Cupro is a regenerated cellulose fiber, made from cotton linter, the short fuzz left clinging to the cottonseed after the longer fibers have been combed away for spinning. Bemberg Cupro is a luxury regenerated cellulose fiber made from recycled cotton waste. That linter is otherwise a byproduct with little use of its own. Dissolved and re-spun into a continuous filament, it becomes a cupro material with a silk-like fall and a cool, smooth hand, and without an animal or synthetic origin.

How is cupro made?

Because it starts as cellulose rather than a synthetic polymer, cupro is biodegradable. It sits in the same family as viscose - characterized by fibers made by dissolving and regenerating cellulose, though each uses a different process and solvent. Cellulose based artificial fibres are grouped after how they dissolve into spinnable material, Viscose-method (Viscose and modal), Cuprammonium-method (Cupro) and acetat-method (Acetat, tri-acetat). First the cupro filaments are soaked in a chemical solution containing copper and ammonia. Then the solution is forced through a spinneret and stretched into yarn. This method is called wet spinning.

Source: Textilelearner.net

Cupro versus viscose

Cupro and viscose are both regenerated cellulose fibres, dissolved from cellulose and re-spun into filament, so they can feel similar to the hand. What separates them is the solvent. Viscose is dissolved in carbon disulfide and caustic soda. Cupro is dissolved in a copper and ammonia solution instead, the cuprammonium method described above. Cupro tends to finish smoother and closer to silk, while viscose can vary more depending on how it's finished.

Why it's used for lining

Cupro drapes closely against the body without clinging, and it breathes in a way that most synthetic linings don't, which is exactly what a lining needs to do: sit smooth and cool against the skin without adding bulk to the garment it's inside. It's also naturally smooth enough that a lined sleeve or bodice slides on easily, a small but real difference in how a finished piece actually feels to wear. Cupro lining has a shiny smooth surface which makes it easy to slide garments on and off, as well as regulating the body temperature. When woven a satin weave pattern is used to give it the smooth surface.

How to care for it

Cupro handles heat and friction less well than more resilient fibers, so it's generally dry cleaned rather than machine washed, and ironed on a low setting (maximum two dots). Treated gently, it holds its drape and sheen well over time.

Where it fits at Color Vision

The Babe Wool Bouclé Jacket is lined in Bemberg cupro by Manifattura Pezzeti, soft and antistatic against the skin, beneath the structure of the wool bouclé shell.

Sources: Yrkeslitteratur, 1995: Materialkunnskap, Textilelearner.net

Written by Iben Bergstrøm, founder and third generation textile expert
Iben Bergstrøm is the founder of Color Vision and a third generation textile expert. Her great grandmother was a dressmaker, her grandfather a textile engineer, her mother a textile artist. She writes from that inheritance, on fabric, craft, and the quiet knowledge passed down through three generations of hands.