Fabrics come in all shapes, sizes, textures and properties. Fabrics can be natural, man-made or synthetic. One such fabric is viscose. The other name for viscose is rayon. Viscose is a half-synthetic fibre, which is made from cellulose- an important component in plants. Viscose and polyester both are formed in smooth and slender filament fibres.
Most people mistaken viscose lycra and polyester to be similar fibres. However, there are considerable differences between the two. Even though both polyester and viscose are made from elongated fibres, polyester is a synthetic fibre. In contrast, viscose is half-natural, and half synthetic, i.e. chemicals are used in the natural fibres to make this fabric. We list below the differences between Viscose and Polyester.
1) Viscose is a great sweat absorbent- Very small spaces are found in each viscose fibre. Polyester which is oil-based repels water whereas viscose which is cellulose-based has a case affinity with water and allows it to seep through its tiny pores. It, therefore, absorbs water easily. This property of viscose lycra fabric makes it a highly breathable fabric and best for summer wears. Viscose offers comfort to the wearer by absorbing the sweat and heat from your skin, leaving you cool, relaxed and dry. This property of viscose makes it a suitable fabric for undergarments. When you wear an undershirt or vest made of viscose, your shirt is prevented from having sweat marks. This is because viscose absorbs sweat. It also does not retain odours, whereas the foul-smelling microbe problem plagues polyester. This is based on the assumption that viscose does not allow microbes to grow on its surface as all the water is locked away within the fibre. On the other hand, polyester retains droplets on its surface, which makes it a happy ground for the microbes to breed. However, when viscose retains too much water and sweat, it brings its share of the problem too. The high water content in the fabric makes it clammy and needs more time to dry after washing. Polyester, on the other hand, dries faster and does not wrinkle easily, unlike viscose, which is wrinkled too fast.
2) Polyester is stronger than viscose, and the fabric does not shrink. The stubborn nature of polyester resists abrasion, whereas viscose is susceptible to easy wear and tear.
3) Viscose fabric is cheaper than polyester and is used in a wide range of products. However, it is not as strong as polyester.
4) Viscose is easier to dry than polyester. To dye polyester, you need very expensive dyes.
5) Polyester resists mildew whereas viscose does not. This is because viscose is made from wood pulp.
6) Viscose suffers high pilling and may need to be dry cleaned. Polyester, on the other hand, can resist pilling and abrasion. Viscose and polyester both have high lustre but viscose undergoes delustering to diminish the lustre. Viscose is used mainly in making undergarments and outer attires whereas polyester is used widely in party wear clothes, performance wear ad has multiple uses.
We hope the above differences will help you differentiate between both the fabrics easily.