TEXTILE GLOSSARY and fabric information
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A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Use the above links to go directly to any of the alphabetically listed entries

A
Ailesham - fine linen cloth, plain woven
Alamode - silk fabric which is light and glossy
Alencon lace - French needlepoint lace comprising a floral design on a sheer net background. French version of the luxurious and popular 17th century Venetian needle lace
Ancelia - fabric used in the past for dresses which has a hard twist cotton warp and a wool weft
Angora - Angora wool is a soft fibre from the angora rabbit. Used for sweaters and baby clothes
Anterine - worsted fabric of silk and mohair or cotton
Applique - decorative technique where fabric shapes are sewn or embroidered onto a base fabric
Ariele - woollen gauze
Armenian lace - also called Bebilla. A lace of mainly looped threads
Armistice Cloth - worsted cloth used after the Boer War
Armozine - corded, strong silk fabric

B
Bad - there are Biblical references to this fine linen fabric
Baddachin - a silk fabric, richly brocaded
Barage - open meshed, semi-transparent fabric.Silk and wool
Barpour - a twill fabric of silk and wool, used for dress fabrics
Basket Weave - a variant of the plain weave formed by treating two or more warp yarns and/or two or more filling yarns as one unit in the weaving process. The yarns are laid flat and maintain a parallel relationship. Examples include monk cloth or oxford cloth.
Bast Fibre - Strong, soft, woody fibres such as flax, jute, hemp and ramie which come from the inner bark of plants
Battenburg lace a type of renaissance lace usually trimmed with sequins, beads and line tape forming a clean scalloped edge
Batiste - a cotton muslin having a wiry finish
Bayeaux Lace - a French point ground lace which co-existed with Chantilly. The main differences lay in some design elements and in the preference for white over black threads
Bearskin - thick wool fabric with a shaggy nap produced in Norfolk (east England) in the 14th and 15th centuries
Beaver - heavy wool overcoating, napped and pressed down to look like beaver fur.  Often used for hats in a plush form
Bedfordshire Lace - floral lace composed of cloth-stitch trails connected by plaits and other design elements including sprigs of leaves
Beggar's Inkle - An 18th and 19th century term for a fabric constructed as Linsey-Wolsey.
Belchester - a velvet used for costumes
Binche - a lace originating from a Belgian town called Binche. It's characteristics are the snowballs or snowflakes which are worked in many different ways. It also lacks a gimp, which distinguishes it from Flanders or Mechlin.
Block Printing - one of the earliest forms of printing. A fourth century example exists which was discovered in an Egyptian burial site. This technique was established in Europe in the middle ages and by the 18th and 19th centuries there was a flourishing industry. There was little block printing in the United States until the late 18th century when, in 1774 there was printworks in Philadelphia. Different woods were used for the blocks made to print different kinds of patterns. Boxwood and holly were preferred for finely detailed patterns, pear for borders, walnut and lime for large scale prints. The designs stood out in relief on the wood and were carved. One block was carved for each colour on the finished print. The cloth was stretched tightly on a long padded table and the block face was pressed against a dye-saturated woollen sieve and then applied to the cloth. A strong blow with a wooden mallet to the back of the block transferred the design to the cloth. Pins which were called 'pitch pins' were nailed into the corners of the block. After each strike with the mallet, the printed would move the block on to the next undyed space on the cloth. The pitch pins helped in lining up the impressions. In France and England there was also a technique called 'picotage' or 'pinning' in which small brass pins were hammered into the blocks and used to create various densities of dots over the pattern, very useful for fine detailing and shading. The pins withstood the repeated mallet blows better than the wood of the block. This method of printing is now only used on a very limited scale for very expensive furnishing fabrics. See also Perrotine Printing.
Bobbin - Thread holders found in sewing machines. Lacemaking: Essential tool for lace making by hand.  Usually a stick-like tool made from a variety of materials (wood, ivory, bone, metal, glass, plastic) all having a slender upper section being an elongated spool and a lower section serving as a handle. Used in pairs. The spool holds the thread and the handle gives weight to keep the thread under tension and allows the lacemaker to work without touching the thread.  Shapes differ depending on country and area of origin and often bobbins are highly ornamented
Bobbin Lace - is a form of off-loom weaving. The lacemaker uses a pillow upon which to make the lace and bobbins are used to hold the thread. The lace is made using a combination of twists and crosses to move the threads with pins.
Boucle - a French word describing a looped or curly yarn. The name is also given to fabrics with looped or curly surfaces such as astrakhan
Bombazet - plain twill worsted popular for mourning dress in Regency period
Bombazine - a lightweight fabric with a silk warp and a cotton, wool or linen weft
Botany wool - also called Merino wool.  A fine wool made from worsted yarn
Branscombe Point lace - Made from fine tape with very fine thread makinh up the fillings.  Originated in Branscombe, Devon. Similar to Battenburg lace
Broadcloth - an all wool or worsted fabric which feels like a velvet
Brocade - from the latin brocare meaning 'to figure'. Originally a heavy silk fabric with floral or silver thread and first produced in China and Japan. Now Brocades are woven with richly figured patterns emphasised by contrasting colours or by satin weave figures with plain weave or twill background. A Brocatine is a brocade with a raised pattern imitating embroidery.
Broche - a velvet or satin fabric having a satin figure on the face of fabric
Broderie Anglaise - Literally- English embroidery. The name is given to a type of cotton fabric embroidered with a design to form a buttonhole stitch outline which is then cut away. Broderie Anglaise is embroidered with white cotton threads. If a coloured thread is used this is often called eyelet work
Brillantine - a fine cloth of silk and cashmere
Bruges Bloemwork - a bobbin lace of the 19th century originating in Belgium.  Named for the flower motifs found within the lace and the city of Bruges
Buckinghamshire or Bucks Point lace - usually a continuous lace named after the area in England in which is was chiefly made.  It is characterised by use of point (light netting) and honeycomb backgrounds with cloth stitch and half-stitch elements with picots decorating the side. Also uses the tally (a woven decoration requiring two pairs of bobbins where one thred of one pair weaves between the other 3 threads) often as leaves
Burano lace - from Italy.  A lace inspired by the waves of the ocean surrounding the island.  Burano was an old lace-making centre
Buratto - a counted canvas embroidery from Italy but finer and looser than needlepoint. Often used as a border trim on clothing and soft furnishings
Burdies - a woollen fabric from Norwich, in the east of England
Burn test - used (under strict conditions and controls) for identifying fibres. Different fibres react in different and distinct ways when burnt. Cotton burns steadily and smells like burning leaves.  The ash left is easily crumbled.  Linen takes longer to ignite than cotton and the fabric closest to the ash is very brittle.  Can be easily distinguished by blowing as you would a candle. Silk burns readily and smells like burning hair.  Not as easily extinguished. Wool is harder to ignite than silk.  It produces a steady flame but is more difficult to keep alight.  Smells like burning hair. Of the man-made fibres acetate (from cellulose) burns readily with a flickering flame than cannot easily be extinguished.  The burning cellulose drips and leaves a hard ash.  Smells like burning wood chips. Acrylic (from natural gas and petroleum) burns readily and leaves a hard ash.  It smells acrid. Nylon (from petroleum) melts then burns rapidly.  Smells like burning plastic. Polyester (from coal, air and petroleum products) melts and burns at the same time.  The melting, burning ash bonds quickly to any surface. Smells sweet and has a black smoke.  Ash is hard. Rayon (from cellulose) burns rapidly and leaves only slight ash.  Smells of burning leaves.

