Poly-viscose/PV/polyester viscose

[Alan H]

polyester viscose

not vicious...not viscous, viscose!

It's a blended fabric. Some manufacturers make tartan material from it, notably Marton Mills, in the UK. The fabric is often 65% polyester and 45% viscose.

It's not the same as acrylic. Not all kilts made from synthetic material are polyester viscose.

From wikipedia: Polyester

Polyester is a category of polymers which contain the ester functional group in their main chain. Although there are many polyesters, the term "polyester" as a specific material most commonly refers to polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Polyesters include naturally-occurring chemicals, such as in the cutin of plant cuticles, as well as synthetics such as polycarbonate and polybutyrate. Natural polyesters and a few synthetic ones are biodegradable, but most synthetic polyesters are not.........................Polyester fabrics are claimed to have a "less natural" feel when compared to similarly-woven fabrics made from natural fibers (i.e. cotton in textile uses). However, polyester fabrics may exhibit other advantages over natural fabrics, such as improved wrinkle resistance. As a result, polyester fibers are sometimes spun together with natural fibers to produce a cloth with blended properties..

From wikipedia: Viscose

Viscose is a viscous organic liquid[1] used to make rayon and cellophane. Viscose is becoming synonymous with rayon, a soft material, used in mostly tops, coats and jackets.............Cellulose from wood or cotton fibres is treated with sodium hydroxide, then mixed with carbon disulfide to form cellulose xanthate, which is dissolved in more sodium hydroxide. The resulting viscose is extruded into an acid bath either through a slit to make cellophane, or through a spinneret to make rayon. The acid converts the viscose back into cellulose...........

NOTE: "Viscose is becoming synonymous with rayon". In the UK, for all intents and purposes, the word "viscose" is used. In the USA and Canada "rayon" is more common. It is, for all intents and purposes, highly processed cellulose, or wood fiber.....the stuff you find in bran cereal. HIGHLY PROCESSED bran cereal! It is NOT an oil-based petrochemical.

So "polyester-viscose" is a blended fabric made up of polyester fibers and viscose fibers.

It's the same as a blend of polyester and rayon. It's NOT the same as acrylic, and it's not the same as a blend of polyester and acrylic and it's NOT the same as a blend of polyester and wool.

polyester-viscose

Herein ends the public service educational post for the day! LOL

[RockyR]

Very informative and very true Alan. We also created a 'Material Comparison Guide' to show some practical application differences in the materials as well:

http://www.xmarksthescot.com/page/material_chart.php

[Marshal Moroni]

Alan, Nice Rant.... I mean Public Service Announcement.

It is good to clarify that viscose is the same as rayon (I wasn't sure what viscose was, but knew quite well what rayon is... remember your first rayon Hawaiian shirt that went through the washer and dryer, and became a doll shirt?).

Rocky, Thanks for the chart that too is very helpful.

Cheers,

Marshal Moroni

[Panache]

I personally would not want to wear a vicious, viscous, or worse yet viscious and viscous polyester viscose kilt!

It sounds like it would ooze all over you and devour you like "The Blob".

Hey wait a minute!

Isn't USA Kilts just down the street from where they filmed "the Blob"?

Oh NO!

I think I may have stumbled on a horrible plot!

Cheers

Jamie

[Alan H]

It's a sorta rant sorta in-good-humour post. I just see the word 'viscose" butchered so often on this board, and I see so many misperceptions of what it is. A lot of people think that all non-wool kilts are made out of the same synthetic stuff and that is SO -so- so not true.

The Scottish Weaver sells a poly-acrylic blend. That is NOT the same as polyester-viscose. Poly-cotton...great stuff, but not the same as polyester-viscose, it's a different blend.

I also hear that people think that rayonis some awful made-from-dead-dinosaurs synthetic radioactive horror material when nothing could be further from the truth. Now the PROCESSING of cellulose into viscose uses nasty chemicals which must be disposed of properly, that's very true. But the material itself is pretty basic.

[Alan H]

I'm just waiting for the day whenI see somebody write polly-viscurse.

[Bugbear]

I like wool.

[Kilt_Em_All]

I'm just waiting for the day whenI see somebody write polly-viscurse.

Or perhaps poly-varicose?

-Elliott

[wyldathart]

I'm glad this came up. I was unaware of what all the terms meant. Thanks Alan

[Sammac]

If Walmart starts selling kilts will it be poly-viscount