What do you know about textile fibers?

Synthetic fibers

Synthetic fibers are man-made in a lab. Each fiber is made through a process called extrusion. Generally, synthetic fibers belong in three groups cellulosic, protein, and petroleum-derived.
To make a synthetic fiber, a solution is pushed through a device called a spinneret. A spinneret resembles a shower head or spaghetti strainer. It is a small device ranging from less than an inch to almost a foot in diameter with holes in it. The holes can be made in all different shapes and sizes, and each spinneret can have anywhere from 10 to 10,000 holes in it. The shape of the holes, their size, and how many of them there are will ultimately affect the properties of the yarns they create.

3 ways to make a synthetic fiber

There are 3 different methods of creating a synthetic fiber, they are dry, wet, and melt.
Wet is generally the most popular method, and is how we make rayon. In wet spinning, fiber chemicals extrude into a liquid chemical bath. When the fibers meet the chemical bath it causes a chemical reaction that hardens the liquid into a solid fiber.
In dry spinning, the fiber chemicals extrude into the air, and the air will then trigger a chemical reaction and quickly dry the solution, forming them into fibers.
Lastly, melt spinning uses heat to melt a solid chemical and then extrudes the melted liquid through the spinneret into cooler air. The cold air helps to cool the fiber back into its original solid state.

How can you tell what fiber is what?

Telling fibers apart can be tricky at first. Remember, many synthetics are made to mimic natural fibers. And, often, different types of textile fibers are blended together. I remember when I was in college at FIT, when I went shopping I would test myself by trying to guess the content of each garment. When I first started this game I got it wrong almost all the time. But, now after years of practice, I’m at 99% accuracy, hey, no one is perfect.If you are dealing with a mill and worried they might be lying to you and trying to sell you a cheaper fabric… I can not tell you how many times people thought they were buying expensive silk and were really buying rayon blends, you can use this trick. It’s the burn test.