C
Calamanco - a cotton or worsted fabric having either twill, plain or glazed appearance
Caledonian Silk - a fabric similar to poplin but with a silky feel and a check on white ground
Calendering - a finishing process comprising passing through steam heated rollers under controlling pressure. Fabrics made using this process include moire
Calico - name given to all types of cotton coming from the town of Calicut on the Southwest coast of India. In some parts of the world it has become synonymous with an inexpensive, printed cotton plain weave cloth where the print hardly shows on the back of the fabric. In Britain the term goes back to the 17th century and was used to describe a plain woven carded cotton cloth which retained a small, dark fleck. This became known as unbleached calico. Other cotton fabrics such as cambric, percale, chintz and muslin are sold as calico. Printed calico has a starched finish which disappears on washing
Cambric - First made in the early 16th century in Cambray, northern France.  It has a dense weave and hard finish. Retains most of its lustre even after washing.  It was originally made from linen yarn but was introduced in Ireland in the early 19th century as a cotton fabric.  Became a staple fabric in many countries for nearly 400 years. By the mid 1920s Cambric was less popular and it was said the fabric was too stiff for comfortable wear.  It was still used in good grades for some underwear and the cheaper grades were used for linens
Camel Hair - soft, fine fur from the undercoat of the camel.  Used on its own but often combined with fine wool for overcoating.  Usually left in the natural colour or dyed a darker brown
Camlet - a popular fabric in Regency times using silk or wool and hair with a plain or twill appearance
Canton crepe - soft, woven crepe fabric with small crosswise ribs.  Heavier than the similar crepe de chine
Carrickmacross lace - an Irish lace composed of embroidery and applique on a needle made (or now machine made) ground
Cashmere - from Kasmir goat down.  An expensive, luxury fabric due to the labour-intensive and difficult job of separating the long, coarse hair from the soft fibres. Can be blended with wool, coton or silk
Challis - A lightweight fabric having a soft plain weave with a brushed surface. Often printed with a floral print and usually made of cotton, wool or rayon
Chantilly lace French elaborate floral lace on hexagonal mesh ground outlined in heavy silk thread.  Usually made with black threads and in strips which are later stitched together with an 'invisible' stitch called racroc to give the ilusion of a large, continuous piece of lace
Chambray - The fabric originated in the Northern French town of Cambrai near the Belgian border. A light, good quality cotton commonly made in stripes and checks. Usually constructed with a slightly coarser corded or combed cotton yarn in the weft than in the warp. It is woven in a plain weave and given a fairly hard finish
Charmeuse - satin silk weave with a crepe back
Cheesecloth - Made for cheesemaking originally with the curds being pressed into the cloth with the same cloth being retained for the maturing process. later used for covering bacon or tobacco and has been popular since the late 1960s as a fabric for inexpensive shirts from India. It is also referred to as gauze or flag bunting and when starched can be called scrim
Chenille - a type of very hairy, fuzzy yarn rather resembling a caterpillar. The resulting fabric is often called a luxury yarn as it does not have a great deal of strength. Can be made from wool, cotton or man-made fibres and is used in both the garment and soft furnishing industries
Cheviot - a soft, fine wool heavier than serge
Chiffon - Very sheer, airy lightweight fabric with highly twisted filament yarns. Originally of silk but now made from rayon and other man-made fibres
China silk - plain weave silk of various weights.  This is the fabric which has the touch that most of us identify as silk
Chinchilla cloth - heavy, spongey woollen fabric with a long nap which has been rubbed to produce a curly finish
Chintz - A glazed, plain weave fabric with a polished look. Usually of cotton.
Clear Finish - applied to a woollen cloth which has been scoured and felted, raised or brushed and then cropped to remove the loose fibres from the surface
Cloth stitch - in bobbin lace a 'cross-, twist-cross' sequence which, when repeated gives the effect of woven cloth
Cluny lace - a simplified form of lace which has geometric designs and frequent use of braids decorated by picots and leaves.  Bedfordshire lace developed from this type
Cogware - coarse and narrow fulled and raised wool cloth
Copperplate Printing - From the late 18th century, this form of printing took over from Block Printing. In England there was several important printing firms using this method by 1765. The first to install a copperplate press in France was probably Christophe-Philippe Oberkamf in 1770. In this method the design was engraved on a flat copper plate which was rubbed with print dye. The dye is then wiped from the surface having been left in the incised lines of the engraving. Cloth was laid over this plate and pressure exerted by mechanical means to transfer the design. The presses were quite large and allowed printing of large scale designs. This popularised new style including the scenic toile which depicts finely engraved images
Cordonette - a larger outlining thread found in needlelace.  Sometimes couched and stufed with other materials
Cotton - vegetable fibre obtained from the cotton plant. The chemical composition is almost 100% cellulose and the natural colour is cream. The fibre is from the plant's seed pod.  Cotton fibre is hollow in the centre and resembles twisted ribbon under the microscope. Can be ironed at high temperatures and takes dye well. Chlorine bleach can be used to restore white garments but this bleach may yellow chemically finished cottons. Cotton makes a strong fabric which is cool to wear
Crepe lightweight fabric having a crinkled surface which is achieved by the structure of the cloth, by chemical application or by the amount of hard twist in the yarns used. It can also be achieved by embossing
Crewel - wool embroidered on a plain weave fabric, often linen. Design motifs are flowers, vines and leaves.

