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Textile Dictionary
 
     
 
R
Word
Short description
Rabat A collar of made of linen and lace worn over the doublet, during the 17th century. Ecclesiastics wore a narrower rabat and this accessory for ecclesiastical town dress remained in use for a long time afterwards.
Rabato A wide lace-edged collar of the early 17th century often stiffened to stand high at the back.
Rabbit Hair The hair of the common rabbit detached from the skin. It is a fine, soft, short rather slippery fibre. It is 1 to 2cm. long and is usually light brown in colour. Long rabbit hair is used in combination with other fibres such as wool, to add softness and interest to a fabric. The percentage of rabbit included should be specified on the fabric label. Larger quantities are used in the manufacture of fine quality millinery felts. Rabbit hair is not to be confused with Angora rabbit hair.
Rabbit Hair Cloth A fabric in which rabbit’s hair is used in combination with other fibres to give the material a soft, smooth hand. Little or much of the rabbit hair may appear on the surface, as desired. It is used in varying percentages with wool and in blend fabrics.
Rabbit or Coney Rabbit hair used for coats and trimmings. Of this the wild rabbits have brownish or grey colours and the tame ones range in colour from white to black.
Raccoon This American native fur is greyish-brown and black. Used for sportswear. Pelt is used for trimmings for cloth and fur coats. Only the woolly fibre is used for textile purposes.
Raccroc Stich A stitch used in lace making to join separately made pieces together into a larger piece. The edges of the smaller pieces are finished with half meshes instead of whole meshes.
Race 1. The cut filling floats of pile, those run warpwise in corduroy and velveteen. After the cloth is woven, the races are cut in their centre. Later, the cut fibres are brushed up to form an all-over pile, as in velveteen, or cords or wales, as in corduroy. 2. In a loom, the path of the shuttle on the reed.
Rack Unit of warp knit measure equal to 480 courses of knitted fabric. The knit quality is evaluated in relation with the number of inches per rack.
Rack Stitch A knitting stitch that produces a herringbone effect with a rib back.
Rack Stitch Fabric An innovative rib fabric produced by movement to the right or left of one needle bed in relation to the other (called racking). The effect is a rib fabric where the wales are oriented diagonally to the right for a number of courses, then to the left in accordance with the needle bed movement.
Rack Stitch Fabric  
Racked Stitch In weft knitting, a sideways-deflected stitch that lies across a stitch formed in the same course on the opposite needle bed.
Racking The movement of one knitting bed of a rib or purl knitting machine relative to the other, either to produce deflections within the fabric being knitted or to re-align the elements for a different structure to that previously being knitted. In ‘partial racking’, less than one full needle space, may be required to facilitate loop transfer from one bed to the other on a rib machine.
Raddle A mechanical device for spreading the warps evenly as they are wound onto the beam. Necessary when the loom is warped from the
back to the front.
Radiant Energy Energy traveling through space in the form of photons or electromagnetic waves of various lengths.
Radio Frequency Heating Also known as R F heating. The use of dielectric of frequencies from 3 to 300 MHz for heating.
Radio Punch work Openwork embroidery made with round designs.
Radium Plain-weave lustrous fabric that has the draping quality of crêpe but the crispness of Taffeta. The fibres used include silk, viscose, acetate, and triacetate. Used for lingerie, robes, blouses, and as lining fabric. Slippery to handle.
Raffia A fibre obtained from the leaves of the raffia palm raphia ruffia.
Rag Grinding See Rag pulling.
Rag Pulling Also called ‘rag pulling’. The reducing of wastes, threads, and fabrics to fibrous form by garnetting or by some other process appropriate for waste stock.
Rag Rug A rug made with a weft of rags of cotton or wool torn into strips and tied sewed together at the ends. The warp is of heavy cotton. May be handmade or machine-made.
Rag Rug Partial Racking A rug made with a weft of rags of cotton or wool torn into strips and tied sewed together at the ends. The warp is of heavy cotton. May
be handmade or machine-made.
Raglan (1) A shirt design where the sleeve piece extends to the neck like the pattern used on traditional two-colour baseball shirts.
(2) A loose overcoat with raglan sleeves.
Raglan Sleeve A sleeve with the armhole line extending from the front and back scye to the neck point so that the shoulder section is joined to the sleeve crown, eliminating the conventional shoulder and sleeve head seams. The term is used in both woven and knitted garment construction..
Rags

(1)The waste fabric, whether woven or knitted, that is left after a garment has been cut out. The term also covers piece ends and discarded pattern bunches.

