ARMURE
French term for a small irregular pebbled or embossed effect.
The fabric surface has a wavy rib character that produces an
all-over textural effect.
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BIRDSEYE
A worsted suiting type, featuring a small design based on the
diamond principal with a small dot in the centre of each figure,
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BROCADE
This
term originally meant a silk cloth figured with gold and silver
threads, although today the name applies to a much broader range
of fabric compositions, though the weave principle remains the
same. The fabric is of a single texture where the ground is
formed of a very simple weave and the figured areas are formed
by floating the warp or weft threads and interlacing them in
a more or less irregular order to form a pattern. BrochÈ
is a French term for a brocaded fabric in which the ornamentation
is produced by additional threads that do not form part of the
structure itself.
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CAVALRY
TWILL
A firm and sturdy warp-faced fabric in which the weave has steep
double twill lines separated by pronounced grooves formed by
the weft. The term is derived from the fabrics once used for
making riding breeches for military forces.
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CLOQUE
A double fabric with a figured blister effect produced
by the use of yarns of a different character or twist, which
respond in different ways to finishing treatments.
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CREPE
Once available only in black and worn for mourning. A puckered
and crinkled fabric that has a weave construction produced by
a random distribution of floats using highly twisted yarns,
crÍpe is available in a wide variety of weights and fibres,
such as crÍpe de chine, georgette and moss-crÍpe.
CrÍpon is a variety of crÍpe with a more prominent
fluted effect in the warp direction giving a tree-bark effect.
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DAMASK
The name is derived from Damascus and at first referred to the
pattern not the fabric but it has also become known as a type
of weave. It produces a figured fabric usually, in silk or linen,
in which the pattern is created by reversing the weave alternately
between a warp-faced satin and weft-faced sateen. The pattern
is often self-coloured but can be emphasized with the use of
coloured yarns.
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DRILL
A robust twill fabric similar to denim most commonly used for
heavy weight shirtings and workwear. Interestingly, the grain
runs in the opposite direction to a normal twill.
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GABARDINE
A firmly woven, warp faced fabric, most commonly used for raincoats
and sportswear, in which the end density considerably exceeds
the pick density and so produces a twill line at a steep angle.
A more pronounced twill is also known as a whipcord. The term
gabardine originates from the 16th century and was a name for
a 'horseman's cloak'.
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GLEN
URQUHART
This check is one of the most common and forms the basis for
numerous variations. The alternate blocks of colouring in warp
and weft on a 2/2 twill produce panels of houndstooth check
and panels of guard's check.
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GUARD'S
CHECK
When a 2 and 2 colour order is used in both the warp and the
weft of a 2/2 twill, a distinctive vertical line effect is produced.
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HERRINGBONE
A combination of twill weaves in which the direction of the
twill is reversed to produce a striped pattern resembling herring
bones. Also known as the feather or arrowhead twill.
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HONEYCOMB
A fabric in which the warp and weft threads float to form a
diamond shape with ridges and hollows to produce a cellular
cloth. Brighton and Grecian weaves are adaptations of the honeycomb
principle.
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HOPSACK
Also known as basket weave is a modification of a plain weave
fabric in which two or more ends and picks are woven as one.
This produces a rustic surface, especially if loosely woven.
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HOUNDSTOOTH
One of the most easily identifiable checks is the houndstooth
or dogstooth check. This weave is produced in a pattern of four
light and four dark yarns in both warp and weft. The gun club
check is a variation of the houndstooth but using a different
colour sequence traditionally on a light coloured ground.
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LENO
A gauze weave with an open effect in which warp threads are
made to cross one another between the picks. The lightweight
fabric produced is often used as a ground for more elaborate
ornamentation.
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MATELASSE
A
double cloth with a quilted appearance commonly made with two
warps and two wefts. The quilted effect can be accentuated by
the use of wadding threads and the designs are formed by floating
threads or small areas of fancy weaves.
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REPP
A plain weave fabric with a prominent weftway-rib effect, made
from two warps and two wefts. Both the warp and the weft threads
are arranged alternately coarse and fine. Coarse threads are
raised above coarse picks and fine threads are raise above fine
picks, the rib effect being accentuated by different tensions
in the warps. The group of repp fabrics are known by different
names depending on the prominence of the rib. Some examples,
in increasing order of prominence of the rib, are taffeta, poult,
faille and grosgrain.
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SATIN
Originally a silk cloth with warp predominating over weft. The
weft is almost completely covered, giving a very smooth warp
face free from twill. Sateen is the reverse of satin with a
smooth weft face. In both versions, the main characteristic
is a lustrous and glossy sheen. A great variety of fabrics are
now made in satin weave including wool, polyester, cotton and
linen. The quality and weight of the cloth varies according
to the number of ends. Venetian weave in cotton and wool is
a modified satin weave that has been lightly milled and cropped
to reveal a fine, steep twill. Silk duchesse satin is a very
fine and expensive material with up to 360 ends per inch.
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SEERSUCKER
A term originating in the USA, seersucker is characterized by
the presence of puckered and flat sections particulary in stripes
and checks. The effect is produced in various ways, either by
stripes with different tensions that cause controlled crinkles,
by using yarns of different shrinkage properties or by treatment
with caustic soda that causes the treated areas to contract.
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SHEPHERD'S
CHECK
This
is sometimes confused with the houndstooth but is woven with
a colour sequence of five or more yarns alternating and a 2/2
twill weave that causes the houndstooth shape to be lost. Instead
solid square shaped blocks are produced where the colours intersect.
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SHARKSKIN
This originated as a closely woven twill fabric with a rather
stiff handle. A delustred continuous filament yarn is most commonly
used for woven sharkskin to give the effect of a finely grained
surface.
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TATTERSAL
CHECK
Is a simple design that was originally a small scale version
of horse blanket checks. The names comes from famous horse auction
rooms in London and the equestrian influence continues as the
designs are still most coomonly used for riding shirts. Window
pane checks are a much larger version of the tattersal and frequently
appear as overchecks on other designs.
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PRINCE OF WALES CHECK
Perhaps
is one of the most misused terms, the original of which was
made for Edward VII when he was Prince of Wales. It is actually
a very large check with a repeat of nine inches in bold red
or brown on a cream ground with a grey overcheck. However, a
misunderstanding arose when Edward, Duke of Windsor became the
Prince of Wales and he favoured a black and white Glen Urquhart
check and the two designs became confused in many people's minds.
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