D
Damask - originally a firm Jacquard-pattered fabric made in China and introduced to the West by Marco Polo in the 13th century. The name is from Damascus, the centre of the fabric trade between East and West. These fabrics are reversible and contain a combination of satin and sateen weaves
Devore - a process whereby certain chemicals are printed onto specially made cloths and which produce sheer areas in the fabric. For example, an animal fibre cloth can be embroidered with vegetable fibres. The wool is then burnt out with caustic soda or the cotton with sulphuric acid which leaves a very lacy structure
Dimity - a sheer, thin white or printed fabric with lengthwise cords, stripes or checks
Dog Tooth - a checked pattern made by using four threads of a dark colour which are alternated by four threads of a lighter colour in both warp and weft and uses a 2-and-2 twill weave
Donegal - originally a thick, warm homespun or tweed yarn woven by Irish peasants in Donegal, Ireland.  Now used to describe the wool tweed of that name
Dotted Swiss - A lightweight, sheer cotton or cotton blend with a small dot flock-like pattern. This pattern can be printed onto the fabric or can be woven into the fabric
Dreadnought - early coarse wool fabric often used for outer garments.
Drill - a strong twilled cotton fabric often used for trousers
Duchesse lace - a Belgian bobbin lace similar to Honiton lace in that the individual motifs are made and then connected by a bobbin made background
Duck - heavy, durable and tightly woven fabric

