can you tell real wool from fake wool

[MacBean]

from what my mom told me she didnt pay too much for it cause it was used but looking at it it really looks brand new so i dunno.... the size is way too small for me so it gives me motivation to lose weight, but i also got a clan gunn crest sword kilt pin and some cream colored hose lol she got me a sporran with a cantle but i dont think im gonna wear it lol it looks really cheap and flimsy lol.

it was a christmas present so i cant complain.

http://www.hindawi.com/journals/amse/2009/147175.html
As a chemist, all problems appear to be chemical in nature to me! I seem to remember that the classic test for wool is to dissolve a few hairs in NaOH (concentrated lye). Wool, being keratin protein hydrolyzes into peptides and amino acids (dissolve away) while synthetic polymers and cotton don't.

[auld argonian]

There are some wool/poly blends out there and, while they're not just wool, they don't suck...I suppose that it depends on the proportions of the blend.

I have a one-off prototype from Stillwater that's a wool/poly blend and while it's not quite as nice as worsted wool, it's a degree or two nicer than the acrylic...certainly an adequate material.

Best

AA

[Pleater]

http://www.hindawi.com/journals/amse/2009/147175.html
As a chemist, all problems appear to be chemical in nature to me! I seem to remember that the classic test for wool is to dissolve a few hairs in NaOH (concentrated lye). Wool, being keratin protein hydrolyzes into peptides and amino acids (dissolve away) while synthetic polymers and cotton don't.

That is probably the classic test, though the household one is that wool dissolves in chlorine bleach,

I have heard of old Christening robes which were carefully perserved against moths for decades being brought out and then bleached in an attempt to change the natural cream colour to sparkling white. All that was left in the morning was the buttons.

A small thread from a garment and tied onto a piece of cotton can be left in bleach and then examined - what is left, if anything, is the 'not wool' portion of the fibres.

Anne the Pleater :ootd: