A population study of textile fibres on the seats at three public venues

A population study was carried out by collecting textile fibres present on the seats in a church, a cinema and a conference centre in Linköping, Sweden. The collection was carried out in such a way as to avoid inadvertent fibre collectives and to enable comparison of the frequency data between venues. In total 4220 fibres were examined and details of their characteristics were recorded and entered into a searchable database. Only coloured fibres over 0.5 mm in length were included in the study. 70% of the fibres were classified as cotton, 18% were man-made, 8% wool, 3% other plant and 2% other animal. Polyester and regenerated cellulose were the most abundant man-made fibres. The most frequently occurring combinations were blue and grey/black cotton, making up approximately 50% of all fibres. All other combinations were made up of less than 8% of the fibres, with red cotton being the next most prevalent. The results regarding the most frequently occurring fibre types, colours and colour/fibre type combinations are comparable to those of other population studies that have been carried out in different countries over the last 20–30 years. Additional observations regarding the frequency occurrence of certain characteristics are presented, such as differences in thickness, cross-sectional shape and presence of pigment or delustrant for the man-made fibre types. •Textile fibre population study carried out in Sweden.•Database containing the details of over 4000 fibres.•Comparison with other fibre population studies.•How a fibre database can be applied in casework.