E
Eccentrics - fine-lined distorted geometric prints. In the nineteenth century these were often called excentrics. Claimed to have been created due to an accident loading fabric incorrectly onto a roller at the factory of Messrs. Simpson and Co in 1820. The resulting fabric became very popular and a machine called a Perkins Eccentric Lathe was used to design these patterns mechanically. Seldom seen since the nineteenth century except as interpreted in some of the bold, large Op Art patterns.
Eolienne - very lightweight ribbed fabric having a silk warp and a hard twist botany weft. Not seen since the nineteenth century.

F
Fearnought - early coarse woollen fabric similar to Dreadnought and mainly used for outer garments
Filet lace - made from embroidery on net.  The net can be handmade of knotted loops and then stretched to take the design. Filet crochet imitates this style
Flanders lace - Belgian lace characterised by a dense ground requiring many bobbins.  Also uses a thicker thread as an outline called a gimp
Flannel - a soft woollen cloth the name taken from the Welsh gwlanan. Traditionally used for underclothes and miner's shirts. Also used for the women's red petticoat that features in traditional Welsh costume. Usually a plain weave but nowadays there is more variance in weight and texture of flannel and some can be found with a twill weave or even striped. Commonly used now for trousers or blazers and sportswear
Flax - Linum Usitatissimum the fibres of which plant are used to make linen.  The fibres are found in some 30 bundles containing 10-14 fibres around a woody core. The word comes from the Old English fleax. The term flax is used for the fibre or yarn whilst the name for the threads or fabric is linen
Floral - richly coloured, delicately petalled roses and patterns of roses delicately sharp thorns are both reduced to florals. Includes all the gatherings of the garden including grasses. Agricultural produce such a fruit and vegetables were considered a conversational subject as were nuts, pinecones etc. Trees are also conversational but leaves were classified as florals as was wheat. If a floral theme was abstracted from nature they were considered conversational
Freehand lace - or Free lace this is a bobbin lace which does not use pins in the ground or design area.  Probably more popular in rural areas where pins were scarce and fish bones or wood chips were used
Foulard - lightweight twill weave fabric often of silk with a small all-over print and a solid background. Used in men's ties. Today the name refers more to the patterns than the fabric. Traditional colours are deep reds, blues and greens and include the very popular Paisley foulards
Frieze - early coarse wool fabric which was heavily felted. In the finishing process the nap was twisted to produce burrs. The woven cloth was stretched and treated with a honey and water solution, applied with a board encrusted with sand and glue. A superior fabric was called Frizzado
Fulling - finishing process in which the cloth is treatred with moisture, heat and friction.  This causes considerable shrinkage and renders the fabric compact.  Heavily treated fabric can appear as felt

G
Gabardine - From the old Spanish word gabardina which means 'protection from the elements'. The best cloth is made from worsted wool. The fabric has a very steep twill on the face which is not seen from the reverse. It can be woven very tightly to give a smooth, waterproof and hardwearing cloth
Galatea - strong cotton woven to resemble linen. Popular in Regency times
Galloon lace - double edged lace with a usable border on both sides which can be separated for matching border trim
Gimp - a thicker thread used to outline designs in bobbin lace
Gingham - lightweight washable fabric, originally linen but later cotton, which is woven into checks, plaids or stripes
Granite - fabric resembling chenille often used in headdresses
Gros de Naples - a corded Italian silk resembling Irish poplin
Grosgrain - firm, closely woven ribbed fabric. Often used for ribbons
Ground - in lacemaking, a background or area between design elements. Usually a type of netting.  A good indicator of the origin of a lace example

