thermal woven

A porous cloth so constructed that air warmed by the body is trapped between the yarns. First used in underwear, it is now used for blankets and the reverse sides of comforters.

woven seersucker

Woven seersucker is a crinkly and stripy cotton fabric made by weaving some of the yarns in tighter tension than others.

art linen

A medium-weight linen or blended fabric which is plain-woven. Normally used for embroidery, dresses, uniforms, table linens, and other types of embroidered items.

astrakhan

The term was used to name the wool from karakul lambs. Nowadays, it is also used to describe a fabric woven or knitted to similar to this wool. It is curly and heavy. Connected to: karakul

baize

Loosely woven fabric, normally made of cotton or wool, which nowadays also can contain other fibers. Originally used for school bags or as covers for the doors leading to servants’ quarters in England. Baize is used for industrial purposes as well.

barathea

Barathea is mixed fabric which contains silk, rayon, cotton or wool and is closely woven. It has a typical pebbly surface. Barathea is used for dresses, neckties, trimmings, and suits.

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.

batiste

A fabric named for Jean Baptiste, a French linen weaver. (1) In cotton, a sheer, fine muslin, woven of combed yarns and given a mercerized finish. It is used for blouses, summer shirts, dresses, lingerie, infants’ dresses, bonnets, and handkerchiefs. (2) A rayon, polyester, or cotton-blend fabric with the same characteristics. (3) A smooth, fine wool fabric that is lighter than challis, and similar to fine nun’s veiling. It is used for dresses and negligees. (4) A sheer silk fabric either plain or figured, similar to silk mull. It is often called “batiste de soie” and is made into summer dresses.

Bedford cloth

Bedford cloth is a strong woven fabric with lengthwise ribs. Normally used for upholstery and riding breeches and may be made of any fiber.

Benares

Benares is a lightweight fabric from India. Named after the town of Benares it is usually woven with metallic threads.

birds-eye

Fabric with a woven-in dobby design. The pattern has a center dot and resembles the eye of a bird. It is used in cotton diapers, pique, and wool sharkskin. See pique.

bonding

A process of joining two or more layers of cloth with a layer of adhesive, or pressing fibers into thin webs or mats held together by adhesive, plastic, or self-bonding that melts when heat is applied.Nonwoven fabrics are made in this way. The term occasionally is used as a synonym for laminating, but this is technically incorrect

boucle

Boucle is a fabric woven with boucle yarns with looped appearance on the surface. The fabric has a abrasive surface. Boucle fabrics are woven or knitted by both, hand and machine.

broadcloth

Although the term broadcloth originally meant any fabric made on a loom of a certain width, it now means a fine, tightly woven fabric with a faint rib. Originally, it was made of mercerized cotton, but today the term is used to describe several dissimilar fabrics made with different fibers, weaves, and finishes. (1) Originally, a silk shirting fabric so named because it was woven in widths exceeding the usual twenty-nine inches. (2) A plainweave, tightly woven, high-count cotton fabric, with fillingwise rib finer than poplin. Best grades are made of combed pima or Egyptian cotton, usually with high thread counts (136x60 or 144x76). The fabrics are usually mercerized, sanforized, and given a soft lustrous finish, and are used for women’s blouses, tailored summer dresses, and men’s shirts. (3) A closely woven, medium-weight wool cloth with a smooth nap, velvety feel, and lustrous appearance. Wool broadcloth can be made with a two-up-and-two-down twill weave or plain weave. In setting up a loom to make the fabric, the loom is threaded wide to allow for a large amount of shrinkage during the filling process. The fabric takes its name from this wide threading. High-quality wool broadcloth is fine enough for garments that are closely molded to the figure or draped. Its high-luster finish makes it an elegant cloth. Wool broadcloth is ten to sixteen ounces per yard and is now being made in chiffon weights. (4) A fabric made from silk or man-made filament fiber yarns and woven in a plain weave with a fine crosswise rib obtained by using a heavier filling than warp yarn.

brocade

Brocade is used as a drapery or upholstery fabric. It has a Jacquard weave with an allover interwoven design, normally figures or flowers. The name is derived from the French word meaning “to ornament”. The brocade pattern is accentuated with varying surfaces or colors and often has gold, silver, or other metallic threads running through it. Although true brocades still are produced, nowadays the term is also used for knits with a similar luxurious look. A brocade rug, in carpeting, is one in which different yarns of the same color create a subtle pattern.

bunting

A loosely woven fabric used primarily for flags and draping. Bunting used in public places must be flameproof. Bunting is also a term used to describe a simple rectangular square of material in which a baby is wrapped for warmth.

butcher rayon

A coarse rayon, or rayon and acetate blend, mediumweight fabric woven in a plain weave and originally intended as a substitute for butcher linen.

