Fibres · Regenerated
Bamboo (natural/viscose)
The yarn for drape: very soft, lustrous and cool on the skin, it falls like a liquid and slips through the hands. In exchange for that fluidity it gives up almost all hold and memory, so choose it for the fall of the fabric, never for structure.
Translated from Italian. A native knitter has not reviewed this translation yet.
History
Bamboo is an ancient textile fibre in Asia, where the cane was broken down by hand for cordage and coarse cloth. The soft, lustrous yarn we find in balls today is a different and recent story, though: it is viscose, that is bamboo cellulose dissolved and regenerated, a process developed in China in the early 2000s and spread from there around the world. That is why the same trade name covers two very different materials, and what is sold is almost always the regenerated version.
How the yarn is made
There are two routes. The mechanical one, which is rare, treats the cane like a bast fibre: the stem is retted and combed to obtain a rough, linen-like yarn that truly deserves the name natural bamboo. The chemical one, by far the most common, reduces the bamboo to pulp, dissolves its cellulose and forces it through a spinneret to regenerate it as a filament: it is in every respect a viscose, then cut into staple and spun. The silky, lustrous touch comes from this second step, not from the plant itself.
Why it is prized
It gives a rare handle: cool to the touch, smooth, and with a silky lustre few plant yarns achieve. It absorbs moisture well and stays pleasant on the skin in summer garments. Its most obvious gift is drape: it hangs straight down, heavy and fluid, and forms soft, lively folds. It should be remembered, though, that the antibacterial and anti-odour properties claimed for the raw cane are largely lost in the regeneration process: what remains of the plant is mainly its cellulose.
Dyeing
Excellent. Being cellulose, it binds reactive and direct dyes with great affinity and yield, and its lustrous surface enhances colour, giving deep, brilliant shades. Evenness is easy to achieve; wash fastness is good with reactive dyes, a little less so with cheap direct dyes.
Care
Handle it gently, because like all regenerated cellulose it loses strength when wet. Wash it by hand or on a delicate cycle, in cold water, without twisting: wringing or hanging a soaking garment makes it stretch with no recovery. Dry it flat, easing it back into shape by hand. It sheds very little fluff and does not felt, but it tends to crease and above all to give under its own weight.
End of life
The finished product is pure cellulose and therefore biodegradable and compostable. The drawback lies upstream: conversion into viscose uses aggressive solvents such as carbon disulphide, and only closed-loop plants limit their impact. Looking for certified pulp and traceable processes makes a real difference; lyocell versions from bamboo, with recovered solvent, are the cleaner alternative.
How to recognise it
| Hand | Cool, almost cold at first touch, smooth and slippery. The yarn feels heavy in the hand and runs through the fingers, with no elasticity at all under tension. |
|---|---|
| Look | Markedly lustrous, with a silky sheen. The fabric hangs straight and shows fluid folds; it produces no halo or fluff. |
| Behaviour | It drapes a great deal and does not recover after stretching: it lengthens under its own weight and keeps the deformation. It creases easily and, like all regenerated cellulose, weakens markedly when wet. |
| Burn test | Cellulosic signature: it burns quickly with an open flame, smells of burning paper or leaves, and leaves a light, crumbly grey ash, with no melted beads. |
| Home tests | Burn test: quick flame, smell of burning paper, crumbly grey ash · Wet stretch test: when damp it loses a lot of strength, a sign of regenerated cellulose fibres · Hang test: when hung it falls straight and stays lengthened, it does not bounce back |
| Confused with | Viscose from other sources (beech, eucalyptus): chemically the same thing, indistinguishable by hand and in the flame · Modal and lyocell: same regenerated cellulose family, very similar handle and behaviour · Mercerised cotton: also lustrous, but drier to the touch and more elastic when wet |
| Only in a lab | Telling bamboo apart from other viscoses and regenerated celluloses is in practice impossible by hand and requires the laboratory; composition is checked chemically (ISO 1833). |
Physical facts
| Property | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| elastic memory | Low | research |
| sag | Extreme (very fluid and slippery) | research |
| halo | None | research |
| felting risk | None | research |
| fineness (µm) | 11–14 | estimate |
| moisture regain (%) | 13.0 | research |
| typical shrinkage (%) | 3–10 | estimate |
| staple length (mm) | 32–51 | research |
measured = a measurement with a reference · iso = a standard · research = a verified source · estimate = plausibility only
Good for
fluid drape and garments that must hang · next-to-skin summer tops and sweaters · shawls and stoles that hang well · blends with elastic or structured fibres that lend it hold
Less good for
ribs and cuffs that must hold · structured, boxy garments · garments that must keep their shape unsupported · knitwear that bears weight or tension