H
Harris Tweed - perhaps the best known of all the tweeds. Comes from the Isle of Harris and Lewis off the west coast of Scotland. Traditionally the yarn is spun centrally in the island towns and then distributed to outlying weavers to return to the towns for finishing. It is made exclusively from Scottish wool which are very tough. Simple weaves are used and it comes in 27-28 inch widths (a narrow width fabric). In 1909 the Harris Tweed Association was formed and the orb mark was registered as a trademark. It is ideal for suits, jackets or upholstery and is very hardwearing.
Hemp - a bast or stem fibre from the Anglo-Saxon henep. The plant is called Cannabis Sativa from which we also get the word 'canvas'. Hemp has been known as a textile fibre for some 500 years, especially in China, Persia and Japan. It is a tall plant growing up to 10 feet tall with a 1/2 inch stem. It is cut in the field to be retted (rotted) by dew and is processed similarly to flax. The fibre is a creamy white to yellow-brown. It is as strong and lustrous as flax and can be spun into yarns resembling flax although more coarse. It is also used for string, cord and rope
Honiton lace - a lace with very fine threads with motifs later added to a bobbin-made ground.  The wedding veil of Queen Victoria was made from this style of lace.  Originated in Honiton, Devon, UK. The Honiton Bobbin used is a straight, slim bobbin with a point at the end.  No weights are required due to the fineness of the threads
Hooded bobbin -  in bobbin lacemaking a style of bobbin used in Germany.  The thread is wound on the neck and protected by a barrel-shaped hood which slides down over the top

I
Irish crochet - style of crocheted lace with fine threads. Composed of separate design motifs connected by a chain and picot ground
Ikat - From the Indonesian term mengikat meaning to tie off or to bind. A dye-resist process where small bundles of yarn are tied to prevent dye penetration
Imperial Gauze - an open gauze with a white warp and a coloured weft
Indiennes - a term used in 18th and 19th centuries for any Eastern printed or painted cloth
Indigo - a deep blue dye from the plant of the same name but now produced synthetically
Ipsiboe - a yellow crepe fabric popular in Regency times

J
Jacconet - a thin cotton fabric somewhere between muslin and cambric latterly called nainsook
Jacquard - an intricate method of weaving invented by Joseph marie Jacquard in the years 1801-4. A headmotion at the top of the loom holds and operates a set of punched paper cards, each with a different motif. The punched perforations control the action of one warp end for the passage of one pick. These looms allow for large, complicated designs such as a floral or large geometric. Damasks, brocades, brocatelles and tapestries are all examples of woven jacquards
Jute - A bast or stem fibre. Comes from Sanscrit meaning 'matted hair'. Comes from two similar plants called corchorus capularis and corchorus olitorius. Trading in Jute from Bengal commenced from 16th Century. Jute grows 5-16 feet tall and 1/2 to 3/4 of inch thick stem/ Unprocessed 64% cellulose. Fibres are 4-7 inches long. The stalks are first rotted (retted) in water then the bark is peeled off making ready for softening

L
Lace - decorative openwork fabric with sensitive use of spaces and solids. Can be achieved with the use of bobbins, crochet, needles or machine
Lawn - a fine, light cloth or carded, combed line or cotton yarns. It has a crease resistant, crisp finish
Lincoln Green- from the county town of Lincolnshire in Britain where the Lincoln long wool sheep originates. A very large breed of sheep which has the longest, most lustrous and strongest of wools. It is a stout woollen cloth once made by weavers in that area many years ago and dyed green. Used by archers and huntsmen. It is said that the legendary Robin Hood wore Lincoln green and that the jacket lapels of the dress uniform of the Sherwood Forester Regiment are of Lincoln green
Linen - Made from the fibres of the woody stem of the flax plant. These fibres are stronger and more lustrous than those of cotton. Linen fabrics are very cool and absorbent but wrinkle very easily unless blended with other fibres. Linen is one of the oldest textile fibres. It is smooth and lint free.  Has a lustre which is from the natural wax content.  Linen wrinkles easily but also presses easily and, like cotton, can be boiled without damaging the fibre.  Has poor elasticity and does not spring back readily so wear can be displayed in collars, hems or any area iron creased when laundered
Linsey - a coarse fabric from wool and flax
Lis'er'e - design created using coloured warp threads brought up on the fabric face and leaving loose yarn on the back. Woven vertically to give a vertical stripe effect.  Victorian in appearance with embroidered style patterns
Loden - the name comes from the German loda meaning hair cloth. Traditionally woven in the Tyrol region of Austria. It is a sturdy fabric which has been made in the same way for almost 1000 years. It was only made with sheep's wool but now comprises Australian sheep's wool, Alpaca, mohair and camel hair. Once the cloth is woven it is shrunk by about one-third of it's original width. It is then raised, sheared and brushed. Traditional colours are black, red and white although green is now very popular
Love - a thin silk fabric popular for ribbons having narrow sateen stripes
Lutestring - a thin corded silk fabric with a glossy finish

