Cotton, Wool and Linen and
Silk are all natural fibers. Microfibers, Polyester and
Rayon are all manufactured fibers. Almost all natural
fabrics allow your body to "breathe". When your body can
breathe, perspiration is not retained and you feel dry,
clean and odor free. The manufactured fibers and
microfibers are not as breathable and tend to trap body
heat, perspiration and odors.
Natural fibers:
COTTON
Cotton comes from a plant and Cotton's
characteristics are comfortable, soft hand
absorbent, good color retention and prints well.
Machine-washable, dry-cleanable and good strength.
Drapes well, easy to handle and sew.

WOOL
Wool is a natural animal fiber made from the fleece
of sheep. Wool's characteristics are comfortable,
luxurious, soft to the hand and versatile. Wool is
lightweight and good insulator. Wool is
wrinkle-resistant and absorbent, thus easy to dye,
however most wool is dry clean only.
LINEN
Linen is made from flax, a vegetable fiber. Linen's
characteristics are comfortable, good strength,
twice as strong as cotton. Hand-washable or
dry-cleanable. Crisp hand and tailors well.
Absorbent dyes and prints well. Lightweight to
heavyweight; no static or pilling problems. Fair
abrasion resistant.
SILK
Silk is a natural animal fiber created by the silk
worm. Silk's characteristics are soft or crisp hand.
Luxurious, drapes and tailors well. Silk is the
thinnest of all natural fibers but dyes and prints
well. Hand-washable or dry-cleanable. Little problem
with static nor pilling however, only fair abrasion
resistance. Silk has a poor resistance to prolonged
exposure to sunlight
Manufactured fibers:
MICROFIBERS
Microfiber is a manufactured fiber available in
acrylic, nylon, polyester and rayon. Microfibers
characteristics are ultra fine, finer than the most
delicate silk. Extremely drape able, very soft,
luxurious hand with a silken or suede touch.
Washable, dry cleanable and shrink-resistant. High
strength (except Rayon). Excellent pleat retention.
Insulates well against wind, rain and cold.
Microfiber is not really not a fiber unto itself.
Rather, it refers to an ultra-fine fiber,
which can
be woven or knit into a very high quality fabric
construction. It originates as a polyester microfiber and there have been new developments in
nylon microfibers that have become important in
rayon microfibers, and acrylic microfibers. One of
the important characteristics of microfiber fabrics
is that they can be woven so tightly that the fabric
cannot be penetrated by wind, rain, or cold.
Microfibers also have a wicking ability, which
allows perspiration to pass through the fabric.
Microfibers are generally comfortable in contact
with skin.
POLYESTER
Polyester is also a manufactured fiber. Polyester's
characteristics are strong, crisp, soft to the hand.
Resistant to stretching and shrinkage. Washable or
dry-cleanable. Quick drying, resilient, wrinkle
resistant and excellent pleat retention (if heat
set). Abrasion resistant and resistant to most
chemicals. Because of its low absorbency, stain
removal can be a problem, on top of that, static and
pilling problems could also happen. Of all the
manufactured fibers, polyester is the most used.
Polyester is the best wash-and-use fiber.
Unfortunately, because of the over-saturation of
polyester 20 to 30 years ago, some consumers
maintain a negative perception about the fiber. But,
that is changing. As with the other manufactured
fibers, new developments in polyester have created a
new attitude towards manufactured fibers. This is
true, not only for manufacturers and designers, but
also for consumers. In addition, when polyester is
blended with other dry-clean only fibers, like wool,
acetate, or rayon, the durability of the blended
fabric improves and, in some cases, the fabrics can
even be made washable, if the percentage of
polyester is high enough.
RAYON (VISCOSE)
Rayon is a manufactured fiber based from wood pulp.
Rayon's characteristics soft and comfortable, drapes
well and is highly absorbent. Dyes and prints well.
No static, no pilling problems. Fabric can shrink
appreciably if washing dry-clean-only rayon. One of
the major characteristics of rayon, also called
viscose, centers around the care of the fabric. For
those of you who have been around rayon a lot, you
know that there are both washable and "dry clean
only" rayon. Why are there both washable and
non-washable rayons? Originally rayon was a "dry
clean only" fiber. However, the fiber producers
discovered that they could create wash ability in
rayon by putting certain finishes on the surface of
the fabric after it was knitted or woven. But this
also added to the price. So, today many rayons in
the marketplace remain untreated, and are therefore
"dry clean only."
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