"is this a natural fibre or not?" David
This words gets used a lot for things that started out as natural, but have so much chemical processing, that people question if it is a valid statement, or at least the lines are blurred. For instance, similar things happen with food being marketed as "natural" such as with sugar in it, because it is from a natural plant, but it is so processed that many don't feel it is healthy for them, nor natural. People grab a drink or cereal because it is stamped "natural" but are surprised that it contains sugar and it's slightly different process and renamed cousins, which are essentially one and the same. I like rayon, as it serves a wonderful purpose, esp. in textiles/clothing. Lyocell/tencel is rayon also, just less chemically processed and rather with more manipulation of the fiber (but generally not applicable to lace at this point.) I have seen lyocell/tencel called natural, and it easily joins that category as it is less chemically processed. Sea cell is popular in lace knitting, as another in this 'alternative' category. I just wonder about rayon's stability over long periods of time, esp. when used in lace. When used for clothing, assumably the product will wear out, or is expected to do so, but hopefully lace will endure much past one's lifetime, or several. Clothings/accessories can last 20-100 years (or more if cared for), but lace of good fiber and kept clean, seems potentially could endure much, much longer, and I feel I need to keep that in mind when choosing threads for lace, fwiw, and imho. Best,Susan Reishus - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
