Glossary of terms used on this site

The quality of dyed and printed fabrics is usually indicated by the fastness of the fabric. In the case of a fabric being wet-fast, it means that there must be a resistance to the disappearance, no matter how small, of the dye or print during washing and afterwards, when wet.

A corded fabric of the same family as cavalry twill, elastique, tricotine or gabardine. The twill is slightly steeper that cavalry twill and the yarn is usually bulkier that in the other cords. A rugged, hard wearing fabric usually made of 100% wool. (illustration whipcord and cavalry twill weaves)

Sometime confused with, although the same as tussah silk.

Also known as wincey, made with cotton or linen warp and wool weft in a plain weave. Often made with 100% cotton yarns, the fabric is raised or brushed to create a soft handle. The word winceyette is a play on words which comes from another cloth called linsey-woolsey.

The name given to a woven blanket made from fine quality wool and heavily raised to give a thickness to the fabric and improve its insulation quality. Traditionally made in the town of Witney, Oxfordshire, England.

The word wool comes from the old English word wull. The Latin word for wool was lana which is also the origin of the word for wool in several other European languages. Wool is the hair of the sheep.

• wool - English
• laine - French
• wolle - German
• lenos - Greek
• lana - Italian
• lá - Portugese
• lînã - Romanian
• lana - Spanish

Of the many breeds of sheep throughout the world, a different type of wool is produced by each. There are five main types:

1. Coarse long and medium wool from hill or mountain sheep.
2. Lustrous and semi-lustrous long wool from pure-bred sheep.
3. Short and medium Down wools from pure-bred sheep.
4. Fine soft wool from pure-bred sheep.
5. Crossbred wools from crossbred or halfbred sheep.

Tropical and desert sheep produce short coarse wools.

Other animals grow wool and hair which is collectively referred to as wool which are also widely used in the manufacture of textiles. These are sometimes called luxury fibres as they are usually more expensive to grow and process than sheep\'s wool: angora goat (mohair), angora rabbit, llama, alpaca, pashmina or cashmere goat and vicuna. The hair from these animals is generally much softer than sheeps wool and much warmer to wear.

The Woolmark symbol signifies that a cloth or garment is made only of pure new, sheep\'s wool.

A cloth woven from fine yarn which has been spun from combed wool, to remove the short fibres producing a smooth, lightweight and often lustrous fabric. Requires highly specialized finishing to create the soft, crease resistant handle which identifies a superior quality worsted suiting. Often man-made fibres are blended with wool to make lighter, less-expensive worsted cloths.

Found in Mongolia. The yak grows coarse outer hair, sometimes spun into a coarse yarn which is woven and used in making local tents. The fine under hair of the yak is used weaving thinner cloth for warm clothing.

The basic component of most, particularly woven or knitted, fabric. Yarn, sometimes referred to as thread, is either a collection of small lengths of natural or man-made fibre which are spun and twisted together or endless extruded natural or man-made filament.

Spun yarn can be a blend of two or more fibres. Any yarn can be made thicker or stronger by plying, doubling, twisting or folding two or more single yarns together. The term ply is often used to describe the thickness or size of hand knitting or hand embroidery yarns.

There are thousands of different yarns made in a variety of different ways for an infinite number of different fabrics. Fancy yarns are made by combining two or more similar or different yarns or by introducing contrasting materials into the yarn.

The following terms are used to describe certain types of fancy yarn ( See fancy yarn and spinning):

• bouclé
• brushed
• chenille
• corkscrew
• gimp
• knop
• loop
• marl
• slub
• snarl

See count.

A cloth made from lustrous, crossbred worsted yarns, woven with a satin weave, raised with a fine nap on one side, cropped and then finally steamed to develop a an even velvety appearance. Usually dyed black. The word comes from the pelt, or zibaline, the soft silky fur of the Siberian sable.