what is viscose fabric?

[ALLEYCAT]

I am looking for a shawl for my mother to take with her to the hosp for treatments. Will this be warm? It says it cools the skin, is that a typo? How well does it hold up, would it work for a ring sling? It is so beautiful, I want to find someething to use it for.
http://cgi.msn.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=3007&item=6730111562

Or is this better?
http://cgi.msn.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=3007&item=6722989911

[alkagift]

Viscose is essentially rayon. It's absorbent and lightweight, but very delicate and would not, in my opinion, be good as sling material due to it's inability to be durable. It would also stretch in ways that may not be great as a sling either. It likely would not be warm. I would pass on viscose. It is what my mother calls "Depression Era" fabric. If it were a viscose/poly blend it would be more durable, but viscose is usually used to give a fabric smoothness, not durability.

The other link you show is cashmere, although I have no idea about the quality--the pic shows frayed edges, so maybe not great? It would be definitely warmer, though!

Allison
Mommy to Matthew Clayton, 5/19/03

[psophia17]

If you can find something in silk, that should fit the bill perfectly. Silk is strong and it's warm (LLBean sells silk long johns, and NASA sends the astronauts into orbit with silk-lined suits). I've even run a silk scarf though the laundry (oops!) and it turned out just fine.

HTH!