[Dallum]

Hey everyone,
I am completely new here and have a general chemistry question.  I have a sample of fabric here, and I need to determine whether or not the yarn has copper added to it.  I wanted to know how I could test for that.  I'd be happy to conclude that it does or doesn't contain copper, but if there was a way to determine the amount relative to the yarn, that would be even better. 
Thanks.

[Stepan]

Almost any chemical laboratory can do the test. Try Yellow Pages, look for Laboratories or Environmental Laboratories. It is very inexpensive. If you do not find a lab, send it to me.

[Dallum]

True.  But I was kind of looking forward to trying it out myself.  I remember labs in college where we had to test for the presence of materials, but I honestly don't remember much. 

[Stepan]

OK, this is a different story. Without lab equipment the best you can do would be a qualitative test with sensitivity of approximately 0.1%.  In dollar store buy stainless steel cup. Put yarn in the cup (not more than 10% of dish volume). Take it outside. Carefully burn it with propane torch. Keep burning until all ash turns from black into grey. Cool it down. If there is no ash, or the ash is white - there is no copper. If color is not white, transfer the ash into glass jar and add enough water to soak all ash, mix it well. Add acid, if you do not have acids, add strong vinegar. Add a drop in a time. Each drop will cause reaction, you will see bubbling. When the next droplet does not cause any bubbling, you are done. Let the remaining ash settle. If the supernatant is blue you likely have copper.  Good luck