I check the sheets, curtains and table linens, too. They provide more yardage for the price, nice big rectangles. And people often leave the tags on so you can confirm the fiber content.
I worked in a fabric store twice and also a yarn shop, and I’ve been obsessed with fabrics since the 70s. I am particularly in love with animal Fibers like wool and mohair and cashmere. For some reason I don’t like the texture of silk on my fingers. I do like silk noil (aka raw silk) but not the fine lightweight ones. I can recognize them, I just don’t like how my skin catches on the surface. Why do you say natural fabrics are crispy? Cotton and linen that hasn’t been washed much can perhaps be crispy, as well as many wax prints from the African Fabric culture. However, Some lightweight cotton wovens from India, for example, are **deliciously** soft. Also, if we go to a retail brand new fabric store, Rayon can feel crispy on the bolt before it’s been washed. Rayon is one of those fibers that is in the middle, though… a reconstructed plant fiber that requires a factory to create. It is made from cellulose (usually trees), but it is extruded into weaving threads after the wood pulp has been chemically broken down. I wish I didn’t like 100% Rayon but I do still buy it secondhand. Maybe it’s just because I’m 65 and I grew up without polyester, or Lycra/spandex/elastic. by the way: Is there a name for that game where we go to the thrift store and see if we can identify a fiber before we touch it? And then we touch it and see if that confirms our guest? And then we look for the label? What game is that? Because it’s probably my favorite one.
Good advice. I have a degree in textiles and can identify fabrics by sight and feel 99% of the time (some blends can be tricky and modern synthetics are much better than they used to be). Another thing with the burn test is the smell. Cellulose fibres (cotton, linen, ramie, hemp) will smell like burning paper and produce a soft brittle ash (viscose and rayon can be tricky here as they are technically cellulose). Protein fibres (silk, wool, mohair, cashmere, angora) will smell like burning hair and produce almost no ash. Synthetics, as you showed, burn easily (but so does cotton) and have an acrid stench of burning plastic. They will produce a hard bead that does not crumble into ash. Not ideal to burn plastics too often though as the fumes are also toxic. When I was at uni we had to be able to identify any given textile by a burn test! I still have my test samples ha
I thought about this on the video - it's not just the flame and how well it burns that's interesting in a burn test, but also the smell and "result" (bead/ash).
I absolutely love thrifting for linen, silk and wool. I snagged a roll of over 20 yards of embroidered silk shantung from a thrift store a couple of years ago for $6.99. I found it online for $85 a yard. Most amazing find ever. Like you, I screamed a little when I found it.
“Ugly” color clothes (or just out of fashion color) is how I manage to get some of my BEST thrift finds. Dye LOVES natural fibers, so it’s pretty easy to make them into a new color. 😁
I’m a fool for natural fibers and I’m always looking for potential fabric in clothing. I found a linen comforter cover, chambray weave that I nearly screamed when I found it. It’s so much fabric!
Linen🎉 Imagine making a duvet cover in squares with hand embroidery? There's Korean tradition in salvaging family clothing for translucent curtains. The effect is great. Not sure if those were hemp? Linen is a real sweat guard used for centuries for chemises under your "quality" fabric outer clothing. I understand it absorbed sweat very effectively, but did not hold onto much odors. So you would wash your chemise regularly and the external fabric less often. Great for a Nordic-style duvet cover. Amazing cultural traditions in human civilization's clothing is carried in linen's history. Thinking e.g. Norse here. Silk is so great for undergarments too, even when it has been abused in modern laundering. It still has its characteristics. A bias cut undergarment is great against the skin or for sleeping in. As light as air and fire resistant. Now that would be great for children's pj's! Instead of chemical retardants. Thanks for your enthusiasm! Subscribed...looking forward to your originality!
Silk is made from incredibly long fibers and can be woven into an amazing variety of weaves. Not all will be crepes, which are woven from over twisted yarns. Silk charmeuse and silk satin will be very shiny and slippery due to the length of the fine warp threads. Silk Habotai is very light, and is a plain weave so it won't be as lustrous as a satin weave, and you may see it in slips and linings. Knitted silk jerseys can be smooth and dry to the touch, and will weigh slightly more than a cotton knits.
Wonderful info here! I have found a couple unusual silks, it’s amazing how much variety there is! I would love to learn more about peace silk/ahimsa silk
Haha yeah I’ve had quite a few people defending it. I think I judged it too quickly. I’m sure it looks great on some people, but it looks awful on me 😬
I’m finding out there is no ugly color-just ugly combinations of color. You don’t need to wear everything… you can deconstruct clothes and upcycle into sachets, pillows, etc.
One of my best girlfriends has a medium-light brown skin tone and she looks great in that color you think is ugly. Kind of a melon/Coral look. She looks wonderful in it… so it’s not an ugly color. It’s just not one that you wear. I can’t wear it either.
When I go to the thrift store or look for clothes, I want cotton tops and nightgowns. I refuse to buy cotton polyester which pills and leaches non-degradable fibers into the environment. Cotton is cool!!!
Thanks for this. My grandmother was an amazing seamstress & coached me on fabrics so I can pick them out, but I think most people under 50 can’t identify types of fabric. Regardless of eco-political views about fabric, chemicals etc., I just love the feel of natural silk, linen & cotton and it can be dyed more easily, doesn’t pill, etc.
My thrift store has a good selection of natural fibers in the bed linen and drapery section. If you’re lucky, the Selvedge edge will indicate the fiber content (often wool and linen fabrics will have this). Another tip to help determine if your fabric is a natural fiber: scrunch it in your hand for a few seconds and hold. When you release it if there are wrinkles then it is probably natural. If there are no wrinkles, then it is probably synthetic. This tip is from Evelyn Wood.
Elizabeth is correct. Besides checking the sheet department, I would also suggest checking just the plain fabric selection. I have come home with lots of great fabric and notions.
@@marcialockhart890 Cottons, linens, synthetics I put through the washing machine and dryer. Silks and wools I hand wash in Luke warm water. Wools I dry flat.
Thanks great video. I’ve been teaching my 11 year old grand daughter to sew. Using the touch technique I have been showing her how to identify natural fibres. She’s quite proud when she is correct. I look forward to showing her your informative video.
Solid advice, I do the same thing when I'm thrifting - however even 100% natural fiber woven fabrics will usually have some stretch diagonally along the bias (where the warp and weft threads of the fabric cross over each other) + there's a lot more variety to be found in natural fiber fabrics than you talked about here! You got the most common ones for clothing, but there are also silk and cotton velvets (I've mainly seen these as home decor fabrics), heavy cotton canvas for workwear, smooth fine linen for dresses/undergarments, and so much more!
This is true, there is a ton of variety out there. I was going to go into it, but I was afraid the video would be too long. I might make a follow-up video…especially for wools! Thanks for pointing this out
Excellent tips! I also remember something subtle about silk fabric from working in a "better dress shop" many years ago. Those smooth woven silk fabrics (like that pinkish one you asked people to guess about) also tend to have a different "kind" of sheen that is more subtle than synthetic fabrics and looks different from different angles in comparison with synthetics that are trying to mimic silk--though most people who are not familiar with silk will often be fooled by appearance. The one thing that no one can be fooled about is that when someone wears a silk garment in comparison with a synthetic garment, silk breathes, whether worn in summer or winter--synthetics do not and people will often find themselves sweltering in polyester made to "look like" silk in the warmer months--especially if the blouse worn under a jacket for work, for example, has long sleeves.
As someone who is allergic to synthetic fibers this is super helpful!! It really sucks to find and buy something super cute from the thrift store and then not be able to wear it due to maximum itchiness. SO THANK YOU!!
Rayon is a natural fiber. It is wood pulp, originally only Mulberry was used, but now many different woods can be used. It is highly processed to create the fibers, but it is technically natural. The texture and drape is somewhere between cotton and silk. I personally like the feel of rayon, but find it and silk a little above my skill level when working with them.
I understand your concerns about rayon/viscose, but cotton isn’t much better for chemicals used in growing cotton and in producing the textile. If you are using thrifted fabric, rayon/viscose isn’t any worse for the environment. It is often blended with linen, so I wouldn’t write it off entirely in post-consumer use.
