@@Beryllahawk They are a great pair of videos! Nicole's video is definitely more focused on the history and technology behind synthetics with a lot more nuance about exact types of fabrics. I found Bernadette's more useful from a practical application standpoint, since it shows examples of what you would see in a store today, but combined they fill in each other's gaps beautifully. I wonder if they knew about each other's videos or if we really did just get super lucky.
It's interesting how many companies are using the popularity of natural fibers to market blends. Socks might be advertised as "cotton-rich" and be 49% polyester and "wool" sweaters have 10% wool, 90% acrylic.
My biggest pet peeve for this is linen, if you do a search for linen so many things will be labelled as linen look and then when you check the fibre content, it’s 100% polyester. Similarly with wool too TBH.
A few months ago I was shopping for socks and had to go to six different stores before finally finding ones that were 100% cotton. Needless to say I stocked up loll. I see labels like how you've mentioned all the time with knitwear. The packaging makes it look like it's cashmere or wool or cotton then you check the back or the internal label and in small print it says it's part polyester or acrylic. It's a shame, especially with socks and undergarments which of all garments need to be the ones that are the most breathable and easy to clean.
Also blends cannot be recycled. Blends between poliester or acrylic and wool like 50% of wool and 50% acrylic make sense only in caps because it makes them softer and warmer but other than that I do not see point in blends
My parents met while working in an Acetate plant. Both died of fibre related cancers. My mother worked on the extruding and spinning floor. My father was a chemist. He had worked at a fiberglass plant before that. Fibre processing creates lint regardless but synthetics are far more deadly.
Hard to believe that this was still a problem so recently. All the usual 'cover-ups' no doubt as found in the history of cigarette cover-ups. I'm so sorry that happened to your parents.
This is horrible yet even processing of natural products can be lethal over time- check out the process of tanning leather, for one example. It would be good if people were able to be educated to prevent contamination before working regularly with any process. That's a lesson for us all- never presume something is safe just because someone tells us it is.
@loverlyme women who worked in a Canadian denim clothing factory were found to have emphysema. When a lung biopsy was done the tissue was blue from years of indigo dyed cotton dust. Check out Piece by Piece: the GWG story.
I work in trash and recycling, and plastics in clothes makes a big issue. Plastic in general isn't recyclable in the same way that glass and metals are. For those materials, you melt them down, shape them into a new thing, and can do that infinitely (if other random stuff doesn't get mixed in). But plastic and paper both degrade a bit each time they get recycled. Paper can be recycled about 7 times before it winds up as something like a fast-food drink carrier and is too weak to be recycled again. Plastic bottles have maybe one round of bottle-to-bottle before becoming something like a fleece jacket, and plastic bags go straight to becoming something like plumber (plastic lumber) as their second and last life.
And from what i understand when theyre used that second time in clothes they have to mixed with fresh plastic because they start to degrade..i think even a bottle being put into clothes on the first recycling round might need some fresh poly to help with hold depending on the bottle
This is why I'm so nitpicky with what I buy and prefer farmers markets for groceries. I of course live in a rural area so it's easy for me to do that, but I remember living in the city and feeling like I was going crazy trying to find stuff that wasn't packaged in plastic. Nowadays if I do find something I need that happens to be in plastic I will either reuse the packaging for something or be very particular about cleaning it out and sorting it in the bin. A lot of people are unaware that they're supposed to clean their recycling :( Paper is much easier to reuse though. I always have a ton of paper bags and cardboard boxes stashed away, and I keep every single glass jar or bottle that I get ahold of from buying olives or honey.
@@NickS-m3h I have wondered how much of office recycling is discarded as unusable when paper is comingled with plastic, and all those unwashed yogurt and salad and whatever solid food drizzled containers go in, eventually getting all over the paper. Probably 0.1%. Plus there's the water wasted for cleaning plastics for recycling.
I'm the opposite! In things like winter hats and scarves and stuff it really can't be beat. Especially with a severe wool allergy, like I have the misfortune of having 😅 All this natural fibre discourse has me wondering if anyone participating even realises that wool is one of the most widespread allergens there is? For real though. I feel like I'm missing something, and I know I'm not
@@MalharetasLair There are different fibers for a reason! I can be super sensitive to synthetics on my skin and temper regulation can be a huge issue for me, so I need to look for more natural fibers or be extra picky about synthetics. I'm not allergic to wool, so it's thankfully an option for me. I've never come across someone with a wool allergy, but I've seen and lived through weirder allergies. If acrylic is what fits your needs- well, I'm glad that you have a solid alternative option for your day-to-day wear.
@@MalharetasLair there’s actually no evidence that wool is an allergen! Poor quality wool can easily cause physical skin irritation (I am personally insanely sensitive to wool, I even find merino itchy) which is what makes people think they’re allergic
@@gaphic tell that to my runny nose, itchy eyes, and inability to breathe, mate. The skin irritation's kind of obvious to the point of not even being worth mentioning, i think. And I know I'm an outlier but only in the degree of reactivity, not its existence
As a person with skin allergies to literally every synthetic fiber, I do hope they're mostly on their way out because my clothing options are extremely limited.
I'm on the opposite end. I need them to prevent the sun giving me anaphylaxis. Wool is all well and good during the winter, but I am not going out in head to toe wool when it's 100⁰ out.
@@EeeEee-bm5gxIf your only issue is polyester and you can handle nylon and lycra, Darn Tough socks are amazing. They're mostly wool and yes you can wear them in the summer just fine. Excellent support and lots of fun colors and patterns. Smart Wool also likely has ones without polyester, but I didn't double check them.
I’ve always kept my clothes for as long as they will last, and pass that with repairs. For the last 2 years I’ve been moving my wardrobe to as many natural fabrics such as wool, cotton, etc. as I can since my cancer diagnosis (cause: environmental). Trying to get preferably fabrics that are long lasting, sustainable and non-toxic and learning how to sew for what I can’t afford to buy initially. You’ve provided such good and useful info and I never miss a vid. Thanks Nicole. 😊
I'm pretty sure I heard recently that nylon stockings were originally invented to be very long-lasting. When they realised that there weren't enough 'repeat consumers' they made changes to the manufacturing method so that they didn't last so long. The same thing happened to the light bulb. I no longer wear nylon stockings/pantihose but I've kept all my old ones which are now cut into smaller ribbons and help to tie up the climbing plants in my garden. (The stretch in the 'hose allows the plants some movement whilst still helping them to stay on the trellis.)
Good on you for reusing stuff like that. Friends and family poke fun at me all the time because my kitchen drawers and cabinets are packed full of rubber bands, washed ziploc bags, plastic bags, paper bags, cardboard boxes, egg cartons, glass jars, and plastic bottles. I hate throwing stuff away that I know is just going to end up in a landfill. I'd rather give them as much use as I can before I have to inevitably send them to rot in a trash heap someplace.
The lightbulb one is actually a myth, there is a physical trade off between long lasting, but dim and energy inefficient lightbulbs, and bright and efficient, but not very long lasting. In the end manufacturers just found an longevity/brightness optimum
The main reason I seek out natural fabrics for, at least, half of the year is due to the heat in Australia. I wouldn't dream of sleeping on anything unnatural. It's just too hot (and humid) to sleep on microfibres or polyesters. Cotton or bamboo is really the only acceptable fabrics to wear throughout the warmer months (if you're not resorting to high energy cooling methods). I'm seeing more and more of these unnatural fibres creeping into our markets here though. It pays to always check the labels. Even WITH natural fibres, there has been a lot of change over the past few decades. Unless you find some special place that handmakes it's fabric, it's likely that even cotton, wool and silk has been treated with some chemicals. That has made these natural fibres easier to wash and less prone to wrinkles. It's also made wool a lot less itchy. So beware: there are still chemical treatments used in natural fabrics.
If you're talking about viscose bamboo, that's not a natural fiber. It's a naturally sourced, but still extruded cellulose fiber. Bast fibre bamboo is natural, but it's also incredibly uncommon. It feels and acts more like a rougher linen.
I've been trying to avoid synthetics since the 1970's. The cotton industry did a lot of advertising promoting "the look, the feel" of natural fibers, and I hate polyester sweat. Unfortunately, as you pointed out, synthetics sneak into lots of fabrics that look and feel like natural fibers.
yeah same, also im ngl it doesn't look that true bc i still see mostly people in 90% synthetic everything who have by pure accident gotten some cheap leather shoes or jeans with under 3% elastane for example
@@karljiks Most people either don't have many options, or don't know what to look for. Most people do generally not want clothing that sheds microplastics and feels awful though.
