Textiles - Fibres and Fabrics

Fibre -  a hair like structure that is the basis of a yarn or fabric.

Staple - a short fibre that needs to be twisted with others to make a yarn. 

Filament - a long fibre that can be used alone or twisted with others to make smooth yarn.

Yarn - a thread like structure that is made from either short staple fibres twisted together or long filament fibres.

Fabric - a  sheet or length of cloth made from fibres or yarn. 

Natural Fibre - a fibre that comes from a plant or animal source.

Handle - what a fabric is like to work with. 

Synthetic Fibre - entirely artificial and made using oil and coal in it's chemical production. 

Polymerisation - the process by which monomers are joined together to form polymers. 

Trade name - a name given to a fibre created and sold by a company such as Nylon (named by DuPont) - where polyamide is it's generic name.

Microfibre - a synthetic fibre that is made 60 times finer than a human hair.

Regenerated fibre - natural cellulose treated with artifical chemicals to extract the fibre.

Closed loop process - a manufacturing process where by all waste is reused in the production sytem.

Biodegradable - can be brokend down naturally through the action of bacteria or other living organisims.

Sustainable - can be manufactured with little or no negative impact on the enviroment and on he health and wellbeing of the workers employed to make the product. 

Blended fibre - two or more fibres spun together to make a yarn.

Mixed fibre - two or more yarns mixed together in the construction of the fabric. 

Asethtics - the visual design appeal

Green fibre - an alternative sustainable source of fibre for a yarn or fabric.

Woven fabric - interlacing yarns with warp running down he length and weft running across the fabric.

Jacquard - a complex weave or loom for complex weaves. 

Plain weave - a simple basic weave with alternating yarns between weft and warp.

Twill weave - weft goes under more than one warp thread, making a diagonal ***** pattern on the fabric.

Satin weave - the weft or warp goes over four or more yarns, giving a high, smooth sheen to the fabric. 

Pile weave - loops or cut loops form a raised texture on the fabric.

Weight - of a fabric is dicataed by he thickness and fibre type of the yarn and/or the denseness of the weave or knit.

Felted - fibre are pressed together using heat, moisture and agitation, or hot needles.

Bonded - webs of fibres are pressed together using adhesives or heat.

Laminated - two or more fabrics bonded together to enhance the fabric's properties.

PVC - polyvinyl chloride.

Micro encapsulation - substances that are fixed to the fabric or the fibre and can then be activated, such as perfumes. 

Weft knit - loops linked together across the width of the fabric.

Warp knit - loops linked in a vertical direction.

Embossing - a relief print pressed into a fabric changing its surface texture as well as giving a patterned appearance.

Drape - how a fabric hangs.

Colourfast - how well a fabric keeps dye applied to it, even through regular washing.

Smart fabric - a textile product that adjusts to the enviroment it is surrounded by without human intervention.

Interacive fabric - a product tha requires a power source to activate it's features.