Question About Flannel

[RachelB]

I want to make some reusable flannel paper towels. I have a bunch of flannel in my stash that I picked up some time ago, but I don't know what it's made from. Does anyone know if there's any way to tell at this point whether it's cotton or something else? And would it still be absorbent if it's something else?

FWIW, I believe I bought most of it a couple of years ago at WalMart, when my store stopped carrying fabric and clearanced all of theirs. It was probably just in the big "flannel" section. I don't know if that information would help anyone with guesses as to what kind of fiber this is. :shrug3

[Lady TS]

I suppose you could do a burn test--if it melts, it would have polyester or some such in it, but if it just burns, it would be cotton, iirc.

I don't know that I would worry about the content for paper towels, though. :shrug3 With polyester blend, they might actually last longer--that might be a perk.

[RachelB]

Would they still be absorbent enough if they were a blend? Sorry, I've just never made anything before where I was looking for absorbency.

[WanderingJuniper]

You could test it with some water to see if you like the absorbency and then wash it.

[Lily]

I would try a corner of each kind to see if the absorbency matched what I was looking for. Pick out the ones that are most absorbent and make those into towels; the rest will find another purpose.

[RachelB]

Thanks for the burn test suggestion. I had completely forgotten that you could do that. I burned a little piece, and it definitely just burned. (What was left was ashy, not melty looking at all.) I'm going to say that at least the one I tested seemed to be cotton, and I'm just going to assume that the others are the same. And since it's just for paper towels, it's really not a big deal if I'm assuming wrongly.

[musicmama]

MOST flannel is cotton, I think. Can't wait to see them!

[RachelB]

Can't wait to see them!

I've never actually posted anything in the monthly craft thread, but I'll be sure to do that this time. Well, assuming that I actually make them instead of just talking about doing it. :giggle