This is a really good point, thank you! I wasn't really aware of how bad industrial cotton production is, but I'm learning as I go. In the end, thrifting for fabric doesn't affect the supply/demand of the fashion industry at all, so choosing 100% natural fabrics is just personal preference for me. I'm dumb about rayon/viscose, I know they're biodegradable but I just can't bring myself to like them!
@@studiobonvonI actually like the feel of rayon, but I can understand your position: a lot of it is made from wood pulp, and it _feels_ like a compromise; like an "almost" fabric. The way living in a cardboard box covered with a tarp is "almost" like living in a house. And, even though I treat it like any fabric, it's not very durable to washing unless it's tencel, which, according to the tencel people, is also more sustainable and eco-friendly to produce. I buy my clothes thrifted, too, so I don't generally consider myself a contributor to planet abuse by way of clothing. Food packaging is another matter. I'm still working on that.
I have to disagree. Viscose/rayon could not exist without the use of the harsh chemical called carbon disulfide. That chemical is immediately harmful to any living organism it comes into contact with. And long term, it just compounds into worse effects. It cannot be called a ‘natural’ fiber because it is broken down at a chemical level to be reformed into a form unnatural to its original. Cotton, while yes, large-scale production uses wasteful quantities of water, and most producers use unnecessary chemical finishes, coatings, and dyes, is still better than viscous/rayon by miles. It doesn’t have to be destroyed to be created. If a person is able to, it would be best to not support either practice, but at least cotton production has the historical proof of prior sustainability and the possibility to shift production back towards that. Viscose has neither.
@@MelissaThompson432 ah, you are correct. My sincere apologies. I misread your comment and let my emotions overshadow my reason. Now that I fully understand what you said, I do agree with you. Again, I apologize for jumping the gun and going explaining things that didn’t need to be said. I’ve been trying to work on not doing that, but I clearly need to work harder 😔
Haha. I LOVE that neon melon colored button down you found. It's one of my faves. I have always been a feel shopper as well. When I find timeless and quality pieces that fit perfectly I have to stifle a scream. Example: 100% silk 80's long sleeve button down cheetah print blouse. I'll have it until the end of my journey on this planet. $12 I've had smoothies that cost more than that. I also started looking exclusively for 100% cotton denim jeans because I was paying $100+ for "designer" or high end denim that would stretch out and rip in all the wrong areas after 2 - 3 years of wear. Cotton is king for jeans, imo.
Some things to note are that silk can be rough or smooth depending in how the raw material is made into fabric, also, linen will get softer over time wirh wear and washing so its not really suspicious for linen to me soft
Thank you for this. In the last couple of years, (primarily after I turned 50), I find myself only comfortable wearing natural fibers. Most synthetic fibers are super itchy and scratchy to me. I’m not sure why this is, but I just go with it. Cotton is my absolute fave, and unfortunately, it is getting harder and harder to find
It's so true! Once you switch to natural fibers, it's hard to go back. Cotton is definitely hard to find nowadays...this is a big reason I switched to thrifting and sewing my own clothes!
I grew up wearing natural fabrics because my mom was old school. It is interesting the way you described each of the textures. I did the same thing looking for natural fabrics at my local thrift store. I love the way silk looks, but it was always hard for me to wear sensory-wise because of that catching quality. We wore linen in the Summer, cotton and knits in the spring and wool in the winter. Wool was itchy for me. But, there is no denying that natural fabrics tend to age well, thus you have clothing that lasts longer, which means less consumption and waste.
A note for those who think BAMBOO fabric is a good natural option; it's not, when it’s processed into fabric that’s advertised as “soft,” “silky,” or “cool to the touch,” it has likely been turned into rayon or viscose using toxic chemicals. This process is far from eco-friendly, and the fabric that it creates may not be better for the environment than other types of fabric.
I'm afraid I'm a Viscose addict. It's so soft and, for someone who has to cut the labels out of pretty much all clothing because they scratch my pale, red-headed Scottish skin, it's so much nicer than cotton or linen, which is often a little bit rough. Don't even mention wool - I very rarely wear it and definitely not next to my skin. Bamboo socks stay softer and fluffy wash after wash, unlike cotton. The only downside with Viscose t-shirts is that they're often really thin.
I feel like there is some information lacking in here that may confuse some people. There are woven fabrics that do have stretch that don't have to be manmade fibers. Like twill weaves. This includes fabrics like twill, denim, diaper weave, and herringbone. These will have a natruak stretch to them, however it's also easy to tell that they are these weaves as it will be visible if you know what they look like. Also wool is naturally "stretchy". In the sence that will will warp with heat, moisture, stretching, and shaping. This was used strategically in the past. Also the silk you used to describe the texture is a testured silk. Which is the most common to see, however there are also silk taffetas and silk satins that will not have that same bumpy texture (as a Shantung or a Dupioni). Now real silk does feel and look different from fake silk. For example real silks have a slight color shift that fakes ones don't. Even as sold colors. They also make a different sound when it touches itself. And yeah it's not wrong that it feels textured as it's kinda like hair in it's makeup. But it's important for folks who know nothing, to be told that there are intended textures often added and to not get confused or tricked by it. Acrylic is really good a seaming like wool, but there is some differences. Mostly that Acrylic isn't breathable. It's easier to look at the tag or try the burn test. As Acrylic is also highly flammable. The leinen "texture" is popular in fashion but folks don't the mantainance of real linen. So that's why it's common to see the "texture" and not have it be linen. Linen can be way more smoothly made it's just not common to see because that costs more to produce. But most folks are unlikely to see that in fast fashion. Anyway good luck to y'all!
exactly, that's what I was missing here - all the natural fibers can be woven is so many ways that only looking for certain characteristics (like the examples in this video) is not always the best way to go 😊
I have always been mesmerized by people who could tell one fabric from another 99% of the time. This was very helpful and I'm going to spend some time in the thrift store the next time I have the car. Maybe you could do a video in the future about how to take these pieces apart effectively to have fabric. TFS!
All I do when I disassemble thrifted clothes for fabric is seam rip along all the seams (except in the case of this one where I had to cut it, but that is not normal!)
Another thing about the burn test is it help you determine the fabric content. Natural fibers leave ash, synthetic sleeve plastic. Sometimes it helps to determine what the blend is. Ask for natural fibers not having any stretch. That's kind of a misnomer. I have found silk cotton linen and wool in knits. Don't forget about cashmere sweaters.
Great video! Reminded me of my young 4yr old, over 30 years ago, She would walk in the department store racks of new clothes & come out feeling the fabrics of the clothes & announcing which were Silk! Which always brought laughter!! I’m new to your channel & I like your presentation style -- thank you for an enjoyable video!!
Fiber enthusiast here: we also use the burn test. Same as you, I need to get my stash down before thrifting but the last time my dad bleached the window frames for mold, he got some of the solution on my good cotton sheets. I have save them, as it is only a small bit of a corner, with a plan to make pajamas. I haven't sewn since I was in middle school (crochet took over) but I have made them before and even if it looks ugly, no one else will really see them. If I do well on those, perhaps I will branch out to a few other clothing items until I run out of the sheet fabric and I can look to making something I can wear outside. I do have a fabric stash from when a sewing store was retiring but again, it has not been my primary craft. I have also saved my jeans when they wear out in the inner thighs to use as patches for later ones or for the bottom of bags. There are so many uses for make, do, and mend and with the current economy, I am happy I have a stash of things to do as many crafting hobbies can get expensive. As much as I want to be solely on natural fibers, I have to yield to acrylic for baby items. Some babies have an allergic reaction to wool and the parents have enough to do with their newborn than to worry about their 100% wool sweater not making its way into the dryer; I would use cotton but one wash could easily end its use before the baby can use it more than once due to shrinkage and I find they can fade much sooner than wool. My friend with a six-year-old had a wool sweater from me and it lasted almost until she outgrew it before it accidently made it into the dryer so I count that as a win.
Thanks for an interesting video! I find very fine linen that is very soft and fluid usually in the form or vintage table linens. These are very equivalent to fine cotton, but modern (2000s) linen in clothing is usually coarser as you describe. I buy the vintage table linens for clothing and pillowcases.
I think that's a market driven thing. Linen ages soft like cotton does, and it's perfectly capable of being fine fibers, I just don't see it manufactured that way anymore.