(2)Discarded worn garments, shabby or tattered clothing, torn pieces of cloth, etc.
Railway Stitch (1) Same as ‘chain stitch’ .
(2) In crocheting, same as ‘tricot stitch’.
(3) Leviathan stitch is sometimes referred so.
Rain Grown Cotton Cotton grown under conditions of natural rainfall. The moisture content and rate of growth have a definite influence upon fibre properties and have an effect upon finishing processes such as dyeing.
Rain Test A standard method to measure the resistance of fabrics to the penetration of rain. Different hydrostatic heads are used to simulate the effects of rainfalls of different intensities.
Rainbow Dye In this technique the colours are applied randomly onto the fabric and fixed without stirring..     
Rainbow Effect An effect produced in calico printing by shading the different coloured fields into each other.
Rainbow Yarns
Novelty yarns made in an ombré effect.
Rainbowing The use of divided colour-box in block printing, so that the colour is transferred to the block in the form of softly shaded stripes. In French it is called ‘fondu’.
Raincoat A coat of waterproof or water-resistant material.
Rainwear Waterproof or water-resistant clothing
Raised Backs General term for fabrics with nap raised on the back, especially cotton fabrics such as flannelette, some pyjama fabrics
Raised Checks A fabric figured with extra warp on a plain ground.
Raised Colours A printing term for colours, which are treated after printing, in a bath, which will fix or develop the colour.
Raised Embroidery Needlework with raised patterns done in satin stitch over padding. Used on table and bed linens, scallops and for monograms. Embroidery with figures in high relief is called Stump work.
Raised Fabrics Fabrics subjected to napping process.
Raised Fibre Surface In textile fabrics, intentionally lifted fibres or yarns such as pile, napped, tufted, flocked, or similar surfaces.
Raised Jersey A medium-weight knit fabric, of fairly open texture, that has been brushed on the right side to add warmth and give an attractive fuzzy effect. Often made in random colour coordinating yarns. The fibre is usually acrylic as it lends itself particularly well to this kind of treatment. Used for soft suits, dresses, and coats.
Raised Point A needlepoint lace with a padded motif to make it stand in relief.
Raising The production of a layer of protruding fibres on the surface of fabrics by brushing, teazing, or rubbing.
Raising Plains A plain weave cotton fabric made with hard-spun warp and coarse, soft spun filling.
Rajah Fairly heavy material made from a tussah silk or certain silk wastes. It belongs to the pongee family of silks. Made from irregular yarns, so has slubs and irregularities but thicker than shantung. It is rather compact and strong. Has a pebble-like feel and appearance. Comes in all colours as well as natural ecru shades, but often warp and filling are different colours for an iridescent effect.
Rambouillet Wool fibre from a breed, which is of the largest and the strongest bodied wool sheep. This is a pure descendant of Spanish merino. Fibre length is 11/2 to 3 inches. Shrinkage averages about 60%.
Ramie Ramie is a natural woody fibre resembling flax. Also know as rhea and China grass, it is obtained from a tall shrub grown in South- east Asia. China, Japan, and southern Europe. The fibre is stiff, more brittle than linen, and highly lustrous. It can be bleached to extreme whiteness. Ramie fibres are long and very fine. They are white and lustrous and almost silk-like in appearance. The strength of ramie is excellent and varies from 5.3 to 7.4 grams per denier. Elastic recovery is low and elongation is poor. Ramie lends itself to general processing for textile yarns, but its retting operation is difficult and costly, making the fibre unprofitable for general use. When combed, ramie is half the density of linen, but much stronger, coarser, and more absorbent. It has permanent lustre and good affinity for dyes; it is affected little by moisture. Ramie is used as filling yarn in mixed woollen fabrics, as adulteration with silk fibres, and as a substitute for flax. The China-grass cloth use by the Chinese is made of Ramie. This fibre is also useful for rope, twine, and nets. 
Ramie Base Fibre A fabric from the ramie plant that is similar to flax but more brittle. Used mostly for table linen.
Random Dyeing Colouring only certain designated portions of yarn. There are three ways of doing this type of colouring:
(1) Skeins may be tightly tied in two or more places and dyed at one side of the tie with one colour and at the other side with another one.
(2) Colour may be printed onto the skeins, which are spread out on the blanket fabric of the printing machine.
(3) Cones or packages of yarn on hollow spindles may be arranged to form channels through which the yarn, by means of an air- operated punch, and the dyestuff are drawn through three holes by suction. The yarn in the immediate area of the punch absorbs the dye and the random effects are thereby attained.
Random Linking Linking in which, when stitching pieces of fabric together, no attempt is made to stitch through adjacent loops.
Random Sampling The process of selecting units for a sample of size ‘n’ in such a manner that all combinations of ‘n’ units under consideration have an
equal or ascertainable chance of being selected as the sample.
Random Shear (1) The pile of a rug, which has been cut (sheared) so that the pile is in varied, random lengths. This kind of texture is intended to ensure a bright lustre and soil-hiding properties.
(2) A planned shearing or clipping of loops in parts of a textured effect. May be called sculpturing as in carpeting, velvet, velveteen and some silk fabrics. Clipped loops in some parts of a motif and uncut loops in other parts gives a richness of texture to the cloth, particularly for eveningwear.
Random Slub A slub yarn with the thick places in a variety of lengths and thicknesses and distributed at random in the yarn.
Random Winding A method of winding cones and cheeses in which the angle of wind is constant and the wind decreases as the package diameter increases.
Random Yarn (1) A fancy yarn of the core group. The core is a coloured yarn, and the random stock is wound around the core in more or less of a hit- and-miss manner. Much used for filling.
(2) Sometimes applied to ‘varicoloured yarn’.
Rapier A device for inserting filling from the side of the loom during weaving.
Rapier Gripper Soft or stiff rod making backwards and forwards motions in the shed, widthwise. It allows the filling yarn insertion in the shed opening.
Rapier Loom In this type of loom, an arm is used, which may be rigid or flexible, either to take the weft all the way across or to take it half-way and transfer it to another arm which has entered the shed simultaneously from the opposite side and withdraws to take it the rest of the way. An arm may operate on the weft either by gripping its free end or by engaging a loop which slips freely through an eye or round a pin or other smooth control surface situated near the end of the arm. The arms used on narrow-fabric and carpet looms are rigid and are called needles; the former are usually curved, the latter straight. The arms on other looms are usually called ‘rapiers’, whether or not they are rigid, but flexible rapiers are also called tapes, which, apart from their gripping or guiding heads, is an accurate description of the form they take.
Ras A general term in French used for plain weave solid coloured fabric made with nap. Commonly made in wool.
Raschel Refers to knit fabric made a Raschel machine, a warp-knitting machine capable of a wide variety of intricate designs, various surface textures, and open work effects.
Raschel Knit Refers to knit fabric made a Raschel machine, a warp knitting machine capable of a wide variety of intricate designs, various surface textures, and open work effects. Name of this type of knitted fabric derived from the name of the machine on which this is produced. The Raschel machine uses latch needles set in a vertical plane and produces a wide variety of fabrics, particularly heavier and complex structures. Fabrics are not of conventional knit construction, but appears to be partly woven in texture. These fabrics are often printed; and some are very transparent; they have some ‘give’, but only a little, are attractive, wear well and do not crease. The fibre content is polyester. Used for blouses, dresses, curtains, bedspreads, depending on design.
Raschel Lace A lace fabric knit on a Raschel machine; usually moderately priced.
Rasmussen Process A technique of making a bonded-fibre fabric. A sheet of polyethylene or polypropylene is stretched lengthwise to orient its molecular chains. When disintegrated into fibrous form, the fine fibres are relatively parallel to each other. Two or three layers of fibres are spot- welded together.
Rat Tail Cord A tubular woven cord usually of satin construction. Also called ‘American cord’.
Ratchet Lock Slider In zippers, a slider with a locking mechanism that permits the slider to slip along the chain upon application of a predetermined force so as to prevent damage that would impair either the service or use of either the slider or chain.
Rate A modelling term. A model’s rate is the sum of money that a client is required to pay for her services. The more successful the model, the higher her rate. Most models have different rates according to the type of booking. For short bookings an hourly rate is usually applied. Longer periods may require a day rate Top models sometimes have increased rates if they are required to go out of town on location. Most agencies charge double or triple a model’s regular rate if she is booked for lingerie or nude work.
Rate of Dyeing The rate at which a dye is absorbed by a substrate under specified conditions. This can be influenced in many ways, notably by temperature and the addition of assistants, acids, alkalis, etc. It may be expressed quantitatively in several ways, such as the weight of dye absorbed in unit time, or the time taken for the substrate to absorb a given fraction of the amount of dye which it will absorb at equilibrium.
Ratiné French word meaning ‘fuzzy’. A rough, pebbly woollen fabric made of novelty yarns with a fancy twist, and similar in finished appearance to chinchilla. Plain weave with an uneven surface due to the use of fancy yarns usually of the spiral or loop type. These give a randomly uneven surface effect varying in coarseness according to the weight of fabric. Used for men’s overcoats. Basically this is a coating fabric but dress or suiting weights can be made.
Ratiné Lace Machine-made lace, the groundwork of which consists of heavy loops rather than mesh.
Ratiné Yarn A curly knotty plied yarn made with one heavy and one or more fine single yarns twisted together under uneven tension; the heavy yarn is fed more freely, producing loops or nubs.
Rating (1) A quantitative or qualitative scale for evaluation of a specific property.
(2) The process for determining or assigning a grade to a material by comparing it to a standard reference scale. their colours are:
Ratteen A coarse woollen fabric.
Ravelling (1) A loose yarn that has been partially or wholly detached from a cloth.
(2) The process of removing the yarns consecutively from the fabric.
Ravens Duck A very heavy linen fabric in 2/1 twill weaves, such as a sailcloth.
Raw Term applied to textile materials in their natural state.
Raw Cotton Ginned lint that has not been subjected to any textile manufacturing process.
Raw Edge Unfinished edge of a fabric, which may ravel.
Raw Fibres Material in natural condition made suitable for manipulation into a product. Examples include raw cotton, raw wool, silk ‘in-the- gum’etc.
Raw Seam A visible line made by joining two parts of a fabric by placing two cut (raw) edges of fabric together and stitching them.
Raw Silk Continuous filaments or strands containing no twist, drawn off or reeled from silk cocoons. Reeled silk directly from cocoon with
Raw Stock Unprocessed fibre in the natural state.
Raw Stock Dyeing The process of dyeing fibres in a mass before spinning or weaving. Dyeing of fibre stock precedes spinning of the yarn. Dyeing follows the degreasing of the wool fibres and dyeing of the stock.
Raw Wool Wool or hair of the sheep in the grease, pulled, or scoured state.
Rawkiness Streakiness in a fabric due to uneven, irregular yarns.
Rayleigh Irregular bars in Guipure lace
Rayon Fibre The earliest man-made fibre, from cellulose such as wood or cotton. Rayon, from cellulose, has many of the qualities of cotton, a natural cellulose fiber. Rayon is strong, extremely absorbent, comes in a variety of qualities and weights, and can be made to resemble natural fabrics. Rayon does not melt but burns at high temperatures. Rayon drapes well, has a soft, silky hand, and has a smooth, napped, or bulky surface. Rayon will wrinkle easily and may stretch when wet and shrink when washed. Viscose rayon, one of the newer high performance rayon’s, wrinkles less, can be washed and is also woven into heavy or light fabrics. Washable rayon will state the care on the fabric label. Like silk, if you pre-wash rayon fabric prior to construction of the garment, you have a washable garment.
Rayon HP High performance, or improved kinds of rayon. These types will include High tenacity and High-wet modulus.
Rayon Straw A ribbon-like filament of viscose rayon. It is folded and resembles straw.
Rayon Tow A tow composed of parallel filaments of continuous lengths, which will be used for processing into yarns by any of several tow- conversion methods. It is also used for flock.
Raz Solid coloured wool serge.
RE
 See Residual elongation
Reactant A chemical finishing compound that reacts with the fibre to form a cross-linking bond.
Reactants Substances consumed in a chemical reaction.
Reaction Spinning A process of fibre production in which polymerisation is achieved during the extrusion of one set of reactants into another set of reactants.
Reactive Dyes These are dyes that, under suitable conditions, are capable of reacting chemically with cellulose fibres. This produces a covalent dye-fibre bond, which gives dyeings and prints of excellent washing fastness. May be used on wool, silk and nylon with varying degrees of fastness properties. The differences in reactivity of different shades of dyes are indicated, usually by using different letters, e.g. ‘Procion M’ (more reactive) and ‘Procion H’ (less reactive) dyes. Reactive dyes are suitable for cotton, linen, wool, silk, viscose rayon, and cuprammonium rayon fibres.
Realistic Mannequin A full round sculpted form that resembles in face, pose and proportions a particular type and size woman, man or child. Not abstract.
Re-animalizing A process, which was used for weighting silk and supposedly to strengthen the fibre by immersion in a bath containing phosphate of
