How to recognise pure wool

[Tengu]

been promised a job lot of blankets

but I have no idea what they are made from.

Plastic is easy enough to test, just take out a few fibres and see if they melt.

but how do I recognise mixed fibres??

[bushwacker bob]

microscope.

[ems]

try felting a bit and dying a bit.

[ems]

Another thing is that wool smells like singed hair when you burn it and the flame will go out on its own. Another thing is that wool is natural fibre so it will dissolve in bleach, try overnight, and if there are any fibres left, its a mix. hmm I could go on <Grin>

[bikething]

taken from another site ...

When trying to identify an unknown ito (cloth braid), a burn test is often helpful.
The following chart gives tests for the principle natural fibers, and a few synthetics.

FIBER - FLAME - ODOR - RESIDUE
Cotton - Luminous,rapid - Burning paper - Fine, gray
Silk - Slow orange/yellow - Burning hair - Brittle bead
Wool, hair - Slow, blue - Burning feathers - Brittle bead
Rayon - Sparks, orange - Burnt paper - Black ash
Acetate - Rapid, sparks - Vinegarish - Hard bead
Nylon - Melts, no flame - Like celery - Hard bead

[Mastino]

Try burning and it will give you the burned hair smell. The trick I apply for my lambswool sweaters is to smell them (can't burn them in the shop ), if it's good wool it should have the smell of lanoline (i.e. it should smell sheepy with a hint of sheep cheese); the Swannies do smell this way.
If it doesn't it could still be wool but reprocessed wool (you'll smell a hint of petroleum or machine oil), i.e. wool that has been recycled and consequently based on short staples that will cause the infamous 'pilling'. Hope it helps.

[Tengu]

Thats all helpful thanks

I hope I get some good ones, but at least my ferret will have plenty of bedding if not.

[Tengu]

Picked up blankets today

4 or 5 cotton throws (the tufted in lines type)

1 unidentified blanket labeled top quality and something in chinese

a fleece blanket which could be made into something -never mind the baby pink shade!

a real linen sheet; if you ignore the stains.

a generic travel rug

2 plaids, wool, in brown tartans

a piece of a grey army blanket about a yard square

not a bad haul.

Any ideas as to what to do with the cotton throws?

getting stains out of linen?

use for a small square of blanket?

[Cobweb]

Cotton throws? If you don't want to use them as throws then you could make charcloth out of them or a shemag or a shawl or a light, summer blanket
Boil the linen with a small amount of bleach (not bushcrafty I know) it works well.
A small square of blanket could make a very nice possibles pouch or even a sewing kit?

You imagination is the only limitation!