Which Fabric Holds Heat the Longest

Testing to see which type of fabric can hold heat the longest.
Stephanie Froese
Grade 5

Hypothesis

If I heat different fabrics, the fleece will take the longest get back to room temperature because it is thick and dense. 

Research

Wool: 

People have been wearing wool since the Stone age. So if people wore wool then, we have updated how to make it better, like weaving it tighter. Wool is UV protectant. This means it will protect you from the sun when you are outside, meaning you will be less likely to get a sunburn in the summer. If you wanted to go for a walk in the summer then you can have a longer and slower walk. This is how you make wool: 1. Shear a sheep 2. Clean the  wool 3. Turn it into long strands 4. Spin them till they turn into yarn 5. Wash it one more time 6. Make your yarn into what ever you want. Wool costs $19.60 per kilogram. Which can get price some times.

Cotton:

Cotton plants need to grow for over 200 days or you won't get the fabric you are looking for when you make it. Cotton plants can grow to over 6 feet tall! That would mean that you can get a lot cotton from one plant. Cotton is a natural biodegradable product. It is better for the earth. This is how cotton is made: 1. remove the leaves from the cotton plant 2. Seperate the dirt and trash from the leaves 3. Card the leaves that means turn the fibers in to strandes 4. Spin the strandes in till they create yarn. 5. You can now dye your yarn (if you want). 6. Now you can weve your yarn into shirts or bed sheets. Raw cotton can cost $0.75 per pound which is not unresanable.

Fleece:

Fleece is made out of the same polermer that your pop bottles are made out of! Fleece is a synthetic fabric, it is man-made. Fleece is durable and will last longer. It also keeps its shape well. A fleece sweater dries faster than wool. Which can come be convenient at times, like when you're camping or hiking. Fleece is very easy to clean. Fleece is very sustainable it will take more then a mounth to start to pill if you treat it well. Fleece is made of a non-renewable resourses so we will run out of fleece some time. But luckly that day is not soon. So we can keep making fleece but that day will come. It will come because it is made out of plastic and we will run out of plastic we run out of fleece, that is why we will run out of fleece.

Linen:

Linen is a very old fabric.  You have probably seen them worn by people in very very old paintings. Most linen comes from Europe. It is possible that some of the linen you may have in your home now is from Europe. So if you live in Europe then you most likly have some linen in your house. Linen is also biodegradable which means that it will eventually go back to the earth. This is how you make linen: 1. Harvest flax plant  2. Remove leaves and seeds 3. Break stock and remove the outer part of the stock 4. Combe fibers till they are in thin strans 5. Spin the strans till they make yarn 6. Put on a bobben 7. Dry then make what you want. Linen costs $5 to $12 per yard which is not to bad if you hav ethe money.

Flannel:

Flannel is made of worsted yarn. Worsted yarn is a type of tightly spun yarn. That also means that it is reusing! People have been wearing flannel for hundereds of years. Also, flannel is a very cozy fabric, and cozy can be stylish. Flannel is not just used for shirts it is also used for pajamas, dresses, napkins, and blankets. Flannel is also great for the ecosysyem because it can be recycled and turned into new clothes. This is how flannel is made: 1. Get you base material which can be cotton, wool, or a synthetic textile is required 2. Spin yarn 3. Weve till you have a nice peice of fabric 4. The final treatment can vary if it is synthetic or cotton.

Denim:

Before they were called jeans thay were called waist overalls. It takes about 150 cotton balls to make a pair of jeans! Not including the stiching needed to complete it. To manufacture a pair of jeans would take about 15 min. But if you want to make your own pair of jeans you would first have to get your fabric then you would have to get the right size and get the stiching right, that would take a long time. This is how you make denim: 1. Get some cotton to turn into your fabric 2. Brush your cotton in till it is in long thin stringes 3. Weve your cotton tightly and in the shape you want then you have denim. Denim is not very expensive beleve it or not, but it can get expensive some times if you get the right type of denim.

