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Member since 6/9/09
Posts: 334
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Posted on: 4/16/10 4:59 PM ET
I could use some guidance. I'm about to cut into what I thought was rayon but now I'm not so sure. I found it at the Salvation Army.

A friend of mine told me today that rayon needs a lot of prep as it tends to stretch length-wise, so if it IS rayon, I don't think I should cut it yet.

I did a burn test and the results make me think it definitely has polyester or some other petroleum-based fabric in it, in which case I wouldn't need to worry so much about the fabric losing shape.

What are your thoughts? It's thicker than most rayon I've seen.



Thanks a million!
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Member since 6/9/09
Posts: 334
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Posted on: 4/16/10 5:05 PM ET
Here's another pic of the fabric.


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Member since 3/9/09
Posts: 11323
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Posted on: 4/16/10 6:29 PM ET
In reply to Peter in NYC
Burn test chart.

My guess; this isn't rayon, it's polyester or poly blend.

What is the smell when you burn?

What "prep time" for rayon? I toss all my rayon into the washer & dryer.
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Member since 2/9/04
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Posted on: 4/16/10 6:32 PM ET
In reply to Peter in NYC
That is definitely a petroleum-based fiber because it melted.

I've used rayon/lycra (for tops), lightweight rayon challis and batik rayons for dresses and pants, and have never done more to prep than machine wash & dry. Oh, and maybe iron it, with steam, to make sure all the shrink is gone. No biggie.
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Member since 1/9/10
Posts: 403
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Posted on: 4/16/10 6:48 PM ET
In reply to Peter in NYC
Hey Peter!

I have first washed and dried rayon a couple times to pre-shrink and then I sprayed with a lightweight sizing and pressed. I felt that the sizing made it MUCH more manageable.

I agree with the others about the fiber content. Rayon should be more ashy than that and smell more like paper. At least that has been my experience.

Good luck.

Patty
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Member since 5/10/06
Posts: 1727
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Posted on: 4/16/10 6:48 PM ET
Did it flame at all or just sort of melt away from your match? The bead looks like 100% polyester, but if there was some flaming it might be a blend. Either way, there's enough poly in that baby to be easy care.
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Member since 6/9/09
Posts: 334
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Posted on: 4/16/10 7:09 PM ET
Thanks everyone! It definitely flamed a bit, but just a bit.

So I cut the panels for the skirt -- 6 in all and even before I steam pressed them, I noticed they had slightly shifted shape (in width, i.e., perpendicular to the selvage) when compared to the pattern piece (which I'd cut precisely with my rotary cutter).

I think I'm going to take the skirt panels and the rest of the fabric and throw it into the wash and dryer tonight and see what happens. I don't want to worry that as I'm pressing as I sew it it's going to shift shape even more.

From my experience, this is a rayon-related problem, though this is probably a blend of some sort.
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