Fibers and Textiles

Cotton?

I'm lucky enough to have a friend who spins and knits with all sorts of fibers, and she kindly let us look at several of her yarns under a microscope. Unfortunately, my notes on these pictures were a bit cryptic and I'm not sure I got them all right! I will write what I THINK they are, but you can see this page for more (and possibly more accurate) pictures of what various fibers look like at the microscopic level.

Silk?

Mohair?

Wool?

Linen (flax)?

I had a clothing and textiles class in college which was very interesting, and I had tons of fabric swatches from that, if only I could have found them! :) We raided all of our closets instead to find different fabric types, and visited a fabric store for more. The children were delighted to discover, among other things, that some of the boys' ties were "100% silk"! "We live like kings!" they said. :)