Fabrics under the microscope.

 I was checking out some fabrics with my microscope and found it really fascinating, more than I expected. The shape of the fibers and the way they are woven together varied greatly between fabric types and helped me understand why different fabrics behave they way they do. I took some photos and paired each one with a photo of the fabric and a brief description.

warm, fluffy fleece has even, thickly packed fibers

Shiny, thick brocade has tightly woven flat fibers

cotton organza has a very stiff, structured feel and is very breathable.

silk organza is also stiff and airy 

Black and white print cotton, soft feeling and has a fuzzy-looking fiber.

cotton jersey, soft and stretchy, loosely woven soft, dense fibers

velveteen is just a mess of soft furry fibers

satin is made of tightly woven smooth fibers

                               

chiffon is light and breezy and the fibers are thin and flexible

shiny smooth silk has tightly woven, perfectly even and smooth fibers

this is a thicker, rougher silk, and the fibers are thicker and more uneven.

silk dupioni is usually made of two colors of silk fiber. Most of it is evenly woven, except for the slubs which are patches of thicker fibers.

This iridescent green silk flashes red because it's woven with red fibers

shantung is a little more evenly woven

the fibers of this silk mesh look like wires, thin and translucent

knit fabrics are loosely woven so they can stretch

linen fibers are softly twisted

Tulle is actually composed of very thin smooth plastic fibers

                                        

shiny slip fabric is made from softly twisted fibers

Fusible interfacing (which fuses to fabric with heat activated glue) has thin fibers that can melt when heated

stitch witchery is similar and also composed of thin, easily melted fibers

nylon lace is formed of knotted fibers

Thread is made of many tightly twisted thin fibers