I think this is because linen softens as you wash it, so older linens are usually very soft. New linen will always be a little stiff, but it only gets softer
Love the unicorn scene!! Made me laugh. 😂😊 Thanks so much for the silk id info. Very helpful when shopping for scarves... esp when most of them have the fiber-content tags removed.
Thanks. I use the same techniques. Although rayon and tencel are from natural sources, and can have the "hand" of a natural fiber, they are highly refined and are considered "neither natural nor synthetic" or "hybrid". Angora, mohair and alpaca are fabulous but rare and I hope you can do a video on them some day and include wool!
I have made rayon before in a chemistry class so it has always been on the okay category for me (tencel is also in the same category.) As a fiber enthusiast, I would rather add it together with the primary yarn so it has the potential to be dismantled for recycling than to buy a pre-blend. I know rayon from bamboo has been under fire lately but I still see it as sustainable over acrylic and polyester. And out of those two, recycled acrylic is still better than polyester, recycled or not.
@@EcstaticTeaTime Agree! Rayon and tencel feel "natural" to me and both have a nice hand. I have bamboo socks and they are comfortable, although wear out quickly.
I'm also quite obsessed with materials when I shop for clothes and prefer natural materials over semi-synthetics like rayon (I avoid synthetic fabrics like polyester overall). But you were able to give me quite a few practical hints on the topic. Hopefully in the years to come consumers will start asking for more and more natural fibers and the market will make a switch back from plastics.
Thanks so much for your explanation. I’m a big fan of fabric finds on thrift store but you opened my eyes about silk!!!!! I never knew how to look for it. Looking forward to put your tips into practice. And hoping for more of your videos soon 😊
Not hugely important, but an interesting fact is that rayon is actually not really synthetic fiber. It is made out of processed cellulose, kind of like paper products. It is sometimes called a "semi-synthetic" and most organizations concerned with plastic waste consider it to be biodegradable
Im excited to take these tips thrifting this weekend. I spend too much time shopping for specific outfits, but shopping for the fabric is a great idea. Linens and cottons do just feel better.
You're so lucky to see so much natural fiber! Thrift stores near chicago are mostly overstock from bad fast fashion. Like hundred of pairs of super short shorts no one wanted to buy. All synthetic. I feel like the stores themselves go through and take out all the good stuff to sell for higher prices online. I just want fabric that doesn't feel bad, physically or morally. Summers here are hot and humid so linen would be amazing.
Thank you so much for this video - I have never shopped for natural fabrics, but have been wanting to make a quilt with thrifted cottons and this was extremely helpful information on how to look for these fabrics.
Thanks foe sharing with others the skill of finding natural fabrics. I use this same technique. It helps save me time when I need to get in & out of shops so I can work on projects. 💖
Burning fabric: natural fabrics will leave a fine ash. Synthetics will bead, like melting plastic, which they are, and leave a hard, stiff edge when the fire is out. Synthetic "ash beads" will also burn the heck out of you if you try to pinch the fire out, so be warned.
YT suggested this video to me possibly because I made a video about the best fabrics for travel. I LOVE thrifted silk. So soft, light, dries quickly. Probably could have included linen in my list too.
I love how light and airy silk feels! Texture is very important to me in clothing as well. I know some people consider linen to be too rough, but I absolutely adore how lightweight and breathable it is, especially in hot weather! Glad you found my channel 🤗
Girrrrrrrl!!! You stole my idea for MY first RUclips video that I haven’t made yet. 😛 Thrifting for linen and wool is literally my favorite thing to do and I love testing my fiber discerning abilities. Here’s to another fiber snob 🥂 😁
Please !! Still do it !! and go thrifting AS WELL. you area is different to hers and mine not to mention what you may be shopping for. i'd love to learn as much as i can on this topic for many perspectives. consider showing what you've found and how you've used/styled it.
Please make your own version, I would love to see it! You can never have too much content on this topic, and I’m sure your perspective will be different than mine! Go for it 💪🌱
During the shopping sequence, your calming voice over the jazz reminded me in the best way of a 90’s children’s show. I felt like I was watching Sesame Street, learning new things about the world to jazz music. Thank you!
Nice video, very informative. I never find real silk in clothes but I have found it in scarves. And I have mostly found real linen in home goods decor.
This is such a useful video. I search for cottons for potential patchwork projects, and have only used visual searches to identify natural fabrics, but will now be able to identify good items by touch! Thank you.
I have spent many happy hours following my mother and her sister up and down the aisles of the Mill Ends store in Milwaukee Or looking at fabrics, they touched and discussed the feel of each piece, how this one felt like it had a bit of rayon in it or cotton.. some of my best memories, both gone now to that great fabric store in the sky..😊 this brought back those memories, thank you. Great finds by the way..
Thank you for this! I have just recently begun thrifting specifically looking for natural fabrics, and I've had some good luck so far! Your helpful tips will help me find natural fibers even more quickly! Thanks again :)
Hi there, this is the first video I watch of yours...loved it! Alot of great information. For the last ten or so years, I've been a little more sensitive to over warming and I've been trying to wear only natural fibers which is so much more comfortable. Also I love thrifting, so all good info. Thanks so much for sharing. I'm going to check out more of your videos ;) Have a wonderful day, from Canada
This was extremely helpful! Thank you so much especially for your descriptions and visuals and even going to the thrift store and showing how you do it!❤
Good video, v clear & concise, but 2 things need addressing - 1) Rayon is a natural fibre, (cellulose/wood pulp) made into thread via a chemical process. It is NOT synthetic, just manufactured. The new closed-loop process trade-named rayons re-use their chemicals & don't pollute with them either, like the older ones did. 2) Your burn test was incomplete; you're also supposed to inspect the smoke & ash/residue to determine whether you have an animal/protein product, a plant fibre or a plastic. However, viewers will have learned more than if they hadn't watched your video at all & that's always a bonus.
By far the most helpful video on identifying textiles I’ve seen! The real time look through the thrift store and giving us time to check it out with you and guess for ourselves was great practice. And oddly satisfying, like being on a game show 😄
Never heard of mohair, great video. I have wool tops thrifted or gifted from mom and they are the warmest w/o layering on. Now everything is a mix or a percentage of wool. Pure wool and well made products are hundreds of dollars. So girly, you're doing a really high end favor by thrifting.
It is so hard to find wool here in the US! I love finding cashmere in the thrift store, but they’ve caught on to how expensive they are and I’ve seen them for as high as $30 in the thrift store 😓 depends where you go though! I’m planning a follow up video to this where I talk about finding wool 🐑
I understand your desire for natural fabrics. Buying thrifted clothing to upcycle or tailor to fit is a win win for the environment and your pocketbook. To keep the shedding down of your clothing, I tend to re-wear my clothes by spraying them with a vodka-h20-essential oil spray and air them out. Washers are too hard on clothing imo. I don’t mind a soak and gentle hand washing. Air dry is awesome, especially in our dry Alaska winters. I’ve even made thrifted cargo style pants waterproof by painting a mineral oil & paraffin wax mixture that I found thanks to a RUclips video tutorial. I love the creativity of recycling what others have discarded to our advantage. And make it to suit our individual tastes and body shape 💕🙋🏻♀️🏔️
These are some brilliant ideas!! I’ve heard of spraying vodka on clothes to keep them fresh - I definitely need to try this myself. And I would really love to try making a waterproof set using beeswax coating in the future! That has been on my list of things to try for a while. Thanks for the awesome tips!!
@@studiobonvon he used a small paintbrush to apply it. Again it was a video on here. It’s a vodka water mix and a spray bottle that mists that works best. 👍🏻
It took me many years. But now I can see silk/cashmere/linen and all premium fabrics just looking on a rack. I almost don’t touch. I just need to see them all. I even can tell a %-combo if it is. It is very helpful to have a skill. Yes good light needed. Sometimes is nice to have some lighter to test the thread if you know how to smell that natural fabrics. And I don’t care about size. I only care of quality ❤ and stitching.
Very interesting. Do you know why some silks are washable and others are dry clean only? I always wonder if the washable one is a blend or just not really silk. Today was my first time watching you, and I like your style 👍
Good question - and to be honest I don't know. It seems that it's a combination of things - silk is quite delicate and can snag very easily, so sometimes it's best to wash it separately or by hand. Sometimes it's a matter of the dye bleeding in the wash. I'll have to pay more attention to this in the future 💦 and I'm glad you liked the video!
