1×1 Rib
Also 2×2 rib knit trim. The width of each rib is the same as the width between each rib. This helps the garment retain its elasticity.

A –

Absorbency
The ability of a fabric to take in moisture.

Acrylic
A manufactured fiber derived from polyacrylonitrile. Acrylic is soft, quick-drying, and resistant to shrinkage and wrinkles. The durable fiber is machine washable and dryable with excellent color retention.

Adhesive
Materials that cause fabrics, yarns or fibers to stick together. 

Appliqué
Apparel decoration application created when material is cut out and sewn, embroidered or pasted onto another material.

Argyle
A pattern designed with different color diamond shapes knit into a fabric.

B –

Bleeding
when a fabric or yarn loses it color after being immersed in water.

Blend
A term used to describe a garment made up of more than 1 fiber.

Breathability
Refers to air flowing through the pores of a fabric.

Brushing
A finishing process in which circular rotating brushes raise the nap on knit or woven fabrics.

Bleach wash: 
The process of washing fabric or a garment with bleach to soften and distress the look of the fabric.

Brushed Cotton: 
Cotton fabric that is brushed to remove all the excess lint and fibers from the fabric, leaving an ultra-soft, smooth finish.

C –

Cashmere
A luxury fiber obtained from the soft fleecy undergrowth of the Kashmir goat.

Canvas
Cotton or linen fabric with an even weave that is heavy and firm.

Chiffon
A woven lightweight, extremely sheer, airy, and soft fabric containing highly twisted yarns or fibers. 

Colorfast
Describes a dyed fabric’s ability to resist fading from washing, exposure to sunlight, and other environmental conditions.

Combed Cotton 
Cotton yarn that has been combed to remove short fibers and straighten or arrange longer fibers in parallel order resulting in a smooth yarn used in finer garments.

Carding
A fiber cleaning process in yarn spinning.

Corduroy
Cut pile fabric woven with either wide or narrow wales formed by using extra filling. Back may be either plain or twill weave, the latter being better quality.

Cotton
Raw cotton is natural fiber grown from a seed pod in the cotton plant. It is cut at different lengths to form different types of cotton. Fibers longer than 1 1/2 inch, including the Pima and Egyptian varieties, produce the highest quality cotton fabrics. Cotton is soft, breathable, durable, absorbent, and helps hold colors well after repeated washing. Cotton is a popular fabric worn by people with sensitive skin.

Compaction 
A shrinkage control technique used in fabric manufacturing.

D –

Denier
The weight measurement of filament yarns and fibers. The low numbers represent the finer sizes and the higher numbers, the heavier yarns.

Denim
Tightly woven twill cotton fabric made with different colored yarns.

Dobby
A mechanical attachment on a loom that controls the harness for the weaving of geometric figures.

Double Knit Fabric
A knit fabric of double thickness. 

Double Weave
A woven fabric construction made by interlacing two or more sets of (warp) vertical yarns with two or more sets of filling yarns.

Durability
The ability of fabric to resist wear, and loss of material through continual use.

Direct embroidery
The process of sewing a name or design directly to a garment.

E –

Enzyme washed
A process of washing using organic substances that cause transformation or accelerate the aging of dyes.

Elasticity
A characteristic of woven or knitted fibers, which enables the fiber to return to the original shape after being stretched.

Elasticized Fabric
Fabrics that have elastic thread running through them.

Embossing
A mechanical finishing process used to create raised figures or designs on fabric surfaces. Fabrics are engraved with the use of heated rollers under pressure to create the raised effect.

Embroidery
An embellishment or ornamental designs on a garment made when colored threads are sewn onto the fabric. Embroidery can be done either by hand or machine.

Emerizing
A process in which fabric is passed over emery covered cylinders to make the surface smooth like suede.

Eyelet
A type of fabric that is designed with patterned cut-outs where stitching or embroidery is commonly applied in order to prevent the fabric from raveling. Baseball caps are made with eyelets for ventilation.

F –

Felt
A fabric interlocking fibers made possible through chemicals, moisture and heat without spinning, weaving or knitting. Felt is made of a variety of fibers like wool, hair or fur.

Fiber
A unit of natural or manufactured material, which is twisted or spun into yarn and used in the production of fabric and other textile structures.

Fiberfill
Manufactured fibers, that have been specifically engineered to use as filler material for pillows, mattresses, mattress pads, sleeping bags, comforters, quilts, and outerwear. Polyester fibers are widely used fillers.

Flannel
A medium weight plain or twill weave fabric that is typically made from cotton, a cotton blend, or wool.

Flat Knit Fabric
Fabrics knitted on a flat machine instead of a circular knit machine.

Fleece
Fabric with a thick, heavy surface resembling sheep wool. Features a pile of napped fabric with either woven or knitted construction.