This is the most helpful video I've ever seen on the breakdown of fibers and their names. I love that you pointed out that the advent of the material tag on US clothing was a huge help to consumers, but I only wish the legislation included a standardized naming convention for manufacturers so it wasn't up to the consumer to know that viscose, lyocell, and tencel are all just variations of rayon, as I always thought that the brand names for these materials were different types of fabrics. Now I can feel so much more confident when shopping for ready made, thrifted pieces or when choosing fabrics to create my own garments. Thank you so much for sharing your expertise and demystifying the world of fabric!!
All I could think of everytime Dupont was mentioned was their atrocious and lethal history with PFOA (forever chemicals that cause cancer) and other controversies over their environment impact. It is unsprising that they were so involved in the development and sale of synthetic fabrics. While there is a place for synthetic fabrics it is so frustrating that many clothing businesses have moved away from natural fibres as much as possible. Trying to find cotton underwear where I live isn't always easy, and most other garments are half polyester or viscose/poly blend. I miss the days when cotton was the standard
If you are interested in making linen underpinnings, Mariah Pattie did a video on doing that a couple of years ago. I assume that the video is still available.
I had an aunt say oh I have bamboo thing and I said yes rayon and she said noooo it is bamboo and me saying hmmm yeah a type of rayon and she didn’t believe me - at first!!
Is is bamboo rayon or bamboo fibre? Because it _is_ possible to get fibre directly from bamboo without just rayonifying it. If it just says bamboo it is _most likely_ just rayon but the labels aren't very clear and it is possible that you have actually bamboo fibre
To my experience, rayon made from bamboo has a nice hand to it. So spending more for a product labeled as bamboo versus ordinary rayon isn't necessarily a bad thing. The fibers that go into the rayon can come from many different plant sources.
I have been occasionally buying bamboo/cotton socks for quite some years until I found out the bamboo part is essentially rayon :) They do have a nice feel to them but the heels thin out quite quickly.
Maybe it’s like how the British pronounce the H in “herbs,” while Americans don’t. I’ve heard that we don’t because it makes it sound more French and, therefore, more proper… so maybe some were taught to say “vi-cose” to sound more French… but it’s been wrong all along…?
There's a Jewish term for unacceptable mixed fibers, "shatnez", and there's an entire career for preventing it! People who sit and examine cloth samples under magnifiers and microscopes and either work with a tailor to remove the unwanted bits (stuff like linen waist tapes from wool pants, or wool padding from a linen dress) or do the sewing themselves. I can't imagine the headache these new fibers caused when they hit the market. A new identifying manual every month, I'd bet! (Vi from SnappyDragon has a video all about shatnez, if it interests anyone else)
I hate stretchy jeans so much, they fall apart so much faster. regular denim is so hard to find at a decent price these days. I have one place that I can buy from and I don't know what I'll do if they change. I never find my size when thrifting
Generally I prefer not to give Walmart my money, but they do sell 100% cotton Wrangler jeans in the Men’s department for about $30 CDN. I bought 2 pairs well over a year ago and wear them almost every day. They are incredibly durable. They’ve already outlasted my previous pair of all cotton Levi’s by many months and are showing almost no signs of wear.
Generally if you stick to under 5% elastane (i prefer less than 2%) you'll have just enough stretch for the denim to fit well but not fall apart. Assuming the other 95-98% is cotton. Great alternatives are cotton chinos which use less water and chemicals to make but are still casual and comfy
There are some smaller specialist-brands out there, but wrangler is essentially the only widely available (in the US) 100% cotton option--though they have a LOT of blended styles, they keep all the classic cowboy styles 100% cotton, as well as some of their workwear. I have an odd size so I end up buying work jeans through their main website once or twice a year, unless I luck out and a local store has some in stock! Round-House mostly makes overalls but also does cotton jeans & has great quality, especially if you need them to work in.
@@YellowFreesias Even with 1-2% spandex, I've not found a pair of blended jeans that's held up much longer than a year. They always give way in high wear and stretch areas like the inner thigh and crotch. I've developed a fairly solid process for reinforcing those areas once they start to fall apart with a combination of interfacing and matching stitching, anchoring out into the surrounding fabric that's still good. And luckily, since the wear usually happens mostly in the crotch area, the repairs are mostly hidden. But there's only so many times I can repeat the process as the "tideline" of solid fabric retreats outward and areas of repeated mending start to feel and look like saddle-padding. And that's on top of the fact that they are soooo bloody unbreathable! I walk a lot, both for health and just because I enjoy it. But I can't walk outside for any length of time in jeans with any amount of stretch if the temps are over 65F or if the humidity is high, because they just turn into a disgusting swamp-crotch-inducing sauna-wrap. Granted, heavy cotton jeans get hot and sweaty, too, just due to their thickness. But stretch jeans do so at such low temps that they're only really suitable for more than errand-running exertion if the weather is cool and dry, but also not so cold that they end up being too thin for warmth (which, where I live, is a very limited number of weeks on either side of a hot humid summer and an either damp or bitingly cold winter). On either front, give me a pair of solid cotton jeans any day. Even when they do eventually wear out, they can be recycled or even just composted. Whereas stretch jeans often have to be landfilled, because even if the lower blends are technically recyclable, not every area has a recycler who takes them.
The Thought Emporium channel has a video about making yarn from milk. I found it very helpful in understanding the chemistry of how something food related can get turned into fiber.
Since I started knitting I began to learn more about fibers and incorporating more natural fibers. My knits with natural fibers are so much more comfortable and breathable. I now try to only buy clothes with natural fibers content as I overheat and get sweaty and itchy in synthetics
Anybody remember "Qiana?" It's the first man made fiber that I remember making a big splash. There were magazine ads and big tags on the clothing, mostly blouses, that it was made with. I remember feeling oh so sophisticated as a teen wearing my medium blue Qiana blouse and fine wale deep chocolate gauchos, LOL. Later, it was amusing to see it picked up as a girls name.
You brought back memories-I worked in a high end clothing department store when Qiana arrived in the late 70s. It draped beautifully but snagged very easily.
I had to BEG my mom for the purple Quiana bell bottoms and white Quiana peasant top I got for my birthday. In So. California it wasn’t a truly wise move but when you are 11, (1971) wisdom is acquired by such purchases.
The worst thing about synthetic fabric is that theres nothing of the process that can be used for food, even with silk, you can eat the larvae. Even cotton plants can be fed to livestock.
That's why I think the vegan movement makes little sense in the long run. It prioritizes the life of a single animal over the overall wellness of an ecosystem. Their defense of pleather comes to mind
Cotton plants as a whole I don't know about, but cotton seeds are poisonous and mostly unsuable. There are some people trying to breed cotton with non-toxic seeds that can be Fed and some people that try making types of viscose from them to use more of the plant, but overall cotton seeds are a big pile of junk
@@strayiggytv A vegan diet uses less land and resources, and produces less greenhouse gasses (Sources Oxford study, and Our World in Data, has some visuals on this). This is because of the energy pyramid. Even the United Nations has acknowledged the need to move to plant focused diets for sustainability. In addition, if the world was vegan we would have more space for native species, and use less cropland overall, so it is good for both domesticated and wild animals. Plenty of vegans such as myself do not care for pleather and opt for plastic free materials like Miriam. Please read more into this.
So excited to learn more about synthetics. I started my sewing journey with historical makes so i decided to mainly stick to natural fibers since i didnt want to melt in my English Gown and petticoat. But im curious about other fibers especially since i plan to explore more knit fabric
👌🏻Very Interesting. My elderly 🇳🇱Pre-WWII Mom always called her "silk" stockings just Nylons (just like other known Brand names became the word used for a certain Product: like Luxaflex ~ for window shades/blinds, Cleenex ~ for paper tissues, Frigidaire ~ for your fridge). I bet is difficult for many Europeans to see/know the connection of the different fabrics because often the given 🇺🇸 brandname were changed for "our" 🇪🇺Market, making the list of names to retain and seperate even longer. 🤔🤷🏼♀️😅
Reading through the comments made my heart happy. Since I learned about toxic poly fabrics and AZO dyes, I had been trying to spread the word to avoid chemically made fabrics and dyes, but a lot of my comments got removed😞. I'm glad to see that the word is still getting out and people are realizing that our fast fashioned clothes are not good for our bodies. I only sew with undyed linen, cotton, wool and I use undyed cotton thread.
Quicky note: I have used nylon webbing for bag and belt projects. I typically burn the cut ends to keep from unraveling. I recently found out that hitting a nylon "blob" will break a machine sewing needle. Le sigh.
