• Stretch test: mark 10 cm, stretch gently, measure, release. See Module 1, Synthetics, stretch and blends.
• Shrink test: cut a 10 × 10 cm square, mark which way is warp, wash and dry it as you will the garment, re-measure. See Module 8, Shrinkage and pre-washing.
• Rub test (crocking): rub a dry white cloth firmly on dark fabric 10 times. Colour on the cloth will rub onto light garments and skin.
• Seam slippage: pinch two sides of a scrap and pull gently. If threads slide apart easily, seams will pull open; choose wider seam allowances or a different fabric.
• Pilling: rub the fabric on itself 20 times; fuzz means it will pill.
• Iron test: press a scrap at the setting you plan to use, with and without steam. Look for shine, shrinking, spotting or melting.

• Blends give mixed burn results: a poly-cotton burns and then leaves a small hard bead. Test warp and weft separately.
• Finishes (flame-retardant, water-repellent, resin) change burning and water behaviour.
• Viscose and cotton burn alike; the burn test cannot separate them. Viscose feels softer, drapes more and is weaker when wet.
• Silk and wool burn alike; you tell them apart by look and feel.
• Only a laboratory can confirm fibre content exactly.

• Test threads from both directions; warp and weft are often different fibres.
• Use the selvedge or seam allowance for snippets.
• Burn a known fabric first each time, as a reference.
• Do tests in daylight; smoke colour and ash are easier to see.
• Photograph results for your swatch book.
• Keep a test kit in a tin: tweezers, a steel lid, matches, a white cloth, a ruler.
• Combine tests. One test suggests; three agreeing tests convince.
• Do the crush test in the shop; it needs no tools.
• Use the light test on every length before cutting.
• Write the fibre on the selvedge with tailor’s chalk once you know it.

The snippet flares up suddenly

1. Drop it on the plate and cover or douse with water.
2. Use smaller snippets.
3. Prevention: approach the flame from the side, slowly.

You can’t tell the smell

1. Burn a known cotton and a known polyester for comparison.
2. Rely on the ash test instead.
3. Prevention: train your nose with reference swatches.

Results are mixed

1. Test warp and weft separately.
2. Expect a blend and ask the seller for percentages.
3. Prevention: label blends as blends until proved otherwise.

Water beads on a cotton

1. It may have a finish or heavy starch; wash a snippet and retry.
2. Do a burn test.
3. Prevention: test after pre-washing for the truest result.

Colour bleeds in the water test

1. Wash separately in cold water until it runs clear.
2. Don’t pair with white lining until it stops.
3. Prevention: test every dark or bright fabric before cutting.

A flaw shows in the light test after buying

1. Return or exchange if possible.
2. Plan the layout to avoid the flaw (Module 8).
3. Prevention: light-test the whole length in the shop.

The fabric melted in the iron test

1. Lower the heat and use a press cloth.
2. It is synthetic; treat the whole garment that way.
3. Prevention: always test-press a scrap first.

• Burning a snippet held in fingers. Always use tweezers.
• Testing only one thread direction.
• Trusting a single test.
• Myth: “If it smells like hair, it’s pure silk.” It may be wool, or a blend.
• Myth: “Cotton never beads water.” Finished cotton can.

1. Beginner: burn-test cotton, silk and polyester (known fabrics) and record the results.
2. Intermediate: test five unlabelled scraps and guess their fibre; then check with a teacher.
3. Advanced: test a blended saree’s warp and weft separately and write a short report.

As a hobby: building a tested swatch library is satisfying and makes every shopping trip easier.

For earning: a two-minute test before cutting a customer’s fabric protects you from shrinkage, bleeding and melting disasters.

For teaching: run burn tests as a demonstration, with the safety steps above; let learners do the water, crush and light tests themselves.

• Can you do a burn test safely?
• Can you read the three burn results?
• Do you know what the light test tells you about lining?
• Can you name two limits of the burn test?
• Can you do a colour bleed test?

• Burn test: identifying fibre by flame, smell and ash.
• Bleeding: dye coming out in water.
• Crocking: dye rubbing off when dry.
• Seam slippage: threads sliding apart at a seam.

These are typical results, not rules. Finishes and blends change them.

• Left-handed: hold the tweezers in your steadier hand and keep the flame on the other side, so no sleeve crosses it.
• No flame allowed (classroom, shop, children present): use the water, crush, light and stretch tests only, and say the result is “likely”.
• Customer’s fabric: ask first, use the seam allowance, and tell them the result and its limits.
• Order of tests: light → crush → water → stretch → burn last, so you don’t waste a snippet.

• Keep matches and the candle in a closed tin, away from children.
• Wash the steel plate after each session.
• Keep reference swatches in labelled envelopes; replace them if they get dirty.
• Write the date and result of each test in your swatch book.

1. “May I take a few threads from the seam allowance to check the fibre?”
2. Do the test where the customer can see it, safely.
3. Say what it shows: “This burns like cotton or viscose, so it will shrink a little; I’ll pre-wash it.”
4. Say what it can’t show: “I can’t tell you the exact percentage; only a laboratory can.”
5. Write the result and the agreed care on the order slip.

Honest, limited answers build trust. Never promise “100 % pure” from a home test.

• Afterglow – a red glow creeping along the ash after the flame goes out is typical of cotton, linen and viscose.
• Black, sooty smoke – typical of polyester and acrylic.
• Shrinking from the flame before it catches – a sign of a thermoplastic synthetic (polyester, nylon, acrylic, acetate).
• Sputtering, flaring – acrylic often burns fast and flares; take extra care.
• Acetate melts and smells of vinegar.
• Wool and silk sizzle and curl away; wool’s ash is crisper and smells more strongly.

• General textile knowledge. Burn behaviour varies with yarn, finish and dye.
• Teacher to check the safety steps against D&D’s classroom rules.