M
Maltese lace - a bobbin lace from Malta usually made with cream silk.  Similar to Bedfordshire lace but using the Maltese or St John's Cross motif.  Leaves tend to be rather wide
Marcella - a cotton quilting or coarse pique fabric
Mechlin lace - a French/Belgian bobbin lace with a distinctive hexagonal ground
Mercerisation - a treatment for cotton yarn or fabric in which the yarn is immersed in caustic soda and later neutralised in acid. This results in a permanent swelling of the fibre and gives an increased lustre on the surface together with increased strength
Merino - wool from the Merino sheep. The best Merino comes from Italy. A fine wool made from worsted yarn
Merino crepe - a silk and worsted fabric having a shot effect
Milanese lace - a type of tape lace from Italy. Of dense appearance, with no ground and made up of narrow, flowing very decorative strips sewn or plaited together
Mohair - from the Angora goat from Turkey, South Africa and Southwest U.S.A. It is a luxury fibre and has lustrous, soft qualities. When spun up to fine counts and used with silk or woollen warps it makes a smooth cloth often used for suiting. Twisted into loops and then brushes, it becomes very hairy and is used for weaving scarves, rugs or as a knitting yarn. Will not matt when washed
Moravian work - cutwork having buttonholed edges. A forerunner of Broderie Anglaise
Moreen - a heavy fabric with horizontal filling and a moire finish.  It was used for upholstery and skirts and was woven wither in worsted or cotton
Muslin - fine, thin and semi-transparent cotton.

N
Nainsook - a delicate muslim fabric
Nankeen - yellow tinted cloth
Needle lace - made with a needle and thread. An outline thread is couched on the paper design and the lace built up with other stitches connecting the outline thread.  The backing is then cut away leaving only the lace motif. See Venetian Point and Alencon lace
New Pitsligo lace - still made in the small Scottish town it is named after. A modified Torchon style of bobbin lace.  Some edging patterns have a pin-less ground
Noil - a type of silk fabric created by short fibres from the innermost part of the cocoon. Similar appearance to hopsack but much softer
Nylon - The first truly synthetic fibre produced in 1938. It is very strong and has excellent resilience, better abrasion qualities and is very flexible

O
Organdie/Organdy - stiffened, sheer, lightweight plain weave fabric with a medium to high yarn count. Has a crisp finish. Used in blouses, sheer curtains and dresses
Organza - crisp, sheer, lightweight plain weave fabric made of silk, rayon, nylon or polyester. Often used in ladies evening and wedding wear
Outing flannel - soft, twill or plain weave fabric napped on both sides. Used for baby clothes and nightwear
Oxford - fine lightweight cotton or blend in 2 x 1 basket weave version of plain weave. Mainly used for short fabrics
Osnaburg - medium to heavy tough coarsely woven plain weave fabric of cotton or cotton blends. Low grades for sacks and bags whilst higher grade fabric can be used for ticking, slipcovers and workwear

P
Paduasoy - strong and rich silk velvet fabric
Paramatta - fabric having a silk warp and cotton, wool or linen weft popular in Regency times for mounring dress
Pag lace - a needlelace made on the Croatian island of Pag
Percale - lightweight, closely woven cotton fabric that can be printed in dark colours. Often used for sheeting
Perrotine Printing - The Perrotine Press was invented by Louis-Jerome Perrot of Rouen
Picot - Tight decorative loops used in lacemaking, crochet and knitting
Pill - a tangled ball of fibres that appear on the surface of a fabric as a result of wear and tear including friction
Pique - Medium-weight fabric, either knit or woven, with raised dobby designs including cords, wales, waffles, or patterns. Woven versions have cords running lengthwise, or in the warp direction
Plain weave - the most basic of weaves using a simple alternate lacing of warp and weft yarns. Any type of yarn made from any fibres can be manufactured into a plain weave fabric
Poult de Soie - pure and rich corded silk fabric
Pricking - in bobbin lacemaking this is the card which carries the pattern. Composed of dots which are pricked to receive the pins that hold the stitches in place.  In needlelace it refers to the act of adding holes to a needlelace pattern to allow the needle to pass through
Princess lace - a tape lace made on net with decorative tapes. Also called Renaissance lace
Poplin - a plain weave cotton with a crosswise rib
Puncetto lace - an Italian knotted needlelace originating in Valesia in the Piedmont area.  Composed almost exclusively of geometric designs

