illinois

Due to Halloween, there has been a lot on the news about fiber content of costumes. The firefighters are saying to put the kids in non-flowing costumes made of non-cottons because they will melt and not continue to burn. I thought we were encouraged to make our quilts of cotton because the cotton was safer! I'm confused.

Quite honestly, I like a little polyester in fabrics (horrors!) because of the bit of sheen and they seem to be more color-fast than 100% cotton.

WTxRed

and thru the generations of quilters, and their immediate resources, we have quilts made from every imaginable fiber - do what makes you happy!

nativetexan

made of non-cottons? odd. poly or nylon are bad ones to me. of course most costumes are made of those.

willferg

I always figure if your costume catches on fire, you have more to worry about than what fabric your costume is made of – it's not good, either way!

Tartan

I avoided flowing costumes because of the tripping hazard. I imagine a flowing costume could also catch fire if it was near a flame.
With that being said, I made years of costumes from polyester/ cotton broadcloth. A few things I did....kept Dracula cape knee length and with Velcro at the neck in case someone decided to grab it and hang on. Same thing with Little Red Riding Hood' s hooded cape. White angel dress was a simple long sleeve dress with sleeves wide enough to go over a coat and gathered elastic at the neck.
You can't tell me the synthetic nylon/polyester store bought costumes are any safer than hand made ones.

tessagin

Tartan I agree. I did the same with my kids. The costumes were made so they wouldn't trip. One little guy many years back was grabbed but he faught and the "abductor" got punched when he found out one of the taller kids was actually a parent in disguise dressed as a devil who was even carrying a real pitchfork. My sister and I at the time were single parents and we took turns; one walked with the kids the other would drive. Move the car from one block to another. We always had a first-aid sewing kit and first-aid medical kit.

Prism99

I understand why they are saying that because I saw a demo on tv once. They had a nightgown on two child mannequins. One nightgown was made of cotton; the other was made of polyester. They put a flame to the bottom of the synthetic nightgown and it turned into a fireball with flames shooting up immediately, engulfing the mannequin. When they put a flame to the bottom of the non-cotton nightgown, the fabric melted and there were no flames. The problem with the synthetic fabric, though, is that those melted balls are extremely hot and when in contact with skin quickly cause 3rd degree burns and, because the hot balls are sticky, they are impossible to get off the skin.

The reason the cotton fabric exploded into flame so quickly is because it was a thin fabric that had plentiful air on both sides. Quilts are different in that they are much thicker. A cotton quilt will not explode into flames the way a single layer of cotton fabric will (think curtains or draperies on a window -- lots of air on both sides of a thin fabric).

The real danger, in my opinion, is the open flame. I was at one Halloween house where they had lit candles on the floor. Talk about dangerous to children in flowing costumes! Candles inside pumpkins are much less dangerous, but still pose the possibility of a flame touching the bottom of a costume. I'm sure that's why the firefighters are making their recommendations. Once a flame touches the bottom of a single layer of cotton fabric, a child's body is engulfed in flames too quickly for even a nearby adult to help in time; the flames would have already singed the face and hair. Whole body burns like that are not good for survival.

clem55

In an age where we can buy battery operated candles or lights, I don't understand why anyone would use real candles for decoration, especially where children may be.I can get the same ambiance with the "phony" candles.

Prism99

Sorry about the typos in my post (and it's too late for me to edit). Just to be clear, it was the cotton nightgown that turned into a fireball engulfing the mannequin.

irishrose

Interesting. Our fire marshal had an article in tonight's paper warning parents away from plastic and synthetic fabrics because of the nasty burns caused when they melt. He highly recommended that decorations both indoor and out be lit with LED lights, not candles. That makes the most sense, though personally I wouldn't worry about a candle inside a moist pumpkin set on a stable surface. If a princess gown blows near a LED light it won't catch on fire as easily as a candle no matter what the dress is made from.