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Spruce London - Fabrics glossary Category: General technical and industrial > Fabrics Date & country: 09/10/2013, UK Words: 53

Waddin
Lofty sheet of fibres used for padding, stuffing or packing.

Voile
Plain weave, semi-sheer, lightweight fabric made with fine, fairly highly twisted yarns. Originally made from cotton, now other fibres are sometimes used.

Viscose
Man made natural polymer regenerated cellulose fibre.

Velvet
Cut warp-pile fabric, in which the cut fibrous ends of the yarns from the surface of the fabric. Many effects are possible, e.g. the pile may be left erect, or it may be laid in one direction during finishing to give a very high lustre.

Velour
Cut pile weft or warp knitted fabric.

Taffeta
Plain weave, closely woven, smooth, crisp fabric with a slight weftways rib, originally made from continuous filament silk yarns. Now often made using other fibres.

Synthetic
Describes a substance which has been manufactured by building up a complex structure from simpler chemical substances.

Spun silk
Staple fibre silk yarn produced from silk waster which has been largely degummed.

Slub yarn
Fancy yarn characterised by areas of thicker, loosely twisted yarn alternating with thinner, harder twisted areas.

Silk
Natural animal protein fibre obtained from the cocoons produced by silkworms.

Silk Noil
Very short silk fibres extracted during silk combing that are too short for producing spun silk. These fibres are usually spun into silk-noil yarns.

Satin
Woven structure where the maximum amount of warp shows on the face. The smooth effect is enhanced by using filament yarns and/or lustrous fibres.

Sateen
Woven structure where the maximum amount of weft shows on the face. The smooth effect is enhanced by using filament yarns and/or lustrous fibres.

Raw Silk
Continuous filaments containing no twist, drawn off or reeled from cocoons. The filaments are unbleached, undyed and not degummed.

Pure Silk
Silk in which there is no metallic or other weighting of any kind, except that which is an essential part of dyeing.

Polyester
Man made synthetic polymer fibre.

Organza
A sheer, lighweight, plain weave fabric, with a relatively firm drape and handle, traditionally made from the continuous filament of silk yarns. Now often made using other fibres.

Organdie
Lightweight, plain weave transparent fabric, with a permanently stiff finish.

Nylon
Man made synthetic polymer fibre. Alternative name for polyamide.

New wool
Fibre from a sheep or lamb that has not previously been used. Alternative name for virgin wool.

Natural Fibre
A textile fibre occuring in nature, which is animal, vegetable or mineral in origin.

Muslin
Lightweight, open, plain or simple leno weave fabric, usually made of cotton.

Merino Wool
Wool from the merino sheep, which produces the shortest and finest wool fibres.

Mousseline
General term for very fine, semi-opaque fabrics, finer than muslins, made of silk, wool or cotton.

Linen
Natural vegetable bast fibre obtained from the flax plant.

Lawn
Fine, plain weave fabric, traditionally of cotton on linen.

Jute
Natural vegetable bast fibre

Jersey
General term used for any knitted fabric.

Jacquard fabric
A fabric woven on a jacquard loom, where the patterning mechanism allows individual control on any interlacing of up to several hundred warp threads

Interlining
Fabric used between the inner and outer layers of a garment to improce shape retention, strength, warmth or bulk. Interlinings may be woven, knitted or nonwoven, and can be produced with fusible adhesive on one surface.

Hopsack
Variation on plain weave, where two or more ends and picks weave as one. Sometimes called basket weave.

Gauze
Lightweight, open-textured fabric made in plain weave a simple leno weave

Georgette
Fine, lightweight, plain weave, cr

Drill
Woven twill fabric with a similar structure to denim, but usually piece-dyed.

Doupion (or Dupion)
Silk-breeding term meaning double cocoon, used to describe the irregular, raw rough silk reeled from double cocoons.

Delaine
Lightweight, printed, all wool plain weave fabric.

Crepe yarn
Spun or filament yarns that are very highly S or Z twisted used for the production of crepe fabrics.

Cr
Lightweight, plain weave cr

Crepe
Fabric characterised by a crincled or puckered surface, which can be produced by a number of methods.

Corduroy
Wove, cut weft-pile fabric where the cut pile runs in vertical cords along the length of the fabric. A number of different types are found, ranging from pincord (very fine cords) to elephant cord (very broad cords).

Colourway
One of several combinations of colours used for a particular fabric.

Chintz
Closely woven, lustrous, plain weave cotton fabric, printed or plain, that has been friction calendered or glazed. Much used for curtainings and upholstery.

Chiffon
Originally a very lightweight, sheer, plain weave fabric made from silk. Now can also be used to describe a similar fabric using other fibres.

Cheesecloth
Open, lightweight, plain weave fabric with a slightly cr

Cavalry twill
Firm woven fabric with a steep twill showing double twill lines, traditionally used for riding breeches and jodphurs.

Canvas
Strong, firm, relatively heavy and rigid, generally plain woven cloth traditionally made from cotton, linen, hemp or jute.

Cambric
Lightweight, closely woven, plain weave fabric, usually made from cotton or linen.

Calico
General term used for plain cotton fabrics heavier than muslin. These are usually left unbleached, area made in a variety of weights, and are often used for making toiles.

Buckram
Plain weave fabric, generally of linen or cotton, which is stiffened during finishing with fillers and starches. Uses include interlinings and bookbinding fabrics.

Boucl
Fancy yarn showing an irregular pattern of curls or loops.

Blend
Combination of two or more different staple fibres within the same yarn. Fibres are blended for one or more reasons, e.g. cost, properties, appearance.

Batiste
Fine, soft,plain weave fabric traditionally made from linen, now often made with other fibres, especially cotton.

Batik
Resist mehod of patterning cloth where wax is used as the resist. Molten wax is applied to the cloth, traditionally by a hand process, in a pattern, and the wax is allowed to harden. The waxed cloth is dyed and the wax removed afterwards. The process can be repeated to build up complext patterns. Sometimes the hardened wax is cracked to produce a characteristic veining.