soda with glue or casein.
Reavy Yarn A yarn made by twisting together a single and two-ply yarn.
Rebozo A long scarf worn chiefly by Mexican women
Re-breaking
The shortening of fibres in a sliver or top by a process similar in principle to stretch breaking. Re-breaking may be intended to shorten a limited number of over length fibres or to reduce the average length.
Reclaimed Textile Fibres A broad term, which includes: extract wool, mungo, noil, reprocessed wool, reused wool, shoddy, etc.
Reclaimed Wool This broad term implies wool obtained from various sources; clippings, reprocessed wool, shoddy, mungo, extract wool, etc.
Reclining Twill A twill weave which produces a twill line running at an angle less than 45°.
Re-combing A second combing of worsted tops for removing vegetable particles that were not removed by the first combing. This process improves the ease with which the tops may be handled in further processing.
Recommended Allowance The percentage that, in the calculation of commercial weight of textile material and of yarn linear density is added to the oven-dry weight. The determination of this weight may or may not be preceded by washing to remove natural or added oils and dressings. The recommended allowance is arbitrarily chosen according to commercial practice and includes the moisture regain. It may also include the normal finish that is added to impart satisfactory textile qualities to the material.
Re-constituted Fibres Fibres produced from recovered waste polymer or blends of virgin polymer and recovered waste polymer.
Recoverable Elongation In rope, elongation, which may be reclaimed after a period of relaxation.
Recovered Wool See Reused wool.
Recovery (1) The ability of a yarn or fibre to return to its original length after it has been stretched.
(2) A basic property of stretch yarn and refers to the degree to which a yarn returns to its relaxed position after stretching. Rapid and complete recovery prevents bagging or sagging and is very important in many types of articles, especially stretch pants.
Recycled Wool The resulting fibre when wool has been woven or felted into a wool product which, without ever having been utilized in any way by the ultimate consumer, subsequently has been made into a fibrous state, or the resulting fibre when wool or reprocessed wool has been spun, woven, knitted, or felted into a wool product which, after having been used in any way by the ultimate consumer, subsequently has been made into a fibrous state.
Red A colour whose hue resembles that of blood or of the ruby or is that of the long-wave extreme of the visible spectrum.
Red Liquor
Aluminium acetate is used as a mordant in calico printing and dyeing. Used mainly for waterproofing.
Reddish Tinged with red.
Re-deposition 1. The tendency of soil, already removed from the fabric and being in suspension to go back on the fabric, thus lowering the fabric’s retention of whiteness.
2. In laundering of fabrics, deposition of soil, dirt or grime on fabrics when the wash water has a high percentage of dirt, etc. that has already been removed in washing.
Redingote A fitted outer garment such as a double-breasted coat with wide flat cuffs and collar worn by 18th century men; a woman's lightweight coat open at the front; a dress with a front gore of contrasting material
Re-doubling An operation combined with ‘doubling’ that is necessary in making even, uniform yarn.
Redox A type of chemical reaction in which one of the reagents is reduced, while another is oxidised.
Redox Agent A substance, which promotes redox reactions.
Redox Potential
In vat dyes, this indicates the difficulty with which the vat dye in the oxidised state can be reduced. The potential developed when a bright platinum electrode is immersed in a solution containing an ionic species in two inter-convertible oxidation (valency) states. The potential is dependent upon the ratio of the concentrations of the two oxidation states, e.g., iron ii and iron iii ions; 4- dihydroxybenzene (hydroquinone) and 1,4-benzoquinone (p-benzoquinone); vat dye and leuco vat dye. Note: The standard Redox Potential, E, is that developed when the concentrations of the two oxidation states are equal to each other, and in vat dye systems indicates the difficulty with which the vat dye (the oxidized state) can be reduced.
Reducing Agent Any chemical that (a) reduces another, (b) causes a gain in electrons in another, or (c) donates electrons in oxidation-reduction chemical reactions. Some of the agents used in dyeing and printing are sodium sulphite, formaldehyde, glucose, sodium sulphide, etc.
Reduction
In textile technology, this term is confined to the removal of oxygen from a substance, or the addition of hydrogen.
Reduction Clearing Removal of unfixed dyestuff, usually disperse, by alkali/reducing system, usually sodium hydroxide/sodium dithionite.
Reduction Thickening A thickening specially prepared (with additional chemicals in correct proportion) for the production of paler tones in colours already mixed.
Redwood A wide categorization of dyewoods found in tropical regions.
Redwood Bark This fibre is obtained from the bark of the California redwood tree. It is used for insulation and sometimes for blending with other fibres such as wool and cotton.
Reed A wired comb-like device on a loom through which the warp ends are drawn to keep them uniform, under control at all times and to prevent their becoming tangled or gnarled. The reed sits in the race plate of the loom and is used to beat-in each filling pick into the cloth being woven by interlacing with the warp yarn. Incidentally, the three chief motions on a loom in weaving are shedding, picking, and beating-in which is done by the reed.
Reed Gratings Transparent plates containing lines that are parallel and uniformly spaced in the cross-wise direction. By placing an appropriate grating on a reed it is possible to see if there is any irregularity in the spacing of the reed wires. Reed gratings can also be used for counting the number of reed wires per unit distance.
Reed Mark Fabric defect in woven fabrics. A crack, streak, line, or mark between groups of warp ends, either continuous or at intervals. Caused mainly due to crowded dents, open dents, improper warp tension, worn out reed, loose reed wires, incorrect reeding, etc.
Reed Number The number of dents per unit length of the reed.
Reed Ombré A woven ombré effect generally produced in the reed by a variation in warp pattern from open to close and then from close to open. Appears almost as shading running warpwise.
Reed Rake A defect in fabric similar to a pin scratch.
Reed Width The width of fabric in the warp, as it lies in the loom prior to the weaving.
Reediness Fabric defect. A noticeable grouping of warp threads due to the reed wires producing warp-way cracks. It can be caused by the use of a reed unsuited to the fabric construction employed.
Reeding Plan A plan indicating the arrangement of warp yarns into the reed dents, in one weave repeat.
Reedy Cloth A defective fabric that shows reed marks. There are several causes such as drawing an insufficient number of warp yarns through each dent, too heavy a reed, improper finish, irregular reeding.
Reefer A close-fitting usually double-breasted jacket or coat of thick cloth.
Reel (1) See Hank
(2) A cylindrical former usually flanged, suitable for use with domestic sewing machines, onto which sewing thread is wound.
(3) The revolving drum, mill or swift of a sectional warping machine.
Reel Dyeing A form of open box dyeing used especially for light fabrics to avoid tension on the goods or for crêpe to avoid flattening. Also used on woollen goods. The reel dyeing machine generally consists of a dye tub under a large oval reel which lifts the fabric in the form of a loose rope out of the back of the machine into the dye solution while the dyeing operation takes place.
Reeled Silk Silk filaments wound directly from three to twelve cocoons (six to twenty-four single filaments) into skein formation. Known as ‘raw silk to commerce’. When given full mechanical twist the product becomes "thrown silk."
Reeling 1. The process of unwinding raw silk from the unbroken cocoons, which have been placed in hot water, and reeling filaments from several cocoons as a single thread, without any twist, held firm by the natural gum which coats the silk filaments. This is the first process in preparing silk yarn.
2. Unwinding of yarn from bobbins or cones, etc. and rewinding it in the form of a skein or hank.
Reeling Machine A revolving frame onto which a number of hanks or skeins or reels of yarn are wound simultaneously. The frame normally comprises a number of parallel bars, some of or all of which are collapsible to facilitate removal of the wound hank, mounted circumferentially on a cylindrical form. Traversing yarn guides provide a pattern, which enables the hank to be leased so that it can be unwound without entanglement after storage or, e.g. wet processing
Reemay A sheet structure made by a technique integrated with the manufacture of spun-bonded polyester stock. The spun-bonded material is made entirely of continuous filaments of the polyester formed into a sheet or web and bonded into position.
Re-embroidered Lace Flat lace that has been re-worked with another intricate design using a variety of threads. An elaborate and expensive fabric, due to the two operations involved.
Reeve-set Trade name for the durable press process developed by Reeves Brothers Inc., New York City.
Refine A napped woollen fabric of fine quality, mainly used for livery.
Re-finishing Any treatment, such as steaming and pressing, given to a textile fabric to restore the finish.
Reflective Specialty ink or transfers that are generally used for safety applications. Reflective material reflects a bright image back at the source of light. A wonderful application for Children’s clothing. The Apparel Search Company thinks that it should be a requirement on Children’s outerwear and shoes.
Refraction The deflection from a straight path undergone by a light ray in passing obliquely from one medium (as air) into another (as glass) in which its velocity is different.
Refractive Index The ratio of the velocity of radiation (as light) in the first of two media to its velocity in the second as it passes from one into the other.
Refurbish To brighten or freshen up and restore to wearability or use by cleaning such as Dry cleaning, Laundering, or Steam cleaning.
Regain The weight of moisture present in a textile material expressed as a percentage of the oven-dry weight. A definite percentage of moisture added to the bone-dry weight of the material being treated. Under normal conditions the amounts of regain for the various cloths are: cotton, 6%; woollen, 16%; worsted, 10%; silk, 11%.
Regatta A striped cotton-type fabric woven in 2/1 twill. The pattern consists of fast-dyed colour and white in warp stripes of equal width. The fabric has a white undyed weft.
Regenerated Cellulose Fibre
A term used to describe manufactured fibres composed of regenerated cellulose, as well as manufactured fibres composed of regenerated cellulose in which substituents have replaced not more than 15% of the hydrogens of the hydroxyl groups. The iso generic names are viscose, modal and cupro.
Regenerated Fibre A fibre formed from a solution of a natural polymer or of a chemical derivative of a natural polymer and having the same chemical constitution as the natural polymer from which the solution or derivative was made.
Regenerated Protein Fibers At various times these fibres have been made from the protein of peanuts, maize, soya beans and milk. They all possessed wool-like characteristics of softness, warmth and resilience but it has not yet been found possible to produce a fibre of this type sufficiently strong to be used alone. These fibres are slightly weaker than wool when dry but when wet the strength is almost negligible. These fibres are only suitable for blending with stronger fibres and they have had some success in blends with rayon and cotton, to give some warmth and softness to the fabric, and in blends with crossbred wool to give softness. Very little of this type of fibre is being manufactured in bulk.
Wherever there is a source of cheap, waste protein, there is a potential regenerated textile fibre. Example is Egg albumin fibre made from the egg albumin remaining behind in the shells at the large egg-drying plants, feather protein fibres made from chicken feather, fibres from gelatin waste and fibres from silk waste
Regimental Stripes Stripes ranging from one half to one inch in width, which find favour in the better grade of neckwear and hatbands. The colours of the better known British regiments, as well as the colours of leading universities in this country, provide the colour combination: red and blue of the University of Pennsylvania, for example.
Regimentals A regimental uniform; military dress
Regina A fine cotton good quality 2/1 twill weave fabric. Two fold yarns may be used and the fabric is around 100g/m2.
Registration The correct fitting together of all areas and colours in a printed fabric.
Regular Twill A trade term for a twill weave that produces diagonal lines running 45º angles without any fancy figures.
Regular Twist For cotton same as Z-twist. For wool, same as S-twist.
Reinforced Hosiery Hosiery with a reinforced heel and toe knitted with an extra and sometimes coarser yarn. A later development has been the use of nylon reinforcement in the toe and heel of both cotton and wool hose to increases the abrasion resistance.
Reinforced Seam In sewn seams, a seam that includes an additional layer of material on the face or backside of the seam allowance.
Reinforced Twills Combinations of regular twill and plain weaves. Generally warp-faced, with the twill line running from lower right to upper left. The fabrics are bleached or dyed and used for dresses.
Reinforcement The ability of a geotextile to reduce stresses or contain deformation in geotechnical structures. The geotextile enhances the shear strength of the soil mass by adhering to the adjacent soil layers. The geotextile layers are normally placed across the potential failure planes to carry the tensile forces, which cannot be borne by an un-reinforced soil mass.
Reinforcement Composite A fibre which, when encapsulated in a polymer resin matrix, forms a composite or fibreglass laminate.
Rejection Number In acceptance sampling, the minimum number of nonconforming items in a sample that requires the conclusion that the lot does not conform to specification.
Related Shdes Colours of similar tone in the same or different depths of colour.
Relative Humidity The ratio of the actual pressure of the water vapour in the atmosphere to the saturation water vapour at the same temperature. The ratio is usually expressed as a percentage e.g. 65 % Rh.
Relaxation