This was a really great video! Thank you for walking us through this. I’ve been on the hunt for more natural fabrics. Egads! The amount of polyester out there is sickening lol. Also I looked through my own closet and the amount that isn’t natural fibers that I thought were is amazing.
Hi! I like your channel, your filming style, your music, sounds, demeanor... I'm excited to find linen and do some thrift uplifts. I've handmade costume skirts for little girls I know. Ive handmade a few funny dolls with clothes. I get bored easily. But I do need clothes so I'll focus on fabrics for a while. Plus I have a two year old grand daughter Ive made a few dresses for and that's fun. I like the idea of less expensive thrifted fabrics. Glad you found Mochi. I used to have a Tonkinese that looked a LOT like her. Her name was Oshi but we ended up calling her Nubby because her tail had possibly been slammed in a door as it was about 6" long and bent hence the nub! Haha. she acted a lot like a dog, growling at the door. She chased my daughters in their long, flowy nightgowns and bit their ankles. She had a lot of personality. TMI?! I look forward to more creative videos from you. I think you'll do very well. Congratulations! I'm from SC.
I try to go natural in much of my life and thought this would help me transition my wardrobe. Instead, as you described the fabrics, I found myself feeling restricted while observing the linen and cotton. Conversely, I felt like I could finally "breathe" when thinking of stretchy material. Oh, well. But I did learn how to spot those fabrics fairly easily!
To me, thrifting isn't just about finding natural fibers, I'm also not buying the actual real garbage being sold as clothing at all levels of price points. We have microscopic plastic particles in our water supply because of disintegrating polyester fiber in clothing. The vast majority of clothing produced today is meant to be garbage as quickly as possible forcing people to have to buy more clothing quickly. In the retail store, ALWAYS be wary of any signage or hang tag bragging about how "soft" a piece of clothing is. To reach that softness, polyester fiber is usually chopped up to create the softness and laundering disintegrates the tiny bits and pieces.
It was more of a neon orange in real life - and yes this one has been defended quite a bit. Not my color though! I’m sure it’d be beautiful on someone else!
I knew I recognized that Arc store. I have been there often for jewelry making parts for making second hand jewelry. That store is huge and has a lot of good items. I think I will return there this Saturday as you got me thinking I should now. LOL. Sorry to see you leave the Springs for Vegas. I hope you enjoy the weather there. I will look forward to your videos now because they are “just up my ally”. My kind of favorite things to do. You are very good at making your video’s interesting and fun. Thank you.
hiiii !!!, this was a WONDERFUL video from beginning to end. SUPERRR informative, i'm actually thinking about cleaning out my closet with this method. please make more thrifting videos. I really enjoyed this.
Thanks for this video. I'm really into natural fibers. I didn't know about linen until about a year ago and now I want to pursue getting some. I'm excited to check out the thrift stores. If you do a search about plastic fibers being toxic you'll see how bad they are.
Hmm I don’t have any recommendations at the moment (I just use regular cotton thread) but I will look into this, I’m sure there is something more suitable! I think they make silk thread? 🤔
I haven't sewn too many clothes myself, but from what I've seen it's best to use thread that's a similar weight and fiber content as the fabric you're sewing with it (ex. fine silk thread for thin silk fabric). I think the main reason for this is how different fibers behave when washed; cotton for example is known to shrink a fair amount, whereas polyester doesn't shrink at all, so if you were to sew a garment from cotton fabric (that hasn't been pre-shrunk) with polyester thread and then machine-wash it, the fabric would likely shrink but the thread wouldn't and your garment would end up with permanently crinkled seams. I don't know a ton about silk specifically, but my guess is that if you can't get silk thread, any natural fibre thread should work well enough.
I shop at that same store! I was there today doing the same exact thing but looking for clothing for me! Getting away from blends and "plastic fabric" as they are better in so many ways. Nice to run into another COS thrifter online. I resell on eBay. Perhaps I will run into you while out and about. Great video!
Ouu that beige linen Liz Claiborne top you left behind was cute! Huge fan of natural fibers, I learned how to spot them by thrifting while I was in high school and at college in a Textiles class. I think my favourite to find is raw silk, so rare but so so good.
I check the sheets, curtains and table linens, too. They provide more yardage for the price, nice big rectangles. And people often leave the tags on so you can confirm the fiber content.
I’m still waiting for the day I find a linen sheet….! That would be incredible
Good idea
Ikea used to make linen duvet covers. I lucked out and found a king size one in natural linen color. They are out there… Watch for linen curtains too!
That is where I go first. I can find linen curtains relatively often for skirts from my girlfriends, even the larger sizes.
I worked in a fabric store twice and also a yarn shop, and I’ve been obsessed with fabrics since the 70s. I am particularly in love with animal Fibers like wool and mohair and cashmere.
For some reason I don’t like the texture of silk on my fingers. I do like silk noil (aka raw silk) but not the fine lightweight ones. I can recognize them, I just don’t like how my skin catches on the surface.
Why do you say natural fabrics are crispy? Cotton and linen that hasn’t been washed much can perhaps be crispy, as well as many wax prints from the African Fabric culture. However, Some lightweight cotton wovens from India, for example, are **deliciously** soft.
Also, if we go to a retail brand new fabric store, Rayon can feel crispy on the bolt before it’s been washed. Rayon is one of those fibers that is in the middle, though… a reconstructed plant fiber that requires a factory to create. It is made from cellulose (usually trees), but it is extruded into weaving threads after the wood pulp has been chemically broken down. I wish I didn’t like 100% Rayon but I do still buy it secondhand.
Maybe it’s just because I’m 65 and I grew up without polyester, or Lycra/spandex/elastic.
by the way: Is there a name for that game where we go to the thrift store and see if we can identify a fiber before we touch it? And then we touch it and see if that confirms our guest? And then we look for the label? What game is that? Because it’s probably my favorite one.
This is good info because I recently discovered that I'm bougie, yet still not rich.
Same😂
SAME 😄
Good advice. I have a degree in textiles and can identify fabrics by sight and feel 99% of the time (some blends can be tricky and modern synthetics are much better than they used to be). Another thing with the burn test is the smell. Cellulose fibres (cotton, linen, ramie, hemp) will smell like burning paper and produce a soft brittle ash (viscose and rayon can be tricky here as they are technically cellulose). Protein fibres (silk, wool, mohair, cashmere, angora) will smell like burning hair and produce almost no ash. Synthetics, as you showed, burn easily (but so does cotton) and have an acrid stench of burning plastic. They will produce a hard bead that does not crumble into ash. Not ideal to burn plastics too often though as the fumes are also toxic.
When I was at uni we had to be able to identify any given textile by a burn test! I still have my test samples ha
can't cut up and burn clothes at the store though
Interesting!!❤
I thought about this on the video - it's not just the flame and how well it burns that's interesting in a burn test, but also the smell and "result" (bead/ash).
my grandfather invented ramie
I have always shopped by feel first. I didn't realize for years that I was seeking linen, cotton, wool, and silk. Now, it is all I buy.
I absolutely love thrifting for linen, silk and wool. I snagged a roll of over 20 yards of embroidered silk shantung from a thrift store a couple of years ago for $6.99. I found it online for $85 a yard. Most amazing find ever. Like you, I screamed a little when I found it.
Omg that sounds incredible!
“Ugly” color clothes (or just out of fashion color) is how I manage to get some of my BEST thrift finds. Dye LOVES natural fibers, so it’s pretty easy to make them into a new color. 😁
Overdyeing fabrics is a great way to update clothing 😊
I’m a fool for natural fibers and I’m always looking for potential fabric in clothing. I found a linen comforter cover, chambray weave that I nearly screamed when I found it. It’s so much fabric!
Ugh yes, I’m still waiting for something like this to happen! I would love to make a big roomy linen dress
Screaming, shouting, dancing, and laughing out loud are all allowed when thrifting.
The Thrift Gods were with you that day
Linen🎉
Imagine making a duvet cover in squares with hand embroidery? There's Korean tradition in salvaging family clothing for translucent curtains. The effect is great. Not sure if those were hemp?
