Many of you have asked us to put together a
glossary of words and terminology used in the apparel industry. Hopefully, the
following will help you better understand the descriptions on our site.
ACRYLIC:
A manufactured fiber (synthetic) originally used as a low cost substitute for
wool. Provides warmth in lightweight fabrics, drys quickly and may be heat set
for wrinkle resistance.
ALPACA:
A fine fiber from goats raised in the Andes Mountains. Can be used alone or
combined with wool for suits, coats, sweaters and linings.
ANGORA:
Fine hair from Angora goats or rabbits. Lightweight and warm, usually blended
with wool to decrease the price and obtain novelty effects.
ARGYLE:
A knitted design in the form of diamond shapes.
BASKET
WEAVE: A variation of a plain weave in which two or more warp and filling
threads are woven side by side (to resemble a basket).
BATIK: A
dyeing process in which portions of the fabric are coated with wax, and only the
uncovered areas take the dye. Several colors can be used on the same garment.
BOUCLE:
French for “ringlet”, usually novelty yarns that give a loopy or curly
appearance to the face of the cloth when knit. Mostly used in sweaters and
coats.
BROADCLOTH:
Originally a silk shirting fabric, and named “broad” cloth because it was
woven in widths in excess of the usual 29 inches. Now associated with tightly
woven cotton or poly/cotton fabric in a plain weave with a crosswise rib.
Resembles poplin.
BRUSHED:
A finishing process in which rotating brushes raise the nap on the face of knit
or woven fabrics.
CABLE:
A
thread, yarn or pattern constructed by twisting together two or more plied
yarns. Each successive twist is in the direction opposite to the preceding
twist.
CAMEL
HAIR: It comes from camels…DUH. Wool like in texture and the underhair is very
soft and lustrous.
CANVAS:
A compact, firm, heavy, plain weave fabric with a weight of anywhere from 6 to
50 ounces per square yard. Used in shirtings, bottoms and outerwear.
CARDED:
Cotton or yarn which has not been combed, usually not as strong as combed
cotton. Considerably cheaper than combed yarns.
CASHMERE:
Luxury fiber from goats raised in the mountains of India, China & Iraq.
Usually
blended with other wool.
CHAMBRAY:
A plain-weave cotton fabric with colored warp (usually blue) and white filling.
Lightweight fabric used for shirts and bottoms, heavier chambray used for work
clothing.
CHENILLE:
A fuzzy or puffy yarn with pile protruding from all sides. Made from all soft
fibers.
CHINTZ:
A glazed cotton fabric giving off a “shine”. If a durable glaze is not used,
it could wash out in laundering and lose it’s shine.
COMBING:
A step in processing cottons and worsteds which straighten the fibers and
extract short fibers and any foreign matter and nubs. Combing produces a
stronger, more even and compact and a smoother yarn/fabric.
CORDUROY:
A fabric with ridges of pile (cords) running lengthwise. Cords are measured by
“wales”. The higher the wale number, the thinner the cord.
COTTON:
A soft natural fiber obtained from the seed or pod of the cotton plant.
CREPE: A
lightweight fabric characterized by a crinkling surface obtained by the hard
twisting of fill yarns or chemical treatments.
CROSS
DYEING: A method of dyeing fabrics to two or more shades by using unlike dyes
for different fibers.
DENIM: A
firm, twill weave cotton fabric. Mostly used for jeans and jackets. An all
cotton fabric, but sometimes made with a lycra blend (2 – 4 %) for a stretch
feature.
DOBBY:
A
mechanical attachment on a loom that allows the weaving of small, geometric
figures.
DOUBLE
KNIT: A circular knit fabric with loops on the front and back. Produced on two
sets of needles, it is actually two fabrics interlocked into one.
FAILLE:
(pronounced file) A soft, slightly glossy woven fabric made of silk, rayon,
cotton, wool, man-made, or a combination of these fibers with a light crossgrain
rib.
FLAT
KNIT: A fabric made on a flat-bed knitting machine which permits full fashioning
as well as the knitting of cables. Also refers to a texture as opposed to a
ribbed-knit.
FUSING:
The melting or bonding of units together by heat.
