Glossary of textile terminology

A glossary of Textile Terminology frequently used a.k.a. ' Textiles for Dummies '

Glossary

Terms	Description	Category
1 x 1 Rib	Knit: 1x1 ribbing has one knit stitch, followed by one purl stitch, followed by one knit stitch, and so on. The elasticity depends on the number of knit/purl transitions; 1x1 ribbing is more elastic than 2x2 ribbing, etc. However, some cable patterns may "pull in" more than ribbing (i.e., have a smaller gauge); in such cases, a ribbed border may flare out instead of contracting	Fabrics
5P	5 Pocket	Product Groups
ABC	the traditional slogan that emphasizes the need to be continually moving the customer towards agreement and action within discussions	Acronyms
A.K.A.	also known as	Acronyms
Bartack	a series of hand or machine made stitches used for reinforcing areas of stress on a garment, such as pocket openings, bottom of a fly opening or buttonholes	Workmanship
BC	bodycolor	Acronyms
BF	body fabric	Acronyms
Bias Tape	narrow strip of fabric, cut on the bias a.k.a. cross-grain. The strip's fibers makes it stretchier. It is used in making piping, binding seams, finishing raw edges, etc.	Fabrics
Bias Binding	Bias tape used in binding seams	Fabrics
Binding	finishing a seam or hem of a garment, usually by rolling or pressing then stitching on an edging or trim
Bleeding	the transfer of color (afgeven)	Tests
Bnd	Back Neck Drop	Acronyms
BOC nr	Bill of Components number	Acronyms
BOM	Bill of Material	Acronyms
Bobbin	a cylinder or spindle on which yarn or thread is wound (as in the bottom sewing machine)
Brt	Bartack
bttn	button
Bull Denim	a 3x1 twill weave piece dyed fabric, made from coarse yarns. Weights can vary from 9 ozs/sq yard up to the standard 14 ozs/sq yard. Bull Denim is essentially a denim without indigo	Fabrics
Canvas	a firm closely woven cloth usually of linen, hemp, or cotton used for clothing and formerly much used for tents and sails. Plain weave. Mostly rugged, heavy material made from plyed yarns. Has body and strength. It is usually manufactured in the grey state but some is dyed for different uses	Fabrics
cap/slvWB	cap sleeve
CB	Center Back	Acronyms
CC	Comments Client	Acronyms
CF	Center Front	Acronyms
Chambray	mostly made of cotton. Plain weave or dobby designs on a plain-weave ground. Made with a dyed warp and a white or unbleached filling. Has a white selvedge. Some woven with alternating white and coloured warp. Smooth, strong, closely woven, soft and has a slight lustre. Wears very well, easy to sew, and launders well. If not crease resistant, it wrinkles easily. Originated in Combrai, France, where it was first made for sunbonnets	Fabrics
Chamois	cloth of a cotton fabric. Fabric is napped, sheared, and dyed to simulate chamois leather. It is stiffer than kasha and thicker, softer and more durable than flannelette. Must be designated as "cotton chamoise-colour cloth". Plain weave. Used for shirts or in dusters, interlining, storage bags for articles to prevent scratching	Fabrics
Check	a fabric woven or printed with a pattern in squares that resembles a checkerboard	Fabrics
Chino cotton	a twill (left hand) weave. Combined two-ply warp and filling. Has a sheen that remains. Fabric was purchased in China (thus the name) by the U.S. Army for uniforms. Originally used for army cloth in England many years before and dyed olive-drab. Fabric is mercerized and sanforized. Washs and wears extremely well with a minimum of care.	Fabrics
Circular knitting	also 'knitting in the round', is a form of knitting that creates a seamless tube.	Fabrics
Classic CO	(Dutch: ontwerp van een doorlopend dessin	Styling
Co	Cotton	Fabrics
Colorfastness	This test is designed to determine the amount of color transferred from the surface of colored textile materials to other surfaces by rubbing. Testing is usually done for both wet and dry crocking. Assessed by a comparison with the Gray Scale for Staining or the Chromatic Transference Scale (i.e. 1-2-3-4-5). Because washing, drycleaning, shrinkage, ironing, finishing, etc., may effect the degree of color transfer from the material, the test may be made before, after or before and after such treatment.	Tests
COJ	carry over jeans	Acronyms
Cuff	hem of shirt sleeve
DD	Delivery Date	Acronyms
Debossed	process for producing sunken designs or relief	Artwork
Denier	a measure-unit of fineness for rayon, nylon, and silk, based on a standard mass per length of 1 gram per 9,000 meters of yarn	Measurement
Dexter	right side while wearing
Drape	The way in which cloth falls or hangs
DTM	Dye To Match	Acronyms
Ea	Elasthane	Fabrics
Embro	Embroiderie
Embossed	process for producing raised designs or relief	Artwork
Fancy Stitch	Stitch without function, just for detailing	Styling
Fastness	the color fastness, the fixedness of a color	Tests
Feel ,the	the touch	Finishing
Felled Seam	stitching seam by turning under or by folding together the seams of fabric. Purpose is to avoid rough edges	Workmanship
Fnd	Front Neck Drop	Acronyms