Linen is a real sweat guard used for centuries for chemises under your "quality" fabric outer clothing. I understand it absorbed sweat very effectively, but did not hold onto much odors.
So you would wash your chemise regularly and the external fabric less often. Great for a Nordic-style duvet cover.
Amazing cultural traditions in human civilization's clothing is carried in linen's history. Thinking e.g. Norse here.
Silk is so great for undergarments too, even when it has been abused in modern laundering. It still has its characteristics. A bias cut undergarment is great against the skin or for sleeping in. As light as air and fire resistant. Now that would be great for children's pj's! Instead of chemical retardants.
Thanks for your enthusiasm!
Subscribed...looking forward to your originality!
Silk is made from incredibly long fibers and can be woven into an amazing variety of weaves. Not all will be crepes, which are woven from over twisted yarns. Silk charmeuse and silk satin will be very shiny and slippery due to the length of the fine warp threads. Silk Habotai is very light, and is a plain weave so it won't be as lustrous as a satin weave, and you may see it in slips and linings. Knitted silk jerseys can be smooth and dry to the touch, and will weigh slightly more than a cotton knits.
Wonderful info here! I have found a couple unusual silks, it’s amazing how much variety there is! I would love to learn more about peace silk/ahimsa silk
I’m a huge fan of raw silk.
@@tarieannfrazier515 I made a jumper/pinafore from “raw” silk noil. It washes/dries beautifully. No wrinkles. And silk dyes to vibrant colors.
So funny how eyes see things differently. That shirt in the “terrible color” i found prettier than any of the ones you bought!
Haha yeah I’ve had quite a few people defending it. I think I judged it too quickly. I’m sure it looks great on some people, but it looks awful on me 😬
Hahaha.....I thought the same thing....ohhhh, great color : )))
Yeah... I thought so too. It's a pink color I would def wear... or at least upcycle. I love bright colors like that. ❤
I’m finding out there is no ugly color-just ugly combinations of color. You don’t need to wear everything… you can deconstruct clothes and upcycle into sachets, pillows, etc.
totally agree!
You can tea/coffee dye those bright colors - sometimes you get some nice tones that way. Great instruction - thanks!
One of my best girlfriends has a medium-light brown skin tone and she looks great in that color you think is ugly. Kind of a melon/Coral look. She looks wonderful in it… so it’s not an ugly color. It’s just not one that you wear. I can’t wear it either.
I learned my fabrics first by going through the fabric store and feeling everything, then checking the fabric content.
When I go to the thrift store or look for clothes, I want cotton tops and nightgowns. I refuse to buy cotton polyester which pills and leaches non-degradable fibers into the environment. Cotton is cool!!!
Thanks for this. My grandmother was an amazing seamstress & coached me on fabrics so I can pick them out, but I think most people under 50 can’t identify types of fabric. Regardless of eco-political views about fabric, chemicals etc., I just love the feel of natural silk, linen & cotton and it can be dyed more easily, doesn’t pill, etc.
I've sewn for years and didn't realize this handy trick - thanks for tips
My thrift store has a good selection of natural fibers in the bed linen and drapery section. If you’re lucky, the Selvedge edge will indicate the fiber content (often wool and linen fabrics will have this). Another tip to help determine if your fabric is a natural fiber: scrunch it in your hand for a few seconds and hold. When you release it if there are wrinkles then it is probably natural. If there are no wrinkles, then it is probably synthetic. This tip is from Evelyn Wood.
Ooooh these are great tips!! Thank you for sharing this. I’m still waiting for the day I find a linen sheet…so much fabric to work with!
Elizabeth is correct. Besides checking the sheet department, I would also suggest checking just the plain fabric selection. I have come home with lots of great fabric and notions.
Check curtains and bedspreads. Ikea used to sell linen duvet covers and I have managed to score a few of those.
I am curious how you clean, wash your finds? My rule for anything fabric is to wash it immediately.
@@marcialockhart890 Cottons, linens, synthetics I put through the washing machine and dryer. Silks and wools I hand wash in Luke warm water. Wools I dry flat.
Thanks great video. I’ve been teaching my 11 year old grand daughter to sew. Using the touch technique I have been showing her how to identify natural fibres. She’s quite proud when she is correct. I look forward to showing her your informative video.
Solid advice, I do the same thing when I'm thrifting - however even 100% natural fiber woven fabrics will usually have some stretch diagonally along the bias (where the warp and weft threads of the fabric cross over each other) + there's a lot more variety to be found in natural fiber fabrics than you talked about here! You got the most common ones for clothing, but there are also silk and cotton velvets (I've mainly seen these as home decor fabrics), heavy cotton canvas for workwear, smooth fine linen for dresses/undergarments, and so much more!
This is true, there is a ton of variety out there. I was going to go into it, but I was afraid the video would be too long. I might make a follow-up video…especially for wools! Thanks for pointing this out
Excellent tips! I also remember something subtle about silk fabric from working in a "better dress shop" many years ago. Those smooth woven silk fabrics (like that pinkish one you asked people to guess about) also tend to have a different "kind" of sheen that is more subtle than synthetic fabrics and looks different from different angles in comparison with synthetics that are trying to mimic silk--though most people who are not familiar with silk will often be fooled by appearance. The one thing that no one can be fooled about is that when someone wears a silk garment in comparison with a synthetic garment, silk breathes, whether worn in summer or winter--synthetics do not and people will often find themselves sweltering in polyester made to "look like" silk in the warmer months--especially if the blouse worn under a jacket for work, for example, has long sleeves.
A few times I've found silk-wool blend garments. Absolute treasures.
As someone who is allergic to synthetic fibers this is super helpful!! It really sucks to find and buy something super cute from the thrift store and then not be able to wear it due to maximum itchiness. SO THANK YOU!!
Linen feels cool to the touch and is prone to wrinkle. This also helps make it easier to find when looking in thrift shops.
Your description of the linen/silk “feel” of fabric was very helpful. Thank you!
Rayon is a natural fiber. It is wood pulp, originally only Mulberry was used, but now many different woods can be used. It is highly processed to create the fibers, but it is technically natural. The texture and drape is somewhere between cotton and silk. I personally like the feel of rayon, but find it and silk a little above my skill level when working with them.
Use masking tape to keep it from slipping and as a sewing guide.. so much easier.
You are correct about rayon.
If it is processed highly. it isnt anymore a natural fabric even if the source is natural
I understand your concerns about rayon/viscose, but cotton isn’t much better for chemicals used in growing cotton and in producing the textile. If you are using thrifted fabric, rayon/viscose isn’t any worse for the environment. It is often blended with linen, so I wouldn’t write it off entirely in post-consumer use.
This is a really good point, thank you! I wasn't really aware of how bad industrial cotton production is, but I'm learning as I go. In the end, thrifting for fabric doesn't affect the supply/demand of the fashion industry at all, so choosing 100% natural fabrics is just personal preference for me. I'm dumb about rayon/viscose, I know they're biodegradable but I just can't bring myself to like them!
@@studiobonvonI actually like the feel of rayon, but I can understand your position: a lot of it is made from wood pulp, and it _feels_ like a compromise; like an "almost" fabric. The way living in a cardboard box covered with a tarp is "almost" like living in a house. And, even though I treat it like any fabric, it's not very durable to washing unless it's tencel, which, according to the tencel people, is also more sustainable and eco-friendly to produce.
I buy my clothes thrifted, too, so I don't generally consider myself a contributor to planet abuse by way of clothing.
Food packaging is another matter. I'm still working on that.
I have to disagree. Viscose/rayon could not exist without the use of the harsh chemical called carbon disulfide. That chemical is immediately harmful to any living organism it comes into contact with. And long term, it just compounds into worse effects. It cannot be called a ‘natural’ fiber because it is broken down at a chemical level to be reformed into a form unnatural to its original.
Cotton, while yes, large-scale production uses wasteful quantities of water, and most producers use unnecessary chemical finishes, coatings, and dyes, is still better than viscous/rayon by miles. It doesn’t have to be destroyed to be created.
If a person is able to, it would be best to not support either practice, but at least cotton production has the historical proof of prior sustainability and the possibility to shift production back towards that. Viscose has neither.
