Sometimes you find a fantastic bargain yarn, inherit someone else’s stash, or choose from the charity yarns where the skein has no label. Determining whether the fiber is animal, vegetable, or synthetic can be accomplished with a burn test. Below is a chart of burn test results and the process for performing the test.
The test is done as follows:
Hold a small piece of yarn near the flame and observe whether the yarn melts as you bring the flame close.
Hold the yarn in the flame and note how fast it burns.
Withdraw the flame and note if the yarn continues to burn or goes out.
Smell the odor of the burnt yarn.
Note the color of the ash and whether it is hard and brittle by pinching between fingers.
If a molten bead forms, note the color and hardness.
If you want to find out if a yarn is animal vs. other you can accomplish this without flame by placing a snip in some full strength bleach. Animal fiber will dissolve. Vegetable will change color but remain. Synthetic will remain unchanged. Blends will do a combination of things.
To find out if a wool is superwash or feltable, take a very small bowtie of yarn and rub intensely between your palms in warm soapy water for 1-2 minutes. Superwash may get a little fuzzy but remains distinct strands and maintains good twist definition. Feltable wool will show a tendency for the strands to stick together and the twist definition will become indistinct. If you continue rubbing, good feltable wool will become a nugget of fiber in your hands. Some of you may find this is an excellent way to make jewelry.