It's interesting to me that my Mum loves man made fiber clothing. We live in a cold climate for a good part of the year, and I longed for woolie socks and sweaters, and used to borrow my Dad's. I have always loved natural fibers and now I have to haunt thrift shops for natural fabric and clothing.
I would live to recommend the book " to dye for: how toxic fashion is killing us and how we can fight back" by Alden Wicker just finished it and it was fabulous! Thank you for all you do. I love learning the history of fashion and textiles and it has enabled me to make healthier and more sustainable choices when I buy for my family. Thank you thank you!!
I find that most of my vintage/thrifted clothes from the 70’s on up are polyester. It seems to last a really long time and I figure I’m saving it from going to the landfill and not breaking down. Also why is it that all my vintage polyester tags say that they can be tumble dried and modern polyester says that it should be hung dried?
Considering modern garments: this might has something to do with making the garment more "environmentaly conscience". I have a vintage cotton-polyester mix t-shirt that says I can wash it at 95 degrees Celsius (!!) while most modern garments mention washing it at 30 C. The latter might also have something to do that not all brands pre-shrink their fabrics/garments these days..
One thing there's a lot of talk about these days is more ecofriendly non-plastic man made fibers. Examples include "circulose" which is supposedly a high efficiency non-toxic cellulose fiber like tencel but made from used cotton and tencel clothing. Also there's more talk about using recycled paper to make circulose and a newer version of cellophane. Then there's Keels new fiber Kelsun, which uses alginate a biopolymer taken from farmed kelp (which they say lowers pH from the ocean and removes CO2), and uses a solution and wet spinning process to create fibers which are crimped cut, carded, spun and made into clothing. Then there are people out to make bioirridescent sequins out of cellulose. There's also the suggestion of vat grown silk, and fabrics made out of things like seafood waste or mushrooms.
I just bought cotton fibre to try to learn to spin it. I have silk and wool and they are easy. Flax not so much and I have not had much luck so far. I have not tried the cotton yet. I am surprised to see the fibre stores also sell man made and synthetic fibres to spin. I am really learning a ton from making thread/yarn from fluff.
I'm in a materials class for Interior Design right now. I find it interesting that we just went over synthetics in fabrics. Then Bernadette comes out with a video about the build of garments followed by your synthetic fabric video. I'm definitely getting all the information i can get in materials i can right now 😊
Spandex in jeans also was a way of getting around the government cracking down on vanity sizing the stretch has the same psychological effect as vanity sizing.
I can believe that. I noticed that jeans marketed to “women of a certain age” have spandex in them because of the point that you mentioned - the psychological effect that vanity sizing has. Our body measurements change as we age, especially through the midsection, and yes, it may mean that our clothing size would change. However, putting spandex in the clothing gives a little stretch, and it allows the woman to say that she’s still a “size 4”.
@@Jennifer_Lewis_Beach_Living it’s even in men’s jeans and dress pants have elastic inside the waist band and in the fabric as well. It’s also why you now also now see so many sting draw waist clothing as well (s,m,l).
Thanks for the research and (as always) stellar presentation. 👍 Reduced shipping costs is another reason for the ever increasing use of spandex (elastecine, etc.; I won’t list them all for each reference). A new clothing item with even 2% spandex wrinkles less, which means that they can pack them tighter in whatever container they use for shipping, and still have them looking good on the shelf or hanger when they reach their retail location or customer. When shipping quantity across the globe, the reduction in package size is more cost effective. Of course, for those of us who are allergic, it’s a nightmare. 🙄 Thank goodness I sew, and have a decent fabric horde, since it’s getting ever harder to even find fabric without spandex and its cousins.
A truly amazing summary of an impossible array of material. Watching this is the most productive 20 minutes I have spent in a long time. This is one of your best ever videos. I hope you are settling in to your position and glad you are with friends. Thank you,
It's been a while since I've worn nylon stockings, but I remember that they would practically dissolve if I walked a long way in the rain. You could see, especially in the holes made under my feet, the fabric didn't just break, but seemed slightly melted. Every time in rainy, hot, humid weather.
PHENOMENAL video, as always!!! I sent this to my mom, we go fabric shopping together, and she has basically been having me make her a whole new wardrobe of exclusively natural fibers. We had never heard of raimie fibers before, but a lady at the store told us about it and it's great to work with!
I have scarves I inherited, one is silk, rest are acetate. Also very familiar with viscose. Admittedly learned the hard way how to care for viscose, definitely appreciate the heads up relative to acetate (I've only done a very ginger handwash with air dry, sounds like that may be the best route) (Also I love the dogs gatecrashing both your and Abby's videos, I lost both of mine in 2024, it's nice to see folk's dogs)
Last week I discovered that in Australia it is no longer mandatory to have a fibre composition label in garments - which is terrible for people like my mother who have allergies to a wide range of fibres.
It should be noted that that the chemicals used in rayon are extremely toxic and lethal to workers if great cere isn’t taken. To the point rayon isn’t made in the US any longer.
The viscose rayon production process uses highly toxic carbon disulphide. China manufactures half the viscose rayon made today. Cuprammonium Rayon is made by one company in Japan. (The reagent is toxic)… Lyocell rayon uses n-methyl morphine n-oxide to dissolve the cellulose and is manufactured by two companies in the U.S. (Enka and Courtalds).
A million years ago, at school, I made nylon. A beaker with the solution and then stirring until a thread formed. It was probably the most fascinating thing I did in chemistry.
I have a BS in textile science and have literally been thinking I should start a channel devoted to fibers and weaves and different processing info and this video is SO well researched. I haven’t even finished watching this video yet and I’m beyond psyched that you’ve added this info to the community. I just want to add that I’m a bit of an acetate Stan because it makes such a great breathable smooth rustle-y lining fabric and we almost never see it anymore. Love all your vids. Thank you!!!💕💙☀️💕💙☀️
I've been on a journey to learn more about fibers and their properties for some time. This is hands down the best video I've seen. The historical context also makes the information easier to remember. Great job! ❤️
Omg!!!! I just watch your moving video. I am a student at IU. I think that it is super cool your teacher at the same school I attend. Welcome to Bloomington and Welcome to IU. I really hope your first weeks here have went smoothly I also hope that you stayed safe during the huge snow storm that hit us. Love your videos, I watch everyone you post cause I love learning about how things came to be as we know them, such as the boy blue and girl pink thing, you are very talented at making stuff. Anyway don’t worry if I see you on campus I won’t bother you as I am not a creep and I know boundaries. I hope you are enjoying our school.
I'm glad more people are becoming more aware of what fibres their clothing is made of. I will sometimes buy things with synthetics, especially if they are second hand, but I'm always aware of it. I have a few wool blend and linen blend pants that I like, but I absolutely refuse to buy a sweater that is not pure wool or cashmere, and blouses must be silk since polyester is so hot.
I did an apprenticeship as a tailor and we had to learn so much about fibers and fabrics and since then I make a big step around anything synthetic. Even Viscose, at first it sounds so cool and nice like weow it´s made out of a tree, but the chemicals that are used for it aren´t recycable either. Fabrics in this day and age suck, there is just no way around it. And it´s getting more and more impossible to get just pure 100% cotton anything...
Wow. Fresh video❤i just want to say i love your videos so much and you sound just like a dear friend of mine. So relaxing and informative! Good luck with thr move and your new job! Hugs from Romania!
Maggie's organics is good for socks. They have ones called 'Allergy socks' that are 99.9% cotton. That's the closest to 100% cotton socks that i've found without having to get handmade ones
Rayon/Viscose is awesome as far as synthetics go. It's the only one I tolerate in linings because it's breathable and creates much less static buildup than polyester. I wish they had of just stopped at viscose lmao. We didn't need all the extra stuff that's just making microplastics. 😭
Yes, rayon/viscose/lyocell/tencel is a man-made “natural” fabric made of wood pulp. Many high-end designers use this fabric (particularly Tencel) in their fashions. In today’s times, it’s marketed as “vegan silk” for vegans. Another great man-made “natural” fabric that’s picking up steam is bamboo fabric, which is made from bamboo wood pulp. It’s becoming popular because it is as breathable as cotton.
I am going to have to rewatch this video. Even with Nicole doing so much research, it is a lot to take in. While I do thrift most of my clothes (not undergarments, shoes or socks), there are far more synthetic/cotton mixes lurking in my closet than I would prefer. BTW best way to end a video ever. The adoration poured out of my screen. Thank you!
Nowadays most thread used to sew cotton or indeed linen clothing is polyester covered with cotton. It's something to take into account but it is liable to break during machine washing than pure cotton. It's a a trade-off.
