Obtained from The Worshipful Company of Weavers
Term | Main definition |
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sley | The frame, which hangs in front of the shafts on the loom, supports the reed through which the warp ends are threaded in order. The slay is pushed back and forth during he process of weaving, to press the yarn firmly into the fell of the cloth. Sometime referred to as the beater, batten, lay, lathe, going-part or fly-beam. See batten. |
sliver | A continuous untwisted rope of assembled fibre with a uniform cross-section. A sliver is produced after fibre has been carded. Several slivers can be processed further by putting them through a drawframe to produce a single, well blended and straightened sliver. The sliver usually goes through further processing by drawing out into a roving. The same term is used throughout the woollen, worsted, cotton and man-made fibre industries. |
soosee | Soosie, soosey, susi or soucis. From a Hindi word given to a coloured stripe silk or silk and cotton fabric loosely handwoven in plain weave. Possibly the source of the proverb which says that a silk purse cannot be made from a sow\'s ear (soosee). |
space-dyeing | |
spinning | The process by which a mass of staple fibres is converted into a yarn or thread to meet required specifications of thickness, evenness, twist and composition. Spinning can be done by hand, by hand controlled machine (like a spinning wheel) or mechanically. There are many types of spinning mechanisms all based on five different principles:
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spun silk | |
staple | Used to describe a small mass or tuft of animal, vegetable or man-made fibre illustrates the fibre length, hence, for example, the terms \'short staple wool\' or \'long staple cotton\' or \'short staple polyester\'. |
staple fibre | |
staple length | The length of staple fibre compared to the length of natural fibres, for example, \'mountain wools have a staple length of 50mm\'or\'the staple length of Indian cotton averages 20mm\'. |
stenter | One of a series of finishing processes when the selvedges of an open-width textile fabric are held at a predetermined width and the tension maintained. The attachment to the selvedges can be by needles, hooks or clips. Traditionally done on simple frames, is now done in a stentering machine which usually contains a dryer. The term stentering is used for passing a fabric through a stenter, or tenter. Stentering is done for a variety of reasons:
A flexible stick, called a stenter or tenter, is often used when weaving on a handloom to maintain a constant width of the fabric under an even tension, as it is being woven. Hence the term \'to be under tenter hooks\' means to be tense. |
stockinette | A single knit fabric which derives its name from stocking stitch traditionally used in the manufacture of socks and stockings. Stockinette is now associated with cotton cleaning cloths, although it can be used for nightwear or dresses. Although similar in weight it is generally looser than the knitted fabric used in the manufacture of T shirts. |
stone-wash | |
strand | |
stri | |
string |