Rayon and aralac fabric sample, Carter Fabrics Corporation
date: label: Date made
content: c 1943
name: label: maker
content: Carter Fabrics Corporation
notes: label: Description
content: Scientists began looking for a manufactured fiber to compete with wool in the 19th century. The first useful fiber was introduced by Snia Viscosa at the 1939 World Fair in New York. The fiber was known as Lanital, and was made from the casein milk. While the Italians were working on Lantial, American chemists at National Dairy Corporation and the United States Department of Agriculture, were working on a similar fiber. The American version was known as Aralac, and was produced by Atlanta Research Associates, a Division of National Diary Corporation. Aralac and Lanital were not inteded to be cheap replacements for wool, rather they were to be high fashion fibers in competition with wool. During WWII there was little wool fabric available for the civilian population, so Aralac was blended with rayon and actate and used in its place. Although the fabric performed well, it strength and abrasion resisteance were low. The production of Aralac stopped in 1948, as National Dairy found other more lucrative uses for casein. These fabrics was made in 1943, of yarns containing Aralac, rayon, and acetate. The large cluster on the left is undyed Aralac fiber.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
setName: label: See more items in
content: Home and Community Life: Textiles
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of J. P. Stevens & Co. Inc.
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: TE.T8893
label: catalog number
content: T8893
label: catalog number
content: T (/) 8893
objectType: label: Object Name
content: Fabric, Printed
label: Object Name
content: fabric length
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: wool (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 35 in x 35 3/4 in; 88.9 cm x 90.805 cm