bearisgray

cotton also burns with only a little smoke if any and the ash - if any - is very soft and powdery. The ash, if no fire is seen with cotton, cools down quickly.

polyesters and nylons burn with black smoke - they also leave a hard "crispy" ash. Sometimes it "drips" while burning. The residue also stays hot longer than cotton residue. One can still get burned with this residue, even if the fire is out.

littlehud

I'm giggling here picturing all these nice quilters in Walmart with lighters in their hands. That would cause quite a stir

M.I.Late

You could probably ask them to cut you a few samples and take them outside...

Quilt Mom

Thanks for all the info! Gal, you had an inside track on this. I'm glad you shared with us.

wvdek

bearisgrey to the rescue!

Thanks for the giggle gals. I can see it now... :-o

Gal

Oh, and I forgot to say that only a few strands of thread are required from both 'warp and weft' of the fabric, you really do not need much at all, but be sure to collect from both 'warp and weft!'

Gal

lab fairy

My husband swears it looks like I'm performing rituals on the back porch when I'm doing burn tests.

judylg

Seriously here, when I have burnt small scraps of material, the poly/cotton has a more chemical smell comared to the cotton burning. And yes poly/cotton does make black smoke.

dungeonquilts

Having my coffee & giggling.....I can see this now! Front line paper "She said this is what the ladies said to do from the Quilting Board"

judylg

It is kind of funny, when I think of it.