Fibres · Synthetic
Microfibre (ultrafine poly/nylon blend)
An ultrafine synthetic fibre with a velvety hand and the typical peach-skin effect: light, soft and slippery, valued not for the material but for the extreme fineness of the filament. Lovely to the touch, it is at its best in blends.
Translated from Italian. A native knitter has not reviewed this translation yet.
History
Microfibre came out of Japanese research in the 1970s, when Toray developed the first very fine filaments that gave rise to materials such as Ultrasuede; in Italy the same technology took shape as Alcantara. From those suede-like surfaces ultrafine spinning spread to knitwear and sportswear, where its lightness and soft hand made its fortune. It has no historic district like natural fibres: it is a child of petrochemistry and extruded filament, and its geography matches that of the large technical textile producers.
How the yarn is made
It is neither shorn nor harvested: it is extruded. The molten polymer (polyester and polyamide) is forced through very fine spinnerets, often as a bicomponent filament, which is then split or dissolved to obtain cross-sections below one denier. The result is a bundle of filaments so fine that the contact surface multiplies for the same weight: hence the soft hand and the great ability to wick and release moisture quickly. The yarn can remain continuous filament or be cut into staple and spun like a natural fibre.
Why it is prized
Its value lies in its fineness, not in the raw material. The tiny cross-section gives a velvety touch, almost no weight and a very dense surface that dries quickly and stays light. In knitwear it brings softness and that delicate peach-skin effect that softens blends, lightening stiffer yarns without weighing the garment down.
Dyeing
It is dope-dyed or dyed with disperse dyes at high temperature, which penetrate the polyester; the polyamide part also takes acid dyes. The result is bright and very fast to light and washing, with full colours that stay stable over time. The dual nature of the blend can, if not controlled, give a slight difference in uptake between the two fibres.
Care
Easy to care for: wash in lukewarm water, never hot, because too much heat flattens the peach-skin effect and can distort the garment. It dislikes a hot iron and should be pressed at low temperature or with light steam. It does not felt or shrink like wool, but it tends to build up static and hold on to odours: fabric softener and frequent, gentle washing keep it at its best.
End of life
It is not biodegradable: being synthetic, it persists in the environment for a long time and sheds microplastics in the wash, which a filter bag helps to catch. It is, however, recyclable, especially when it is pure polyester; in poly/nylon blends separation is more complex and limits recovery. The most sustainable choice is to prefer recycled polyester versions and to extend its use.
How to recognise it
| Hand | Velvety and silky, with the typical peach-skin effect: cool and slippery under the fingers, very light, without the dry warmth of wool. |
|---|---|
| Look | Compact, even surface with a soft, veiled lustre; no natural crimp, the yarn looks regular and without halo. |
| Behaviour | It drapes fluidly and softly, but gives under tension and recovers slowly: elastic memory is poor. It holds little warmth, dries quickly and breathes less than a natural fibre, tending to keep moisture against the skin. |
| Burn test | Synthetic signature: in the flame it melts and shrinks away instead of burning cleanly, dripping into drops that harden into a bead, with a chemical, sweetish smell of plastic. |
| Home tests | Burn test: melts and drips, a hard bead instead of crumbly ash · Touch test: cool and slippery, never warm and dry like wool · Stretch test: pull and release, it recovers slowly |
| Confused with | Soft wool and cotton: but these burn in the flame and leave ash, they do not melt · Viscose and modal: a similar cool hand, but man-made cellulosics burn like cellulose |
| Only in a lab | Establishing the proportions of polyester and polyamide in the blend with certainty requires laboratory chemical analysis (ISO 1833). |
Physical facts
| Property | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| elastic memory | Low | research |
| sag | Medium | research |
| halo | Low (peach-skin effect) | research |
| felting risk | None | research |
| fineness (µm) | 4–10 | estimate |
| moisture regain (%) | 0.4–4.5 | research |
| typical shrinkage (%) | 0–5 | estimate |
| staple length (mm) | — | research |
measured = a measurement with a reference · iso = a standard · research = a verified source · estimate = plausibility only
Good for
light, soft garments · sports and technical knitwear · linings and next-to-skin layers · blends to soften stiff yarns
Less good for
garments that must spring back · elastic ribs and cuffs · warm, breathable knitwear · use on its own