Releasing of strains in textile materials.

(1) The relief of any strain present in fibre, yarn or fabric resulting from all stages of processing, necessary to impart dimensional stability to the final textile material.

(2) An operation performed on a knitted sweater made of textured filament nylon yarn. This is a form of conditioning a fabric that is important to effective dyeing, shape, final appearance, and dimensional stability. Relaxation from tension is obtained by washing sweaters in a solution of soap and water or non-ionic detergent for five minutes at 90º F., then rinsing for two minutes.
Relaxation Dimensional Change The dimensional change that occurs when a fabric is immersed in water without agitation so that the strains and stresses put into fibres, yarns, or fabrics during previous processing stages such as spinning, weaving, or knitting, and finishing are relieved.
Relaxation Shrinkage In Cotton Relaxation shrinkage is caused by relaxing of tensions imposed in fabric manufacture and finishing. The warmth and moisture of washing processes provide ideal relaxation conditions. As cotton is not a very extensible fibre relaxation shrinkage is not great and in itself is not a problem.
Relaxation Shrinkage In Wool Wool has considerable powers of extension and recovery so that tensions are accumulated during manufacture and finishing. When all processes are completed the wool fibres if left alone will try to creep back to their unstressed length. In fabrics also tension in warp direction is the greater so greater relaxation contraction takes place in that direction. Because of the stretching capacity of wool, and because relaxation shrinkage is completely independent of washing, it presents a great problem in wool fabric use. Wool shrinks when washed, but relaxation shrinkage a complete mystery for many when it happens without washing contact. Heat and moisture produced in pressing or even in wear can produce relaxation shrinkage. Knitted wool fabrics are also subject to relaxation shrinkage, but it is area shrinkage and not as directional as in woven fabric. Because of the greater elasticity of knitted structure control of dimensional stability of knitted fabrics is more difficult.
Relaxed State In knit fabric, the dimensional state of a fabric when the forces within the loop structure are in equilibrium and it is considered that the fabric can consolidate no more, without the application of force.
Relaxed Yarn
A filament yarn of nylon or polyester, which has been subjected to a yarn relaxation treatment. The treatment imparts uniform dyeing characteristics to the yarn and an also reduces and equalizes shrinkage and torque.
Release A modelling term. Every booking represents a contractual agreement between the client and the model. A model release spells out the terms of the agreement and includes the limit to which the photos may be used.
Releasing Slider In zippers, a slider with a mechanical means for loosening the slider on the chain.
Releasing Stop In zippers, a device attached at or near the top of the stringer on the separable pin side, which limits the travel of the slider at the open end of the chain under normal closing operations. The slider may be forced beyond the releasing stop when added force is exerted towards the top of the zipper.
Relief Fabric A patterned rib-based fabric, the surface of which exhibits a characteristic relief or blister effect in which the number of loops in the relief portion is greater than in the surrounding area on the effect side and on the reverse side. The relief area may be of a different colour from the main ground and the ground also is patterned. Two main types of structure are recognized; (a) single relief or three-miss blister and (b) double relief or five-miss blister. The latter has a greater preponderance of loops on the face of the fabric in the relief areas than the former.
Relief Printing A method in which only the high parts of engraved plates are inked and printed. Opposite to intaglio printing.
Re-manufactured Wool

This is wool which has been used or processed before, as opposed to virgin wool or pure new wool, which is wool being used for the first time. Wool and to some extent, hairs, have the capacity to be used more than once and in view of the cost of new wool, this is a distinct practical advantage which is not shared by any other textile fibre type.

There are three main sources of raw materials for this industry; shoddy, mungo and noils.

The rags used to obtain shoddy and mungo fibres are either old fabrics or new clippings but in reducing the rags to fibres there is considerable fibre damage and breakage. These fibres then are short, and vary considerably in thickness and quality and lack the full qualities of resilience and softness which new wool possesses. Noils are better in that the fibres are merely shorter than average and not damaged, but they are not fully representative of the quality of wool from which they were extracted.

Due to the shortness of shoddy and mungo fibres they would be difficult to hold securely in a yarn and would easily be rubbed out in use so that the fabric would gradually disintegrate in wear. It is easy to see therefore how the term shoddy came to represent something poor in quality.

These fibres are mostly blended with new wool to prevent rapid loss of fibres. In this use they are a valuable contribution to the textile industry because if they are skilfully used, attractive medium and low priced woollen fabrics can be made which have sufficient durability, particularly for fashion garments. Fabrics so made are not obviously inferior and at present state of legislature can be labelled ‘all wool’ in many countries. Hair noils can be used as a fibre content in a fabric and labelled as the hair so that the fibre name in itself on the label is no clear guarantee of quality. Many countries demands clear labelling distinguishing between new, re-used, and re-processed fibres.

 
Rembrandt Rib A knitted vertical-rib effect in women’s hosiery made by alternating five drop stitches and one inch of plain knitting.
Remnants In the marketing of textile material, those accumulated short odd lengths of cloth, remaining from original full-length piece.
Renaissance Cloth A French term for fabric made from reclaimed wool.
Renaissance Lace Motifs joined by a variety of stitches.
Rep A plain-weave fabric with prominent rounded crosswise ribs. Has a pronounced narrow cylindrical rib in the filling direction - less distinct than bengaline; more distinct than poplin. Sometimes a very distinct rib is alternated with a small rib. It is similar to poplin but heavier in cotton. Can be dyed, printed, or white. Frays badly. Difficult to press as it may flatten the ribs.
Rep Plain Weave A fabric with narrow ribs along the width.
Rep Stitch A canvas stitch that is worked vertically on double-thread canvas.
Repco Self-twist A self-twist process of varying false-twisting rate.
Repeat

1. An entire completed pattern for design and texture. Repeats vary in size considerably, depending on the weave, type of material, texture, and the use of the cloth.

2. The form which indicates the size of the weave and the number of threads that the weave contains in both the warp and filling.

3. In weaving, a pattern, which is repeated in the fabric weave.

4. In printing, the exact reproduction of any unit of design placed in an accurate geometric relationship to it. An example for this is the Square repeat.

.
Repeating Unit A chemical group that recurs in the backbone of a polymer.
Repellence The ability of a fabric to resist such things as wetting and staining by water, stains, soil, etc.
Repellent Possessing the property of resistance. Special finishes impart various types of repellence to textiles, e.g. water repellence, stain, oil, and moth.
Repellent Treatments Any one of a great number of treatments that may be applied to fabrics and garments to make them repellent to moths, water, mildew moisture, perspiration, etc. They may not be durable in nature. Some disappear after the first washing and laundering, others will give good times almost to the point of permanency.
Repoussé A hammered or pressed pattern effect.
Repp

Usually a heavy or medium fabric with a very prominently pronounced rib. The true repp, which is now not commonly made, was a plain weave fabric made with two warps, one fine and one coarse, the yarns arranged alternately and the fine warp more heavily tensioned than the coarse. Two wefts are used, one fine, one coarse alternately and the weave arranged so that the coarse warp was always lifted over the coarse weft. This gave very prominent ribs. More usually the term repp is given to almost every fabric of the plain weave type having prominent ribs, made on the plain weave fine warp and thicker weft principle and of a coarser and heavier construction than poplin, faille and poult.

It is stiff and unyielding but also very hardwearing. Used for curtains, loose covers, bedspreads, etc. It is made from a variety of fibbers, including cotton, viscose and blends of fibres and occasionally from worsted yarn. Repps are made in suiting weights from wool, and furnishing repps are made from cotton and man-made fibres. Some furnishing repps have different sized ribs produced by using a fancy rib weave.

Repping

 Fabric defect. The unintentional introduction into a woven fabric of a bar in which a prominent weftway-rib effect is evident. This fault is often associated with standing places and is the result of differential relaxation of the upper and lower sheets of warp while the loom is standing.
Representative Sample A sample taken such that every individual in the parent population has the same chance of being included in the sample.
Reprocessed Wool Woollen fibres obtained from existing knitted or woven garments, which, however, have never been worn by the consumer. These are now very rare, as it is difficult and very expensive to reprocess blends.
Reproducible By using a colour recipe a colour can be reproduced accurately.
Reseda A greyish green colour.
Reserve Dyeing A process of piece-dyeing a fabric containing mixtures of fibres, which dye differently. In this method one type of fibre is dyed and the other is not, to provide a contrast. The method may be used to accomplish heather effects where both fibres are in a single yarn or to accomplish pattern effects where yarns of the different fibres are combined in a desired pattern.
Re-shoot  
Residual Draw Ratio The draw ratio required, in draw texturing, to convert a partially oriented yarn into a commercially acceptable product.
Residual Elongation In rope, the elongation remaining after the rope has been stabilized at a designated load level.
Residual Shrinkage

1. The percentage of shrinkage that remains in the fabric after it has been subjected to a shrinking process. Frequently used to mean just the percentage that the material will shrink when washed.

