Glossary of terms used on this site

This term is used in the United Kingdom to describe a waterproof fabric produced by enamelling the surface of an oiled cotton cloth. Used for household applications and inexpensive upholstery, it has now been replaced by polyvinyl chloride (PVC) coated fabrics. See oil cloth.

The hair of the angora rabbit. Yarn spun with angora is extremely soft and in most cases contains a proportion of other fibre to facilitate easier spinning but is usually no more than 7% of the total amount of material. The soft lustrous hair from the angora goat is referred to as mohair. See mohair.

A dye obtained from the soft pulp covering the seeds of bixa orellana. Known variously as annetto, rocou, bixin and orean. Found in Central and South America and Asia. A fugitive orange dye used as a ground for other colours. Traditionally used for colouring butter and cheese for which its use is now highly regulated. Barely soluble in water can be dissolved in caustic alkali.

A worsted cloth produced and used after the Boar War in South Africa.

Filament viscose or acetate rayon. Sometimes this term is shortened to art silk.

A fibrous texture mineral, containing silicate of magnesium and calcium with traces of iron and other minerals, obtained from rock. It is acid proof, rust proof and flame proof. The practice of spinning asbestos with other fibres into yarns to manufacture protective cloths is discouraged as small asbestos fibres can be easily inhaled and enter the lungs.

A range of dyestuffs, which are formulated within the fibre by combining two components. The production of an insoluble azo compound on a substrate by interaction of a diazotized amine (azoic diazo component) and a coupling component (azoic coupling component). Also known as ice colours because of the necessity of lowering the temperature during processing. Traditionally used in the production of African prints, they have been superseded by other dyestuffs and become uneconomic, their use having declined.

The beam at the rear and full width of a weaving loom onto which the warp has been wound and from which the warp is subsequently taken to be woven. See beam, breast beam and double beam.

An absorbent undyed (greige) cloth used to support and carry the fabric being printed.  It protects the blanket from contamination by surplus print paste.  See greige. 

A loom without a frame.  The strap is put round the back of the weaver who maintains the tension of the warp by leaning back while the other end of the warp is attached to a wall or tree.  The length of the fabric produced on a back strap loom is limited in length, as with vertical (frame) and horizontal (frame) looms. The fell of the cloth moves along the loom instead of remaining stationary as with a conventional frame loom.

A term used in handweaving when an incorrect weft thread has been introduced across the warp and then taken out or unwoven.

A treatment using natural or synthetic tanning agents applied to improve wet fastness of dyed or printed silk or polyamide fabrics. See polyamide and Appendix Fibre Chart, polyamide.

A loosely woven woollen cloth, heavily felted and cropped to produce a fine nap on both sides. Traditionally dyed red or green.  From the old French word baie, a cloth dyed a brownish red colour used for clothing, lining cutlery draws and covering tables. The Spanish name for the same cloth is bayetta.

The term describes a cloth made with the same thickness or diameter of yarn throughout, woven with the same number of ends in the warp as picks in the weft. The actual diameter of a yarn with a specific count can vary according to the compactness of the yarn.

A weave in which the average float is the same in the warp and the weft directions and in which the warp and weft floats are equally distributed between the two sides of the fabric.  See weaves.