 

Variables

 

Variables
Controlled

The start and ending temperature

How heat is measured and applied

Manipulated The type of fabric
Responding  How long it takes to cool

 

Procedure

1. Get materials including fabric, thermometer, blow dryer.

2. Heat one piece of fabric to 56°C.

3. Start timer and wait for fabric to cool.

4. Stop timer when fabric reaches 24°C.

5. Record time and fabric type.

6. Repeat with other fabrics.

 

Observations

Fabric

Size

Trial 1

Trial 2

Trial 3

Trial 4

Fleece

14cm-14cm

54 sec

1 min 29 sec

54 sec

20 sec

Cotton

14cm-14cm

4 min 6 sec

6 min 38 sec

6 min 52 sec

2 min 54 sec

Wool

14cm-14cm

4 min 57 sec

2 min 38 sec

2 min 1 sec

1 min 2 sec

Flannel

14cm-14cm

1 min 40 sec

1 min 8 sec

36 sec

29 sec

Denim

14cm-14cm

8 min 4 sec

5 min 17 sec

2 min 38 sec

46 sec

Linen

14cm-14cm

57 sec

57 sec

56 sec

1 min 1 sec

 

Analysis

My data told me that denim holds heat the longest, compared to fleece, cotton, wool, flannel, and linen.

I learned that if I want to dress warm I should wear warmed denim.

A connection I made is that my Dad wears jeans and he is always warm!

 

Conclusion

My hypothesis was incorrect because denim took the longest to return to room temp, at an astonishing 8 min and 4 sec! This is likely caused by the tightness of the fabric. Denim has a tighter weave then fleece, So that would keep you warm for a longer amount of time.

 

Application

In real life this is good information to know because we would know what to wear if it was cold outside.

 

Next steps:

1. Compare how different weave patterns retain heat. 

2. Compare how different types of denim hold heat. 

3. Testing dfferent blends of fabric.

Sources Of Error

One of my sources of error is that my piece of wool that I had was thicker than all of the other fabrics because it came from a hat. It also was't the exact size that is was supposed to be it was to big. That would mean that it can hold more heat so it takes longer to cool down.

Citations

agiboo. (no date). Retrieved from

https://www.agiboo.com/12-interesting-facts-about-cotton/

 

Britannica. (no date) Retrieved from

https://www.britannica.com/topic/cotton-fibre-and-plant

 

Candorthreads. (no date). Retrieved from

https://candorthreads.com/what-fabrics-are-tightly-woven/

 

eNZees. (no date). Retrieved from

https://enzeesfootsoother.com/blogs/news/10-cool-facts-about-woolv

 

FACTS.NET. (no date). Retrieved from 

https://facts.net/lifestyle/food/17-unbelievable-facts-about-yard-of-flannel/

 

Good on you. (no date). Retrieved from

https://goodonyou.eco/how-sustainable-is-fleece/

 

Long Jhon. (no date.) Retrieved from

https://long-john.nl/10fun-facts-you-need-to-know-about-denim/

 

Madam de la Maison. (no date). Retrieved from 

https://madamedelamaison.com/blogs/putting-it-all-on-the-table/why-should-you-love-linen

 

Sewport. (no date). Retrieved from

https://sewport.com/fabrics-directory/denim-fabric

 

Shirts in Bulk. (no date). Retrieved from

https://www.shirtsinbulk.com/blogs/articles/fun-facts-about-fleece

 

Tripel Pundit. Feb 2, 2016. Retrieved from

https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2016/low-down-sustainable-cotton/57221

 

 

Acknowledgement

Thank you Ms.Burkell, my mom and dad a for helping me with CYSF. You never gave up on me and helped me make my project even beter then it is today. So thank you so much for helping me and one last time thank you so much a really aprecheat it thank you. I couldn't do it with out you. If I didn't have your help I wouldn't be were I am now.