2. The amount of shrinkage left in a fabric after finishing or its first washing.

3. The latent shrinkage of a fibre, filament, yam, or fabric.
Residual Torsion Revolutions made by a specified length of cord when one end is held in a flexed position and the other allowed to turn freely.
Residue In plumage, quill pith, quill fragments, trash, or foreign matter.
Resilience A term explaining one of the physical handling properties of the ability to recover from deformation, varying from springy (high) to limp (low). Resilience may be flexural, compressional, or torsional.
Resiliency The ability of a fibre or fabric to spring back to shape after being distorted.
Resilient The fabric, which has the property, by virtue of which it is able to do work against restraining forces during return from a deformed state, i.e. its ability to recover from deformation. High resiliency is a natural property of wool and silk. Staples that are not inherently resilient can be chemically treated to resist creasing and crushing.
Resin Bonded Batting A textile filling material, which is stabilized by spraying it with an acrylic, polyvinyl acetate, or other suitable resin emulsion after which the batting is dried and cured.
Resin Bonded Pigment Colours Pigments, or colours, bonded to the fibbers mechanically by synthetic resins applied in an aqueous or solvent dispersion.
Resin Finish Fabric finished with natural or synthetic resins, to make the fabric, resistant to soil, water or wrinkles, etc. Fabric can also be finished with resins, in glazed, embossed, pleated, and sculptured surfaces to achieve a variety of textures.
Resin Treated A fabric that has been treated with a synthetic film-forming polymer (resin) . This may be done to make the fabric firmer, heavier, more stable, to add wrinkle resistance, to reduce shrinkage or to create surface effect such as embossing or glazing.
Resin Transfer Moulding
 Resin transfer moulding (RTM) allows the moulding of components which have complex shapes and large surface areas with a good surface finish on both sides. The process is suited to short and medium runs and is employed in many transport applications such as truck cabs. This process consists of placing reinforcements in the mould before injecting the resin. Polyesters, epoxies, phenolics, and acrylics are usually used. Various kinds of moulds are used, and heat may be applied to assist the cure, in which case a steel mould may be necessary. Low profile resins can be used to improve surface finish and appearance. Alternatively, low-pressure RTM allows cheaper composite tooling to be used. The reinforcement can be continuous filament mats or fabrics. The use of pre-forms from continuous filament strand mats can increase the production rate.
Resist

1. Wax or paste of rice or clay painted or printed on to the cloth before dyeing, to reserve a white pattern. There are also modern resists, which act chemically to prevent the fixation of the dye.

2. Used to make lines and distinct shapes in a technique and anything used to prevent the dye from flowing beyond it. There are many varieties and each has their own properties and instructions.
Resist Printed A chemical is printed on certain areas of the fabric to make those areas resistant to dye. Allows for the printing of small or fine motifs in the design.
Resist Dye Dyestuff combined with a resisting agent so that the yarn or fabric is dyed upon application, but resists any subsequent dyeing.
Resist Dyeing Yarns are treated with a resist dye, and then woven with untreated yarn into a fabric which is subsequently piece dyed. Washing removes the resist material, leaving a fabric with white and coloured threads. A contrasting colour may also be applied with the resist agent for two-tone effects.
Resist Dyed Yarn Yarn that has been treated with tannin, a mordant, etc. to repel the dyestuff to be used. The result should be a harmonious effect.
Resist Style The process by which a pattern is produced by dyeing after painting or printing the cloth with a mechanical resist (such as wax or clay), or chemical resist (such as an acid).
Resist Style Printing  
Resistance
 Resistance of fabrics when submitted specimen is exposed to certain conditions or destructive or colourless agents, or again to comply to certain strength specifications for particular uses.
Resistance to Yarn Slippage The force required to separate the parts of a standard seam by a specified amount.
Resist Style Printing In this method of printing, the pattern area is painted or stamped with a ‘resist’ made from rice paste, clay or some type of wax. Then the cloth is dyed, so leaving the pattern areas reserved in white against a dyed background.
Resorption The process by which a material that has given material by desorption takes up some more of the material given.
Restoration Force The energy brought to bear on a fabric to accomplish a dimensional restora
Restraining Agent
See Retarding agent.
Resultant Yarn Number The yarn number based on the observed mass per unit length of a plied yarn, a cabled yarn, or a yarn whose number has been changed by processing such as twisting or bulking.
Retail  
Retail Price  
Retained Chlorine In textiles bleached with chlorine-type bleaches, available chlorine which remains in the material after washing and drying.
Retainer Pin In zippers, a tube-like element, similar to the separable pin, attached over the bead at the bottom end of the stringer opposite to the separable pin and that is designed to hold the fixed retainer in position.
Retarding Agent
 An auxiliary product, added to a dye bath to reduce the rate of dyeing, without affecting the final exhaustion. It is used to insure a more level dyeing. Sometimes also called ‘Restraining agent’.
Retention The weight of fluid remaining after a freely swollen fibre, yarn, or fabric is subjected to a pressure of 0.5 lb/in2.
Re-texturing

1. The passage of an already textured yarn through a further texturing processes. The second texturing process may be the same type of process or different from the first texturing process.

2. A process for treating dry-cleaned garments, etc., to improve their handle, etc.
Reticella Lace A very early type of needlepoint lace. It was a combination of drawn-thread lace work and cut-work.
Reticulated Foam Reticulated foams differ from conventional foams in their cell structure. Reticulation is a process in which cell membranes are destroyed in a controlled explosion and then fused with the cell ribs. Reticulation produces open-celled foam, which is especially suitable for the filtration and purification of air and liquids.
Retractive Force The tension in a textured yarn due to the formation of crimp in the filaments under specified conditions of crimp development.
Retting The process of decomposing woody and gummy matter surrounding the bast fibres of a flax plant stalk and extracting flax fibre from it. The crop or deseeded straws are subjected to chemical or biological treatment to make fibre bundles more easily separable from the woody part of the stem. Flax is described as water-retted, dew-retted, or chemically retted, etc., according to the process employed.
Reverse

1. A coarse, loosely woven, wool fabric with napped face, similar to flannel. Used for inexpensive clothing.

2. The side of a weft-knitted fabric opposite to the effect side.
Reverse Blend Mostly used in denim warp yarn. A blend of 75% cotton and 25% polyester. When the yarns are spun, the cotton fibres tend to be at the outside of the yarn. A 35/65 blend is used in boys’ and young men’s jeans. The warp provides the colour and hand of the denim; a spun weave makes the fabric appear like all-cotton. In reverse blending the natural fibber (cotton or wool) has the predominant concentration.
Reverse Crêpe A fabric generally of filament yarn, made with a crêpe yarn warp and a flat yarn filling.
Reverse Jacquard A weft-knitted rib-based fabric in which the design on the effect side is reversed on the other side by alternation of the two component threads between the two sides.
Reversible Fabric

Fabric that can be made up and worn with either side as the right side, the two sides contrasting in either colour or design or both. The cloth is thick, made from wool, acrylic, mohair or blends. Used for coats, capes, duffel coats, etc. There are two main types of reversible cloth, both requiring different treatments:

1. The two fabrics joined by a loose thread running at random between the two layers.

2. The two fabrics joined by adhesive, which are less expensive and are often made from poorer quality cloth.
Reverse Knit A pattern area of weft-knitted fabric with the reverse side outwards, knitted on machines having two sets of needles.
Reverse Locknit A warp-knitted fabric of two-bar construction made with full-set threading. The front bar makes a 1x1 movement and the back bar a 2x1 movement in opposition.
Reverse Placket  
Reverse Plated Fabric A plated knit construction in which the relationship of the two yarns is reversed in certain stitches within the same course to give a patterned or fancy effect.
Reverse Plating Patterns created in knit goods by controlling the feed of the yarns in such a way that the position of a pattern is interchanged.
Reverse Side See Back side.
Reverse Toe In hosiery, a form of toe in which the join between the toe and foot is on the underside of the foot.
Reverse Twill Weaves Broken, pointed, and similar twill weaves, i.e. twill weaves in which the twill line runs alternately in right-hand and left-hand directions.
Reverse Twist See S-twist.
Reverse Welt A roll welt in which the plain courses are intermeshed towards the reverse side of the fabric. This welt is used particularly for stockings with turnover tops.
Reversible Bonded Fabric A bonded double-faced cloth construction in which two face fabrics are bonded together so that either side can be used. Stiffness resulting from bonding limits the use to this fabric.
Reversible Dyes  
Reversible Fabric  
Reversible Twills A general term for fine, high count, plied yarn fabric made with combed cotton in an even-sided four-harness twill in which the twill line runs from lower left to upper right. The number of warp yarns per inch is about twice as great as the weft yarns. Egyptian, Pima and other superior grades of cotton are often used. Frequently dyed tan or olive drab and given a water-repellent finish for army field jackets, rain coats and windbreakers.
Revetment A support structure in civil engineering made of riprap (coarse armour stone) or concrete.
Re-wetting Agent A surfactant, which find usage in textile preparation, dyeing and finishing. The surfactant, which after application and drying onto textiles promotes rapid wetting on subsequent exposure to an aqueous solution.
RF Heating See Radio frequency heating.
RHE ‘Rhe’is the unit of fluidity. The reciprocal of the unit of viscosity (the poise).
Rhine Stones  
Rhinegraves Refers to petticoat breeches. They are said to derive from Holland or Germany.
Rhythm Crêpe Name given to a fabric with regularly spaced puckering. Is made from viscose and resembles seersucker.
Rib  
Rib Fabric The most basic weft knit fabric containing alternate wales of plain and purl stitches; knitted on a machine using two sets of needles, one set pulling plain stitches to one side of the fabric, the other set pulling purl stitches to the other side of the fabric.
Ribbed Hosiery A class of hosiery produced on knitting machines employing the ‘rib stitch’. Heavier than fine-gauge hosiery, but possessing greater elasticity.
Ribbing Raised cords in fabric that can be lengthwise, crosswise or diagonal.
Ribbon
 A narrow fabric, usually woven, and generally with a continuous filament warp in a variety of styles for decorative and functional uses. Ribbon may also be made by slitting broad fabric. The product may have a fused edge. Usually ribbons are woven fabrics less than 4 inches (100 mm) wide. The French term ‘ruban’ and German ‘band’ are sometimes incorrectly translated as ribbon but are terms which embrace a wider range of woven fabrics including elastic, tape and webbing.
   
