| O.D. |
See Olive drab. |
| OAKLEAF BRAID |
A jacquard woven
narrow fabric having a conventional oakleaf and acron
design contained within the border |
| OATMEAL |
An old fashioned
term which used to describe any fabric, usually wool |
| OATMEAL CRÊPE |
A weave that creates
a rough irregular surface effect by a random arrangement
of binding points. |
| OATS |
An early maturing
variety of American cotton with staple approximately 1.91
to 2.54 cm long. |
| OBA |
See Optical brightening
agent. |
| OBJECTS |
Lace having ornamental
devices (such as flowers) appearing regularly in various
parts of a piece of lace. |
| OCELOT |
A very hardwearing,
fairly coarse textured thin fur. |
| OE YARN |
An abbreviation
for open-end spun yarn. |
| OFF-CLIP |
See Scalloped selvage |
| OFF-GRAIN |
A general term
used to describe fabrics in which the warp and weft, although
straight, are not at right angles to each other. |
| OFF-PRESSING |
The final pressing
operations on a garment after assembly. |
| OFF-REGISTER |
Also called Out-of-fit,
Out-of register. Printing defect. |
| OFF-SHADE |
An expression referring
to the fact that the colour of the dyed textile material
does not match the standard colour or referred sample. |
| OFF-SQUARE |
A fabric with a
nominal square count (same number of picks as ends per
inch) but not actually square. |
| OFFSET TWILL WEAVE |
Same as Braided
twill weave. |
| OI |
See Oxygen index. |
| OIL REPELLENCY |
The characteristic
of a fibre, yarn or fabric whereby it resists wetting
by oily liquids. |
| OIL SPOT |
See Blotch. |
| OIL STAINS |
Fabric defect. |
| OIL-COMBING |
The adding of a
small quantity of oil emulsion in the process of combing
worsted tops. |
| OILCLOTH |
One of the early
waterproof fabrics. |
| OILED SILK |
A very old waterproof
fabric which was used for rainwear and as waterproof covers
for dressing wounds. |
| OILED VISCOSE |
Viscose fabrics
made impervious to water. |
| OILED WOOL |
Unscoured or undyed
knitting wool or wool dyed before spinning and containing
added oil not subsequently removed. |
| OILSKIN |
Fabric of practically
any natural or synthetic fibre that has been treated with
linseed oil varnish. |
| OLEFIN FIBRE |
See Polyolefin. |
| OLEOPHILIC |
Tendency to absorb
and retain only oily materials. |
| OLEOPHOBIC |
Tendency to repel
only oily materials. |
| OLIGOMER |
A simple polymer
containing a small number of repeating units. |
| OLIVE DRAB |
Woollen cloth dyed
in a greenish yellow colour with low saturation and brilliance. |
| OMBRÉ |
Name derived from
the French word for 'shaded'. |
| OMBRÉ PRINT |
Prints produced
by a method called rainbowing. |
| ON THE DOUBLE |
See Double, on
the |
| ON-CALL COTTON |
Raw-cotton purchased
under a procedure whereby the price relative to the 'futures'
price is agreed between buyer and seller, but the actual
futures price is left to be fixed within a stipulated
period |
| ONDÉ |
A French word meaning
waved, used in relation to textile fabrics to describe
a wave effect produced by calendering or weaving |
| ONDINE |
A thick, cord Bengaline
in which every cord is crinkled. |
| ONDULÉ |
Similar in appearance
to 'Ombré' and also of French derivation, but the
cloth is woven in wavy stripes |
| ONE-BY-ONE PURL
FABRIC |
See under Purl
fabric. |
| ONE-FACE FABRIC |
A cloth of which
only one side is suitable for the face or right side. |
| ONE-SIDED TERRY |
A terry cloth woven
with loop pile on one side only. |
| ONE-WAY FABRIC |
Fabrics wherein
a fibrous surface, be it nap or pile, is directional,
there is a distinct difference in colour effect according
to the direction in which light impinges on the surface
fibres. |
| ONION CLOTH |
A strong bagging
material with a large mesh, actually a netting, often
a leno. |
| ONIUM DYE |
Small range of
dyes, mostly used on cotton. |
| OOZE |
Loose fibres, which
project from the surface of yarn. |
| OP ART |
See Optical art. |
| OPEN BOIL |
Scouring of cellulosic
textiles with alkaline liquors in open vessels at or near
the boiling points. |
| OPEN DENT |
Fabric defect |
| OPEN LAP |
In warp knitting,
a lapping movement in which the underlap is non-existent
or is made in the same direction as the preceding overlap. |
| OPEN LOOP |
In warp knitting
a loop open at the base, i.e. a lapping movement in which
the underlap is non-existent or is made in the same direction
as the preceding overlap. |
| OPEN PLACE |
See Crack mark. |
| OPEN REED |
Fabric defect.
