Textiles Guide

The following guide describes some of the textiles we stock for general course use. This is not a complete guide as we have samples of many other materials.

Note: GSM is grams per square meter. One ounce per square yard is about 33.9 grams per square meter.

Polyester

The polyester fabrics are ordered from lightest to heaviest.

Polyester Crystal Organza

Polyester Organza

Polyester China Silk Lining

Polyester Chiffon

Polyester Chiffon - IFR

Polyester Taffeta Lining


Cotton

Cotton Muslin

Cotton Bubble Gauze


Rayon

Rayon is a semi-synthetic fiber made by processing natural cellulose. Viscose, Modal, Tencel, and Bemberg are all types of rayon.


Line and Webbing

Spectra Line

Spectra is a strong line commonly used as fishing or kite line. It has low stretch which can accurately transmit motion. It is somewhat slippery and takes care to tie good knots

  • https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MSO4XJJ

  • 100% Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (Spectra)

  • rated for 20 pound loads

  • we stock gray, but available in many colors

  • about $0.04 per yard in quantity (i.e. $22 per 500 yard)

Nylon Webbing

  • https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CJF3XLCY

  • 100% nylon

  • 1.5 inch width

  • about $0.75 per yard

  • we stock white, available in many colors

  • rated for 1100 pound load (not rated for overhead lifting)


Silk

We have limited supplies of silk. It is substantially more expensive than polyester, so it is only available on an as-needed basis.

Silk fabric weight is specified in momme, the weight in pounds of a 45 inch by 100 yard sample. One momme is about 4.34 GSM.

Silk Gauze

Silk Organza

Silk Habotai


Fabric Laser Cutting Guide

Below are tentative settings for cutting our fabrics on our 100W Epilog FusionPro laser cutters.

General notes on laser-cutting fabric:

  1. Make sure your fabric is very flat; you will generally need to iron your stock before cutting.

  2. Lay the fabric down without stretching it, otherwise it make curl or deform as the tension is released.

  3. Pre-trim the stock to avoid excess bunches of fabric off to the side to minimize risk of it blowing around or getting caught in the mechanism.

  4. Fabric cuts very quickly, so generally the cutting speeds are high and the power is low.

Material

Supplier

Weight

Speed

Power

Frequency

Polyester Chiffon - IFR

MTF

70 gsm

100%

5%

10%