Rusty The colour of rust.
Rib Jacquard A weft-knitted patterned rib-based fabric, the surface of which is essentially flat and exhibits a figure or design in differing colour or texture. The patterned surface is derived from the chosen arrangement of yarns, and of knitted and float loops. The back of the fabric may be made from either (a) plain or striped backing, or (b) birdseye backing.
Rib-knit A basic stitch used in weft knitting in which the knitting machines require two sets of needles operating at right angles to each other. Rib knits have a very high degree of elasticity in the crosswise direction. This knitted fabric is used for complete garments and for such specialized uses as sleeve bands, neckbands, sweater waistbands, and special types of trims for use with other knit or woven fabrics. Lightweight sweaters in rib knits provide a close, body hugging fit.
Ribbon Embroidered Lace A very elaborate fabric of lace background with matching narrow ribbon crushed and stitched in scroll designs on the right side of the lace. The ribbon is likely to be nylon or polyester to avoid crushing. The lace could be almost any fibre.
Ribbon Loom A machine for making narrow fabrics.
Ribbonzine Non-woven ribbon made by binding silk or rayon warp with adhesive and finishing with high lustre. Made in solid colours, in various widths. Used for tying packages.
Ribbon Yarns Yarns that are woven or knitted in the form of a ribbon.
Rib Fabric, Weft-knitted
 A fabric in which both back and face loops occur along the course, but in which all the loops contained within any single wale are of the same type, i.e. back or face loops.
Rib Gating A type of needle gating, in which the alternate alignment of one set of needles with the other on machine equipped with two sets of needles arranged to knit rib fabrics..
Rib Transfer In knitting, the process of transferring the loops of one course of a rib fabric on to the needles of a plain machine in preparation for plain knitting.
Rib Transfer Stitch
 In weft-knitting, a stitch made by the transfer of the loop from a needle in one set to a needle in another set, the latter having a loop already on it. It is an effect stitch.
Rib Velvet A rarely used name for corduroy/
Rib Weave

One of the plain weave variations, which is formed by using: heavy yarns in the warp or filling direction, or a substantially higher number of yarns per inch in one direction than in the other, or several yarns grouped together as one.
Rib Weft-knit Cross-tuck A weft-knitted 1x1 rib fabric, the construction of which is based on a repeat of either two courses or multiples of two courses. When the fabric is produced on a latch-needle rib machine, the needles of one bed are used to form single-or multi-course tuck stitches and knitted loops alternately, whilst the needles of the other bed knit continuously. A complete course of knitted loops may be interspaced between the courses containing tuck and knit loops.
Rib Weft-knitted fabric A construction in which all the loops in any one wale are all the same either back loops or face loops. However the loops are mixed back and face within the fabric. The appearance of the fabric is reminiscent of animal ribs, hence the name.
Rice See Swift. 
   
Rice Cloth Similar to a fine ratiné. A plain weave, cotton dress fabric made with hard spun warp and a fine, nubby novelty yarn that produces effects resembling grains of rice on the face of the material. Made in solid colours and prints.
Rice Net Woven of coarse cotton thread stiffened by sizing and used as hat foundations.
Rice Weave A variation of simple six-end and eight-end twill weaves formed by a decortication method.
Richelieu An openwork fabric made in imitation of hand embroidery of the same name. The designs are geometric, the embroidery may be in a yarn which matches or contrasts with the backing fabric. The fibres used may be cotton, viscose, polyester, modal or a mixture of fibres. It is a medium-weight crisp fabric. Used for blouses, dresses, and children’s dresses. Also used effectively in small areas, such as yokes or pockets, with a plain matching or contrasting fabric.
Rickrack Flat braid in a zigzag formation. Made from several types of fibres, it is much used for many kinds of trimming on an apparel.
Ric-rac Braid A flat braid made by tensioning component threads differently so that the fabric forms a zigzag shape.
Ridged Weave Fabric defect. A streak or mark in the direction of the filling, sometimes visible at regular intervals in the woven cloth. This is due to slack warp or to some obstruction that hinders the passage of the filling bobbin through the loom’s shed.
Rig To fold wide fabrics in the center and wind on bolt or roll, rather than having them flat on a much wider roll or bolt.
Right Side See Face side.
Right-hand Twill A fabric weave where the twill line runs from the top right hand corner of the fabric towards the bottom left. Usually in piece dyed fabrics right hand twills use two plied yarns in the warp. In the jeans industry Levi's has always used Right Hand twills for their basic denims in their 501 model as well as their other basic models. Arguably approximately 80% of all twills made are of the right-hand type.
Ring Fabric defect in hosiery. A narrow, visually different horizontal band, caused usually by variation in yarn size, dye absorption, or lustre.
Rigmel Shrunk Trade name of a stabilization process, which also affords lustre and a soft, mellow hand to fabrics such as cotton shirting and dress fabrics. The method controls shrinkage to within one percent of the length or the width of the material; in fact it can be controlled to within one-quarter inch per yard in both directions.
Rigging The lengthways folding of finished fabric so that the folded material is half its original width.
Ring Bobbin A bobbin of yarn as spun on a ring-spinning machine.
Ring Doubling
  • See Ring twisting.
    		•
    Ring Twisting
    		 A system of producing folded yarn by twisting together two or more single yarns using ring-and-traveller as the twisting technique. The terms ‘ring twisting’ and ‘down twisting’ are also used when the same technique is employed to increase or decrease the twist in a single yarn.
    Ring-less Hosiery knitted in such a way as to eliminate shadowy rings of colour around the leg. This is accomplished by not knitting any two courses of the consecutive courses from the same cone of yarn.
    Rings, Knitting
    		 A defect characterized by clouded or mottled area around a stocking, usually caused by uneven yarn.
    Ring Spinning

    A system of spinning wherein drafting the roving, twisting the yarn and winding it on the bobbin, proceed simultaneously and continuously. Ring frames are suitable for spinning all counts up to 150s, usually give a stronger yarn and is more productive than the mule spinning frame.

    In the strictest sense spinning is the twisting together of the drawn-out strands of the fibres to form yarns. However, the complete operation of the ‘spinning frame involves drawing out the roving, inserting the twist, and winding the twisted yarn on to a bobbin.

    In ring spinning, the roving from the bobbins is fed into the spinning machine at the top of the machine. The yarn is drawn out by the rollers and then twisted as it is wound onto the package in the lower part of the machine. In order to introduce twist into the yarn the package is rotated. The yarn from the rollers passes through a guide-eye and is twisted as it is wound onto the package, which is rotating at high speed.

    Ring frame has advanced a great deal since its introduction and efforts are still being made to improve it and speed up the process of spinning. Many well-developed high-speed frames are available and most of the staple fibre yarns produced today are spun by this method. The maximum speed of production is however, limited by the fact that in order to introduce each turn of twist into the yarn it is necessary to rotate the package once.

    Alternate methods were therefore examined, whereby the twist can be inserted without rotating the package. These new methods are called open-end spinning.
    Ring-spun Denim Ring-spun denim is the original type of denim fabric using ring-spun yarns. This denim contains unique surface characteristics referred to as slubs, giving jeans a nice authentic, vintage look.
    Ring-spun Yarn Yarn made by continuously twisting and thinning a rope of cotton fibres. The twisting makes the Ring spun yarn short hairs of cotton stand out, resulting in a stronger yarn with a significantly softer hand.
    Rinse To cleanse an article with water after washing. Successive additions of fresh water are used to remove dirt, soil, detergents, etc. that have accumulated in the washing equipment.
    Ring Tube The yarn package wound on ring tube in the spinning machine during ring spinning.
    Ripe Cotton
    		 Fully mature cotton that is particularly suitable for spinning into yarn.
    Ripening

    1. A process employed for stiff, wiry carpet wools to prepare them for carding. The fibres are sprayed with oil, and remain in this state for several days or weeks so that the oil penetrates the fibres, softening them to make them easier to work.

    2. A process in viscose rayon manufacture in which the spinning solution is stored for a specific period of time to allow it to achieve the proper character for spinning (extrusion through spinnerets).
    Ripping The operation of removing cotton or man-made fibre linings from garments prior to the sorting and classification of rags.
    Ripple Cloth Inexpensive, plainweave, medium weight, soft fabric that has been slightly brushed on both sides and then forcibly wrinkled to give it a wavy or rippled surface. Both treatments add warmth. Fabric may be made from wool, but is more likely to be acrylic or from cotton and therefore inflammable. Usually made in plain colours only. Used for dressing gowns and bed jackets.
    Rippling
    		 Combing process for removing the leaves and seeds from the dried stalks of the flax plant in preparation for retting.
    Rip-stop A woven fabric with corded yarns spaced at regular intervals in both the warp and filling, forming squares on the surface of the fabric. Originally intended so a tear in the fabric would not spread. Used mainly for outerwear and active wear.
    Rip-stop Nylon A lightweight, wind resistant, and water resistant plain weave fabric. Large rib yarns stop tears without adding excess weight to active sportswear apparel and outdoor equipment such as sleeping bags and tents.
    Rivet
    		 A metal accessory that is used for both reinforcement of stress points and for non functional ornamentation. Metal tack or burr originally invented by Mr. Levi (Levi's) for securing the pocket sides.
    Riser

    1. In weaving, a filled-in square on design paper which indicates lifting of an end.

    2. Structure which holds a pipe that conveys gas or oil from a well to a drilling platform. The riser extends from the sea floor, where it protects the well from seawater to the platform.

    3. A painted block on textile design paper, which implies that the warp end is over the filling pick at the point of intersection. Also called raiser and ‘up.
    Rivère A French term for openwork effect produced by embroidering over or drawing together the threads left in a drawn work foundation.
    Road Membrane Any coarse, plain weave, open cotton fabric used to reinforce asphalt surfaced roads, airport runways, and ditches. Osnaburgs were the preferred fabrics converted to this use but they have been to a large degree superseded by other processes.
    Roan  
    Robe

    1. Originally this described all the furniture and effects belonging to a person, then the meaning was gradually reduced until it denotes a person's collection of clothing.