In college there was a friend in the dorm that was majoring in Home-Dec. She helped me with my sewing projects. Then the Home-Dec department was terminated, but they recommended since she had an interest in fibers that she should major in chemical engineering. She joined me in the Society of Women Engineers on our campus, and upon graduation went to work for Dupont. I am sure she did well, and is possibly responsible for some of the synthetics over the last forty plus years.
Im a bibliophile so, I find a lot of this info in my books. I do appreciate the gap fillers your video creates when it comes to the different names I come across as the same fabric. I always forget the cellulose name variations. I would also like to make a note on how synthetic fibers can be helpful for a select group of individuals, I and my daughter have sensory challenges that synthetic fibers make life easier to live. I do not like the fact that I, at times, have to buy synthetic because of the environmental impact but I cant stand the maddening itch all day on my skin! I did not know jeans with spandex were non-recyclable! Wow!
I’ve been looking at vintage fashion magazines, 1960-1979, lately and was blown away by the amount these fabric ads. The European magazines have less synthetic ads, more natural fabric ads, AND patterns for making women’s and children’s clothing.
If you make a dozen more videos on synthetic fibers I will still continue watching them. It's so hard to find good, reliable and easy to understand sources about this topic. And it's a world full of myths. So yeah. If you wonder whether there's an audience for more of this? Definitely.
Excellent video! It’s a great primer on synthetics and man-made fibers. While my first choice is natural fibers just because of the breathability, I do like items made with Tencel as well as items made with bamboo fabric (I think that some manufacturers call it “bamboo rayon”). Bamboo fabric is nice because it’s as breathable and temperature controlling as cotton.
In case anyone's wondering, do not cut up old microfiber bedsheets to use for making shorts. In the summer heat, you only have about 2 hours before you have to change out of them.
Funny story about viscose/rayon. I talked about fabrics with my grandmother , also about viscose (in Germany we don’t call it rayon). When my grandmother was young during and right after WWII there were a lot of sythentic fibers around because during the war a lot of goods couldn’t be imported like cotton and wool. So the Nazis produces fabric from cellulose. My grandmother remembers Kunstseide (artificial silk) and Zellwolle (cell wool?) were common and not considered nice fabrics. She remembers that these surrogates were often awfully scratchy and not as sturdy as cotton or wool. Nothing like the viscose products that we know today. Very interesting stuff
*TRUE STORY* I never wear synthetics. But its been VERY cold here this week and so I got the thermal "long johns" out someone bought me as a present years ago. I have worn them for a week and my legs are COVERED in spots and very itchy. My skin is just NOT used to this lack of ventilation, Im sure you can adapt - but it cant be good for you.
I just started watching the video but I’m assuming the process of making not only the fabric but the finished garment has sway on whether it’s sustainable (as well as the consumers ability to take care of the garment after it is purchased so it lasts forever) for example I just thrifted a beautiful dress. I can tell from the stitching that it was likely made by and for a sewist who took a lot of pride in their work. It’s made of a very vibrant teal poly fabric with brass buttons and it looks like it was a 1960s-ish pattern but I can’t tell if thy was when the dress was made because it’s truly in perfect condition. It doesn’t quite fit in the bust but it has generous darts that can be readjusted easily. I’m a little conflicted about doing that but I feel like the creator likely left so much extra fabric with that potential future need in mind, guaranteeing a garment that is unlikely to be discarded. given I found many vintage cookbooks, precious moments figurines, and other brightly coloured well tailored and cared for clothing items on the same trip, my guess is that a very cool, colourful older lady passed away and her family just donated all of her stuff. I hope to honour this unknown person’s memory by taking the best care of the dress that I can. So I would assume that that’s more sustainable than going and buying a brand new linen dress, right? (I’m only ever dry cleaning this thing to preserve it anyway so I’m not worried about it shedding a ton of microplastics)
I am curious what kind of synthetic fibre my “new” dress is made of. It has no stretch and it’s pretty thick but doesn’t feel heavy, it’s dyed a very bright teal and the texture reminds me of silk but less shiny. I’m guessing it’s polyester? It’s definitely some kinda plastic.
Cellulose acetate is used in some glasses… as an optician that has seen some nonsense when glasses aren’t treated well, it’s crazy thinking that clothes have been made from it 😳
When I was studying textiles, acetate was introduced first as having been an industrial coating used for aeroplanes called dope and it's development into art silk and then acetate as we know it today was developed alongside rayon, which was meant to be artificial silk but didn't have the desired properties, while acetate was a more successful replacement for silk. Most of the Art. Silk I have seen is acetate. Quality has definitely improved.
I don't live in the US and i find it amazing how much clothing over there is just pure plastic. Like shirts, pants, hoodies everything. Where I live almost everything is made from cotton, which isn't the best either, but at least its a natural fiber. Of couse we have stuff like fleece jackets, and many winter coats have an outer shell that is at least 50% plastic, but the usual daily clothes are all cotton and if youre fancy, wool and linen. I can't imagine having all that plastic on your body, it must be truly awful
Thanks for all your amazing videos! In Brasil we still say Viscose for rayon fabrics. Modal and Tencel are comercial names of the fabric made by Lenzing. Tencel generic name is liocel. Al rayon fabrics became much weaker when wet. It is a bad fabric for bags or baby wearing
Sometimes when I order cotton fabric from an unknown seller I do the burn test on a small piece when I get it. If it is even blended with a slight amount of synthetic fiber it wont burn cleanly. It will sort of melt
I got to study a few piña cloth 19th century garments recently and hopefully will have time to make something based on those this summer! That would be a great time to talk about other plant fibers.
I have a serious aversion to the texture of a lot of synthetic fabrics, but the advancements in higher quality satin fabrics certainly make them appealing when looking to purchase a few yards of something “silky” 😆
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This video and Bernadette’s video about quality coming out on the same day! We have been blessed.
I was just thinking how this is the perfect follow up to Bernadette's video
@@asiabryant207 I'm coming at Bernadette's video AFTER this one but still absolute perfection
@@Beryllahawk They are a great pair of videos! Nicole's video is definitely more focused on the history and technology behind synthetics with a lot more nuance about exact types of fabrics. I found Bernadette's more useful from a practical application standpoint, since it shows examples of what you would see in a store today, but combined they fill in each other's gaps beautifully. I wonder if they knew about each other's videos or if we really did just get super lucky.
Seredipity
And Abby Cox 2 days ago with her discussion on Hermes vs fast fashion 😊
It's interesting how many companies are using the popularity of natural fibers to market blends. Socks might be advertised as "cotton-rich" and be 49% polyester and "wool" sweaters have 10% wool, 90% acrylic.
My biggest pet peeve for this is linen, if you do a search for linen so many things will be labelled as linen look and then when you check the fibre content, it’s 100% polyester. Similarly with wool too TBH.
That's my biggest greenwash pet peeve - "Linen" pants made from viscose, polyester...oh, and some linen 🙄
A few months ago I was shopping for socks and had to go to six different stores before finally finding ones that were 100% cotton. Needless to say I stocked up loll. I see labels like how you've mentioned all the time with knitwear. The packaging makes it look like it's cashmere or wool or cotton then you check the back or the internal label and in small print it says it's part polyester or acrylic. It's a shame, especially with socks and undergarments which of all garments need to be the ones that are the most breathable and easy to clean.
I've seen "Cashmere sweaters", with a whopping 3% cashmere
Also blends cannot be recycled. Blends between poliester or acrylic and wool like 50% of wool and 50% acrylic make sense only in caps because it makes them softer and warmer but other than that I do not see point in blends
My parents met while working in an Acetate plant. Both died of fibre related cancers. My mother worked on the extruding and spinning floor. My father was a chemist. He had worked at a fiberglass plant before that. Fibre processing creates lint regardless but synthetics are far more deadly.
thank you for sharing. ❤
Hard to believe that this was still a problem so recently. All the usual 'cover-ups' no doubt as found in the history of cigarette cover-ups. I'm so sorry that happened to your parents.
This is horrible yet even processing of natural products can be lethal over time- check out the process of tanning leather, for one example. It would be good if people were able to be educated to prevent contamination before working regularly with any process. That's a lesson for us all- never presume something is safe just because someone tells us it is.
@loverlyme women who worked in a Canadian denim clothing factory were found to have emphysema. When a lung biopsy was done the tissue was blue from years of indigo dyed cotton dust. Check out Piece by Piece: the GWG story.
@@loverlyme My parents changed jobs in the early 70's. They spent more years not in a fibre lab than in one, but the damage was done.
