| A.B.C. SILK |
A dainty, opaque
fabric in plain weave |
| AAL |
A reddish colour
dyestuff |
| AATCC |
American Association
of Textile Chemists and Colorists |
| ABACA FIBRE |
See Manila hemp. |
| ABACAXI FIBRE |
pineapple fibre |
| ABASSI FIBRE |
A variety of Egyptian
cotton. |
| ABATTRE |
A French term for
types of quilted or depressed effects in fabrics |
| ABBOT |
Also called Monk's
cloth. A heavy, rough surfaced, hardwearing, loosely woven,
basket weave fabric in solid colours. |
| ABBOTSFORD |
Dress-weight fabric
with muted check design. |
| ABDIG |
A plain weave dress
fabric |
| ABERCROMBIE |
Scottish tartan
fabric woven with a blue and black ground and green and
white over-check. |
| ABERDEEN |
A yarn size numbering
system for heavy yarns of wool, jute, etc. |
| ABESTRINE |
A fabric name that
may be applied to cloth made of asbestos. |
| ABRADED YARN |
Continuous filament
yarn been subjected to abrading action |
| ABRASION |
The wearing away
of any part of a material |
| ABRASION MARK |
Fabric defect. |
| ABRASION RESISTANCE |
The degree to which
a yarn or fabric is able to withstand surface wear |
| ABRASIVE FABRICS |
A general term
for cotton fabrics used as backings for various abrasive
and polishing agents |
| ABRAWAN |
very fine grade
flowing Dacca muslin |
| ABSOLUTE HUMIDITY |
The mass of water
vapour present in a unit volume of moist air. |
| ABSORBENCY |
The propensity
of a material to take in and retain a liquid |
| ABSORBENT COTTON |
Cotton fibres from
which natural wax and fats are removed by chemical treatment |
| ABSORBENT FINISH |
A type of finishing
in which the fabric is treated chemically |
| ABSORPTION |
A process in which
one material (the absorbent) takes in or incorporates
another material (the absorbate) within itself |
| ABSORPTION FABRIC |
See Brattice cloth |
| ABSTERGENT |
A cleaning substance. |
| ACACIA |
Coarse bast fibres
taken from a genus of shrubs and trees found in warm climates. |
| ACCELERANT |
A substance such
as a swelling agent, |
| ACCELOROTOR |
A device for rapid
evaluation of abrasion resistance of textiles. |
| ACCEPTABLE QUALITY
LEVEL |
the process average
at which the risk of rejection is called the Producer's
risk. |
| ACCORDION FABRIC |
Weft-knitted fabric,
showing a figure design in two or more colours |
| ACCORDION PLEATS |
Narrow straight
pleats in a fabric usually parallel to one another |
| ACCORDION STITCH |
A term used to
describe fabrics produced on circular top (single needle
jersey) machines. |
| ACETA |
Spun acetate containing
casein |
| ACETATE |
Manufactured fibre,
in which the fibre-forming substance is cellulose acetate. |
| ACETATE ANHYDRIDE |
Anhydrous acetic
acid. |
| ACETATE DYES |
Acetate yarns and
fabrics, when developed first, required a special type
of dye since they could not be coloured with types then
known. |
| ACETATE FABRIC |
Woven and knitted
fabrics, made of acetate fibres. |
| ACETONE |
A volatile, flammable
organic liquid. |
| ACETYL |
Basic element in
acetic acid, cellulose acetate and triacetate. |
| ACETYLATED COTTON |
Cotton fibre that
has been chemically processed |
| ACETYLATION |
The process by
which an acetyl radical is introduced into an organic
molecule |
| ACEYTUNI |
A medieval name
for satin. |
| ACHROMATIC COLOURS |
Colours such as
grey, slate, white |
| ACID |
A chemical compound
