Microscopical procedures for the evaluation of cotton textiles are important to the textile industry in evaluating mixed fiber blends, dyes and chemical finishes on fabrics. A new procedure for embedding cellulosic textiles has been developed for FT-IR microscopy whereby fibers are embedded in polystyrene. This polymer does not absorb in the same regions of the infrared spectrum as cellulose or traditional acrylate and epoxy resins that contain chemical groups in common with cellulose. Additionally, use of cross-sections mounted on a KBr disk (Fig. 1) has the advantage of better resolution (Fig. 2B) than grinding and pressing fibers in a KBr disk (Fig. 2A).

A new process for the evaluation of yarns has been developed. Approximately 2000 fibers before spinning, 50 yarn segments after spinning, or yarns removed from fabric after processing, can be encased in a tube, embedded in methacrylate plastic, quickly UV polymerized, and sectioned.