Anyone who needs to identify the fiber content of any fabric or yarn may find this information useful. Vintage garment and textile sellers may find this particular burn chart useful because many of the fibers identified were used frequently in the past, but may no longer be in use today.

To identify the fibers in an unknown piece of fabric, cut off a snippet -- it's best if it's about 1" long and a triangle at most 1/4" wide (try to cut from one of the already cut ends or if testing fabric made into a garment cut from an inconspicuous seam allowance). Hold the snippet of fabric in a pair of tweezers over something that won't burn or melt (an old tuna tin or glass ashtray is ideal) and with either a match or cigarette lighter put the snippet directly into the flame long enough for it to catch on fire.

Watch the snippet as it burns. Note whether or not the flame goes out right away before the entire thing is burned or if it continues to burn until nothing remains, or if it will not burn at all. Note the odor the burning fiber gives off. Also note what remains after the fiber has burned. These are the three clues you need to identify the fiber.

Some fabrics and yarns are blends. If you test a blend, your results may not be conclusive. Blends that are primarily one fiber, may be fairly accurate for that fiber, but even or near even blends (50/50 or so) may give results that are confusing. Also, some fabrics have chemical finishes and sizings applied to them that will alter the way that they burn, making them unidentifiable by this chart.

FIBER BURN CHARACTERISTICS

Not Self-Extinguishing

Burns & Chars

Odor of burning grass: soft gray ash: Linen, Jute or Hemp

Odor of burning paper: soft gray ash: Cotton, Ramie, or Rayon

Odor of burning paper: soft black ash: Mercerized Cotton or Linen

Burns & Melts

Odor of vinegar: hard black irregular ash: Acetate or Triacetate

Odor of burning meat: hard black irregular bead: Acrylic (Orlon, Acrilan)

Odor of turmeric: soft black irregular ash: Acrylic (Zefran, Zefkrome)

Self-Extinguishing

Burns Briefly & Chars

Odor of burning hair or feathers: black soft bead: Silk

Odor of burning hair or feathers: open lace-like ash: Weighted Silk

Odor of burning hair or feathers: irregular dark ash: Wool, Cashmere, Mohair, Alpaca, Llama and most animal hair

Burns Briefly & Melts

Odor of celery: hard gray bead: Nylon

Odor of burning asphalt: hard tan bead: Olefin

Odor of sharp acrid chemicals: hard black irregular bead: Modacrylic

Odor of sweet chemicals: hard black irregular bead: Vinyon

Odor of sweet chemicals: hard black round bead: Polyester

DOES NOT BURN

Glass (fiberglass), Asbestos, Metal