Glossary of terms used on this site

Silkmoth variety, native only to temperate regions, and which produces one generation of only dormant eggs per year.

Any fabric used to cover furniture. Can be manufactured from any fibre or combination of fibres.

Twisting one or more yarns by withdrawing them over-end from a rotating package.

Urena lobata L. A bast fibre similar to jute. Grown in West Africa, South East Asia, South America and Caribbean. Processed in the same way as jute.

A type of rib knitting machine with two needle beds with the hooks from each bed facing each other, both beds forming an inverted V.

Mainly used to colour cellulose, such as cotton, yarns or cloths made from cellulose yarns. Vat dyes are insoluble in water so they require to be made soluble before dyeing the fibre. Using an alkaline solution of caustic soda and sodium hydrosulphite the dye is converted, by chemical reduction, to a leuco alkali-soluble. At this point the colour will differ from the final dyed colour. The dye, having entered the fibre, is exposed to air which oxidizes the dye in the fibre back to its insoluble state. This is a dyeing process when the dye is accepted into the fibre in a reduced or vatted form, when oxidized the colour is fixed firmly to the fibre. The basic principles of vat-dyeing are:

• The conversion of the insoluble vat dye into the soluble sodium-leuco form by reduction or vatting.
• The conversion of the absorbed dye, in the cloth or yarn, back to the insoluble state by oxidation.
• Dyed or printed yarn or cloth treated in a hot detergent bath to produce a stable shade with maximum fastness.

Indigo is a natural vat dye and has been used extensively in India and west Africa for many centuries.

A 100% cotton velvet made in Manchester, England in the early eighteenth century. Constructed with a weft float, which is then cut to form the pile, from mercerized cotton yarns, although rayon was also used. The pile slopes slightly to emphasise the sheen of the yarn and create a lustrous surface to the cloth. Used for clothing and as a furnishing.

See rayon.

The threads(ends) which run the length (of the fabric) on the loom and interlaced with weft (picks) to form the fabric. See end.

The preparation of a number of threads (ends) which are arranged in order, number and width, parallel to each other and wound on the back beam on the loom. There are several methods of warping by hand: frame warping, stick warping using a hand-held creel, horizontal warping, sectional warping and warping on an upright warping mill. Commercial warping is always done on a horizontal warping mill.

At the time when spinning cotton was going through a period of rapid development with the invention of the jenny by James Hargreaves, Richard Arkwright invented the water frame. In his search for a constant, reliable source of power Richard Arkwright developed the jenny and set up his first water-powered mill in Cromford, Derbyshire, England, in 1771. The water-frame inaugurated the factory system and was able to produce a consistently even yarn which was more suitable for the expanding Nottingham knitting industry. See jenny.

The term weave is used normally to describe the structure of a woven fabric or the process of weaving which is usually carried out on a loom. Woven fabrics are constructed with two sets of interlacing warp and weft yarns. The warp yarns, or ends, are usually wound lengthwise on the loom, while the weft yarns, or picks, interlace the warp at right angles to produce the fabric.

There is a wide variety of weave constructions of which tabby is the most common. The main reason for changing the structure of a cloth, by the use of a particular weave, is to achieve the best combination of weight and cover for the eventual weight of the fabric.

The following weaves are the most widely used:

• brighton - honeycomb structure
• crow - one and three twill
• double plain -  two interchanging plain cloths making a single cloth
• herringbone - chevron or zig-zag pattern
• honeycomb - three-dimensional cellular structure sometimes known as waffle weave
• hopsack - 2 up and 2 down or 3 up and 3 down structure also known as matt or basket weave
• leno - open, stable structure often used for cellular fabrics
• satin - warp faced structure often with warp yarn thinner than the weft mock-leno like leno but simpler and less stable
• plain or tabby - the simplest weave structure sateen weft faced structure often with weft yarn thicker than the warp
• twill - 2 up and 2 down diagonal weft and warp floats sometimes known as common twill

The smallest knot allowing a weaver to repair a broken warp end or two pieces of weft thread. This type of knot lies flat on of the surface of the finished cloth and requires minimal attention from the mender.

A narrow fabric usually using two ply yarns. Typically used for upholstery, luggage, conveyor belts and seat belts. See narrow fabrics.

The threads which are passed across and through the warp by a shuttle, air jet, rapier or water jet to form a woven fabric.