which will neutralise an alkali. |
| ACID COLOURS |
fibres containing
cationic groups. |
| ACID FADING |
See Atmospheric
fading. |
| ACID MILLING COLOURS |
Dyestuffs |
| ACID RESISTANCE |
A quality which
certain fibres have more than other |
| ACME |
A variety of raw
cotton that has been grown in Mississippi. |
| ACRILAN |
A trade name for
a brand of acrylic staple and filament fibres |
| ACROMION |
Garment-related
term. |
| ACRYLIC |
Generic name of
a manufactured fibre, in which the fibre-forming substance
is any long chain synthetic polymer composed of at least
85 % by weight of recurring acrylonitrile units. |
| ACRYLIC FABRIC |
Soft, light, bulky
with woolly handle |
| ACRYLIC JERSEY |
Knitted fabric,
soft, warm, absorbent, and even warmer if the back is
brushed or fleeced. |
| ACRYLIC KNIT |
A wide variety
of fabrics made from acrylic fibre, but often containing
small percentages of other fibres |
| ACRYLIC RESIN |
A polymer of acrylonitrile. |
| ACRYLIC SHEER |
Heavy, rather stringy
open-weave vision net, for curtains |
| ACRYLIC-VINYL |
A man-made fibre |
| ACRYLONITRILE |
The raw material
for an important range of man-made fibres. |
| ACTINIC DEGRADATION |
A weakening or
deterioration of fibre |
| ACTINIC RESISTANCE |
Ability of textile
to retain strength |
| ACTUAL BREAKING
STRESS |
See under Breaking
stress. |
| AD-HOCK |
Block printing
in colours over a Jacquard design. |
| ADD-ON |
The mass of solids,
of any material, chemical finish, coating, sizing, etc.,
that is left on a given weight of fabric after impregnation
and drying. |
| ADDITION POLYMERISATION |
The formation of
a polymer by reaction of a compound or compounds without
the formation of other reaction products. |
| ADELAIDE WOOLS |
Adelaide wools
find use in high quality worsteds made from very fine,
choice fibres. |
| ADHESION |
The property denoting
the ability of a material to resist delamination or separation
into two or more layers. |
| ADHESION TEST |
A test to assess
the force required per unit width to separate layers of
coated or laminated fabrics |
| ADHESIVE-ACTIVATED
YARNS |
Yarns that have
been treated to promote improved adhesion to another material
such as rubber and/or to permit easier processing |
| ADHESIVE-BONDED
NONWOVEN FABRIC |
Textile material
composed of a web or batt of fibres, bonded by the application
of adhesive material. |
| ADJECTIVE DYES |
Colouring substances
that must be applied with a mordant |
| ADMIRALTY CLOTH |
A term used by
British naval forces for the standard British Melton used
for officers' uniforms and coats. |
| ADRAS |
An union fabric
containing silk and cotton, usually in equal quantities. |
| ADSORPTION |
A process in which
the surface of a solid takes on or absorbs in an extremely
thin layer |
| ADULTERATION |
The adulteration
of substitute fibres or foreign materials to textiles,
e.g. wool is sometimes adulterated with cotton. |
| ADVERTISING TAPE |
See Bolduc |
| AERATED YARN |
See Hollow-filament
yarn. |
| AEROPHANE |
A thin, solid-coloured,
silk gauze made in imitation of crepe |
| AEROPLANE FABRIC |
Any fabric used
as the outer covering of a 'heavier-than-air' aircraft. |
| AERTEX |
Trade name for
a brand of cotton cellular fabric. |
| AFFINITY |
See Dye affinity |
| AFGHALAINE |
Woollen dress-fabric
made in plain weave using firmly twisted yarns in alternate
