MATERIALS AND HOW TO TEST THEM
The great mass of woolen goods are yarn dyed. That means that after the yarn is spun it is dyed before it is woven into the cloth. This makes a very good material but each fiber of the yarn hasn’t the life nor the elasticity that a wool dyed fiber has. If you ravel a piece of yarn dyed goods and untwist a piece of the yarn, the fibers will all be one color and they will cling together and will not spring apart as in a wool dyed goods.
Piece dyed fabrics are dyed after the cloth is woven. Cheaper grades of woolens are piece dyed. If you untwist the yarn of a piece dyed fabric you are apt to find fibers here and there in the center of the yarn that are not dyed.
Cotton materials are either yarn dyed, piece dyed or printed. The same is true of linens. Where the pattern is woven in the goods, such as a checked or striped gingham, the material is yarn dyed. Chambrays are also yarn dyed, while percales are piece dyed. You can tell the difference by raveling the threads. As a general rule the yarn dyed goods will hold its color better than a piece dyed goods.
Color Tests: Is the material fast color? Have you ever had a coat that faded in
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