Q

R
Railroading - used to describe the orientation of the pattern's direction.  When viewing a railroaded pattern, the filling yarns are in the vertical direction, while the warp yarns are in the horizontal.  Some industries prefer railroaded patterns.  An upholsterer may prefer a railroaded pattern as yardage can be reduced
Ramie - a bast fibre, similar to flax which comes from the stalk of a plant grown in China. It is a dark green plant - a non-stinging nettle and grows up to 8 feet tall with a thick 3/4 inch stem. It is highly lustrous, dyes well and is twice as strong as flax. The fibres are removed by hand or hand-operated machine before the plant dries out and is not retted (rotted).
Rayon - fibre from regenerated cellulose derived from wood pulp, cotton linters or other vegetable matter. There are two very common processes used today for the production of rayon: the cuprammonium process and the viscose process
Rep - fabric with thick cord and horizontal ribbing
Rep-Sarcenet - a fabric somewhere between fine cut velvet and corded silk
Reticella lace - an early form of needlelace
Roller Printing - the machine facilitating this method was patented by Thomas Bell in 1783. The designs were engraved on metal rollers. In 1785 a 6-colour roller installed near Preston, England was doing the work of 40 hand-blocked printers. A similar machine at the Oberkamf mill at Jouy-en-Josas, France in 1797 printed 5000 yards of cloth a day compared to 30-100 yards using the old block printing method. These new machines had taken over by the 1820s. The designs were transferred to the rollers by a pantograph, whose diamond point cut through an acid resistant varnish with which the rollers were coated. The roller was then placed in an acid bath and the lines of the design were exposed on the roller. The printing press ran cloth under the engraved rollers in one, continuous ribbon. Since the 1950s most rollers have been engraved photographically - a process which did away with the skilled engraver. Modern machines print up to 18 colours at a time but cost usually ensures that most fabrics are printed with no more than 8 colours! Modern machines turn out 1200 yards an hour
Russian lace - a very narrow tape lace with intricate plaited grounds and fillings

S
Sackcloth - printed sacking was a uniquely U.S. product. During the Depression of the 1930s someone came up a clever merchandising idea of printing gay allover patterns on sacks of chicken feed. Flour and grain sacks had long beed bleached and converted into clothing by poor rural women but this offered a far more appealing alternative - when a bag of feed was bought a "free" yard or so of cheerful fabric was also obtained all ready to sew
Sarcenet - fine silky fabric in either plain or twill weave
Sateen - a fabric made from low lustre yarns such as cotton. The fabric has a soft, smooth finish with a gentle sheen
Satin - fabric made with a satin weave construction, a basic weave characterised by long floats of yarn on the face of the fabric. Traditional fabric for evening wear and wedding garments. High lustre yarns are used for the weave which also have a low amount of twist. True satin weave fabric always has the warp yarns floating over the weft yarns
Schneeberger lace - a bobbin lace from East Germany which has a modern, open effect with wide use of leaves
Screen Printing - a fine mesh cloth is tightly stretched on a frame and this receives the design. The pattern is defined by painting out the background with a protective varnish. Colour is applied by a squeegee, which presses through the screen onto the cloth below. Each colour requires a separate screen. Nowadays most screen printing uses a photographic process to 'engrave' the design onto the screen. Commercial silk screen printing by hand began in the 1920s. By the 1950s many Western mills capable of fully automated screen printing with flatbed machines producing 350 yds of fabric per hour of up to 20 colours. Good for capturing free, painterly brush strokes from an artists rendering. In the 1960s the flatbed machine was challenged by the rotary screen printer which essentially transferred the screen from silk to fine metal mesh shaped into cylinders.
Seersucker - woven fabric which has modified tension control. Some warp yarns are help under a controlled tensions at all times during weaving whilst others are in a relaxed state and lead to a puckered, striped effect
Serge- one of the oldest fabric names, derived from the Latin serica which implies that this was once a silk fabric. Today is implies a hard wearing worsted cloth with a twill weave. Usually has a smooth face although tends to shine with wear due to hard twist and compact weave structure. Holds a crease well
Shalloon - loosely woven worsted with a twill on both sides
Silesia - a fine brown glazed fabric often used in Regency times for lining
Silk- a natural filament produced by the silkworm in the making of it's cocoon. Most silk now collected from cultivated silkworms. The silkworms feed on mulberry leaves. Around 1 kilometre of silk produced from each cocoon which is first placed in boiling water to kill the larvae and soften the filament