@@sunriseeyes0 well, none of that has anything to do with what I said, so we're good.
@@MelissaThompson432 ah, you are correct. My sincere apologies. I misread your comment and let my emotions overshadow my reason. Now that I fully understand what you said, I do agree with you. Again, I apologize for jumping the gun and going explaining things that didn’t need to be said. I’ve been trying to work on not doing that, but I clearly need to work harder 😔
Ok, you won me over by riding your unicorn to the thrift store. Not just thrifting , but also saving gas. Yay!!!
Yesss! 😂 🦄 ✨
Haha. I LOVE that neon melon colored button down you found. It's one of my faves. I have always been a feel shopper as well. When I find timeless and quality pieces that fit perfectly I have to stifle a scream. Example: 100% silk 80's long sleeve button down cheetah print blouse. I'll have it until the end of my journey on this planet. $12 I've had smoothies that cost more than that. I also started looking exclusively for 100% cotton denim jeans because I was paying $100+ for "designer" or high end denim that would stretch out and rip in all the wrong areas after 2 - 3 years of wear. Cotton is king for jeans, imo.
100% agree on cotton jeans - it’s the only way to go! There are many creative ways to repair them as well
😂😂😂
Some things to note are that silk can be rough or smooth depending in how the raw material is made into fabric, also, linen will get softer over time wirh wear and washing so its not really suspicious for linen to me soft
Thank you for this. In the last couple of years, (primarily after I turned 50), I find myself only comfortable wearing natural fibers. Most synthetic fibers are super itchy and scratchy to me. I’m not sure why this is, but I just go with it. Cotton is my absolute fave, and unfortunately, it is getting harder and harder to find
It's so true! Once you switch to natural fibers, it's hard to go back. Cotton is definitely hard to find nowadays...this is a big reason I switched to thrifting and sewing my own clothes!
Dont forget to check table cloths, curtains, skirts and dresses for amazing yardage!
I grew up wearing natural fabrics because my mom was old school. It is interesting the way you described each of the textures. I did the same thing looking for natural fabrics at my local thrift store. I love the way silk looks, but it was always hard for me to wear sensory-wise because of that catching quality.
We wore linen in the Summer, cotton and knits in the spring and wool in the winter. Wool was itchy for me.
But, there is no denying that natural fabrics tend to age well, thus you have clothing that lasts longer, which means less consumption and waste.
Silks in different weaves have different feels. Not all of them catch. I wear silk undergarments daily. They do not have a weird feel.
A note for those who think BAMBOO fabric is a good natural option; it's not, when it’s processed into fabric that’s advertised as “soft,” “silky,” or “cool to the touch,” it has likely been turned into rayon or viscose using toxic chemicals. This process is far from eco-friendly, and the fabric that it creates may not be better for the environment than other types of fabric.
Plus, the shinier it is, the more it pills. I stopped buying it altogether.
I only learned this recently and it's so disappointing 😔
I'm afraid I'm a Viscose addict. It's so soft and, for someone who has to cut the labels out of pretty much all clothing because they scratch my pale, red-headed Scottish skin, it's so much nicer than cotton or linen, which is often a little bit rough. Don't even mention wool - I very rarely wear it and definitely not next to my skin. Bamboo socks stay softer and fluffy wash after wash, unlike cotton. The only downside with Viscose t-shirts is that they're often really thin.
what i love about natural fabrics is that they dye really well.. for those not so wonderful colors
I feel like there is some information lacking in here that may confuse some people.
There are woven fabrics that do have stretch that don't have to be manmade fibers. Like twill weaves. This includes fabrics like twill, denim, diaper weave, and herringbone. These will have a natruak stretch to them, however it's also easy to tell that they are these weaves as it will be visible if you know what they look like. Also wool is naturally "stretchy". In the sence that will will warp with heat, moisture, stretching, and shaping. This was used strategically in the past.
Also the silk you used to describe the texture is a testured silk. Which is the most common to see, however there are also silk taffetas and silk satins that will not have that same bumpy texture (as a Shantung or a Dupioni). Now real silk does feel and look different from fake silk. For example real silks have a slight color shift that fakes ones don't. Even as sold colors. They also make a different sound when it touches itself. And yeah it's not wrong that it feels textured as it's kinda like hair in it's makeup. But it's important for folks who know nothing, to be told that there are intended textures often added and to not get confused or tricked by it.
Acrylic is really good a seaming like wool, but there is some differences. Mostly that Acrylic isn't breathable. It's easier to look at the tag or try the burn test. As Acrylic is also highly flammable.
The leinen "texture" is popular in fashion but folks don't the mantainance of real linen. So that's why it's common to see the "texture" and not have it be linen. Linen can be way more smoothly made it's just not common to see because that costs more to produce. But most folks are unlikely to see that in fast fashion.
Anyway good luck to y'all!
exactly, that's what I was missing here - all the natural fibers can be woven is so many ways that only looking for certain characteristics (like the examples in this video) is not always the best way to go 😊
I have always been mesmerized by people who could tell one fabric from another 99% of the time. This was very helpful and I'm going to spend some time in the thrift store the next time I have the car. Maybe you could do a video in the future about how to take these pieces apart effectively to have fabric. TFS!
All I do when I disassemble thrifted clothes for fabric is seam rip along all the seams (except in the case of this one where I had to cut it, but that is not normal!)
I love natural fibres too. Recently bought 100% silk camisole to wear with linen trousers.
really nice tips, I'll give it a try next time I'm at a thrift store
I'd love to know if it works for you!
@@studiobonvon will let you know!
Another thing about the burn test is it help you determine the fabric content. Natural fibers leave ash, synthetic sleeve plastic. Sometimes it helps to determine what the blend is. Ask for natural fibers not having any stretch. That's kind of a misnomer. I have found silk cotton linen and wool in knits. Don't forget about cashmere sweaters.
Great video! Reminded me of my young 4yr old, over 30 years ago, She would walk in the department store racks of new clothes & come out feeling the fabrics of the clothes & announcing which were Silk! Which always brought laughter!! I’m new to your channel & I like your presentation style -- thank you for an enjoyable video!!
Nicely done. I love the unicorn for transport
Fiber enthusiast here: we also use the burn test. Same as you, I need to get my stash down before thrifting but the last time my dad bleached the window frames for mold, he got some of the solution on my good cotton sheets. I have save them, as it is only a small bit of a corner, with a plan to make pajamas. I haven't sewn since I was in middle school (crochet took over) but I have made them before and even if it looks ugly, no one else will really see them.
If I do well on those, perhaps I will branch out to a few other clothing items until I run out of the sheet fabric and I can look to making something I can wear outside. I do have a fabric stash from when a sewing store was retiring but again, it has not been my primary craft. I have also saved my jeans when they wear out in the inner thighs to use as patches for later ones or for the bottom of bags. There are so many uses for make, do, and mend and with the current economy, I am happy I have a stash of things to do as many crafting hobbies can get expensive.
As much as I want to be solely on natural fibers, I have to yield to acrylic for baby items. Some babies have an allergic reaction to wool and the parents have enough to do with their newborn than to worry about their 100% wool sweater not making its way into the dryer; I would use cotton but one wash could easily end its use before the baby can use it more than once due to shrinkage and I find they can fade much sooner than wool. My friend with a six-year-old had a wool sweater from me and it lasted almost until she outgrew it before it accidently made it into the dryer so I count that as a win.
Great video, this is exactly how i thrift for silk and linen as well.
Great minds thinks alike, eh?
Thanks for an interesting video! I find very fine linen that is very soft and fluid usually in the form or vintage table linens. These are very equivalent to fine cotton, but modern (2000s) linen in clothing is usually coarser as you describe. I buy the vintage table linens for clothing and pillowcases.
I think that's a market driven thing. Linen ages soft like cotton does, and it's perfectly capable of being fine fibers, I just don't see it manufactured that way anymore.
I think this is because linen softens as you wash it, so older linens are usually very soft. New linen will always be a little stiff, but it only gets softer
Love the unicorn scene!! Made me laugh. 😂😊 Thanks so much for the silk id info. Very helpful when shopping for scarves... esp when most of them have the fiber-content tags removed.
