Does it make a difference whether my fabric is nylon or chiffon?

Name: Dorothea

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Message: I have some fabric that I hang around my patio. It's been there 2 years, and has now faded, due to the sun, weather, etc. My question is, I'm not quite sure what type of fabric it is. I think it's nylon, but it could be chiffon. I saw a photo of chiffon on a fabric website and it looks just like what I have. Does it make a difference?

Chiffon is just one of the different weaves in which different fibers can be woven together into cloth; it is a light, sheer fabric. You can have a nylon chiffon fabric, or a silk chiffon, or even a polyester chiffon. All that matters, when you decide to dye a fabric, is what fiber it is made of. It doesn't matter whether it's a chiffon or a taffeta. What matters is whether it's cotton, silk, nylon, or polyester. A dye that will work on one of these fibers will simply not work on some of the others.

The best way to determine the fiber content of a piece of fabric is to check the label, on a garment or on the end of the bolt the fabric is sold on. Since that's not possible in your case, you will have to try to determine the fiber content another way.

I recommend that you use a burn test. Take a small snip of the fabric, and, holding it with some fireproof tongs or tweezers, apply a flame to it, while holding it over a barbecue grill or a large ash-tray, something fireproof. When you apply the flame, see whether the fabric catches fire, or whether it goes out by itself. Notice what sort of odor appears, and watch to see whether the fabric melts to a hard plastic bead, or forms ash, and what color the bead or ash may be. There is a nice clear chart for interpreting your results on the Ditzy Prints web site.

Once you have determined what your fiber is, then you can choose what sort of dye to use. Polyester can be dyed only at very high temperatures, by boiling it with a special polyester dye called disperse dye, or by ironing-on a transfer print made with disperse dye. Nylon can be dyed with disperse dye, too, but it is better and more easily dyed with an entirely different type of dye, called acid dye; if you simmer the fabric with the dye and some vinegar, you can dye nylon with all-purpose dye, as well. Silk can be dyed with acid dyes, as well, or with direct dyes, all-purpose dyes, or fiber reactive dyes. Cotton can be dyed with all-purpose dye or direct dye, but it performs much better when dyed with a fiber reactive dye, such as Procion dye or Dylon Permanent Dye. In every case, it is important to know what fiber your fabric is made from, before you choose what dye and what method of dyeing to use to color it.

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Posted: Saturday - July 30, 2011 at 04:01 PM

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Does it make a difference whether my fabric is nylon or chiffon?

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