| Fiber | Origin of Material | Characteristics | Advantages | Disadvantages | Suitable Uses |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acrylic | Synthetic polymer (acrylonitrile) | Not absorbent, resists sunlight | Inexpensive wool substitute, easily washable | Pills, heat damage | Similar as fine wools, except for felting |
| EcoSpun | Synthetic polymer (polyethylene terephthalate) | Moisture-wicking, not absorbent | Uses post-consumer recycled PET containers | As polyester | Any as polyester, popular for fleece fabrics |
| Lurex | Aluminum coated plastic filament | Reflective colored film, not absorbent | Unique visual effect | Melts easily | Specialty accent |
| Lyocell | Remanufactured cellulose from wood pulp | Lustrous, absorbent | More environmentally friendly manufacture than rayon, soft, resists wrinkles | More expensive than rayon | Any as rayon |
| Metallic | Metals (various kinds) usually with a film or fiber base | Lustrous, not absorbent, some are reflective | Unique visual effect | May tarnish, often expensive, heavy if thick, fragile if thin | Speciality accent |
| Nylon | Synthetic polymer (coal-based) | Elastic, abrasion resistant, not absorbent | Fast to dry, strong | Prone to static, sunlight damage | Lightweight fabrics to canvas, industrial applications |
| Polyester | Synthetic polymer (various kinds) | Not absorbent | Easily washable, inexpensive | Holds greasy stains, dyes poorly | General purpose, garments to industrial applications |
| Rayon | Remanufactured cellulose from wood pulp | Lustrous, absorbent | Soft, inexpensive | Wrinkles easily | Softly draped garments |
Maximum 192 points
Examiner 1 gave 21 points to nylon and rayon and the full 24 to the rest. The comment for nylon was that it picks up loose dyes easily, I seem to recall I intended to add "dyes easily" to the characteristics but somehow it didn't happen. The comment for rayon is that it is weak when wet and shrinks with washing. Examiner 2 gave 21 points to nylon and polyester and the full 24 to the rest. There was the same dye comment about nylon and a note that polyester is resilient.
Some of these fibers were difficult to research, mostly I was using technical books that contained vast quantities of data. Simple things like characteristics were often buried in pages of discussion of polymer chemistry. Sure, I have a better handle on the terminology than someone not trained as an engineer, but it's still a lot to slog through. Most of the less technical books don't have much to say about fiber properties or talk about them only in vague terms.