Yess I was just doing this the other day! Scarves never have tags, so they are really the true test of your silk identifying skills 😂
Thanks. I use the same techniques. Although rayon and tencel are from natural sources, and can have the "hand" of a natural fiber, they are highly refined and are considered "neither natural nor synthetic" or "hybrid". Angora, mohair and alpaca are fabulous but rare and I hope you can do a video on them some day and include wool!
Oooh yes thanks for the suggestion! I’d love to make a follow up video specifically for wools 🐑
I have made rayon before in a chemistry class so it has always been on the okay category for me (tencel is also in the same category.) As a fiber enthusiast, I would rather add it together with the primary yarn so it has the potential to be dismantled for recycling than to buy a pre-blend. I know rayon from bamboo has been under fire lately but I still see it as sustainable over acrylic and polyester. And out of those two, recycled acrylic is still better than polyester, recycled or not.
@@EcstaticTeaTime Agree! Rayon and tencel feel "natural" to me and both have a nice hand. I have bamboo socks and they are comfortable, although wear out quickly.
I'm also quite obsessed with materials when I shop for clothes and prefer natural materials over semi-synthetics like rayon (I avoid synthetic fabrics like polyester overall). But you were able to give me quite a few practical hints on the topic. Hopefully in the years to come consumers will start asking for more and more natural fibers and the market will make a switch back from plastics.
Gosh, that would be nice! One can dream
Thank you for the video! I plan on keeping an eye out when you post. You are very informal and have a good sense of humor! May God bless you ❤🙏🏻
I thrift by feel too. Your explanations were SO GOOD for identifing fabric content.
Thank you! I’m so glad you found it helpful 😊
Thanks so much for your explanation. I’m a big fan of fabric finds on thrift store but you opened my eyes about silk!!!!! I never knew how to look for it. Looking forward to put your tips into practice. And hoping for more of your videos soon 😊
Not hugely important, but an interesting fact is that rayon is actually not really synthetic fiber. It is made out of processed cellulose, kind of like paper products. It is sometimes called a "semi-synthetic" and most organizations concerned with plastic waste consider it to be biodegradable
Thanks for the info! I like the feel of rayon and was a little sad, thinking it was another petroleum product.
True. Watch a documentary about how it's made, though, and see whether you still hold that view.
Im excited to take these tips thrifting this weekend. I spend too much time shopping for specific outfits, but shopping for the fabric is a great idea. Linens and cottons do just feel better.
You're so lucky to see so much natural fiber! Thrift stores near chicago are mostly overstock from bad fast fashion. Like hundred of pairs of super short shorts no one wanted to buy. All synthetic. I feel like the stores themselves go through and take out all the good stuff to sell for higher prices online. I just want fabric that doesn't feel bad, physically or morally. Summers here are hot and humid so linen would be amazing.
This taught me so much! The examples from the thrift store were really helpful.
I love this topic. I seek out natural fibers in secondhand clothing.
Thank you so much for this video - I have never shopped for natural fabrics, but have been wanting to make a quilt with thrifted cottons and this was extremely helpful information on how to look for these fabrics.
Of course, I hope this method works for you! I usually find cotton very easily, it’s more common than silk or linen. Good luck with your projects! ✨
Thanks foe sharing with others the skill of finding natural fabrics. I use this same technique. It helps save me time when I need to get in & out of shops so I can work on projects. 💖
Yesss it saves so much time! 🙌
Burning fabric: natural fabrics will leave a fine ash. Synthetics will bead, like melting plastic, which they are, and leave a hard, stiff edge when the fire is out. Synthetic "ash beads" will also burn the heck out of you if you try to pinch the fire out, so be warned.
this is great! I really appreciate how you went through the thrift store and pointed out the different fabrics!
I completely agree with you - this is the way to shop for natural fibers! It is crazy how easy it is after doing it for a while! Love your channel ❣
Interesting video. I love linen, cotton and silk. Thanks for the knowledge you share ❤
YT suggested this video to me possibly because I made a video about the best fabrics for travel. I LOVE thrifted silk. So soft, light, dries quickly. Probably could have included linen in my list too.
I love how light and airy silk feels! Texture is very important to me in clothing as well. I know some people consider linen to be too rough, but I absolutely adore how lightweight and breathable it is, especially in hot weather! Glad you found my channel 🤗
Girrrrrrrl!!! You stole my idea for MY first RUclips video that I haven’t made yet. 😛 Thrifting for linen and wool is literally my favorite thing to do and I love testing my fiber discerning abilities. Here’s to another fiber snob 🥂 😁
Please !! Still do it !! and go thrifting AS WELL. you area is different to hers and mine not to mention what you may be shopping for. i'd love to learn as much as i can on this topic for many perspectives. consider showing what you've found and how you've used/styled it.
Nothing says that you can’t share your own version of info about natural fiber. Go for it! 😊
Please make your own version, I would love to see it! You can never have too much content on this topic, and I’m sure your perspective will be different than mine! Go for it 💪🌱
During the shopping sequence, your calming voice over the jazz reminded me in the best way of a 90’s children’s show. I felt like I was watching Sesame Street, learning new things about the world to jazz music. Thank you!
Haha I love that! I was definitely raised on Sesame Street, so perhaps it was a subconscious influence 😂 Glad you liked it!
Lol i thought the same.
Nice video, very informative. I never find real silk in clothes but I have found it in scarves. And I have mostly found real linen in home goods decor.
I find silk tops once in a while. Some men's ties are silk as well.
This is such a useful video. I search for cottons for potential patchwork projects, and have only used visual searches to identify natural fabrics, but will now be able to identify good items by touch! Thank you.
I have spent many happy hours following my mother and her sister up and down the aisles of the Mill Ends store in Milwaukee Or looking at fabrics, they touched and discussed the feel of each piece, how this one felt like it had a bit of rayon in it or cotton.. some of my best memories, both gone now to that great fabric store in the sky..😊 this brought back those memories, thank you. Great finds by the way..
I loved the one you called a terrible color lol goes well with my skin tone gess i thought it was beautiful lol
Haha sorry, I didn’t mean it that way. I’m sure it looks great on some people, but it’s a terrible color on me 😂
Thank you for this! I have just recently begun thrifting specifically looking for natural fabrics, and I've had some good luck so far! Your helpful tips will help me find natural fibers even more quickly! Thanks again :)
Hi there, this is the first video I watch of yours...loved it! Alot of great information. For the last ten or so years, I've been a little more sensitive to over warming and I've been trying to wear only natural fibers which is so much more comfortable. Also I love thrifting, so all good info. Thanks so much for sharing. I'm going to check out more of your videos ;) Have a wonderful day, from Canada
great video. very helpful, exactly what i needed
This was extremely helpful! Thank you so much especially for your descriptions and visuals and even going to the thrift store and showing how you do it!❤
Yay! Glad to hear you found it helpful! 😊
Really interesting. I really like your tips. I will certainly used them on my next thrit shopping trip!
Good video, v clear & concise, but 2 things need addressing - 1) Rayon is a natural fibre, (cellulose/wood pulp) made into thread via a chemical process. It is NOT synthetic, just manufactured. The new closed-loop process trade-named rayons re-use their chemicals & don't pollute with them either, like the older ones did. 2) Your burn test was incomplete; you're also supposed to inspect the smoke & ash/residue to determine whether you have an animal/protein product, a plant fibre or a plastic. However, viewers will have learned more than if they hadn't watched your video at all & that's always a bonus.
Thank you for the feedback 👍I think I will make a short video addressing my views on rayon specifically
Haha! I love that bright pink! I have kiddos though too so I grab that to make rainbow appliqués on pinafores and such:)
Cute! 😊
I love to shop thrift stores for fabric, but always relied on looking at tags. I found this very helpful, so thank you!!!
So glad you're not using the burn test in thrift stores 😂
By far the most helpful video on identifying textiles I’ve seen! The real time look through the thrift store and giving us time to check it out with you and guess for ourselves was great practice. And oddly satisfying, like being on a game show 😄
Thanks for the great detailed comparisons! Loved the adjectives for feel, sound + look :)
--also, on a golden unicorn :)
Never heard of mohair, great video.
I have wool tops thrifted or gifted from mom and they are the warmest w/o layering on. Now everything is a mix or a percentage of wool. Pure wool and well made products are hundreds of dollars.