Full Cut 
Refers to a garment’s fit as being generous and roomy.

G –

Garment dyed
Apparel dyed in garment form rather than fabric form. This is a popular fashion treatment used by designers. 

Garment washed 
After a garment is sewn it is washed to cut down on shrinkage and add softness to the garment. 

H – 

Hand
The tactile qualities of a fabric. The way it feels to the touch – soft, firm, elastic, etc.

Heat Transfer Printing
A method of printing fibers with disperse dyes. The design is transferred from pre-printed paper onto the fabric by contact heat, and then the dyes are absorbed by the fabric. Heat Transfer is great for producing clear, very well-defined images.

Honeycomb
Fabric woven with a long float yarn that creates the look-a-like cell of a honeycomb. Also referred to as waffle.

I –

Interlock 
A plain-stitched knit fabric which looks the same on both sides. Often used for T-shirts and golf shirts. 

J – 

Jacquard
Woven-in pattern created by a special loom. A raised design or pattern woven into the fabric as opposed to being printed on the fabric. 

Jersey knit
A single-knit, plain-stitched fabric with a face side that is markedly different from the back side. 

K – 

Knits 
Fabrics constructed by interlocking a series of loops by hand or machine. Knitted fabrics tend to mold and fit easily to body shape woven fabrics, in contrast, drape. 

L – 

Lace
Open work fine fabric of a network of threads made in a variety of designs by intricate manipulation of the fiber by machine or hand.

Linen
Linen is obtained from inside the woody stem of the flax plant. Linen fabrics are strong, very cool and absorbent, but wrinkle very easily, unless blended with manufactured fibers.

Lining
Lining is a fabric used to cover the inside of a garment. Generally lining is made of a smooth fabric.

Loom
A machine used for weaving fabrics.

Lycra® Spandex
An elastomeric fiber that is blended with other fibers. Can stretch 500 percent without breaking. Holds dyes well and is resistant to heat. Trademark owned by Du Pont.

M –

Mercerized
A treatment of fine cotton yarn or fabric that increases shine, luster and strength. Its ability to absorb dyes produces vibrant colors.

Mesh
Mesh fabric is available in a variety of constructions and is characterized by its net-like open appearance, and the spaces between the yarns.

Microfiber
Soft, lightweight fabric with a silky feel. Microfiber is shrink-resistant, durable and provides protection against the wind, rain and cold.

Moisture Transfer
The movement of water or sweat from one side of a fabric to the other.

N –

Neoprene
Versatile type of synthetic rubber with a good resistance to oil, chemicals, and flames.

Non-woven fabrics
Materials that are produced by interlocking or bonding fabrics together.

Nylon
Completely synthetic fiber known for his high strength, superior flexibility and excellent resilience. Quick-drying nylon fabric is naturally hydrophobic and resistant to shrinkage and wrinkling.

O –

Ottoman knit
A horizontal raised rib textured knit. 

Oxford weave
A group of cotton or man-made fabrics made with a modified plain weave or basket weave. Mainly used as shirting material. 

P –

PANTONE MATCHING SYSTEM™ (PMS)
An internationally recognized numerical standard of color matching artwork for reproduction on an item.

Percale
A tightly woven medium weight, plain weave or spun fabric with a low to medium thread count. Printed cotton woven in a plain weave.

Pigment dye:
Washed down colors that will continue to soften and age with washing. Great for outdoor and casual looks. 

Pill
A ball of fibers that appear on the surface of a fabric as a result of wear or continued friction or rubbing.

Pique
Knit fabric with raised lengthwise “cords” which are part of the weave. 

Plaid
Different color fabrics crossing each other to form various size squares.

Plain Weave
The basic criss-cross method of weaving cloth. 

Plated
Fabric produced from 2 yarns of different colors, characters or qualities. Used in knitted fabric with one kind of yarn on the face of the fabric and another on the back.

Ply
The number of single yarns twisted together to form ply yarn; also the number of ply yarns twisted together to form cord. By twisting two or more yarns together, a stronger single yarn is created. 

Polyester
Manufactured fiber that is synthesized or made from chemicals. Polyester has high strength (although somewhat lower than nylon), excellent resiliency, and high abrasion resistance. The low absorbency allows the fiber to dry quickly.

Poplin
A blend of cotton and polyester (bi-blend) in poplin weave. 

Q –

Quilting
Created when a layer of padding, fiberfill or down is placed between two layers of fabric and held in together by stitching or sealing.

R –

Raglan sleeves 
Sleeves are all one piece from collar to cuff, allowing for ease of movement.

Rayon
Manufactured fiber composed of regenerated cellulose. Different types of rayon include viscose rayon (made from wood chips) cup ammonium rayon made from cotton linters. 

Repellency
The ability of a fabric to resist wetting and staining.