I work in trash and recycling, and plastics in clothes makes a big issue. Plastic in general isn't recyclable in the same way that glass and metals are. For those materials, you melt them down, shape them into a new thing, and can do that infinitely (if other random stuff doesn't get mixed in). But plastic and paper both degrade a bit each time they get recycled. Paper can be recycled about 7 times before it winds up as something like a fast-food drink carrier and is too weak to be recycled again. Plastic bottles have maybe one round of bottle-to-bottle before becoming something like a fleece jacket, and plastic bags go straight to becoming something like plumber (plastic lumber) as their second and last life.
And from what i understand when theyre used that second time in clothes they have to mixed with fresh plastic because they start to degrade..i think even a bottle being put into clothes on the first recycling round might need some fresh poly to help with hold depending on the bottle
@@Shewhospeakesinverse Correct.
This is why I'm so nitpicky with what I buy and prefer farmers markets for groceries. I of course live in a rural area so it's easy for me to do that, but I remember living in the city and feeling like I was going crazy trying to find stuff that wasn't packaged in plastic. Nowadays if I do find something I need that happens to be in plastic I will either reuse the packaging for something or be very particular about cleaning it out and sorting it in the bin. A lot of people are unaware that they're supposed to clean their recycling :( Paper is much easier to reuse though. I always have a ton of paper bags and cardboard boxes stashed away, and I keep every single glass jar or bottle that I get ahold of from buying olives or honey.
@@NickS-m3h I have wondered how much of office recycling is discarded as unusable when paper is comingled with plastic, and all those unwashed yogurt and salad and whatever solid food drizzled containers go in, eventually getting all over the paper. Probably 0.1%. Plus there's the water wasted for cleaning plastics for recycling.
You can turn waste paper into Rayon…
Like cotton, paper and wood, rayon is biodegradable…
I avoid acrylic like the plague. It makes me sweat and stink like a dead pig even with copious amount of deodorant.
It also just feels bad and itchy when worn imo.
I'm the opposite! In things like winter hats and scarves and stuff it really can't be beat. Especially with a severe wool allergy, like I have the misfortune of having 😅 All this natural fibre discourse has me wondering if anyone participating even realises that wool is one of the most widespread allergens there is? For real though. I feel like I'm missing something, and I know I'm not
@@MalharetasLair There are different fibers for a reason! I can be super sensitive to synthetics on my skin and temper regulation can be a huge issue for me, so I need to look for more natural fibers or be extra picky about synthetics. I'm not allergic to wool, so it's thankfully an option for me. I've never come across someone with a wool allergy, but I've seen and lived through weirder allergies. If acrylic is what fits your needs- well, I'm glad that you have a solid alternative option for your day-to-day wear.
@@MalharetasLair there’s actually no evidence that wool is an allergen! Poor quality wool can easily cause physical skin irritation (I am personally insanely sensitive to wool, I even find merino itchy) which is what makes people think they’re allergic
@@gaphic tell that to my runny nose, itchy eyes, and inability to breathe, mate. The skin irritation's kind of obvious to the point of not even being worth mentioning, i think. And I know I'm an outlier but only in the degree of reactivity, not its existence
As a person with skin allergies to literally every synthetic fiber, I do hope they're mostly on their way out because my clothing options are extremely limited.
I'm on the opposite end. I need them to prevent the sun giving me anaphylaxis. Wool is all well and good during the winter, but I am not going out in head to toe wool when it's 100⁰ out.
You're just like Doc Brown!
Please, where do you get socks? I have real trouble finding socks without polyester
@@EeeEee-bm5gxIf your only issue is polyester and you can handle nylon and lycra, Darn Tough socks are amazing. They're mostly wool and yes you can wear them in the summer just fine. Excellent support and lots of fun colors and patterns. Smart Wool also likely has ones without polyester, but I didn't double check them.
With the dogs' appearance, I got a crazy idea for you. What about the history of pet clothing?
YES NICOLE PLEASE!!!!!
a la 101 Dalmatians
Amazing idea.
What makes me so mad is when the label claims that it's cotton or wool and then you look further and it's 100% polyester. ARGH!
I’ve always kept my clothes for as long as they will last, and pass that with repairs. For the last 2 years I’ve been moving my wardrobe to as many natural fabrics such as wool, cotton, etc. as I can since my cancer diagnosis (cause: environmental). Trying to get preferably fabrics that are long lasting, sustainable and non-toxic and learning how to sew for what I can’t afford to buy initially. You’ve provided such good and useful info and I never miss a vid. Thanks Nicole. 😊
I wish you as well as possible. It sounds like you are making some very positive moves.🤍
I'm pretty sure I heard recently that nylon stockings were originally invented to be very long-lasting. When they realised that there weren't enough 'repeat consumers' they made changes to the manufacturing method so that they didn't last so long. The same thing happened to the light bulb. I no longer wear nylon stockings/pantihose but I've kept all my old ones which are now cut into smaller ribbons and help to tie up the climbing plants in my garden. (The stretch in the 'hose allows the plants some movement whilst still helping them to stay on the trellis.)
Good on you for reusing stuff like that. Friends and family poke fun at me all the time because my kitchen drawers and cabinets are packed full of rubber bands, washed ziploc bags, plastic bags, paper bags, cardboard boxes, egg cartons, glass jars, and plastic bottles. I hate throwing stuff away that I know is just going to end up in a landfill. I'd rather give them as much use as I can before I have to inevitably send them to rot in a trash heap someplace.
The lightbulb one is actually a myth, there is a physical trade off between long lasting, but dim and energy inefficient lightbulbs, and bright and efficient, but not very long lasting. In the end manufacturers just found an longevity/brightness optimum
The main reason I seek out natural fabrics for, at least, half of the year is due to the heat in Australia. I wouldn't dream of sleeping on anything unnatural. It's just too hot (and humid) to sleep on microfibres or polyesters. Cotton or bamboo is really the only acceptable fabrics to wear throughout the warmer months (if you're not resorting to high energy cooling methods). I'm seeing more and more of these unnatural fibres creeping into our markets here though. It pays to always check the labels.
Even WITH natural fibres, there has been a lot of change over the past few decades. Unless you find some special place that handmakes it's fabric, it's likely that even cotton, wool and silk has been treated with some chemicals. That has made these natural fibres easier to wash and less prone to wrinkles. It's also made wool a lot less itchy. So beware: there are still chemical treatments used in natural fabrics.
If you're talking about viscose bamboo, that's not a natural fiber. It's a naturally sourced, but still extruded cellulose fiber. Bast fibre bamboo is natural, but it's also incredibly uncommon. It feels and acts more like a rougher linen.
I've been trying to avoid synthetics since the 1970's. The cotton industry did a lot of advertising promoting "the look, the feel" of natural fibers, and I hate polyester sweat. Unfortunately, as you pointed out, synthetics sneak into lots of fabrics that look and feel like natural fibers.
oh i never knew my dislike of synthetics in garments that dont need them, was on trend
yeah same, also im ngl it doesn't look that true bc i still see mostly people in 90% synthetic everything who have by pure accident gotten some cheap leather shoes or jeans with under 3% elastane for example
@@karljiksI think this is because the majority of clothing sold in stores, especially trendy stores and clothes, are made with synthetics.
@@karljiks Most people either don't have many options, or don't know what to look for. Most people do generally not want clothing that sheds microplastics and feels awful though.
This is the most helpful video I've ever seen on the breakdown of fibers and their names. I love that you pointed out that the advent of the material tag on US clothing was a huge help to consumers, but I only wish the legislation included a standardized naming convention for manufacturers so it wasn't up to the consumer to know that viscose, lyocell, and tencel are all just variations of rayon, as I always thought that the brand names for these materials were different types of fabrics. Now I can feel so much more confident when shopping for ready made, thrifted pieces or when choosing fabrics to create my own garments. Thank you so much for sharing your expertise and demystifying the world of fabric!!
All I could think of everytime Dupont was mentioned was their atrocious and lethal history with PFOA (forever chemicals that cause cancer) and other controversies over their environment impact. It is unsprising that they were so involved in the development and sale of synthetic fabrics. While there is a place for synthetic fabrics it is so frustrating that many clothing businesses have moved away from natural fibres as much as possible. Trying to find cotton underwear where I live isn't always easy, and most other garments are half polyester or viscose/poly blend. I miss the days when cotton was the standard
My same thoughts about Du Pont, and I avoid them like a plague. I learned to sew my own underwear using cotton knit and linen.
If you are interested in making linen underpinnings, Mariah Pattie did a video on doing that a couple of years ago. I assume that the video is still available.
Ooh... very informative. Of course I spent the entire video wondering "Is she filming at Abby's," which was, of course, confirmed at the end!