    2. A long flowing outer garment, especially one used for ceremonial occasions or as a symbol of office or profession; a loose garment, as a bathrobe, for informal wear especially at home.
    Robe à l'Anglaise A mid to second half of 18th century dress that was made with a fitted back called ‘en fourreau’.
    Robia Voile A wide variety of voile fabrics. In 100% cotton, the voiles vary from satin stripes in various widths and colours to plain square-effect weave with self-colour woven spots.
    Robotics   The complete replacement of human beings in a handling situation. The application of robotics to the making of garments proves very difficult because of the flexible nature of the materials.
    Rocket Package A large version of a Super cop, used as a means of supplying a coarse weft yarn to shuttleless weaving machines. It may be up to 800mm in length and 75mm in diameter.
    Rock Wool
    		 Wool-like fibres made from molten slag or rock by forcing a blast of steam through the liquid. Used for insulation jobs.
    Rogue’s Yarn

    1. A coloured strand of worsted twisted in rope used by British navy.

    2. A yarn different from others in a cloth, inserted for identification.
    Roll-boiling A comparatively short potting treatment at the boil.
    Rolled Latex A fine core thread covered with nylon or other man-made fibres is used for foundation garments, bathing suits, etc. It is first made in a flat strip, and then rolled on itself to form the thread.
    Rolled-seam Finish A finish for the raw edges of the seam allowances of a plain seam, in which both raw edges are enclosed by rolling to one side and hand stitching close to the seam line. A rolled seam-finish is made by (a) trimming the seam allowance to 10mm. (b) rolling the seam allowances together with thumb and forefinger to one side so that raw edges are enclosed, and (c) hand stitching the rolled edge close to the seamline.
    Roller-embossed Film A polymer film that has been indented to induce easy splitting during subsequent stretching. The indentations are produced by using a profiled embossing-roller and may be either longitudinal, followed by uniaxial stretching to produce individual filaments, or patterned and followed by biaxial stretching to produce a fine net.
    Roller Printed A method of printing by passing the fabric over metal rollers on which the design has been engraved. One roller is used for each colour. Used for printing long runs with good register and a clear, sharp design.
    Roller Printing A mechanical method of printing different coloured patterns on cloth with, in some cases up to sixteen colours in one pass, in perfect register. The cloth, full width, passes under copper rollers around a large drum. The design is engraved on the copper rollers. Colour paste, in the engravings of each roller, is pressed against the cloth. There is a separate roller for each colour in the pattern. More suited for long-run printing than is screen printing. The greatest volume of printing is done by roller print machines. Normally only one side of the fabric is printed; however, with special types of machines, both sides can be done.
    Roller Skate A shoe with a set of wheels attached for skating over a flat surface
    Roller-embossed Film A polymer film that has been indented to induce easy splitting during subsequent stretching. The indentations are produced by using a profiled embossing-roller and may be either longitudinal, followed by uniaxial stretching to produce individual filaments, or patterned and followed by biaxial stretching to produce a fine net.
    Roller-rocker Machine A plain net machine in which the motion of the carriages is imparted by fluted rollers.
    Roller-screen Printing A roller metal screen is used. Rollers are arranged horizontally, vertically and centrally.
    Rolling Selvedge Fabric defect. Fabric has curled, buckled, or rolled-up selvedge. May be cut out by shearing, before the material is sent for finishing processes.
    Roll Welt A welt made on a rib basis, in which all the courses of loops except the first and last are intermeshed in the same direction towards the face side of the fabric. In making such a weft on 1x1 rib, the first and last courses are knitted on both sets of needles and the intermediate courses are knitted on only one set of needles.
    Romaine
    		 It is a lightweight textile with a low thread count. it is lustrous and has an uneven textural appearance. It was originally made of silk but is found today in rayon, acetate, and wool, silk and manufactured fibres.
    Roman Stripes Brilliant contrasting stripes that are usually in the warp direction.
    Romney Arsh The wool from this hardy breed of sheep is not as long or as lustrous as Cotswold or Lincoln wool, however it is denser finer. There is much variation in Romney, which shrinks about thirty percent.
    Romper A one-piece garment with the lower part shaped like bloomers. A garment especially for children with the lower part shaped like bloomers Usually used in plural.
    Roofing Felt A felted fabric made of animal hair, coarse wool or asbestos treated with tar or other suitable material and used for roofing.
    Rope

    An article of cordage more than 4 mm in diameter obtained when (a) three or more strands are laid or plaited together, or (b) a core is covered by a braided or plastic film sheath. Types of rope are:
    Braided rope: Also called Sennit rope, Sinnet rope. A rope formed by braiding or plaiting the strands together.
    Cable laid rope: A rope formed by three or more ropes twisted to form a helix around the same central axis. The ropes that become the secondary strands are ‘S’ lay and the finished cable is ‘Z’ lay or vice versa.
    Combined rope: A rope in which the strand centres are made of steel and in which the outer portions of each strand are made from fibrous material.
    Double braided rope: A rope in which a number of strands are plaited to form a core and around which are plaited further strands to form a sheath. The core lies coaxially within the sheath.
    Eight-strand rope: A rope normally composed of 4 pairs of strands plaited in a double four strand round sennit.
    Hard Laid rope: A rope in which the length of lay of the strands and/or the rope is shorter than usual, resulting in a stiffer and less flexible rope.
    Hawser laid rope: A rope of three strands which are twisted to form helixes around the same central axis.
    Laid rope: A rope in which three of more strands are twisted to form helixes around the same central axis. See also Ordinary Lay.
    Shroud laid rope: A four strand rope with or without a core with the strands twisted to form a helix (round the central core, where present).
    Soft laid rope: A rope in which the length of lay of strands and/or the rope is longer than usual resulting in a more flexible rope which is easily deformed.
    Spring lay rope: A rope made with six strands over a main core, each strand of which has alternating wire and fibre components laid over a fibre core.

    Cable-laid Rope

    A rope formed by three or more ropes twisted to form a helix around the same central axis. The ropes that become the secondary strands are ‘S’ lay and the finished cable is ‘Z’ lay or vice versa.
    Rope Belting A belting generally made of cotton ropes formed by twisting four stands around a central core; each strand is covered in spiral fashion with ten twisted cords of cotton yarn that serve as a protective covering to the inner part of the rope, preventing contact and wear without interfering with flexibility or strength.
    Rope Dyed Considered as the best possible method to dye indigo yarns.
    Rope Form Cloth that has been permitted to close in on itself, for convenience in handling over open width.
    Rope Mark Fabric defect in dyed or finished fabrics. A long irregularly shifting longitudinal mechanically induced streak, caused by abrasion marks occurring while wet processing the fabric in rope form.
    Roping A term used for roving in the woollen system of spinning.
    Roping Yarn
    		 A yarn from which a strand is produced.
    Rose A variable colour averaging a moderate purplish red.
    Rose Pink A moderate pink.
    Rose-point Lace
    		 A Venetian needlepoint lace with designs connected by a thick thread. Is characterized, as the name suggests, by delicate close flower or leaf designs.
    Rosin A natural resin is obtained from living pine trees or dead tree stumps and knots.
    Rot Resistance Resistance to deterioration of a textile material as a result of fungal growth in or on it. Such deterioration is normally assessed by measuring loss in tensile strength.
    Rotary Knife Cutting Machine A machine with a circular rotating blade, generally used for cutting straight lines or gradual curves in fabric lays of limited depth.
    Rotary Screen Printing  
    Rotofil Designation used by DuPont for yarns made of staple fibres bound together by wrapping surface fibres around the yarn sheath.
    Rotor A machine part in open-end spinning machine. A device resembling a centrifuge, in which the fibres are assembled and in which, by virtue of its rotation, real twist is inserted in the forming yarn.
    Rotoset Designation used by DuPont for multifilament yarn bundles whose filaments are entwined or interlaced. Eliminates need for yarn twisting..
    Rotor  
    Rotor Spinning A method of open-end spinning which uses a rotor (a high speed centrifuge) to collect and twist individual fibres into a yarn. The fibres on entering the rapidly rotating rotor are distributed around its circumference and temporarily held there by centrifugal force. The yarn is withdrawn from the rotor wall and, because of the rotation of the rotor, twist is inserted.Rotor
       
    Rot Resistance Resistance to deterioration of a textile material as a result of fungal growth in or on it. Such deterioration is normally assessed by measuring loss in tensile strength.
    Rough
    		 Fabric defect. A descriptive term for a fabric surface, which has the feel of sandpaper.
    Rough Dry Laundry that is dried without smoothening or ironing.
    Roughs Lightweight linen canvas used as suit lining in the apparel trades; sold chiefly in brown or natural shades.
    Roughing-out A preliminary hand hackling operation involving the removal of tangled and short flax fibres by means of a roughing tool.
    Round Twill A misnomer for fabric with a rounded rib effect made with a satin weave.
    Rove In jute processing, a continuous strand of spun-jute fibre having a spindle number of 50 or greater.
    Roving

    1. The reduction in weight per unit length of the sliver and the more parallel organization of the fibres result in a product known as ‘roving’. This is reduced by drawing and twist is inserted to form a yarn.

    2. An indefinitely long, loose assemblage of staple fibres, drawn or rubbed into a single strand, substantially parallel and with very little twist, but capable of being drafted. In spun yarn systems, the product of the stage, or stages, just prior to spinning.
    Roving Courses

    In weft knitting. Additional courses used in the manufacture of knitted articles either as protective courses or to facilitate handling in subsequent operations. These courses are afterwards removed.

    Ravelling

    1. A loose yarn that has been partially or wholly detached from a cloth.

    2. The process of removing the yarns consecutively from the fabric.
    Rovinig Frame Any machine used in yarn manufacture, particularly in the ‘cotton system’, to reduce the size of the sliver to roving, even it, and insert a slight amount of twist. This classification includes those machines employed between the drawing and spinning processes.
    Round Heel A fully-fashioned hose heel made by continuous knitting across the whole width with widening or narrowing.
    Round-neck Collar A collar on a jumper that encircles the lower part of the neck, without being either loose or tight.
    Rowdy Fabric defect. The defect consists of streaks in the fabric.
    Rows

    1. A term used in reference to pile floor covering, for the average number of tufts or loops per inch counted in the warpwise direction.

    2. A series of stitches, in crocheting, knitting or netting worked from one side to the other in a straight piece of needlework.
    Royal Twill A term used for a two-ply silk warp and fine cotton filling fabric used for dresses.
    Royle

    1. A closely woven silk fabric with horizontal ribs broken off at intervals, after a given number of warp threads employing what is technically known as figured rib weaves for interlacing warp and filling.

    2. An eight-harness silk fabric with about 250 ends and 100 to 140 picks per inch. Used for dresses and men’s waistcoats.
    RP Short for reinforced plastic.
    Rubber

    A material that is capable of recovering from large deformations quickly and forcibly, and can be, or already is, modified to a state in which it is essentially insoluble (but can swell) in boiling solvent, such as benzene, methylethyl ketone, and ethanol-toluene azeotrope.