calico

A smooth-surfaced, plain weave cloth. Today, the term is almost always applied to fabric with bright, sharply contrasting, usually small-print designs. Calico is usually woven, although calico prints may appear on knits. Calico is a traditionally popular fabric for patchwork. It is also used for dresses, sportswear, and aprons.

cambric

A closely woven, plain weave, white fabric that is finished with a slightly glossy surface. The fabric is traditionally made from cotton or linen, but can be made from any fiber. It was formerly used in underwear and handkerchiefs, but today its major uses are to reinforce book bindings and to upholster the underside of chairs and sofas. Very low count, heavily sized glazed cambric is used for costuming.

chambray

(1) A plain-woven fabric with an almost square count (80x76), a colored warp, and a white filling, that gives a mottled, colored surface. The fabric is named for Cambrai, France, where it was first made for sunbonnets. Although chambray is traditionally woven, the look itself is so popular it is imitated in knitting. It is similar in appearance to denim but much lighter in weight. It is used for women’s and children’s summer dresses and men’s shirts. (2) A cotton print cloth made of yarn-dyed yarns that can also be woven in patterns and woven in stripes. (3) A similar but carded-yarn fabric used for work clothes and children’s play clothes. See denim.

chamois

Soft, pliable leather from the skin of the chamois goat, although other animal skins may be substituted. It is used for gloves and as a cloth for washing autos. Chamois cloth is woven to imitate the leather, usually has a slightly napped surface, and is usually yellow, as is the goat skin. It is also used in clothing.

changeable fabric

Fabric woven with yarns of one color in the warp and another color in the filling so that the fabric seems to change color as the light strikes it. Other names for this type of fabric are iridescent and shot.

check

A check is any small, regular pattern of squares woven or knitted into, or printed on, a fabric. See types of checks following.

district check

The name given to several quite different woven check patterns that originated in Scotland. The term applies to designs ranging from glen checks to shepherd checks

gingham check

Regular check in which the design is woven so that, in a red and white checked gingham, for example, there are squares of solid red, squares of solid white, and squares of white warp and red filling, as well as squares with red warp and white filling. Gingham checks are also printed on woven and knitted fabrics, and are knitted into some fabrics by means of a Jacquard attachment.

overcheck

A design in which one check is woven or printed over another of a different size. Glen checks are overchecks.

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.

chintz

Any closely woven, plain-weave, glazed cotton and blends of polyestercotton fabric, often printed in bright designs and gay colors, which are most often floral. It is used for draperies, slipcovers, bedspreads, upholstery, and now mens’ and boys’ shirts, and ladies’ and girls’ dresses.

corded fabric

The term corded fabric (often shortened to cord) refers to fabrics with a lengthwise rib, often woven in stripes. Any fabric with a lengthwise rib.

corduroy

A ribbed, high-luster, cut-pile fabric with extra filling threads that form lengthwise ribs or wales. The rib has been sheared or woven to produce a smooth, velvet-like nap. The thread count varies from 46 x 116 to 70 x 250. Traditionally made of cotton, corduroy can be made of many different fibers, such as rayon and polyester blends. lt is used for dresses, coats, sports jackets, sports shirts, bathrobes, slacks, and draperies.

crepe

A lightweight fabric of silk, rayon, cotton, wool, man-made, or blended fibers, and characterized by a crinkled surface. This surface is obtained through the use of crepe yarns (yarns that have such a high twist that the yarn kinks), and by chemical treatment with caustic soda, embossing, or weaving (usually with thicker warp yarns and thinner filling yarns). Although crepe is traditionally woven, crepe yarns are now used to produce knit crepes.

denim

A cotton twill weave fabric made of single hard-twisted yarns. The staple type has colored warp and white or undyed filling thread. When the fabric (and the look) became popular, the name denim was given to many other types of fabric, including cross-dyed fabrics and brushed fabrics, both knit and woven, that resemble true denim. Most jeans are made of denim and the most popular and traditional denim color is blue. Sports denim is softer and lighter in weight. It is now available in many colors, and in plaids and stripes. Woven-in stripes and plaids are popular for draperies, upholstery, and bedspreads.

Donegal tweed

Originally a thick woolen homespun fabric woven by hand by Irish peasants in County Donegal, Ireland. Today, the term is used to refer to any tweed in plain weave characterized by thick, colorful slubs woven into the fabric. See tweed.

duck

Originally, a fabric lighter in weight than canvas. Today, the terms are synonymous. A durable plain-weave, closely woven cotton, generally made of ply yarns, in a variety of weights and thread counts. It is used for uniforms, belts, awnings, tents, and sails. See canvas.

felt

A nonwoven fabric or interlocked fiber made from wool, fur, and hair fibers that mesh together when heat, moisture, and mechanical action are applied. Processes of spinning, weaving, or knitting are not employed. The fibers develop a tight bond and will not ravel. Some percentage of wool is necessary in the manufacture of true felt to achieve the felted effect. It is used for coats, hats, and many industrial purposes.