Lovely to see them together again.❤
Wish I had known that most rayons are made equally before I dropped $100 on bamboo sheets
I had an aunt say oh I have bamboo thing and I said yes rayon and she said noooo it is bamboo and me saying hmmm yeah a type of rayon and she didn’t believe me - at first!!
Yeah, "bamboo" makes it sound so natural, doesn't it!? 🤣
Is is bamboo rayon or bamboo fibre? Because it _is_ possible to get fibre directly from bamboo without just rayonifying it. If it just says bamboo it is _most likely_ just rayon but the labels aren't very clear and it is possible that you have actually bamboo fibre
To my experience, rayon made from bamboo has a nice hand to it. So spending more for a product labeled as bamboo versus ordinary rayon isn't necessarily a bad thing. The fibers that go into the rayon can come from many different plant sources.
I have been occasionally buying bamboo/cotton socks for quite some years until I found out the bamboo part is essentially rayon :) They do have a nice feel to them but the heels thin out quite quickly.
That’s it. First Bernadette, and now Nicole. I’ve been saying “viscose” wrong my whole life.
How have you been pronouncing it? Like vEYEscose?
“Vi-cose.” I’m assuming I heard it said that way.
When I was a wee slip of a retail customer service person in the early 1990s, we were taught to say vi-cose.
Maybe it’s like how the British pronounce the H in “herbs,” while Americans don’t. I’ve heard that we don’t because it makes it sound more French and, therefore, more proper… so maybe some were taught to say “vi-cose” to sound more French… but it’s been wrong all along…?
The best Polyester was directed by John Waters and starting Devine and Tab Hunter 😂😂😂
There's a Jewish term for unacceptable mixed fibers, "shatnez", and there's an entire career for preventing it! People who sit and examine cloth samples under magnifiers and microscopes and either work with a tailor to remove the unwanted bits (stuff like linen waist tapes from wool pants, or wool padding from a linen dress) or do the sewing themselves. I can't imagine the headache these new fibers caused when they hit the market. A new identifying manual every month, I'd bet!
(Vi from SnappyDragon has a video all about shatnez, if it interests anyone else)
I hate stretchy jeans so much, they fall apart so much faster. regular denim is so hard to find at a decent price these days. I have one place that I can buy from and I don't know what I'll do if they change. I never find my size when thrifting
Generally I prefer not to give Walmart my money, but they do sell 100% cotton Wrangler jeans in the Men’s department for about $30 CDN. I bought 2 pairs well over a year ago and wear them almost every day. They are incredibly durable. They’ve already outlasted my previous pair of all cotton Levi’s by many months and are showing almost no signs of wear.
Generally if you stick to under 5% elastane (i prefer less than 2%) you'll have just enough stretch for the denim to fit well but not fall apart. Assuming the other 95-98% is cotton. Great alternatives are cotton chinos which use less water and chemicals to make but are still casual and comfy
There are some smaller specialist-brands out there, but wrangler is essentially the only widely available (in the US) 100% cotton option--though they have a LOT of blended styles, they keep all the classic cowboy styles 100% cotton, as well as some of their workwear. I have an odd size so I end up buying work jeans through their main website once or twice a year, unless I luck out and a local store has some in stock! Round-House mostly makes overalls but also does cotton jeans & has great quality, especially if you need them to work in.
When thrifting I go far what style I like then retailor the garment to fit.
@@YellowFreesias Even with 1-2% spandex, I've not found a pair of blended jeans that's held up much longer than a year. They always give way in high wear and stretch areas like the inner thigh and crotch. I've developed a fairly solid process for reinforcing those areas once they start to fall apart with a combination of interfacing and matching stitching, anchoring out into the surrounding fabric that's still good. And luckily, since the wear usually happens mostly in the crotch area, the repairs are mostly hidden. But there's only so many times I can repeat the process as the "tideline" of solid fabric retreats outward and areas of repeated mending start to feel and look like saddle-padding.
And that's on top of the fact that they are soooo bloody unbreathable! I walk a lot, both for health and just because I enjoy it. But I can't walk outside for any length of time in jeans with any amount of stretch if the temps are over 65F or if the humidity is high, because they just turn into a disgusting swamp-crotch-inducing sauna-wrap. Granted, heavy cotton jeans get hot and sweaty, too, just due to their thickness. But stretch jeans do so at such low temps that they're only really suitable for more than errand-running exertion if the weather is cool and dry, but also not so cold that they end up being too thin for warmth (which, where I live, is a very limited number of weeks on either side of a hot humid summer and an either damp or bitingly cold winter).
On either front, give me a pair of solid cotton jeans any day. Even when they do eventually wear out, they can be recycled or even just composted. Whereas stretch jeans often have to be landfilled, because even if the lower blends are technically recyclable, not every area has a recycler who takes them.
The Thought Emporium channel has a video about making yarn from milk. I found it very helpful in understanding the chemistry of how something food related can get turned into fiber.
TY I will look that up It sounds fascinating!!
I love that channel, and I want casein yarn so badly!
Since I started knitting I began to learn more about fibers and incorporating more natural fibers. My knits with natural fibers are so much more comfortable and breathable. I now try to only buy clothes with natural fibers content as I overheat and get sweaty and itchy in synthetics
I live in the desert southwest of the United States and it's too bloody hot here to wear anything other than cotton, linen, and cotton/linen blends.
Anybody remember "Qiana?" It's the first man made fiber that I remember making a big splash. There were magazine ads and big tags on the clothing, mostly blouses, that it was made with.
I remember feeling oh so sophisticated as a teen wearing my medium blue Qiana blouse and fine wale deep chocolate gauchos, LOL. Later, it was amusing to see it picked up as a girls name.
You brought back memories-I worked in a high end clothing department store when Qiana arrived in the late 70s. It draped beautifully but snagged very easily.
I had to BEG my mom for the purple Quiana bell bottoms and white Quiana peasant top I got for my birthday. In So. California it wasn’t a truly wise move but when you are 11, (1971) wisdom is acquired by such purchases.
I’m still wearing the clothes I have made of it!
The worst thing about synthetic fabric is that theres nothing of the process that can be used for food, even with silk, you can eat the larvae. Even cotton plants can be fed to livestock.
That's why I think the vegan movement makes little sense in the long run. It prioritizes the life of a single animal over the overall wellness of an ecosystem. Their defense of pleather comes to mind
Cotton plants as a whole I don't know about, but cotton seeds are poisonous and mostly unsuable. There are some people trying to breed cotton with non-toxic seeds that can be Fed and some people that try making types of viscose from them to use more of the plant, but overall cotton seeds are a big pile of junk
@@strayiggytv A vegan diet uses less land and resources, and produces less greenhouse gasses (Sources Oxford study, and Our World in Data, has some visuals on this). This is because of the energy pyramid. Even the United Nations has acknowledged the need to move to plant focused diets for sustainability. In addition, if the world was vegan we would have more space for native species, and use less cropland overall, so it is good for both domesticated and wild animals. Plenty of vegans such as myself do not care for pleather and opt for plastic free materials like Miriam. Please read more into this.
@helenapflaum6800 I'm speaking from a purely textile point of view. If you don't use plastics you weren't in the conversation
@@IISheireenII maybe for humans but theyre fed to cattle and the oil is used in lotions, soap, etc. Not junk or useless actually.
So excited to learn more about synthetics. I started my sewing journey with historical makes so i decided to mainly stick to natural fibers since i didnt want to melt in my English Gown and petticoat. But im curious about other fibers especially since i plan to explore more knit fabric
Everytime Nicole drops a video I’m reminded why I’m subscribed on Patreon. Queen doesn’t miss 💕💕
👌🏻Very Interesting. My elderly 🇳🇱Pre-WWII Mom always called her "silk" stockings just Nylons (just like other known Brand names became the word used for a certain Product: like Luxaflex ~ for window shades/blinds, Cleenex ~ for paper tissues, Frigidaire ~ for your fridge). I bet is difficult for many Europeans to see/know the connection of the different fabrics because often the given 🇺🇸 brandname were changed for "our" 🇪🇺Market, making the list of names to retain and seperate even longer. 🤔🤷🏼♀️😅
Growing up in the 70s, we always called pantyhose "nylons".
We called the nylons in the 60s too.
Reading through the comments made my heart happy. Since I learned about toxic poly fabrics and AZO dyes, I had been trying to spread the word to avoid chemically made fabrics and dyes, but a lot of my comments got removed😞. I'm glad to see that the word is still getting out and people are realizing that our fast fashioned clothes are not good for our bodies. I only sew with undyed linen, cotton, wool and I use undyed cotton thread.
