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Member since 3/28/08
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Posted on: 8/12/08 12:14 PM ET
This is my first time burn-testing so I'm not totally confident of what I'm seeing, I hope you can advise:

I ordered a wool knit online, and when it came, it didn't feel like I expected, so I tried burning it. I compared it with a woven fabric that I'm pretty sure is pure wool. The woven sizzled a bit and then burned with quite a bit of grey smoke and smelled really nasty, like burning hair. There was a bit of a blackened melted edge on it. The knit sizzled, then melted as it burned, with no visible smoke and a smell I can't quite describe. The melted part was considerable, but did have a similar texture to the melted bit on the wool.

I'm going to test samples tonight with bleach.

Is there anything else you can recommend to try, so I can be sure what's going on?
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Tricia
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The advantage of being a beginner is, nobody has told you "That can't be done." This is also the disadvantage of being a beginner.
  
Member since 3/4/02
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Posted on: 8/12/08 4:12 PM ET
the hair smell is definitely wool. If there is some sort of bead, hard bead, then there is some poly or man made melt-y type fiber.

Most anything will react to bleach. Silk will just be eaten away by it , not sure about wool.
  
Member since 5/10/06
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Posted on: 8/12/08 4:20 PM ET
Does your knit have lycra in it? Because that can confuse matters, as it reacts to the burn test as a poly would. But there should have been *some* odor of burning hair. The fact that there was no smoke to speak of makes me think it's probably (mostly) wool. Acrylic and poly, the great wool pretenders, burn with a thick, heavy smoke.
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http://theslapdashsewist.blogspot.com
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2007: purchased 115+, sewed 105+
So close to parity, yet so far

Trying again in 2008
Yards purchased: 133
Yards sewn: Somewhere around 95

2009? I give up
  
Member since 3/28/08
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Posted on: 8/12/08 4:49 PM ET
I've got some acrylic and poly knits too, I'll try burning them and see what kind of difference there is.

Hooray pyromania!
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Tricia
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The advantage of being a beginner is, nobody has told you "That can't be done." This is also the disadvantage of being a beginner.
  
Member since 7/19/03
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Posted on: 8/12/08 8:36 PM ET
Sometimes the thread or fabric treatment can affect the burn test. Like a flame-resistant finish or a shrink-resistant finish, etc. Or even a stiffener or whitener. You might want to try washing your sample in warm soapy water before burning it.
-- Edited on 8/12/08 8:37 PM --
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blog: goodworks1.wordpress.com
  
Member since 8/24/02
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Posted on: 8/12/08 8:51 PM ET
Somtimes on wovens the lengthwise and crosswise (warp and woof are the technical terms) threads can be different fibers. I've had to unweave fabrics to help determine the blend.
100 wool will smell like hair, self distinguish and the ash will be fine and soft.
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My grandmother taught me to sew when I was 10, and I've been sewing ever since.
  
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Member since 4/8/07
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Posted on: 8/12/08 10:25 PM ET
Wool will dissolve in bleach or any other alkali (wool carpet + pets = very bad idea). The fabric is probably a blend if you smell burning hair and see a black bead forming. If the other smell is acrid or chemical in nature, then you are definitely dealing with a man-made fiber. What type of fiber? It depends on how the fiber/fabric pulls away from the flame as it melts, the colour of the smoke, and the smell (chemical, celery-like, sweet, etc.).

L-
  
Member since 3/28/08
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Posted on: 8/13/08 11:14 AM ET
Thanks for all the clarification. I still haven't had a chance to retest, but when I do, I think I'll have a better understanding what's going on.
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Tricia
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The advantage of being a beginner is, nobody has told you "That can't be done." This is also the disadvantage of being a beginner.
  
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