'S' and 'Z' twist in both warp and weft. |
| AFRICAN COTTON |
A comprehensive
term for all the varieties of cotton cultivated in Africa. |
| AFRICAN FIBRE |
A leaf fibre obtained
from the palmetto in Algeria. |
| AFRICAN STRIPE |
A cotton fabric
with bold, coloured stripes |
| AFRICAN WASTE |
A silk produced
by the Anaphe silkworm, the most important silk manufacturing
insect in Africa. |
| AFRICAN WOOLS |
Refers mainly to
the very much sought after merino wools, from the southern
parts of Africa. |
| AFTER-CHROMING |
A dyeing process |
| AFTER-COPPERING |
A dyeing process |
| AFTER-TREATING |
A technique used
to improve colourfastness |
| AFTER-WELT |
A band on a stocking,
following the welt, in which there is a variation of quality,
stitch, and/or yarn. |
| AFTERFLAME |
Persistence of
flaming of a material |
| AFTERGLOW |
Glow in a material
after the removal of an external ignition source or after
the cessation of (natural or induced) of flaming of the
material. |
| AFTERTREATMENT |
A comprehensive
term for any treatment following actual dyeing operation |
| AGARIC |
Cotton fabric with
a loop construction, similar to towelling |
| AGEING |
Progressive change
with time in the structure and properties of polymers,
including wool fibres. |
| AGEING IN TESTING |
Storage of a material
under defined conditions, |
| AGRA GAUZE |
See Agré
gauze. |
AGRA GAUZE
AGRÉ GAUZ |
See Agré
gauzeI |
| AGRÉ GAUZE |
Also called Agra
gauze. Plain weave, open-sett, silk fabric having a gauze-like
appearance that receives a stiff finish. |
| AIR BRUSH PRINTING |
A mechanical process
by which colour is blown onto a fabric |
| AIR BRUSHING |
Process of colour
being blown on the fabric with mechanised airbrush. |
| AIR CONDITIONING |
The treatment of
air to maintain set levels of temperature, humidity and
dust or lint content. |
| AIR LAYING |
A method of forming
a web or batt of staple fibres |
| AIR PERMEABILITY |
The rate of airflow
through a material |
| AIR TEXTURING |
See Air-jet texturing. |
| AIR WICKING |
Air permeability
in the plane of the fabric |
| AIR-CONDITIONING
OF FABRIC |
See Fabric air-conditioning. |
| AIR-COOLED FINISH |
A process of finishing
fabrics |
| AIR-JET LOOM |
Loom in which the
weft is inserted with a blast of air instead of using
a shuttle. See also Shuttleless loom. |
| AIR-JET SPINNING |
Process of spinning
staple-fibres, using air to apply the twisting couple
to the yarn during its formation |
| AIR-JET TEXTURING |
See under Texturing |
| AIRLOOP FABRIC |
Warp knitted fabric,
having a construction |
| AJOUR |
Lacy, openwork
embroidery, normally cotton with viscose fibre. |
| AL |
A dye |
| ALAPAT |
A two-ply, fine
gauge yarn, spun from coir or coconut fibre |
| ALBATROSS |
A fine, lightweight,
soft material made of good quality worsted yarn. |
| ALBERT CLOTH |
Double faced, reversible
coat fabric, often with a different face and back. |
| ALCIAN |
See under Ingrain
dye |
| ALCOHOLS |
Chemical compounds
composed of one or more hydroxyl groupings attached to
a hydrocarbon. |
| ALENÇON
LACE |
Lace, usually made
in a floral design |
| ALEXANDRIA |
Fine, lightweight
dress fabric made of cotton and wool with a small woven
design |
| ALGINATE |
Fibres and filaments
formed from a metallic salt of alginic acid, the natural
polymer in certain seaweeds. |
| ALGINATE FIBRES |
Fibres and filaments
