Five Interesting Facts about Textiles

This semester, I’m taking an introductory course on textiles that I find to be fascinating. Considering the monumental role that textiles play in my life, I’m sorry to admit that prior to this course I knew very little on the subject. Though I'm only at the semester's midpoint, I can’t go a day without analyzing someone’s clothing and postulating said clothing’s fiber content and care. Laundry, which previously tied hand-washing dishes as my least favorite chore, has become a delight. I wish I were kidding.

As I reviewed my class notes this evening, I complied a list of five facts that I found to be both helpful and interesting. Perhaps much of below is common knowledge, but it was all new to me!

1. Linen is actually flax. The word linen is derived from linum, which is the latin term for the flax plant. I’ve blended flax seed into my breakfast smoothie concoction every morning for the past two months and had no idea that it was remotely associated with linen last week. Dur.
2. If a textile is made from 100% Bamboo, it can’t be organic. Unlike linen and cotton, bamboo must be chemically processed into a fiber. Ditto for Eucalyptus.
3. White Vinegar is magical and can get rid of almost any stain.
4. On most washing machines, the delicate cycle is no more gentle than the normal cycle. It is called “delicate” simply because that particular setting skips a few steps in the washing process (ie, it’s just shorter). Prior to this class, I wrongly assumed that the delicate setting was equivalent to hand-washing garments in the tub. I was shocked when I found out what was really going on in there. For me, it was somewhat like the adult equivalent of discovering that Santa isn’t real.
5. Adding more soap than recommended to your laundry load to make it “cleaner” is actually counterproductive. All soaps, including laundry detergent, work because they attract dirt. Though clothing is rinsed clean in the wash, a bit of soap will still remain in the item. If you use more soap than necessary, even more soap will be left in the item and thus the item will become dirtier quicker. Prior to learning this, I was totally guilty of abusing soap..! I've since changed my ways:)

(photo via D. Porthault)