unknown felt??

[cera]

So I bought a large lot of felt at a garage sale yesterday for 50 cents! They weren't sure anything about it though as it was donated. Is there any way for me to find out if it if acrylic, wool or a wool blend? I have no experience with felt so I'm not sure. A lot of is it from Woolco (a really old Canadian store that doesn't exist anymore) some still had price tags and was selling for 59 cents a piece. This leads me to believe it may have been better than acrylic cause if was that long ago (at least 20 yrs old or more) than why would it cost so much. Also this kind of burns me as I just spent 20 on 12 pieces of wool blend felt on Etsy b/c they don't carry any where I live. I'm hoping some of you crafty mamas might have some thoughts on this.

[chichona]

Hmm. I would say to try to compare it to wool blended felt or polyester felt but you said they do not sell it where you live? I can tell you the biggest differnce is that wool felt feels stiff and fiber-y and the polyester stuff streches out really easy.

Also, $20 for 12 pieces of felt? Paper size? They sell the recycled plastic all plyester felt by me for 5 pieces for $1. Wool blend felt (35% and up) goes for about 7.99 a yard. Maybe you can try to find an online retailer to get a better deal on felt?

[thixle]

Burn a little piece. If it burns (will turn brown and singe) and smells like hair, it's wool. If it melts (blacken and stretchy) and stinks like plastic, it's plastic based.

[cera]

Originally Posted by thixle

Burn a little piece. If it burns (will turn brown and singe) and smells like hair, it's wool. If it melts (blacken and stretchy) and stinks like plastic, it's plastic based.

I had to do it outside and it is quite windy so it was hard to tell what it smelled like. It initially turned brown but quickly blackened and turned to ash. We also received a doll set off etsy and the clothes are pure wool felt and they seem the same but can you really tell by look alone?

[thixle]

Originally Posted by cera

It initially turned brown but quickly blackened and turned to ash.

It's wool! Anything with plastic/poly will curl up a bit and melt into a blob.

With experience, you can usually tell by look and feel. (I have an art degree with a minor in Fibers ) Sometimes, even us experts have to do the burn test. It is the most reliable way to tell approximate content of fibers (as in, if it is a wool/poly blend, it will have properties of both).

[cera]

Originally Posted by thixle

It's wool! Anything with plastic/poly will curl up a bit and melt into a blob.

With experience, you can usually tell by look and feel. (I have an art degree with a minor in Fibers ) Sometimes, even us experts have to do the burn test. It is the most reliable way to tell approximate content of fibers (as in, if it is a wool/poly blend, it will have properties of both).

Thanks so much! Oh this is so bittersweet. I'm so happy to get wool felt at such a sweet deal and so pissed off that I blew $20 on wool blend felt the day before I found this! I was going back and forth for weeks about buying it off etsy and finally bit the bullet and ugh. Now I have way more than I need. Oh well I guess I will find some use for it all. I appreciate your help.