Resiliency
The ability of a fabric to spring back to its original shape after being twisted, crushed, wrinkled, or distorted in any way.

Rib Knit
A textured knit that has the appearance of vertical lines. It is highly elastic and retains “memory”.

Ring Spun Yarn
Yarn made by continuously twisting and thinning a rope of cotton fibers. The twisting makes the short hairs of cotton stand out, resulting in a stronger yarn with a significantly softer hand.

Rip Stop nylon
Nylon taffeta with double yarns creating the box pattern to provide extra strength and resistance to tearing. 

S –

Sand wash 
The process of washing fabric or a garment with sand to soften and distress the look of the fabric. 

Satin
A traditional fabric utilizing a type of weave which gives a garment a smooth lustrous surface with a dull back. Commonly used in the construction of evening wear and wedding gowns.

Screen Printing
A method of printing comparable to using a stencil. The background design is painted on the screen with printing paste and the dye is printed through the exposed fabric. Different colors require separate screens.

Seam sealing
A process in which the stitch line of a garment is made leak proof by the application of seam tape or seam-sealing glue. 

Shrinkage 
Terms refers to the amount of size reduction in a 100% cotton item. Most 100% items have been pre-shrunk and no more than a 4-5% shrinkage should be expected.

Silicone washed 
A process of washing using silicones that increase softness.

Silk Screening
Creating a stencil design on a screen of silk or other fine fabric, then a resistant substance and ink is forced through the cloth onto the printing surface.

Silk
A natural fiber from a cocoon of the silkworm. Most silk is collected from cultivated silk worms and woven into fine, yet strong fabric. The natural resilience makes it wrinkle resistant.

Spandex
A manufactured elastomeric fiber in which the fiber forming substance is a long chain of synthetic polymer made of at least 85% of a segmented polyurethane (FTC Definition) Spandex is lightweight, soft static resistant and can be repeatedly stretched over 500% without breaking, and will still recover to its original length.

Stone wash 
The process of washing fabric or a garment with stone to soften and distress the look of the fabric. 

Sublimation
Method used for printing. A loss of material because of surface evaporation of a solid. Some colors lose dye by sublimation.

Suede
Leather that has been buffed, brushed, napped or sanded to create a soft and fuzzy surface.

Suede Fabric
Woven or knitted cloth fabric finished to look like suede leather.

Swatch
A small piece of fabric used to represent garment.

T –

Taffeta
A lustrous plain weave fabric with a smooth feel and slightly ribbed appearance.

Taped Seams 
A strip of fabric sewn to the seam of a garment to prevent distortion. In outerwear, taped seams aid in waterproofing.

Terry
A soft fabric designed with 2 sets of vertical yarns, one is woven tightly and the other is left loose to form the loops.

Thread Count
Actual number of vertical and horizontal threads in a fabric construction. Common term used to describe bedding.

Tricot
A vertical stretch knitted fabric in which the fabric is formed by interloping adjacent parallel yarns.

Tweed
A thick wool or wool blend fabric woven with dyed yarns.

Twill Weave
A basic and distinct weave vertical yarns passing over 1 or 2 horizontal yarns then under 2 or more. Interlacing the yarns in a progressive alternation creates a diagonal effect on the fabric.

U –

V –

VELCRO®
Nylon strips treated to stick to each other. VELCRO® is commonly used as closures on clothing fabrics and footwear.

Velour
A closely woven fabric with a thick soft feels.

Velvet
Created using two sets of vertical yarns. Velvet, a luxurious fabric, is commonly made with a filament fiber for high luster and smooth feel.

Virgin Wool
Wool that has never been processed, woven or refined into fabric.

Viscose
The most common type of rayon.

W –

Waffle
Fabric with a honeycomb weave.

Warp
Lengthwise yarns found in all woven fabrics. The warp is stronger and denser than the weft (crosswise) yarns. 

Waterproofing
A term used to describe fabrics or garments with closed pores, so water or air will not pass through.

Water-Repellent
Fabrics that can shed water but are allow air to pass through. The fabrics are made by treating material with resin, wax or a plastic finish.

Weave
A design or pattern created by intersecting vertical and horizontal threads with each other.

Weft
Threads that run horizontally in a fabric.

Weight 
Usually measured in ounces per yard. 

Wick ability
The ability of a material to spread moisture out and allow it to pass through a fabric surface so that evaporation can take place. 

Wool
Thick and soft hair from the coat of a sheep, lamb, and other animals such as a Cashmere or Angora goat. Different types of animal hair are used and graded for their color, length, fineness.

Wrinkle-Resistant
The ability of a fabric to resist the formation of wrinkles when folded.

X –

Y –

Yarn
A continuous strand of natural or synthetic threads twisted together and used to weave or knit garments.

Yarn-Dyed
Yarns that were dyed before knitting or weaving into fabric.

Z –