So girly, you're doing a really high end favor by thrifting.
It is so hard to find wool here in the US! I love finding cashmere in the thrift store, but they’ve caught on to how expensive they are and I’ve seen them for as high as $30 in the thrift store 😓 depends where you go though! I’m planning a follow up video to this where I talk about finding wool 🐑
I understand your desire for natural fabrics. Buying thrifted clothing to upcycle or tailor to fit is a win win for the environment and your pocketbook. To keep the shedding down of your clothing, I tend to re-wear my clothes by spraying them with a vodka-h20-essential oil spray and air them out. Washers are too hard on clothing imo. I don’t mind a soak and gentle hand washing. Air dry is awesome, especially in our dry Alaska winters. I’ve even made thrifted cargo style pants waterproof by painting a mineral oil & paraffin wax mixture that I found thanks to a RUclips video tutorial. I love the creativity of recycling what others have discarded to our advantage. And make it to suit our individual tastes and body shape 💕🙋🏻♀️🏔️
These are some brilliant ideas!! I’ve heard of spraying vodka on clothes to keep them fresh - I definitely need to try this myself. And I would really love to try making a waterproof set using beeswax coating in the future! That has been on my list of things to try for a while. Thanks for the awesome tips!!
@@studiobonvon he used a small paintbrush to apply it. Again it was a video on here. It’s a vodka water mix and a spray bottle that mists that works best. 👍🏻
Thank you, I'm trying to replace all my synthetic fabrics on a budget and sewing is a big way I'm doing that. This video is so incredibly helpful!
Yes! You’re so welcome! I’m also trying to create a sustainable wardrobe on a budget - it’s possible ✨
@@studiobonvon I literally used your advice today to find 3 silk pieces and a linen dress. I am incredibly grateful!
Omg I’m so glad to hear that!! That’s awesome that it worked for you 👏✨
I have been wanting to find natural fabric but didn't know how and this really helps! Thank you so kindly for making this video
You’re so welcome ✨
It took me many years. But now I can see silk/cashmere/linen and all premium fabrics just looking on a rack. I almost don’t touch. I just need to see them all. I even can tell a %-combo if it is. It is very helpful to have a skill.
Yes good light needed. Sometimes is nice to have some lighter to test the thread if you know how to smell that natural fabrics. And I don’t care about size. I only care of quality ❤ and stitching.
Omg, that fire test is hilarious. You don’t need to burn the fabric. You need just a little thread like 0,5 inch long.
Very interesting. Do you know why some silks are washable and others are dry clean only? I always wonder if the washable one is a blend or just not really silk.
Today was my first time watching you, and I like your style 👍
Good question - and to be honest I don't know. It seems that it's a combination of things - silk is quite delicate and can snag very easily, so sometimes it's best to wash it separately or by hand. Sometimes it's a matter of the dye bleeding in the wash. I'll have to pay more attention to this in the future 💦 and I'm glad you liked the video!
This was a really great video! Thank you for walking us through this. I’ve been on the hunt for more natural fabrics. Egads! The amount of polyester out there is sickening lol. Also I looked through my own closet and the amount that isn’t natural fibers that I thought were is amazing.
Thanks for the tips! Going to try them next time I go to a thrift store.
i promise this is a compliment, but the voice over in the store felt like i was watching blues clues for sewists. it was so so fun!
Hi! I like your channel, your filming style, your music, sounds, demeanor... I'm excited to find linen and do some thrift uplifts. I've handmade costume skirts for little girls I know. Ive handmade a few funny dolls with clothes. I get bored easily. But I do need clothes so I'll focus on fabrics for a while. Plus I have a two year old grand daughter Ive made a few dresses for and that's fun. I like the idea of less expensive thrifted fabrics. Glad you found Mochi. I used to have a Tonkinese that looked a LOT like her. Her name was Oshi but we ended up calling her Nubby because her tail had possibly been slammed in a door as it was about 6" long and bent hence the nub! Haha. she acted a lot like a dog, growling at the door. She chased my daughters in their long, flowy nightgowns and bit their ankles. She had a lot of personality. TMI?!
I look forward to more creative videos from you. I think you'll do very well. Congratulations! I'm from SC.
I try to go natural in much of my life and thought this would help me transition my wardrobe. Instead, as you described the fabrics, I found myself feeling restricted while observing the linen and cotton. Conversely, I felt like I could finally "breathe" when thinking of stretchy material. Oh, well. But I did learn how to spot those fabrics fairly easily!
To me, thrifting isn't just about finding natural fibers, I'm also not buying the actual real garbage being sold as clothing at all levels of price points. We have microscopic plastic particles in our water supply because of disintegrating polyester fiber in clothing. The vast majority of clothing produced today is meant to be garbage as quickly as possible forcing people to have to buy more clothing quickly. In the retail store, ALWAYS be wary of any signage or hang tag bragging about how "soft" a piece of clothing is. To reach that softness, polyester fiber is usually chopped up to create the softness and laundering disintegrates the tiny bits and pieces.
Yes, this! Microplastics are a big one for me
The coral colour was beautiful ... chacun a son gout!
It was more of a neon orange in real life - and yes this one has been defended quite a bit. Not my color though! I’m sure it’d be beautiful on someone else!
I knew I recognized that Arc store. I have been there often for jewelry making parts for making second hand jewelry. That store is huge and has a lot of good items. I think I will return there this Saturday as you got me thinking I should now. LOL. Sorry to see you leave the Springs for Vegas. I hope you enjoy the weather there. I will look forward to your videos now because they are “just up my ally”. My kind of favorite things to do. You are very good at making your video’s interesting and fun. Thank you.
Thank you so much! 😊 I’m back in Colorado now so who knows? Maybe you’ll see me there 😅 Thanks for being here 🌷
hiiii !!!, this was a WONDERFUL video from beginning to end. SUPERRR informative, i'm actually thinking about cleaning out my closet with this method. please make more thrifting videos. I really enjoyed this.
Thanks! That was very helpful! I have always loved linen and natural fibers!
I was able to find a dress today that was 100 percent organic cotton and 3 other 100 percent cotton shirts
Very informative video, next time im at a thrift store im gonna give this a try.
Also the unitah ARC is always a good one!
Hah I can't believe you recognized it
Great video. Thank you. I really like the top you're wearing. Did you draft that yourself?
Yes - I self drafted and sewed all of the clothes in my videos! This one was actually sewn by hand before I had a sewing machine
Thanks for this video. I'm really into natural fibers. I didn't know about linen until about a year ago and now I want to pursue getting some. I'm excited to check out the thrift stores. If you do a search about plastic fibers being toxic you'll see how bad they are.
Do you recommend using any particular threads to sew silk? Thanks. Love this!
Hmm I don’t have any recommendations at the moment (I just use regular cotton thread) but I will look into this, I’m sure there is something more suitable! I think they make silk thread? 🤔
I haven't sewn too many clothes myself, but from what I've seen it's best to use thread that's a similar weight and fiber content as the fabric you're sewing with it (ex. fine silk thread for thin silk fabric). I think the main reason for this is how different fibers behave when washed; cotton for example is known to shrink a fair amount, whereas polyester doesn't shrink at all, so if you were to sew a garment from cotton fabric (that hasn't been pre-shrunk) with polyester thread and then machine-wash it, the fabric would likely shrink but the thread wouldn't and your garment would end up with permanently crinkled seams. I don't know a ton about silk specifically, but my guess is that if you can't get silk thread, any natural fibre thread should work well enough.
this was so eye opening!!
I shop at that same store! I was there today doing the same exact thing but looking for clothing for me! Getting away from blends and "plastic fabric" as they are better in so many ways.
Nice to run into another COS thrifter online. I resell on eBay. Perhaps I will run into you while out and about. Great video!
Very cool! Now that you know what I look like you’ll have to say hi! 😂
@@studiobonvon Absolutely! Loved you purple redo. Despite the challenges, it turned out adorable.
Ouu that beige linen Liz Claiborne top you left behind was cute! Huge fan of natural fibers, I learned how to spot them by thrifting while I was in high school and at college in a Textiles class. I think my favourite to find is raw silk, so rare but so so good.
Cool! That was fun! Thanks for the thrift store tour, too.