How to identify fabric: 7 ways to tell what it’s made of

Most fabric questions come down to two things: what fiber it is (cotton, polyester, wool, linen…) and how it’s built (woven or knit, and which weave). The fiber decides how it washes, presses and takes dye. The structure decides how it drapes and stretches. Here’s how to work out both.

1. Check for a label

In the US, most clothing and household textiles sold at retail carry a label listing the fiber content by percentage. If it’s still there, it’s the best answer you’ll get. Look along the side seams and at the back of the neck. For yardage, check the end of the bolt or your receipt; the selvage often names the maker, which you can look up.

2. Look closely at the structure

Zoom in with your phone or a magnifier. Woven fabric shows threads crossing over and under at right angles: a simple checkerboard in plain weave, diagonal lines in twill (like denim), long smooth floats in satin. Knit fabric shows rows of interlocking loops, such as the tiny V shapes on the front of T-shirt jersey. Our knit vs. woven guide has the details.

3. Stretch it

Pull gently across the width. Most knits stretch noticeably, even without spandex, and spring back. Most wovens barely give across the grain but stretch a little on the diagonal (the bias). A woven that stretches easily usually has spandex (elastane) in it.

4. Feel it and crush it

• Cotton feels matte and soft, and keeps the creases when you crush it in your fist.
• Linen feels cool and crisp, with slightly uneven, slubby threads, and creases sharply.
• Polyester often has a slight sheen, feels smooth or slick, and springs back from a crush with few wrinkles.
• Wool feels springy and warm, and recovers well.
• Silk feels smooth and soft and warms up quickly in your hand.

Touch tells you a lot, but blends are where it fails: a cotton-poly can feel almost exactly like cotton.

5. Try a water drop

Put a drop of water on a flat area. Cotton, linen and rayon usually soak it in within seconds. Polyester and nylon tend to let it sit as a bead for a while. Water-repellent finishes and sizing can fool this test, so treat it as a hint.

6. Do a careful burn test

For the most reliable answer at home, burn a small snippet. Plant fibers burn like paper and leave soft ash, animal fibers smell like burnt hair and leave crushable ash, and synthetics melt into a hard bead. The burn test guide has the full chart and the safety steps.

7. Take a photo

If you don’t want to cut or burn anything, a photo is the fastest first guess. Fabric Identifier names the most likely fabric, shows close alternatives, and estimates the likely fiber content, weave, weight and stretch. It reads what the camera can see, so treat fiber percentages as estimates and confirm anything critical with a label or a burn test.

Which method should you trust?