    A manufactured fibre in which the forming-forming substance is comprised of natural or synthetic rubber, including the following categories:

    Rubber 1. A manufactured forming in which the forming-forming substance is a hydrocarbon such as natural rubber, polyisoprene, polybutadiene, copolymers of dienes and hydrocarbons, or amorphous (non-crystalline) polyolefins.

    Rubber 2. A manufactured fibre in which the fibre-forming substance is a copolymer of acrylonitrile and diene (such as butadiene) composed of not more than 50% but at least 10% by weight of acrylonitrile units. The term Lastrile may be used as a generic description for fibres falling within this category.

    Rubber 3. A manufactured fibre in which the fibre-forming substance is a polychloroprene or a copolymer of chloroprene in which at least 35% by weight of the fibre-forming substance is composed of chloroprene units.
    Rubber Compound In the manufacture of rubber articles, an intimate mixture of elastomer(s) with all the materials necessary for the finished article.
    Rubber Core Yarn A core yarn made with a core of round or square cut filaments of rubber around which are wrapped, in one or both directions, one or more yarns of cotton, man-made fibre, etc. resulting in and elastic yarn.
    Rubberised Any textile item that has been impregnated with, or coated on one or both sides with, rubber compound, to make it water resistant or waterproof.
    Rubberised Fabric Any fabric with a rubberised coating on one or both sides making it waterproof and resistant to most stains.
    Rubber-like Having a hand suggesting rubber.
    Rubber, Natural A raw material obtained from the sap (latex) of the rubber tree. Rubber is extruded, vulcanised, and slit into sheets.
    Rubber Printing See foam printing.
    Rubber Sheeting

    A plain cotton fabric with heavy coating of cured rubber on one or both sides. Used in various weights in hospitals and for baby cribs.
    Rubber, Synthetic See Synthetic rubber.
    Rubber Thread Counts The size or number of the thread depending on its cross-section, and expressed in parts of an inch, e.g. #50 is 1/50 of an inch in diameter.
    Rubbing See Crocking.
    Rubbing Fastness A method of measuring the transfer of a coloured fabric to a white cloth when the two fabrics are rubbed together.
    Ruche
    A narrow, woven or knitted heading (see under Fringe), usually having a very heavy multiple-thread weft passed through to form a skirt (see Loop ruche), normally about 25 mm wide over-all. It is used generally in lieu of piping round upholstery cushions. Other types consist of a web, the centre one-third of which consists of a pile weave or other raised effect, which is sewn around a central core. Ruches are usually flanged, the flanged portion being for insertion into the seam of the article to which it is to be sewn.
    Cauliflower ruche: A woven flat ruche, the weft of which provides a very heavy uncut-pile effect on one side. The cross-section of a cauliflower ruche is almost semi-circular. It is sometimes called half-round ruche.
    Crimped loop ruche: A loop ruche, the weft for which has been passed through a crimping ma-chine.
    Cut crimped ruche: A cut ruche, the weft of which has been passed through a crimping machine.
    Cut ruche: A ruche woven or knitted in double width and cut down the middle.
    Knitted flat ruche: A ruche consisting of a loosely constructed warp-knitted web with an uncut-pile effect on one surface.
    Loop ruche: A ruche, the skirt of which is in the form of an uncut pile. Also called ‘Tape ruche’.
    Pile ruche: A ruche made as a woven flat ruche, but with pile-forming elements.
    Woven flat ruche: A ruche made from a narrow woven tape with warp patterning, but without pile forming elements.
    Ruched Fabric A warp-knitted, three or four-bar fabric in which the front one, two, or three guide bars are part-set threaded and mis-lap while their warps are stopped so producing a discontinuous pleat in the form of small raised areas, the size, shape, and arrangement of which depend on the threading and lapping movement of the guide bars.
    Ruching A puckering of the fabric created by rows of elastic on the backside. Adding a frill of lace or other material, often pleated.
    Ruddy Red, reddish.
    Rufescent Reddish tone.
    Ruff A large round collar of pleated muslin or linen worn in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. A forerunner of falling band and cravats.
    Ruffling A form of gathering.
    Rug

    A thick, heavy fabric usually with pile and commonly made of wool, mohair, synthetic, nylon or mixtures. Kinds of rugs:

    American Oriental: A machine-made domestic rug with Oriental design and colours to resemble a hand-tied Oriental. Designs may be woven through to the back. Moderately priced compared with hand-tied Oriental.

    Antique Oriental Rug: A hand-tied rug from the Orient. It is at least one hundred years old. Axminster: A floor covering with V-shaped pile yarns, which are held in the fabric by binder yarns. Pile made of wool, man-made fibres or blends; back usually jute.

    Drugget: A rug of 100% wool or wool and cow's hair (pile), and jute ground. India is country of origin. Used for beach cottages and summer porches.

    Fibre Rug: A floor covering made of tightly twisted strips of paper often coated with vinyl to resist friction and moisture.

    Oriental Rug: Hand-tied rug made in India, the Near East, or China.

    Persian Rug: A hand-tied Oriental rug made in Iran. Examples: Kirman, Kashan, Shiraz, Tabriz.

    Tufted Rug: See Tufting

    Turkish Rug: A hand-tied Oriental rug made in Turkey. Examples: Bergama, Ladik, Ghiordes. Turkoman Rug: A hand-tied Oriental rug from Turkestan. Examples: Bokhara, Beshire and Samarkand. Velvet Rug: A floor covering woven on a plain harness loom, Pile cut. When pile is uncut, rug is called ‘velvet twist’.
    Rug Back

    1. That part of a rug normally in contact with the floor.

    2. The underside of a rug as opposed to the use-surface.
    Rug Cushion A sponge rubber or hair felt fabric placed under the rug to prevent the rug from slipping and to make the rug softer and more cushiony.
    Ruggedness Test An experiment in which environmental or test conditions are deliberately varied to evaluate the effect of such variations.
    Rug Tow The short flax fibre removed during scutching and containing extraneous woody material.
    Rug Wool A wool yarn, generally woollen-spun, twisted six-fold, the single thread before plying being not finer than 350 tex.
    Ruling Mill

    In printing, a small mill which has scale lines raised in relief on its surface, and which is used to transfer these lines on to the varnished surface of a copper cylinder.
    Ruling Varnish A specially prepared coating used to protect the surface of the printing cylinder, but which is malleable enough to be finely and clearly scraped away when the small Ruling mill is rotated against it.
    Run Fabric defect in knitted fabric. A series of dropped stitches.
    Run System In the American woollen system, the number of 1600 yard lengths of yarn per pound; an indirect yarn numbering system generally used for yarns spun on the woollen system.
    Run-in The length of thread absorbed into a known length or number of stitches in warp knitting, weft knitting and seaming.
    Run-in Ratio

    The run-in ratio is a very important characteristic of the seam. The ratio between a given length of seam and the length of one of the threads consumed in creating it.

    When the run-in is relatively large, the seam is perceptibly loose and the component fabrics can be separated when pulled laterally so that the seam grins. The extensibility of the seam along its length is, however, at a maximum. At the opposite extreme, with low run-in, the seam is perceptibly tight with little lateral movement between the components and reduced stretch along the seam.

    The run-in ratio in all types of seams is an absolute quantity that expresses three variables, which can characterise the geometric construction of a seam: (a) the density or frequency, i.e. number of stitches/cm, (b) the overall thickness of the components to be joined and (c) the tension of the thread at the time of construction.

    In a complex stitch involving several threads there will be several run-in ratios. The most useful ones involve the needle threads.
    Run-of-the-Loom

    Fabric ready for shipment as it comes from the loom. No inspection is made and no weaving defects are eliminated.

    Run-of-the-Mill

    1. Textile products of practically any type that are not inspected or do not warrant inspection.

    2. Fabrics of any variety that cannot be classed as a ‘first’.

    3. A so-called second, an imperfect piece of merchandise.
    Runnage Specific length especially of cords and ropes.
    Runner

    1. Fabric defect, major, in knitted fabric. Caused by a broken needle, and will appear as vertical line. Most machines have stopping device to stop machine when this happens. See End out.

    2. A long narrow length of textile floor covering finished on both ends.
    Runner Length In knitting, the number of inches of yarn from a warp to make one rack of fabric.
    Running-on The placing of previously knitted loops, or a selvage, back onto the needles of a knitting machine for the addition of a further piece of knitting. The term is also used when an intermediate transfer bar is used to run on to, as in placing the waistband and cuff ribs onto a straight bar knitting machine when knitting fully fashioned garments.
    Running Stitch A short, even, and continuous hand-stitch, formed by passing the thread through the material alternately from top to underside and vice versa. The stitch is used for topstitching, fine seams, and gathering.
    Running Metre/Yard One metre/yard of cloth, regardless of width in which it is woven.
    Run-proof

    The ability to withstand runs. Especially used to describe a knitted construction of locked loops, which prevent runs.
    Run-resist Numerous varieties of run-resist constructions of knit fabrics are employed. A special knitting stitch, usually a displaced loop type, a locked loop, etc. Used in hosiery and various knit fabrics.
    Run Wool The number of 1600yd. hanks, of wool yarn in a pound. A 4 run wool has 4 x 1600 or 6400yd. in one pound.
    Rupture The breaking or tearing apart of a material.
    Russel Cord A ribbed fabric made with a cotton warp and worsted filling; two warp ends are woven together to form the cord. The rib lines run warpwise.
    Russet  
    Russia Braid

    1. A narrow braid with two cores side by side, covered with fine yarns, which go backwards and forwards over one core and under the other as a continuous figure 8.

    2. Two or more adjacent braids interlaced to form stripes.
    Russian Twill A fine twilled wool dress fabric with a clear finish, made with right hand twist yarn and dyed in the piece.
    Rust A strong brown.
    Rusty The colour of rust.
    Rusty Silk Fabric defect. Fine, brownish streaks seen in the weft of white or delicately coloured silk fabric.
     
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