportraits/venezia1/brescia1535.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/operafantomet/renaissanceportraits/venezia1/bassano1552calvario.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/operafantomet/renaissanceportraits/venezia2/bordone1530s.jpg
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v31/operafantomet/renaissanceportraits/bergamo/moroni1560.jpg

Looking forward to more inspirational pics! ( <----- is a picture junkie...)

[Margaret]

Jinkies!  Nice score!

When it looks that good, who cares what it's made of!!

[Auryn]

Thanks guys
you are so awesome.

I am actually originally from Bergamo- raised there until I was 11 and all my family still lives there_ I go back every couple of years.
My grandma would get a total kick out of seeing me in something like that.

[operafantomet]

I am actually originally from Bergamo- raised there until I was 11 and all my family still lives there_ I go back every couple of years.
My grandma would get a total kick out of seeing me in something like that.

Seriously?? That's awesome! And so unexpected. Bergamo happens to be one of my fav. Italian cities - the times I've been in Italy, I've always started my journey from there. Just browsing through "Bérghem de huta" (or however a true Bergamesque person would spell the dialect name of the Citta alta) at night is such a good start to a lovely trip.

I have a gallery of Bergamesque portraits, you should totally make such a garb - for your grandmother  :
http://www.geocities.com/pisslei/gallerybergamo.html

[mollymishap]

Oooooh!  Preeeety!!!

Very good score, regardless of the content, Auryn!

But there is one thing more to consider before you make your gorgeous Bergamese gown: you're in Florida, right?  Even if it's a blend, be sure you're not going to over-heat in it, and take that into account while you're planning the design.

When I lived in Fla my personal rule was to avoid anything with greater than 50% synthetic content & that seemed to work OK.  That being said, I *do* have a couple of gowns that totally violate that rule that I've made since living in NH, but we tend to not have the high humidity & they're a definite boon in cooler weather.

SO, if I may suggest taking a few threads from the warp and another few from the weft and do another burn test on these separately, you may get a better sense of what the ratio of synthetic/natural fibres is.  You may find that BOTH melt AND smell like hair, in which case the synthetic ratio is muuuuuch higher than 50/50.

Anyway, so happy planning on the designing of this fab new gown!  Great score!!!

[Auryn]

operafantomet
thats awesome, few people know where Bergamo even is. most people think Italy is Florence and south.
When we lived there we lived in Citta Bassa- the lower Bergamo, my grandma has always lived in Citta Alta so that's where I stay when I go visit- I've walked the walls from top to bottom (more then once when the funicolare was out of service) and know the place pretty well.

mollymishap - you are very right. I never even buy ready made clothes are that are more than 50% synthetic. I generally stick to 100% cotton.
I will show my ignorance here but what is the warp and weft???
maybe I can get some of those cooling packets and build secret compartments into the dress to help keep cool 

[Aunty Lou]

Well, warp is the threads that run the length of the fabric, and weft is the threads that run widthwise.  in a shot silk, the warp is one color, and the weft a different thread color.  Dupioni silk is made of threads of silk that has not been combed to complete smoothness, leaving little bumps in the thread, which catch the light, and kind of glisten.  It also makes the fabric crisp, lending itself to pleats and crinkle effects.  Can't wait to see what you do with that wonder red/orange/gold!

[Kate XXXXXX]

The slubs in dupion silk come from having two silkworms in the cocoon, and are not to do with combing.  Some dupion is almost as smooth as taffeta, some very rough.

Dupion, raw silk, and tussah all have slubs.  Up until about the 1950's, it was thought to be a lesser grade of silk and would not have been used for top quality garments.  Much of it was turned into heavier grades of silk like silk tweed and matka (I think I'm remembering that right, but don't take it as gospel!), and mixed with wool and other fibres where the slubs would be disguised.  Raw silk and its relations became very fashionable in the 50's and 60's - possibly due to the shortage of smoother silks after the war - and have remained a staple of the Posh Frock and wedding dress trades ever since.

[DragonWing]

Kate, that is fasinating, I did not know that. I need to research more on that.

[Cilean]

Not to be a party pooper, but it sounds like you have rayon, and polyester, not Dupioni silk, most party places will not have silk because of the issues with manageability of getting it cleaned.  The side you are showing us looks just like the faux silk from JoAnns.  It is a lovely color.

Cilean

[Kate XXXXXX]

The EASY test for silk: does it stick to your hands?

Brush the palm of your hand across the surface of the fabric: does it catch slightly in places?  Chances are it has at least some silk content...  If your hand glides smoothly and the fabric feels slick, it will be artificial fibers, probably a rayon/poly mix.

[TiaLD77]

Why the reluctance to do a burn test? all you need is a small piece, 2inches wide x 1 inch long, should be plenty.

A test that I know works for wool is take a 1x1 square, soak it in bleach over night, stir in the morning the wool fibers will have dissolved, what ever is remaining is most likely synthetic. I am not sure if that will apply to silk though 

[Auryn]

I did a burn test last week but being as I really don't know what I'm looking for it didn't help me much.

I'm running around crazy this week- leaving for Indiana Friday morning and wont be back till tuesday so I'm running around like crazy getting everything done at work.
I will try doing another one before I leave but I don't know what I'm looking for.
I've read the descriptions online but visual aids on the results would help more .

[Syrilla]

My two cents... I say that is looks like a poly blend.  I have the same color in the silk dupioni, and the salvage edge is very different in color and look.  Sorry.

[DonaCatalina]

I did a burn test last week but being as I really don't know what I'm looking for it didn't help me much.

I'm running around crazy this week- leaving for Indiana Friday morning and wont be back till tuesday so I'm running around like crazy getting everything done at work.
I will try doing another one before I leave but I don't know what I'm looking for.
I've read the descriptions online but visual aids on the results would help more .

A burn test would produce a fine, almost non-existent white ash for silk.

[Auryn]

definitely not silk then.

When I bought it I bought it with the full understanding that it might very well be 100% synthetic and I'm ok with that.

I just figured I would ask.

Now I just gotta figure out what to do with it

[TiaLD77]

AHHH, now I understand. There was at one point a chart somewhere that listed what a burn test would look & smell like for diffrent fabrics.

Does anybody else have a link for it? Mine is lost to the desk top dino that died at home.

[CapnFayeCutler]

This one?

Link to larger .gif version here

[Lady von Groper]

You rock, Cap'n!  Thanks for the link!