Quicky note: I have used nylon webbing for bag and belt projects. I typically burn the cut ends to keep from unraveling. I recently found out that hitting a nylon "blob" will break a machine sewing needle. Le sigh.
It's interesting to me that my Mum loves man made fiber clothing. We live in a cold climate for a good part of the year, and I longed for woolie socks and sweaters, and used to borrow my Dad's.
I have always loved natural fibers and now I have to haunt thrift shops for natural fabric and clothing.
I would live to recommend the book " to dye for: how toxic fashion is killing us and how we can fight back" by Alden Wicker just finished it and it was fabulous! Thank you for all you do. I love learning the history of fashion and textiles and it has enabled me to make healthier and more sustainable choices when I buy for my family. Thank you thank you!!
Yes! I love that book.
I find that most of my vintage/thrifted clothes from the 70’s on up are polyester. It seems to last a really long time and I figure I’m saving it from going to the landfill and not breaking down. Also why is it that all my vintage polyester tags say that they can be tumble dried and modern polyester says that it should be hung dried?
Considering modern garments: this might has something to do with making the garment more "environmentaly conscience". I have a vintage cotton-polyester mix t-shirt that says I can wash it at 95 degrees Celsius (!!) while most modern garments mention washing it at 30 C.
The latter might also have something to do that not all brands pre-shrink their fabrics/garments these days..
One thing there's a lot of talk about these days is more ecofriendly non-plastic man made fibers. Examples include "circulose" which is supposedly a high efficiency non-toxic cellulose fiber like tencel but made from used cotton and tencel clothing. Also there's more talk about using recycled paper to make circulose and a newer version of cellophane. Then there's Keels new fiber Kelsun, which uses alginate a biopolymer taken from farmed kelp (which they say lowers pH from the ocean and removes CO2), and uses a solution and wet spinning process to create fibers which are crimped cut, carded, spun and made into clothing. Then there are people out to make bioirridescent sequins out of cellulose. There's also the suggestion of vat grown silk, and fabrics made out of things like seafood waste or mushrooms.
I just bought cotton fibre to try to learn to spin it. I have silk and wool and they are easy. Flax not so much and I have not had much luck so far. I have not tried the cotton yet. I am surprised to see the fibre stores also sell man made and synthetic fibres to spin. I am really learning a ton from making thread/yarn from fluff.
I'm in a materials class for Interior Design right now. I find it interesting that we just went over synthetics in fabrics. Then Bernadette comes out with a video about the build of garments followed by your synthetic fabric video. I'm definitely getting all the information i can get in materials i can right now 😊
Spandex in jeans also was a way of getting around the government cracking down on vanity sizing the stretch has the same psychological effect as vanity sizing.
I can believe that. I noticed that jeans marketed to “women of a certain age” have spandex in them because of the point that you mentioned - the psychological effect that vanity sizing has. Our body measurements change as we age, especially through the midsection, and yes, it may mean that our clothing size would change. However, putting spandex in the clothing gives a little stretch, and it allows the woman to say that she’s still a “size 4”.
@@Jennifer_Lewis_Beach_Living it’s even in men’s jeans and dress pants have elastic inside the waist band and in the fabric as well. It’s also why you now also now see so many sting draw waist clothing as well (s,m,l).
Thanks for the research and (as always) stellar presentation. 👍
Reduced shipping costs is another reason for the ever increasing use of spandex (elastecine, etc.; I won’t list them all for each reference). A new clothing item with even 2% spandex wrinkles less, which means that they can pack them tighter in whatever container they use for shipping, and still have them looking good on the shelf or hanger when they reach their retail location or customer. When shipping quantity across the globe, the reduction in package size is more cost effective.
Of course, for those of us who are allergic, it’s a nightmare. 🙄 Thank goodness I sew, and have a decent fabric horde, since it’s getting ever harder to even find fabric without spandex and its cousins.
I recently saw under garments made of polyamide. I skipped the purchase because wasn’t sure about the toxicity of the fabric.
This is what gets so confusing! That's just a more generic way of saying Nylon. Personally switching to mostly wool underwear lately though!
@NicoleRudolph were do you get them?
Thank you @@NicoleRudolph
Love seeing Abby's sets in the background. Hope you have a blast birch surfing while you house hunt
Oh yessss thats it! Thanks for confirming this, my brain would not let it go 😂
A truly amazing summary of an impossible array of material. Watching this is the most productive 20 minutes I have spent in a long time. This is one of your best ever videos. I hope you are settling in to your position and glad you are with friends. Thank you,
It's been a while since I've worn nylon stockings, but I remember that they would practically dissolve if I walked a long way in the rain. You could see, especially in the holes made under my feet, the fabric didn't just break, but seemed slightly melted. Every time in rainy, hot, humid weather.
PHENOMENAL video, as always!!! I sent this to my mom, we go fabric shopping together, and she has basically been having me make her a whole new wardrobe of exclusively natural fibers. We had never heard of raimie fibers before, but a lady at the store told us about it and it's great to work with!
I have scarves I inherited, one is silk, rest are acetate. Also very familiar with viscose. Admittedly learned the hard way how to care for viscose, definitely appreciate the heads up relative to acetate (I've only done a very ginger handwash with air dry, sounds like that may be the best route)
(Also I love the dogs gatecrashing both your and Abby's videos, I lost both of mine in 2024, it's nice to see folk's dogs)
Last week I discovered that in Australia it is no longer mandatory to have a fibre composition label in garments - which is terrible for people like my mother who have allergies to a wide range of fibres.
😢
The lightening and the decor are really becoming to you. thanks for this very informative video.
It should be noted that that the chemicals used in rayon are extremely toxic and lethal to workers if great cere isn’t taken. To the point rayon isn’t made in the US any longer.
The viscose rayon production process uses highly toxic carbon disulphide.
China manufactures half the viscose rayon made today.
Cuprammonium Rayon is made by one company in Japan. (The reagent is toxic)…
Lyocell rayon uses n-methyl morphine n-oxide to dissolve the cellulose and is manufactured by two companies in the U.S. (Enka and Courtalds).
A million years ago, at school, I made nylon. A beaker with the solution and then stirring until a thread formed. It was probably the most fascinating thing I did in chemistry.
Wow, this unlocked a memory from college I had forgotten about 😂
I have a BS in textile science and have literally been thinking I should start a channel devoted to fibers and weaves and different processing info and this video is SO well researched. I haven’t even finished watching this video yet and I’m beyond psyched that you’ve added this info to the community. I just want to add that I’m a bit of an acetate Stan because it makes such a great breathable smooth rustle-y lining fabric and we almost never see it anymore. Love all your vids. Thank you!!!💕💙☀️💕💙☀️
I've been on a journey to learn more about fibers and their properties for some time. This is hands down the best video I've seen. The historical context also makes the information easier to remember. Great job! ❤️
Omg!!!! I just watch your moving video. I am a student at IU. I think that it is super cool your teacher at the same school I attend. Welcome to Bloomington and Welcome to IU. I really hope your first weeks here have went smoothly I also hope that you stayed safe during the huge snow storm that hit us. Love your videos, I watch everyone you post cause I love learning about how things came to be as we know them, such as the boy blue and girl pink thing, you are very talented at making stuff. Anyway don’t worry if I see you on campus I won’t bother you as I am not a creep and I know boundaries. I hope you are enjoying our school.
I'm glad more people are becoming more aware of what fibres their clothing is made of. I will sometimes buy things with synthetics, especially if they are second hand, but I'm always aware of it. I have a few wool blend and linen blend pants that I like, but I absolutely refuse to buy a sweater that is not pure wool or cashmere, and blouses must be silk since polyester is so hot.
I did an apprenticeship as a tailor and we had to learn so much about fibers and fabrics and since then I make a big step around anything synthetic. Even Viscose, at first it sounds so cool and nice like weow it´s made out of a tree, but the chemicals that are used for it aren´t recycable either.
Fabrics in this day and age suck, there is just no way around it. And it´s getting more and more impossible to get just pure 100% cotton anything...
Wow. Fresh video❤i just want to say i love your videos so much and you sound just like a dear friend of mine. So relaxing and informative! Good luck with thr move and your new job! Hugs from Romania!
The polyester and similar fabrics make me so sweaty. It’s so hard to find 100% cotton and wool socks these days.
Maggie's organics is good for socks. They have ones called 'Allergy socks' that are 99.9% cotton. That's the closest to 100% cotton socks that i've found without having to get handmade ones
Same, polyester makes me super sweaty and stinky. Even when I apply multiple layers of deodorant...
