What’s on the Fabrics poster
A 8-row table: Fibre · Good · Poor.
The properties that matter in use and in washing.
- Cotton — Breathable, soft, washable — Creases, slow to dry, shrinks
- Linen — Very breathable, strong — Creases heavily
- Wool — Warm when damp, odour-resistant — Shrinks with heat and agitation
- Silk — Light, strong, drapes — Water marks, delicate
- Polyester — Strong, fast-drying, cheap — Holds odour, not breathable
- Nylon — Very strong, elastic — Heat-sensitive
- Viscose — Soft, drapes — Weak when wet
- Elastane — Stretch — Degrades with heat
Wool shrinks from heat plus agitation, not from water alone. Cold hand-washing with no rubbing is safe.
Questions about the Fabrics poster
- What’s on the Fabrics poster?
- A 8-row table: Fibre · Good · Poor. The properties that matter in use and in washing. Cotton — Breathable, soft, washable — Creases, slow to dry, shrinks; Linen — Very breathable, strong — Creases heavily; Wool — Warm when damp, odour-resistant — Shrinks with heat and agitation; Silk — Light, strong, drapes — Water marks, delicate; Polyester — Strong, fast-drying, cheap — Holds odour, not breathable; Nylon — Very strong, elastic — Heat-sensitive; Viscose — Soft, drapes — Weak when wet; Elastane — Stretch — Degrades with heat. Wool shrinks from heat plus agitation, not from water alone. Cold hand-washing with no rubbing is safe.
- Who is the Fabrics poster for?
- Fabrics belongs to the Practical skills section rather than to a school year, because life skills is not something one grade owns. Anyone learning textiles can pin it up — a beginner, a student mid-course, or someone revising years later.
- When should you use the Fabrics poster?
- Natural fibres breathe. Synthetics are stronger and dry faster. Blends aim at both. A wall chart earns its place by being glanceable from where the work is happening, so Fabrics belongs on the wall where that life skills work actually happens, within glancing distance, rather than filed away.
- What other posters go with Fabrics?
- Making Clothes Last, Hand Stitches and Ironing sit alongside Fabrics in the Practical skills section. Printed together they make a wall rather than a single sheet, which is how a reference set actually gets used.Making Clothes LastHand StitchesIroning
- Is the Fabrics poster free to download and print?
- Yes. Fabrics downloads as a free PDF with no account, no email and no watermark, like everything else in the Practical skills section. Print as many copies as you like for a home, a classroom, a library or a tutoring group; reselling the file is the only thing the licence rules out.Read the licence
- What size does the Fabrics poster print at?
- Fabrics is a vector PDF laid out for US Letter, and prints on A4 with Fit to page — the same file, no separate download. Because every mark on it is drawn rather than photographed, it stays sharp enlarged to A3, A2 or A1 at a copy shop. Colour carries emphasis only, so a greyscale print of Fabrics loses nothing.Printing guide
Related posters
Charts that sit alongside Fabrics on the same wall.
Browse every Practical skills poster, or start from the full catalogue.