GUAGE:
Sometimes referred to as “cut”, it’s the number of stitches per ½ inch in
full fashioned sweater machines, and the number of needles per inch in other
machines
HAND:
The feel of the garment or fabric to the touch.
HEATHER:
Yarn that is spun together using pre-colored (different colored) fibers, which
are blended to give the desired effect.
HOPSACK:
A coarse, open weave fabric which get is name from the plain weave fabric used
for sacking in which hops were gathered.
INTARSIA:
A design or motif in color that gives the appearance of being inlaid in the
fabric.
JACQUARD:
A type of knitting that can produce all-over designs of color and texture in
fabric.
JERSEY:
A circular or flat knit fabric made with a plain, simple stitch, characterized
by excellent drape and wrinkle recovery.
KNITTING:
A method of constructing fabric by interlocking a series of loops of one or more
yarns.
LINEN:
Fibers derived from the stem of the flax plant. Stronger and more lustrous than
cotton. The oldest textile fiber known in the vegetable group.
MARL: A
multi colored yarn formed by twisting together two or more yarns to form a
single yarn. They may be different in color, texture or both.
MERCERIZED:
A treatment of cotton yarn or fabric to increase its luster. The material is
immersed under tension in a cold solution, and later neutralized in acid. The
process causes permanent “swelling” of the fiber and thus, increases the
luster.
MERINO:
One of the highest and finest grades of wool from pure-bred Merino sheep.
MOHAIR:
Luxury fiber from Angora goat hair.
NAPPING:
The finishing process that raises the surface fibers of fabric, often to give a
softer or downy “hand” and appearance.
PIECE
DYEING: The dyeing of fabrics in fabric form after weaving or knitting as
opposed to dyeing the yarn.
PILLING:
The tendency of fibers or fabric to accumulate or “ball up” on the surface.
The degree of pilling will depend on the type of yarn or fabric, the structure
and finish.
PLY: Two
or more yarns twisted together to form a single yarn. Single ply is one yarn,
two-ply is two yarns, and so on and so on.
PRINTING:
A process producing a pattern on yarns or fabric by treating rather than by
weaving. There are many kinds of printing. Screen printing which is like a
stencil. Roller printing is where fabric passes between a roller and a pad.
Pigment printing is the use of pigments instead of dyes. The pigments are
attached to the surface of the fabric but do not penetrate the fiber as in
dyeing.
RAYON: A
manufactured fiber from wood pulp. May be used on its own or with other fibers
to enhance the luster or durability.
SEERSUCKER:
Lightweight cotton, nylon or rayon fabric with crinkled stripes made by weaving
some of the warp threads loose and others tight.
SILK:
A
fine, strong fiber produced by the larva of silk worms and silk moths. Noted for
its strength and resiliency and takes color very well.
SPACE
DYED: Yarn dyed in single or multi color spaces along a given length in either a
repeat or random pattern.
SHETLAND:
A coarse wool from sheep raised in the Shetland Isles.
TWILL:
A
basic weave characterized by diagonal lines in the warp direction.
VICUNA:
The best of all luxury fibers, the Vicuna (that’s an animal) lives mostly
above the clouds in certain plateaus of South America. The fiber is so fine, it
is half the diameter of the finest wool.
WALE: In
knit fabrics, a column of loops lying lengthwise in the fabric. The number of
wales per inch is a measure of the fineness of the fabric.
WARP:
The set of yarn in all woven fabrics that are formed into stitches lengthwise
and are interwoven with the filling.
WEFT: As
above, but formed into stitches width-wise.
WICKING:
The process of spreading or dispersing of moisture through a given area. Now
used mostly in outerwear, activewear and golf shirts to disperse or “wick
away” perspiration.
WORSTED:
A general term given to fabrics and yarns from combed wool. Worsted fabric is
made from worsted yarns and is tightly woven with a smooth or hard surface.
Gabardine and serge are examples of worsted fabrics.
WOVEN: A
fabric composed of two sets of yarns and formed by weaving, which is the
interlacing of these sets. By using various combinations of the three basic
weaves (plain, twill and satin), it is possible to produce an almost unlimited
variety of constructions.
These definitions provided by The Daube Co.,
Buffalo Grove, Il.