cortex

Cortical cells in the wool fiber consisting of bundles of fibrils.

latex

The name for the liquid form of natural or man-made rubber. It can be formed into thread for use as an elastic yarn. Latex is also used extensively as part of the backing in the manufacture of rugs and at one time, was used extensively in corsets and brassieres. Now, however, although some latex foundation garments are still made, it has been largely replaced by spandex. Solid latex is some­times referred to as rubber. See spandex.

redaimed textile fibers

Fibers made into fabric (whether sold comrnercially or not) and then converted back into fiber. Most reclaimed textile fibers are wool and other natural fibers because it is extremely difficult to reclaim man-made fibers. See reprocessed fibers and reused fibers.

tex

A system of yarn numbering that measures the weight in grams of one kilometer of yarn.

textiles converter

A business that buys unfinished fabrics, has them bleached, printed, and finished by another business specializing in particular types of finishes, then sells the end product.

texturalized

A method of adding texture to otherwise smooth yarns. See textured yarn.

texture

One of the elements that determines the way in which a finished fabric looks. lt is the surface effect of a fabric.

textured

A surface woven with a nubby yarn construction. lt may be made in any liber.

tweed-textured

An exaggerated chevron or tweed-like structural design with accentuated nubs.

Barre

The term "Barre" describes a fabric, either knit or woven, in which stripes run in crosswise directions. Barre also refers to flaws in fabric that appear as unwanted crosswise stripes of texture or color.

boucle yarn

Boucle yarn is a rough, quite thick and slubby linen yarn that is characterized by tight loops projecting from the body of the yarn with regular intervals. It is a novelty yarn often mixed with yarns of other fibers for textural interest. Boucle yarn is very popular because there are many varieties and weights.

chenille

Chenille is a fabric consisting of wool, cotton, silk or artifical fibers. It is woven from blurry yarns or tufts. Usually it is a mix from chenille and normal textile yarns. While chenille is the filling, the other yarn is the warp. Chenille is a pile yarn originally made by weaving a pile fabric and subsequently cutting it into strips. Its main use is for draperies and bedspreads.

Cheviot

Cheviot is a roughly textured, woolen fabric with a twill weave. The name is derived from the sheeps of the Cheviot Hills (England) of which´s wool it was originally made of.

curled yarn

A textured yarn made by a heated blade that curls the filaments.

damask

A glossy, heavy, firm-textured Jacquard weave fabric, similar to brocade, but lighter, with flat and reversible patterns. It is made of silk, linen, cotton, rayon or a combination of fibers in double or single damask. It is used for tablecloths, napkins, home furnishings, draperies and upholsteries, and occasionally clothing, such as afternoon and evening dresses.

fiber

The basic unit used in the fabrication of textile yarns and fabrics. Fibers are much longer than they are wide. The term at one time was limited to materials that could be spun into yarn, but now is used to include filaments that do not require spinning, such as silk and man-made fibers.

georgette

A soft, sheer dull-textured silk fabric, similar to chif­fon, made with a crepe yarn to give the fabric a crepe appearance. The crepy surface is obtained by alternating right-hand and left hand twist yarns in warp and filling. It is used for summer and evening dresses. See chiffon and crepe.

knitting

The process of constructing an elastic, porous fabric by interlocking a series of loops of one or more yarns with needles. It may be done by hand or by machine. These yarns form a series of connecting loops that support one another like a chain. Almost any textile item can be and has been knitted, including rugs. A warp knit is made on a machine in which parallel yarns run lengthwise and are locked into the series of loops. Warp knits have a good deal of cross­wise stretch. Wett knits are made on a machine that forms loops in a circular direction and have one continuous thread running across the fabric. The following entries are common knit terms.

latex

The name for the liquid form of natural or man-made rubber. It can be formed into thread for use as an elastic yarn. Latex is also used extensively as part of the backing in the manufacture of rugs and at one time, was used extensively in corsets and brassieres. Now, however, although some latex foundation garments are still made, it has been largely replaced by spandex. Solid latex is some­times referred to as rubber. See spandex.

marl

A technical term that refers to a yarn made of different col­ored fibers. The word is used descriptively for fabrics to indicate randomly or uniformly colored slubs that appear on the surface giving added textural and design interest to the fabric.

marquisette

A light, strong, sheer, open-textured curtain fabric in leno weave, often with dots woven into the surface. The thread count varies from 48 x 22 to 60 x 40. Marquisette, extremely popular for curtains and mosquito netting, is made of cotton, rayon, acetate, nylon, polyester, acrylic, glass, silk, or mixtures.

mercerization

A finish applied to cotton yarn or fabric or to a blend of cotton and other fibers to make it stronger, more absorbent, and to give the fabric additional luster and increased ability to take dye. Mercerization can be done at the yarn stage or the fabric stage. In common with several other textile processes, mercerization involves the use of caustic soda (sodium hydroxide or lye).

mineral fibers

Textile raw material obtained from minerals in the earth, such as asbestos, silver, gold, copper, and the like.

moire

A wavy, rippling pattern similar to a watermark produced in the finishing of certain fabrics by calendering, usually on a ribbed tex tile fabric. On acetate, moire made this way is permanent.

moireing

A finishing process by engraved rollers that produces a waved or watered effect on a textile fabric. Design is permanent when heat-set.

rabbit hair

"Angora rabbit´s fur. The hair of rabbits often is mixed with ""normal"" fibers to give softness or an more illustrious texture to the finished fabric."

redaimed textile fibers

Fibers made into fabric (whether sold comrnercially or not) and then converted back into fiber. Most reclaimed textile fibers are wool and other natural fibers because it is extremely difficult to reclaim man-made fibers. See reprocessed fibers and reused fibers.

recycled fiber

See reclaimed textile fibers, reprocessed fiber, and reused fiber.

pongee

A plain-weave, fairly lightweight silk fabric with a slight slub to the yarns. Today, the terms Honan and pongee are used interchangeably for fabrics with this texture, but made from man-made fabrics.

tussah

Silk fabric woven from silk made by wild, uncultivated silkworms. Tussah is naturally tan in color, cannot be bleached, and has a rougher texture than cultivated silk. Wild silkworms eat leaves other than mulberry leaves which cultivated silkworms eat exclusively. The difference in diet accounts for the different fiber and fabric characteristics. Tussah is also used to describe fabrics designed to imitate this kind of silk. See wild silk.

wild silk

The silk from uncultivated silkworms that eat leaves other than mulberry leaves. Wild silk is coarser and is more uneven than cultivated silk. The resulting fabric is usually duller in finish and rougher in texture than other types of silk. Tussah is a silk fabric made from wild silk.

silk noil

Short ends of silk fibers used in making rough, textured, spun yarns or in blends with cotton or wool.

stretch yarn

A textured yarn that has good stretch and recovery. It can also refer to yarns made of fibers that have elastic properties or to those yarns whose elastic properties are obtained by alterations of the basic fiber.

synthetic fiber

A man-made textile fiber derived from natural bases or produced by chemical synthesis. These chemicals were never fibrous in form.

tenaeity

The tensile strength of a fiber, expressed as force per unit of linear density of an unstrained specimen. lt is usually expressed in grams per denier or grams per tex. See tex.

texturalized

A method of adding texture to otherwise smooth yarns. See textured yarn.