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Synthetic lining fabrics

post #1 of 5
11/18/11 at 3:46am
Thread Starter 
Most wool suit jackets I see have completely synthetic linings. I suppose very expensive jackets may well use natural fibres, but is there any reason linings on most off-the-peg jackets are totally synthetic?

I was looking at linen jackets during the summer and noticed they all had polyester linings, which surely impacts on each jacket's ability to keep you cool? It can't only be cost because even the middle priced linen jackets had synthetic linings.

And my main question is, what are the physical benefits of the commonly used synthetic fabrics that make manufacturers choose them for linings, and often mix them?

For example, A coat in a shop I looked at yesterday said the following:

Body Lining: 100% Viscose
Sleeve Lining: 52% Polyester, 48% Viscose

Why viscose, and why did they add polyester to the sleeves but not the body? And why do other coats use nylon, rayon and other fabrics for the lining, sometimes using 100% fabrics and other times mixtures of two or more in widely varying proportions?
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post #2 of 5
11/18/11 at 4:45am
viscose is heavily treated wood pulp, as is rayon. it is "a natural fiber"
a blended sleeve lining maybe a little less expensive.
when producing mass market garments, any saving adds up.
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post #3 of 5
11/18/11 at 6:23am
Viscose used to be classified as a synthetic fibre because the fibre is not found pre-formed in nature. However, like rayon, it is essentially made up of cellulose ie the basic constituent of paper and wood pulp. Some firms use the flowers and stems of cotton plants. For these reasons, viscose and rayon are both classified as natural fibres today.

They have the advantage of being slippery, breathing well, having good wicking properties, but do not run as hot as silk. Silk also has a reputation of not lasting as long as a lining. Silk is also much more expensive.

Nylon and polyester linings however should be avoided.
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post #4 of 5
11/24/11 at 6:24am
Thread Starter 
Thanks for the replies. They helped me choose one of three overcoats yesterday. The one I liked the look of the most (a brown course twill overcoat inbetween a jacket and a three quarter length) was 50% polyester, with 100% polyester lining. The one I bought (a plain black three-quarter length overcoat) cost more but was 80% wool and 100% viscose lining, and hoping that viscose wouldn't leave me soaking wet whilst wearing it (a huge problem for me with coats) was one of the main reasons I chose it. There was a third overcoat I liked that was 100% navy wool, but it was much more expensive so I compromised.

However, I discovered another lining material in this third coat - acetate. A quick search on Google suggests it's made of pulped wood, just like viscose. So what would have been the reason for the manufacturer to mix viscose and acetate for their linings? I think it may have been a 50/50 mix, but I can't remember for sure. Presumably, acetate has properties that viscose doesn't.

Finally, the remaining 20% of my new coat is listed as polymide. A search says this is a generic term for a class of oil-based fibres which include nylon and polyester. Does this mean it is either actual nylon or polyester but the manufacturer is trying to hide this, or is it something else with other properties?
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post #5 of 5
11/24/11 at 8:05am
You are over thinking this to what advantage I cannot deduce.

Rayon/Viscose make good linings. Acetate also. Light, slippery and wear well. Silk on the other hand is too warm and far from sufficiently robust. It is also very much more expensive.
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