How to Test Polyester Fabric
- 1). Hold the fabric swatch in your fingers or grasp in the tweezers and hold it over a clean can or jar.
- 2). Light the match and ignite the corner of the fabric swatch. Blow out the match and drop it into the can or jar.
- 3). Watch the fabric as it burns. If the fabric burns, it is a natural fiber such as cotton or linen and the burning will produce ash and an odor of burning vegetation. If the fabric is polyester, the fabric will melt and harden, resulting in a hard, melted plastic-type crust forming on the edges of the ignited area of the fabric swatch. The "ash" created from the burning polyester will look like hard black beads. The odor will smell sweet and the smoke produced will be black.
- 4). Blow out the flames on the fabric swatch and drop the swatch into the jar or can. Ensure that the flames or embers are completely extinguished by running tap water into the can or jar, over the fabric swatch and the used match.
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