Glossary of Textile Terms
Glossary of Textile Terms
Glossary of Textile Terms
Bias – Diagonal direction on a woven fabric (45˚ to warp and weft). Fabrics will elongate/stretch the
most when pulled in this direction and will also exhibit their best draping qualities when cut on
the bias. However, a garment cut on the bias can stretch and change length/shape very easily.
Count – An expression of size of thread based on the relation between length and weight.
Denier – unit of measurement expressing the density of a continuous filament thread based on weight in
relation to a fixed length
Draft – diagram for setting up the weave pattern on a loom
EPI (ends per inch) – Number of warp threads per inch of woven fabric
Fabric – General term for any manufactured cloth-like material made for use in clothing, hangings, and
coverings. It applies equally to woven and non-woven materials.
Face – Right side of a textile or weave.
Fiber – Any substance composed of thread-like tissue whether animal, vegetable, or mineral, especially
when it is capable of being spun or woven.
Fragment – A textile that may have one selvage and many have one or more pattern repeats, but is not
the complete width with both selvages present.
Ground – The field or background of the pattern.
Length – A textile of indeterminate length that has both selvages and includes at least one complete
pattern repeat.
Pile – Supplementary threads projecting from a ground fabric.
Pilling – The formation of small balls of fibers called pills on the surface of a fabric.
Ply – The twist that makes a plied yarn / to make a thicker yarn by twisting together two or more ends.
PPI (picks per inch) – Number of weft threads per inch of woven fabric.
Repeat – The pattern unit, or weave unit, or both, used to produce a repeating pattern. The term applies
to all patterning procedures: weaving, knitting, printing, etc.
Reverse – The back or wrong side of a textile.
Selvedge/selvage – The longitudinal edge of a textile closed by weft loops, often distinguished from the
rest of the fabric by warp ends differing from those in the body of the textile and sometimes by a
change in the binding.
Textile – Specifically, a textile is a woven fabric. In modern usage, the term has a wider application.
ARCS 2013 Animal, Vegetable, Mineral, Synthetic – Meeting the Challenges of Textile Collection
Management - Stephanie Hebert, American Textile Museum
Thread – A continuous strand, single or compound, made from any fiber or filament by reeling,
spinning, twisting, or throwing. In a general sense, any thread-like filament or fiber. A thread
formed of a single strand is called a single or an end. A thread formed of two or more singles
twisted together is a plied thread.
Thread count – The number of warp ends or picks per unit of measure.
Twist – The twist of a thread around its axis resulting from spinning, twisting, throwing, or plying. The
direction of the twist is indicated by the letter “S” or “Z”.
Warp – The longitudinal threads of a textile; those that are arranged on the loom. A single thread of
warp is called an end.
Weft – The transverse threads of a textile; those that are passed through the openings in the warp.
Weighting – The addition of metallic salts to silk to increase its weight and make it stiffer.
Width – A textile with both selvages, which may or may not have one complete pattern repeat.
Yarn – A term used to designate thread prepared for weaving or knitting.
Vocabulary of Basic Terms for Cataloguing Costume by the ICOM International Committee for the
Museums and Collections of Costume
http://www.collectionslink.org.uk/assets/thesaurus_icombts/vbt00e.htm?phpMyAdmin=OYNyINPdn3s
QmoXugKH1gcCLSW0