formed from a metallic salt of alginic acid, the natural
polymer in certain seaweeds. |
| ALHAMBRA QUILT |
A jacquard figured
fabric with a plain ground weave that requires two warps |
| ALIZARIN DYE |
The essential colouring
matter of the madder root |
| ALKALI |
The opposite of
acidic. |
| ALKALI CELLULOSE |
Cellulose in an
intermediate step in the manufacture of viscose process
yarn. |
| ALKALI SOLUBILITY |
The solubility
of wool in sodium hydroxide solution which provides an
index of the change in its chemical properties |
| ALKANET |
A dyestuff produced
from red cabbage (alkanna) grown in Russia |
| ALL SILK |
Same as Pure silk. |
| ALL WOOL |
100% wool |
| ALL-OVER |
A term used in
designing to indicate that the design covers the entire
surface. |
| ALL-OVER LACE |
Any piece-lace
with a pattern repeated regularly all over, without any
edgings, or borders, etc. |
| ALLEN |
A long staple,
late maturing cotton named after the man who developed
the variety. |
| ALLIGATOR |
The skin of the
reptile, characterised by its square boxy markings. |
| ALLOWANCE |
the extra dimensions
allowed over body measurements. |
| ALNEIN |
A golden-yellow
dyestuff produced by the alder tree |
| ALOE LACE |
Very fragile type
of lace, made from the fibre of the plant, aloe. |
| ALPACA |
The silky fleece
of alpaca, an animal of the genus Llama, but slightly
smaller in size, found in South America |
| ALPACA CRÊPE |
Soft, acetate or
polyester fabric with dulls surface, fairly soft to handle. |
| ALTAR CLOTH |
Also called Bisso
linen. Very fine, sheer, crisp fabric |
| ALTERNATING TWIST |
A texturing process
in which 'S' twist and 'Z' twist are alternately inserted
in the yarn |
| ALUM |
A colourless, water-soluble
crystal. |
| ALUMINIUM ACETATE |
A mordant employed
in calico printing and dyeing |
| ALUMINIUM SILICATE
FIBRES |
Fibres spun from
aluminium silicate |
| ALUMINIUM YARNS |
See Lurex |
| AMAZON |
Fine dress fabric
with a worsted warp and woollen weft, usually in satin
weave in plain colours |
| AMENS |
See Amiens |
| AMERICAN CLOTH |
Light-weight, plain-weave
fabric, usually cotton |
| AMERICAN CORD |
See Rat-tail cord. |
| AMERICAN COTTON |
A type of cotton
fibre. |
| AMERICAN GRAIN
COUNT |
A direct yarn numbering
system for expressing linear density |
| AMERICAN SYSTEM |
A method of spinning
worsted yarns |
| AMERICAN TWILL |
an ordinary two
up, two down twill weave. |
| AMIENS |
Also called Amens. |
| AMINIZED COTTON |
Cotton that has
been treated with amino-ethyl sulphuric acid. |
| AMORPHOUS REGION |
In fibre, an area
where the molecules have been unable to arrange themselves
in a regular manner |
| AMYLASE |
See under Enzymes |
| ANALOGOUS COLOURS |
Colours which are
next to each other in the colour wheel |
| ANALYTICAL BALANCE |
A device for accurately
weighing small swatches |
| ANAPHE |
See under Wild
silk |
| ANDALUSIANS |
Made from Spanish
merino wool and comparable grades |
| ANGEL LACE |
Patterned warp-knitted
fabric made with separating threads |
| ANGLE OF LEAD |
Also called Winding-on
angle |
| ANGLE OF WINDING |
The angle contained
between a wrap of yarn on the surface of a package and
the diametrical plane of the package |
| ANGLED DRAFT |
Also called Point
draw. |
| ANGLICANUM |
A general term
encompassing English needlework, embroidery and cutwork. |
| ANGOLA |
A yarn spun on