Wild Abby cameo for the end yay
I'm quite fond of rayon, it's good to know it's not "plastic" as much as other synthetic fibers.
That's because it is technically no synthetic, but an artificial fiber 🙂
I like it as well, although it can be a nightmare to sew.
Rayon/Viscose is awesome as far as synthetics go. It's the only one I tolerate in linings because it's breathable and creates much less static buildup than polyester. I wish they had of just stopped at viscose lmao. We didn't need all the extra stuff that's just making microplastics. 😭
Yes, rayon/viscose/lyocell/tencel is a man-made “natural” fabric made of wood pulp. Many high-end designers use this fabric (particularly Tencel) in their fashions. In today’s times, it’s marketed as “vegan silk” for vegans.
Another great man-made “natural” fabric that’s picking up steam is bamboo fabric, which is made from bamboo wood pulp. It’s becoming popular because it is as breathable as cotton.
I am going to have to rewatch this video. Even with Nicole doing so much research, it is a lot to take in. While I do thrift most of my clothes (not undergarments, shoes or socks), there are far more synthetic/cotton mixes lurking in my closet than I would prefer. BTW best way to end a video ever. The adoration poured out of my screen. Thank you!
I love Nicole's whole fabric series, and I will rewatch this one as well many times to solidify the new knowledge.
love your synthetic (i really hope) arsenic green wallpaper
Nowadays most thread used to sew cotton or indeed linen clothing is polyester covered with cotton. It's something to take into account but it is liable to break during machine washing than pure cotton. It's a a trade-off.
In college there was a friend in the dorm that was majoring in Home-Dec. She helped me with my sewing projects. Then the Home-Dec department was terminated, but they recommended since she had an interest in fibers that she should major in chemical engineering. She joined me in the Society of Women Engineers on our campus, and upon graduation went to work for Dupont. I am sure she did well, and is possibly responsible for some of the synthetics over the last forty plus years.
Love seeing that you’re at Abby Cox’s house! ❤ 0:01
Im a bibliophile so, I find a lot of this info in my books. I do appreciate the gap fillers your video creates when it comes to the different names I come across as the same fabric. I always forget the cellulose name variations. I would also like to make a note on how synthetic fibers can be helpful for a select group of individuals, I and my daughter have sensory challenges that synthetic fibers make life easier to live. I do not like the fact that I, at times, have to buy synthetic because of the environmental impact but I cant stand the maddening itch all day on my skin! I did not know jeans with spandex were non-recyclable! Wow!
i love the doggie segment
I’ve been looking at vintage fashion magazines, 1960-1979, lately and was blown away by the amount these fabric ads. The European magazines have less synthetic ads, more natural fabric ads, AND patterns for making women’s and children’s clothing.
Very interesting, thank you!
Great video!! The dogs at the end were so cute!!
If you make a dozen more videos on synthetic fibers I will still continue watching them. It's so hard to find good, reliable and easy to understand sources about this topic. And it's a world full of myths. So yeah. If you wonder whether there's an audience for more of this? Definitely.
The puppies are so cute! This is a wonderful video. I’m so sending it to colleagues
this is a great and properly researched video, thank you so much for all the work you do for keeping up the quality on your channel! ❤
18:27 your 1950s incarnation! Thank you for another great video ❤
Fantastic episode ,very informative .
Abby's dogs = chaos ensuing & we LOVE it!
Very useful video, I’ve been wanting to learn more about fabrics, would love another video on natural fibers
I did four separate videos on them! Just check out the sewing 101 playlist.
Excellent video! It’s a great primer on synthetics and man-made fibers.
While my first choice is natural fibers just because of the breathability, I do like items made with Tencel as well as items made with bamboo fabric (I think that some manufacturers call it “bamboo rayon”). Bamboo fabric is nice because it’s as breathable and temperature controlling as cotton.
Well researched and delivered. Thank you for sharing your work.
In case anyone's wondering, do not cut up old microfiber bedsheets to use for making shorts. In the summer heat, you only have about 2 hours before you have to change out of them.
Funny story about viscose/rayon. I talked about fabrics with my grandmother , also about viscose (in Germany we don’t call it rayon). When my grandmother was young during and right after WWII there were a lot of sythentic fibers around because during the war a lot of goods couldn’t be imported like cotton and wool. So the Nazis produces fabric from cellulose. My grandmother remembers Kunstseide (artificial silk) and Zellwolle (cell wool?) were common and not considered nice fabrics. She remembers that these surrogates were often awfully scratchy and not as sturdy as cotton or wool. Nothing like the viscose products that we know today. Very interesting stuff
Got hooked by your short. Well done 👏
*TRUE STORY* I never wear synthetics. But its been VERY cold here this week and so I got the thermal "long johns" out someone bought me as a present years ago.
I have worn them for a week and my legs are COVERED in spots and very itchy. My skin is just NOT used to this lack of ventilation, Im sure you can adapt - but it cant be good for you.
I just started watching the video but I’m assuming the process of making not only the fabric but the finished garment has sway on whether it’s sustainable (as well as the consumers ability to take care of the garment after it is purchased so it lasts forever) for example I just thrifted a beautiful dress. I can tell from the stitching that it was likely made by and for a sewist who took a lot of pride in their work. It’s made of a very vibrant teal poly fabric with brass buttons and it looks like it was a 1960s-ish pattern but I can’t tell if thy was when the dress was made because it’s truly in perfect condition. It doesn’t quite fit in the bust but it has generous darts that can be readjusted easily. I’m a little conflicted about doing that but I feel like the creator likely left so much extra fabric with that potential future need in mind, guaranteeing a garment that is unlikely to be discarded. given I found many vintage cookbooks, precious moments figurines, and other brightly coloured well tailored and cared for clothing items on the same trip, my guess is that a very cool, colourful older lady passed away and her family just donated all of her stuff. I hope to honour this unknown person’s memory by taking the best care of the dress that I can.
So I would assume that that’s more sustainable than going and buying a brand new linen dress, right?
(I’m only ever dry cleaning this thing to preserve it anyway so I’m not worried about it shedding a ton of microplastics)
I am curious what kind of synthetic fibre my “new” dress is made of. It has no stretch and it’s pretty thick but doesn’t feel heavy, it’s dyed a very bright teal and the texture reminds me of silk but less shiny. I’m guessing it’s polyester? It’s definitely some kinda plastic.
Cellulose acetate is used in some glasses… as an optician that has seen some nonsense when glasses aren’t treated well, it’s crazy thinking that clothes have been made from it 😳
It's a very common lining material! Most people don't even notice that it's in their clothing.
When I was studying textiles, acetate was introduced first as having been an industrial coating used for aeroplanes called dope and it's development into art silk and then acetate as we know it today was developed alongside rayon, which was meant to be artificial silk but didn't have the desired properties, while acetate was a more successful replacement for silk. Most of the Art. Silk I have seen is acetate. Quality has definitely improved.
I don't live in the US and i find it amazing how much clothing over there is just pure plastic. Like shirts, pants, hoodies everything.
Where I live almost everything is made from cotton, which isn't the best either, but at least its a natural fiber.
Of couse we have stuff like fleece jackets, and many winter coats have an outer shell that is at least 50% plastic, but the usual daily clothes are all cotton and if youre fancy, wool and linen.
I can't imagine having all that plastic on your body, it must be truly awful
Where do you live?
Germany
Nice one. Good luck with it all.
Thanks for all your amazing videos!
In Brasil we still say Viscose for rayon fabrics. Modal and Tencel are comercial names of the fabric made by Lenzing. Tencel generic name is liocel.
Al rayon fabrics became much weaker when wet. It is a bad fabric for bags or baby wearing
This is so good and informative! Thanks a lot ❤
This is great! Really helpful information.
The green light distracted me from the fact that you're filming in Abby's house😂❤ i hope that your move goes well!❤
It's enough to make my head hurt.🙇🏼♀️
😁Thanks for all the information Nicole.
👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼🌺
This video is so interesting❤
Sometimes when I order cotton fabric from an unknown seller I do the burn test on a small piece when I get it. If it is even blended with a slight amount of synthetic fiber it wont burn cleanly. It will sort of melt
Please consider doing a video on fabrics made from pineapple leaves and banana stems❤
I got to study a few piña cloth 19th century garments recently and hopefully will have time to make something based on those this summer! That would be a great time to talk about other plant fibers.
Thank you
Guest starring Abby's voice at the end
Great video!
I learned so much from this vid!
I have a serious aversion to the texture of a lot of synthetic fabrics, but the advancements in higher quality satin fabrics certainly make them appealing when looking to purchase a few yards of something “silky” 😆