Resulting from a bent reed wire causing the warp ends
to be held apart exposing the weft yarn |
| OPEN SHEDDING |
A method of forming
a shed I |
| OPEN SOAPER |
A machine consisting
of a number of compartments, each having rollers and/or
nips, which is used for continuous wet treatment of textiles
in open width. |
| OPEN WIDTH WASHER |
A machine for washing
fabrics in open width continuously or in batch form. |
| OPEN-END SPINNING |
Also called Break
spinning. The formation of yarn by separating the single
fibres, which are then rotated and joined to the 'open-end'
of the twisted yarn, which also rotates. Since there is
a 'break' in the system any twist inserted is true twist. |
| OPEN-FACE FABRIC |
A face or shell
fabric constructed with specifically designed open areas |
| OPEN-WIDTH PROCESSING |
The treatment of
fabric at its full width in the unfolded state in contrast
to rope-form processing. |
| OPENING |
The process of
separating fibres from each other in the preparatory stages
of spinning. |
| OPENNESS |
The provision for
leg stance in the angle of the leg seams. |
| OPTICAL ART |
Also called Op
art. |
| OPTICAL BRIGHTENING
AGENT |
See Fluorescent
whitening agent. |
| OPTICAL DYE |
See Fluorescent
dye |
| OPTIMUM TWIST |
Spun yarns that
have the amount of twist that gives the maximum tensile
strength |
| ORDINARY HONEYCOMB |
See under Honeycomb. |
| ORDINARY LAY |
A laid rope (see
Lay - 2) in which the direction of twist in the roping
yarn and the finished rope are the same |
| ORDINARY TWILL |
See Common twill |
| ORDINARY TWIST |
Same as 'Z' twist. |
| ORGANDIE |
The sheerest cotton
fabric made of fine 100 % cotton yarn. |
| ORGANZA |
Similar in appearance
to Organdie. Lightweight, plain weave, sheer fabric made
originally from fine silk yarns but now also made in man-made
synthetic fibre yarns. |
| ORGANZINE YARN |
Two or more raw
silk yarns twisted in the opposite direction from the
single yarn of which it is made. |
| ORIENTAL CARPETS |
A group of handmade
carpets produced in the Orient, especially in Asia, notably,
Persia (Iran), Asiatic Turkey, Bokhara, Afghanistan and
China. |
| ORIENTATION |
A combing or attenuating
action on fibre assemblies |
| ORIFICE |
A tiny, single
hole in a spinneret. |
| ORIGINAL TWIST |
The twist in a
single or plied yarn component of a plied or cabled yarn |
| ORLON |
Trade name for
one of the first acrylic fibres. |
| ORTHOPAEDIC AND
SURGICAL FELT |
A white soft low
density, highly resilient felt. |
| OSNABURG |
A traditional coarse
cotton fabric, woven with uneven yarns and often incorporating
cotton waste. |
| OSSEIN FILAMENTS |
An experimental
synthetic fibre obtained from ossein, the chief organic
basis of bone tissue which remains as residue after removal
of the material that matters. |
| OTTOMAN |
Heavy fabric with
broad, flat crosswise ribs of even size, but some have
small ribs. |
| OUT-OF-FIT |
See Off-register |
| OUT-OF-REGISTER |
See Off-register. |
| OUTING FLANNEL |
a soft, lightweight,
plain or twill weave fabric usually napped on both sides. |
| OUTLINE EMBROIDERY |
Needlework in which
the design is outlined in colour but not filled in. |
| OUTSIDE SEAM |
A seam formed in
which the completed seam allowance is located on the exterior
of the object, usually on the face side of the fabric. |
| OUTSIDE-LEG LENGTH |
Garment-related
term. |
| OVEDRPLAID |
A plaid pattern
with one plaid woven over another of the same or different
size. |
