Name: srinivas

Message: Hi Paula,
with great respect on you, I want to know whether is there any method to identify  the kind of fabric I am using for dyeing such as cotton, silk, nylon or polyester

This can be quite difficult, but your best bet would be the burn test, in which you take a tiny snippet of fabric and test to see what sort of smoke and ash it produces when burned, and what odor. 

You can also test for acetate fiber with acetone, and for cellulose fibers such as cotton and rayon with sodium bisulfate (Fiber Etch). (Do not confuse sulfATE with sulfITE - only sulfATE will eat cellulose fibers.)

An extremely useful summary page on all of these fiber tests may be found at Fabrics.net.


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