T
Tabbinet - watered poplin
Tabby - coarse silk taffeta
Taffeta - glossy silk with a wavy texture
Tally - in bobbin lacemaking a woven decoration found in the ground or as part of the design.  Made from two pairs of bobbins
Tambour lace - lace made using machine-made net (tulle) as a base and a crochet-style hook.  There are two main types of this lace, Limerick (made mostly in Ireland) and Coggeshall (made mostly in England). In the former the designs are outlined with the hook and the fillings made with a needle whilst in the latter the entire design is made with the hook
Tatting- a form of lace made from knots using a shuttle and thread.  The working thread is  knotted around the carrying thread so as to let the knots be pulled up into rings or chains.  Picots are often added and can be used to join the rings or chains together
Teneriffe lace -  comprise many small medalions formed from a wheel or small round pillow.  The medalion base is a wheel of spokes which are then darned in a lacy pattern
Ticking - tightly woven, durable fabric, usually of cotton and used for covering mattresses, box springs, pillows and work clothes. It can be woven plain, satin or twill construction. Comes from the Latin theca meaning a cover or case. Woven traditionally from dyed yarn in a combination of thick and thin stripes on a white background using a 2-and-2 twill or herringbone weave. Can be given a water repellent finish. Was at one time called bedstout or bed tick. Limoges are brightly coloured bed tickings with a hard glazed surface. Limoges also refers to coarse hemp cloths used for bags in France. Commonly used for pillowcases, mattress covers and bolster covers
Toile de Jouy - style of fabric originating in the village of Jouy-en-Josas near Paris.  The designs resemble finely engraved etchings and use one colour on a solid ground.  Designs usually have a narrative element such as pastoral scenes or classical mythology
Toilonette - a fine wool fabric rather like merino
Torchon lace - a bobbin lace identified by a 45 degree angle between the pinholes and the horizontal and often geometric in design with wide use of fans and diamonds
Tulle - fine silk netting
Turin Gauze - raw silk gauze (woven)
Twist - the number of turns and the direction that two yarns are turned during manufacture. The yarn twist brings fibres closer together and makes them compact, helping the fibres adhere to one another and increasing the strength of the yarn. The direction and amount of twist determines appearance, performance and durability. Generally expressed as turns per inch (tpi), turns per centimetre (tpc) or turns per metre (tpm)

U
Up the roll - Describes the orientation of a pattern's direction. An up the roll pattern has the warp yarns in the vertical direction while the weft yarns are in the horizontal
Union - a plain weave fabric which is woven from two or more different fibres, a linen weft and a cotton warp being very popular. Dressed and stiffened

V
Valenciennces lace - a French bobbin lace which is highly decorative and complex.  The ground is made up of tiny plaits which cross each other without the aid of pins as a guide
Venice lace - often has a high profile and is made using needlepoint techniques rather than embroidery. It is a heavier weight lace and the patterns vary from floral to geometric. Each pattern or motif is attached to others by bars made of thread
Venise - a very fine damask table linen with large floral designs
Velvet medium weight cut pile fabric in which the cut pile stands up straight. Woven using two sets of warp yarns, the additional set making the pile
Victoria crepe - cotton crepe fabric
Vigogne - a twill wool fabric in various neutral colours
Viscose - the most common type of rayon
Voile - crisp, light, plain weave cotton-like fabric made with high twist yarns in a high yarn count construction. Used in dresses, sheer curtains and blouses
Vermicular - from vermiculatus (worm casts). This coral like design used since Roman times. Carved on stone as surface ornamentation, it passed into Western traditions of fabric design and was often seen used as a background motif

W
Wadmol - early coarse fabric used for work clothes and saddlecloths etc. Said to have been used  to trade for Icelandic fish
Warp - in woven fabrics, the yarn running lengthwise and interwoven with the weft yarns
Warp prints - If the warp yarn was printed with a pattern before the weft was woven into it the finished design would be blurry with softened edges. A cumbersome and expensive technique yet now mimicked by a commercially printed effect. Most common at the end of the 19th century into the 1920s and most unusual today.
Weft - in woven fabrics the filling yarn that runs at right angles to the warp yarn
Whipcord - has a steeper twill than cavalry twill. The cord of this fabric is emphasised by the warp threads in the face of the cloth. Bulkier than most cords, suitable for overcoats. Rugged and hardwearing. Also known a artillery cloth.
Winceyette - A plain woven cloth using soft cotton yarns, raised on one side. A warm washable fabric used for nightclothes and bedlinen. Produced in Lindsey, Suffolk, UK
Wool - from the fleece of sheep although can also be fleece from alpaca, angora, cashmere goat or vicuna. The fibre made minute overlapping scales which give it a felting property. It is strong and resilient, soft and very warm. It also wicks away moisture
Worsted fabric - tightly woven fabric using only long staple, combed wool or wool blends. The resulting fabric has a hard, smooth surface. An example is Gabardine

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Z
Zardozi work - where gold or silver threads are used on luxury fabric such as velvet or satin to appear as embroidery
Zari - in making brocade, the use of metallic threads twisted over cotton or silk