| OVEN |
A heat chamber
in which textile fabrics or garments are cured or baked. |
| OVEN-DRY WEIGHT |
The weight of a
textile material determined after drying |
| OVER WAXING |
The operation of
waxing a yarn after sizing. |
| OVER-END WITHDRAWAL |
The unwinding of
yarn from a package |
| OVER-RAISED |
Fabric defect. |
| OVERALL |
Workwear usually
designed to be worn over every day clothes |
| OVERALL CLEANING |
In upholstered
furniture, the application of an appropriate cleaning
agent to the entire fabric covering |
| OVERCAST STITCH |
A slating stitch
used around cut edges or open parts to prevent ravelling |
| OVERCHAIN |
See Overlock. |
| OVERCHECK |
A pattern in which
one check is superimposed upon another of different size
or colour. |
| OVERCOATING |
Any fabric used
for overcoats. |
| OVERCUT |
A synthetic staple
fibre having a longer than normal length; the length is
generally a multiple of 2,3 or more times the normal length. |
| OVEREDGE |
There are many
types of overedge stitches, with varying numbers of needle
threads, looper threads and covering threads. |
| OVEREDGING |
The use of an overedge
stitch either by hand or machine to bind an edge so as
to avoid fraying. |
| OVERFEED FABRIC |
A warp-knitted
fabric in which, generally, one warp is fed faster than
would be required to form normally shaped loops. |
| OVERHAND |
A way of examining
textile materials by viewing horizontally at eye-level. |
| OVERLAP |
In warp-knitting,
lateral movement of the guide bars on the beard or hook
side of the needles. |
| OVERLAPS |
Bands of yarn found
at the ends of a yarn cone or cheese caused by faulty
winding. |
| OVERLENGTH STAPLE
FIBRES |
Man-made staple
fibres that are at least 10 % longer than the nominal
or average cut length. |
| OVERLOCK |
Stitches used to
bind edges of fabric to prevent them fraying. |
| OVERLOCK SEAM |
A seam in which
two or more edges of fabric are joined together, oversewn
and edge-trimmed in one operation |
| OVERLOCKING |
See Overedging. |
| OVERNIT |
See Double Piqué |
| OVERPICK LOOM |
A loom on which
the picking stick is above the level of the shuttle box. |
| OVERPRINT |
A print applied
on top of a coloured, piece dyed fabric. |
| OVERSHOT |
See Float |
| OVERSPRAYING |
The spraying of
staple fibres with a lubricant during blending. |
| OVERSPUN |
A defective yarn
that is very irregular because it has been drawn, to too
high a count for its quality |
| OVERWIDTH |
Fabric defect. |
| OXFORD CHAMBRAY |
An Oxford woven
with coloured yarn-dyed warp and white filling |
| OXFORD CLOTH |
A plain-weave shirting
of good quality yarns that has two warp ends weaving as
one. |
| OXFORD GREY |
A grey colour effect
produced by blending white and black fibres. |
| OXFORD SHIRTING |
A cotton or blended
fabric in a basket weave originally made in Oxford |
| OXIDATION |
A process in which:
(a) a chemical element loses electrons; (b) oxygen is
added to any chemical formula. |
| OXIDATION DYES |
In principle, a
small molecular weight intermediate is treated under acid
oxidation conditions to form a much larger, coloured molecule. |
| OXIDISED OIL STAINING |
Staining of textiles
caused by oil acquired or applied during processing. |
| OXYCELLULOSE |
Cellulose changed
chemically by the action of oxidising agents. |
| OXYGEN INDEX (OI) |
Also called Limiting
oxygen index. |
| OZONE FADING |
An irreversible
change in hue that when dyed or printed textiles are exposed
to ozone. |