the woollen system from a mixture of wool and cotton or
other fibre. |
| ANGORA |
Fabric made from
the hair of the Angora rabbit. |
| ANIDEX FIBRE |
A manufactured
fibre |
| ANILINE BLACK |
A manufactured
fibre |
| ANILINE DYES |
Any dye derived
chemically from aniline |
| ANIMAL FIBRES |
Any natural protein-base
fibre |
| ANIMALIZING |
Any natural protein-base
fibre |
| ANIONIC DYE |
A dye that dissociates
in aqueous solution to give a negatively charged coloured
ion |
| ANISOTROPIC |
The possession
of optical properties in a material that vary |
| ANKLE |
Garment-related
term. |
| ANKLE GIRTH |
Garment-related
term. |
| ANORAK |
A lined and hooded
hip-length jacket |
| ANTHRAQUINONOID
DYE |
See under Vat dyes. |
| ANTI-FUME FINISH |
A finish, especially
applied to acetate fabrics and yarns which raises their
resistance |
| ANTI-LADDER BAND |
See After-welt. |
| ANTI-MICROBIAL
AGENT |
Any chemical material
which kills or inhibits the growth of microorganisms. |
| ANTI-RUN-BACK COURSES |
See After-welt |
| ANTI-SAG |
Applicable to a
fabric that, under normal conditions, will not stretch
out of shape. |
| ANTI-SEPTICS |
Chemical substances
used to prevent bacterial or fungal growth on cotton fabrics. |
| ANTIBACTERIAL AGENT |
Any chemical material
which kills bacteria (bactericide) |
| ANTICHLOR |
Any chemical agent
used to inactivate residual chlorine in goods |
| ANTICOCKLE TREATMENT |
A mild setting
treatment imparted to wool knitwear usually by heating
the textile material in the presence of an aqueous solution
of a reducing agent. |
| ANTICREASE FINISH |
Synthetic resin
treatment of cotton, rayon, linen and combination fabrics, |
| ANTIFOAM |
A substance that
prevents foam generation or causes its collapse. |
| ANTIFUNGAL AGENT |
Any chemical material
which kills or inhibits the growth of fungi. |
| ANTIQUE LACE |
Hand-made bobbin
lace |
| ANTIQUE SATIN |
A satin-weave fabric |
| ANTIQUE TAFFETA |
A heavy and stiff
finished fabric |
| ANTISTATIC AGENT |
A chemical which
can prevent or reduce the generation of static electricity. |
| ANTISTATIC FINISH |
A finish used on
fibres to give them antistat properties |
| ANTISTATIC NYLON |
Nylon fibre with
antistatic properties permanently built into it by the
chemical modification of the polymer |
| ANTISTATIC TRICOT |
Fine synthetic
jersey fabric for lingerie and nightwear. |
| ANTWERP POT LACE |
Bobbin lace |
| APPAREL |
A covering for
human body; clothing, dress, garments |
| APPAREL WOOL |
A broad term, which
embraces all wools, except carpet wool and pulled wools |
| APPARENT WALL THICKNESS |
The apparent width
of a fibre wall |
| APPEARANCE |
See under Fibre
properties |
| APPEARANCE OF CREASES |
See Crease retention,
2. |
| APPEARANCE OF END
PRODUCTS |
The overall visual
impression of a textile end-product |
| APPEARANCE RATING |
A visual rating
of a fabric |
| APPENZELL |
Swiss hand embroidery,
featuring loopstitch |
| APPLICATION PRINTING |
See Direct style
printing. |
| APPLIED DESIGN |
See under Design. |
| APPLIQUÉ |
A cutout design
or shape attached to the face of a fabric for decoration |
| APPLIQUÉ
LACE |
Any fabric where
separate lace motifs are applied to a background. |
| APRON CHECKS |
A cotton gingham |
| APRON MARK |
See Decating mark. |
| AQL |
See Acceptable
Quality Level |
| AQUA |
Aqueous pigment
printing system |
| ARABESQUE |
Scroll designs