French Terry	a variety of terry (or toweling) fabric, which is identified by its uncut looped pile. French terry cloth only has the highly absorbent looped pile on one side of the fabric; the other side is flat and smooth. It can be woven from different kinds of threads and can be stretch or non-stretch.	Fabrics
Fully Fashioned	knitted to fit the shape of the body	Styling
FYI	For Your Information	Acronyms
Garment Dyed / GD	the dyeing of the final product	Finishing
Gauge	the measurement of the number of stitches and rows per inch of knitting	Measurement
Gimp	a narrow ornamental trim used in sewing or embroidery often stiffened with metallic wire or coarse cord running through it a.k.a. boondoggle
Greige	unbleached and undyed or untreated fabric, cloth or yarn	Fabrics
Gzt	Gunzetal [note: yarn supplier]
Hand loom	a swatch sample of a woven fabric specially made according to customer’s specification	Fabrics
HBT	Herringbone Tape	Acronyms
HDT	Heavy Duty Tape	Acronyms
Htg	Hangtag
HSP	Highest shoulder point	Acronyms
i/o	instead of	Acronyms
ICON	Raw Icon	Program
Interlining	fabric put between the outer material and the ordinary lining of a garment	Fabrics
JKT	Jackets	Product Groups
L	Ligne [note: size of button]
LHS	lefthand side / sinister	Acronyms
l/s	long sleeve	Acronyms
Look ,the	the appearance	Finishing
Loop tag	a bartack which is 'loose' in the middle	Workmanship
machinist	sewing engineer
m/b	must be [note: this is not a polite way of communicating]	Acronyms
MC	matching color	Acronyms
MN	Marc Newson	Program
Mockup	full-sized scale model of a structure, used for demonstration, study or testing	Samples
Mock fabric	cheap mock fabric that behaves like final fabrics	Fabrics
Moustache	abrasion of lines to imitate pre-worn garment (a.k.a Whiskers)	Finishing
NY RAW	New York Raw	Program
Open end spinning	a technology for creating yarn without using a spindle. This system is much less labour intensive and faster than ring spinning]	Fabrics
Outlook	expectation (Dutch: vooruitzicht)	Finishing
QC	Quality Control	Tests
O5	Other-5	Product Groups
PA	Polyamide [note: a.k.a. nylon]	Fabrics
Patched on / under	panels stitched on top / underneath	Workmanship
PES	polyester	Fabrics
Pce	Piece
Pcs	Pieces
PfA	Process for Approval	Acronyms
P.I.	Proforma Invoice	Acronyms
Pilling	Unraveled fibers of which the loose ends ball up on the fabric surface	Tests
Piping	a tube of ornamental fabric around the edge of a garment or textile work
Pls	Please
Pre-fab	pre fabricated	Acronyms
Pressed Open Seam	a seam that has two seam allowances that are each pressed flat at its own side of the seam	Workmanship
PT ARMY	PT Army	Program
PO	Purchase Order	Acronyms
Proto	sample before SMS to see the effect and reaction to fabrics artworks and treatments	Samples
Pttnr	Pattern
Pxs	Prices
Raw	unwashed/untreated	Finishing
R.E.	Raw Essentials	Program
RFD	ready for dyeing	Acronyms
Ring spinning	a method of spinning fibres. A characteristic of ring-spun yarn is the uneven texture of the yarn]	Fabrics
RHS	righthand side / dexter	Acronyms
Rubbing	abrasion/friction (induced wear)	Tests
s/b	should be	Acronyms
scar	cut in panel stitched back together again
sheer fabric	any very light-weight fabric (e.g. chiffon, georgette, voile, sheer crepe). Usually has an open weave.	Fabrics
Shrinkage	Size-reduction (caused by washing/finishing)	Tests
Single Jersey	Single knit fabrics and jersey knits are light to medium weight fabrics with flat vertical ribs on the right side and dominant horizontal lines on the wrong side. Fabric stretches from 20 to 25% across the grain.	Fabrics
Sinister	left side while wearing
Size Spec	Measurement Specification (a.k.a 'Spec')	Measurement
Slv	Sleeve
s/less	sleeveless
SMS	salesmensample	Samples
SMS-zero	1st approved perfect salesmensample used as base for production of SMS-collection	Samples
SMS11 and SMS12	two sealed identical twin salesmensample, used as production reference	Samples
S.O.P.	Standard Operations Procedures	Acronyms
spun yarn	a textile yarn spun from staple-length fiber	Fabrics
s/off	see: strike off	Acronyms
s/s	short sleeve	Acronyms
SS	Side Seam	Acronyms
Step	Sequence of a SMS cycle, from development until sales
Strike off	a.k.a. "s/off" a ‘strike off’ is a full sized cropped section taken from the overall image/artwork. It’s produced on the same material with the same finishing as the final product. It provides you with an exact sample of the final product	Samples
Submit	delivery of a request	Samples
SW	Sweat (a.k.a. 'Sw')	Product Groups
Swatch	a sample strip cut from a piece of material	Fabrics
TC	textile color	Acronyms
TEE	T-shirt (a.k.a 'T')	Product Groups
thread count	measured by adding the number of warp ends per inch and filling picks per square inch in the woven fabric. The higher the number, the more dense the yarns are packed together	Fabrics
Tnp	Top Neck Point	Acronyms
TP	textile paper	Acronyms
Y/D	yarn dyed, the dyeing of the yarn before weaving or knitting	Acronyms
WB	waistband	Acronyms
Whiskers	abrasion of lines to imitate pre-worn garment (a.k.a Moustache)	Finishing