Barb's Fabric Blog

Baltic Blues

Yesterday a customer brought something to our attention that we wanted to share.  She had purchased Baltic Jersey, one of our wonderful rayon knits from Bill Blass.  When she pre-washed it, she found that it bled profusely.  Wisely, she had washed it separately so no harm done to other fabrics or garments, but she was kind enough to call and tell us so we could pass on that information. We are aware that fully saturated colors such as the intense marine blue of this jersey are potential bleeders.  We wanted to check it out so we could warn people of this.  Working in a warehouse with a bathroom that is 60 feet away makes handwashing a bit of a chore, but here's what we found!

The bowl on the right is our first dunk...as you can see, plenty of dye is left in the water.  After an hour or so of drying, we tried again...bowl on the left shows a lot less.  We think if we continued, the bleeding would stop.  From our observation, the color of the jersey was not impacted very much.  We will compare it to an unwashed piece on Monday.  We had to wait for air dry... no laundromat at the warehouse either!!!

We went on to test wash several other of the knits and found a lot less bleeding in the less intense colors.  As always, we continue with our mantra about pre-washing all your fabric before going to finished garment. Thanks to our loyal customers who share their experiences.  You can count on us to pass it on!

Eco-Friendly Fabrics II - Lenpur

We were excited to find this new fiber.  We'd read about it, but had not actually "handled" the goods, so to speak!

Lenpur is a cellulose-based fiber made from the bark of white pine branches or pine mulch.  These trees are cultivated for this purpose and the parts of the tree used are only those that do not contribute to the on-going life of the tree.  I first thought, this might be a very rustic product.  I guess it’s the white pine connotation.  I expected a cotton-like flannel or a knit, something like the early organic cotton products.  But no, it is much more akin to a fine rayon, but with a cottony hand. When we actually found a knit made from Lenpur, we were pleased with the exceptional quality. 

In addition to its earth friendly qualities, Lenpur is reputed to have people friendly qualities such as great absorbency, ability to release dampness  and a “anti-odor” mechanism that functions as deodorant!  For the science behind this claim, read this.

Many manufacturers are using Lenpur in performance garments and in undergarments.  We purchased this fabric as an over-run from Linda Loudermilk, a luxury eco-designer. Her ready-to-wear garments are couture quality and she specializes in using fabrics that are made from sustainable  products. 

We are very satisfied with the result in these jersey knits and hope to find more products like these to share with you.

Conifer–Deep Aqua

Conifer–Dark Chocolate

Eco-friendly Fibers

We've had a great time lately learning about some of the new fibers we're seeing from designer workrooms.  Recently we brought into stock a wonderful tweed in gray/green tones. Isn't this lovely to look at?  The yarns are twisted bright olive and silver gray resulting in an overall gray/green coloration.  We named the fabric Amaized!  When you read on, you'll find out why.  Subscribers have the swatch in their mailbox this week.

The fiber is an updated blend of Ingeo and wool.  What's Ingeo?  Ingeo is a trade name for a biopolymer created using corn rather than petroleum  The resulting fiber is similar to polyester, but has some qualities more associated with natural fibers. For those who want a more scientific description of the process, you can check out the manufacturer's web site.  In researching the fiber more we found the following characteristics ascribed to it:  breathability, (some manufacturers are using it for socks), colorfastness, wrinkle resistance,  shrink resistance, stain resistance and hypoallergenic qualities.  This is all good!  We also have read that the fiber blends well with natural fibers. This is the case with our current offering.  We think it's a great suiting which has stability and a subtle crispness for tailored details. 

We went on to find out how this new fiber reacted to a burn test.  We found that it first sputtered like wool, then as the flame grew (rather than self-extinguishing like wool would do) we saw other responses that were new to us!  Take a look:

Burn Test for Ingeo from Sawyer Brook Fabrics on Vimeo.

Based on the burn test we were able to determine that one of our newest knits, Suminigashi, was actually Ingeo rather than polyester or nylon as we first thought.  We'll keep an eye out for more as we go forward.  Many designers and manufacturers are searching out Ingeo to satisfy the needs of their customers who are looking for a green solution in their clothing.  We'd love to hear from you when you sew with any of these fabrics.