produced by stitching or with cord. |
| ARABIAN LACE |
Écru-coloured
piece-lace |
| ARAMID |
A manufactured
fibre |
| ARAMID FABRICS |
A manufactured
fibre |
| ARAN |
Fancy openwork
knit |
| AREA BURNING RATE |
Area of material
(m2) burned per unit time (seconds) |
| ARGENTINE WOOL |
Merino crossbred
and carpet wools raised in Argentina. |
| ARGYLE |
Knitted fabric
having diamond-shaped designs |
| ARM |
In sewing machine,
a casting that houses and provides mounting points for
the moving parts inside |
| ARMENIAN EDGING |
Narrow lace trimming |
| ARMHOLE |
Garment-related
term. |
| ARMISTICE CLOTH |
An obsolete, English
worsted fabric |
| ARMLENGTH |
Garment-related
term |
| ARMORED FABRICS |
A broad classification
of glass, asbestos, cotton, rayon and other fabrics |
| ARMPIT |
Garment-related
term |
| ARMSCYE |
Garment-related
term. |
| ARMSCYE CIRCUMFERENCE |
Garment-related
term. |
| ARMURÉ |
French term for
a variety of fabrics which have an embossed or pebbled
surface |
| ARRAS |
FRENCH LACE. |
| ARROWHEAD TWILL |
A British term
for Herringbone. |
| ART LINEN |
Linen fabric made
with a cylindrical thread |
| ART SILK |
See Artificial
silk. |
| ARTIFICIAL COTTONS |
Also called Art
silk |
| ARTIFICIAL SILK |
Also called Art
silk |
| ARTILLERY TWILL |
See Whipcord. |
| ARTIST'S CANVAS |
Fabric made of
cotton, linen, jute, or hemp |
| AS-IS' TWIST |
See Final twist |
| ASBESTOS FABRIC |
Made from asbestos
fibre |
| ASBESTOS FIBRE |
Commercial name
for the mineral fibre produced from a naturally occurring
mineral of fibrous texture called 'asbestos'. |
| ASKEWED |
Fabric defect |
| ASPECT RATIO |
the degree of flattening
of a yarn |
| ASSAM SILK |
See Muga silk |
| ASSEMBLY WINDING |
The winding of
two or more yarns as one on to a single package |
| ASSESSMENT OF GARMENT
DEFECTS |
See under Garment
defects. |
| ASSORTMENT OF GARMENT
DEFECTS |
See under Garment
defects |
| ASTRAKHAN FABRIC |
A curled-pile fabric,
synthetic or wool, made to imitate Astrakhan fur. |
| ASTRAKHAN FUR |
Made from the fur
of stillborn or very young lambs in the Astrakhan area |
| ATLAS |
Satin weave, rich
fabric made from silk or man-made fibres |
| ATMOSPHERIC FADING |
Also called Acid
fading, Fume fading, and Gas fading. |
| ATTACHED CUSHION |
A cushioning material,
such as a foam of rubber, urethane, etc., is adhered to
the backing fabric side of a pile yarn floor covering |
| ATTACHED UPHOLSTERY
FABRIC |
The exterior fabric
covering, secured to a furniture unit |
| AUSTRALIAN MERINO |
A very high grade,
distinctive breed developed from several different strains. |
| AUTOMATIC LOCK
SLIDER |
In zippers, a slider |
| AUTOMATIC LOOM |
A loom in which
empty quills are replaced by full ones automatically |
| AUTOMATIC SCREEN
PRINTING |
See Flat bed screen-printing
under Screen-printing. |
| AWASAI |
An ideal carpet-wool
from Mesopotamia. |
| AXMINSTER |
A machine-woven
carpet, with cut pile, in which successive weft-wise rows
of pile are inserted during weaving in a pre- arranged
colour sequence. |
| AZLIN |
A plain weave fabric
in cotton, |
| AZLON |
A manufactured
fibre |
| AZOIC DYEING |
A process of dyeing |
| AZOIC DYES |
Also called Ice
colours, Naphthol colours |
| AZORES |
Thick longhaired,
loosely woven woollens. |
| AZOTON |
A cyanoethylated
cotton product |
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