Glossary

A fabric that has a twill effect predominantly on one side but a plain effect on the other, giving an armoured effect.

Very light and transparent plain weave fabric. Its name is attributed from that of Jean Baptiste, an ancient French weaver from Cambrai (or Chambray) who is purported to have woven the first version, however this is unsubstantiated. Others maintain that the name Batiste originated from another fine fabric woven in India called “Baftas”. The original fabric would in any case have been woven in a fine linen, warp or weft, but generally today the term is used for cotton fabrics.

A poplin based fabric with small figured effects. The name Dobby comes from the English Dobby looms that traditionally produced these fabrics in the past.

Fabric with particular irridescent effects caused by the use of different coloured warp and weft yarns ( or chalky effects where colour & white are used together )

For dyeing a textile products it is necessary to apply the colour which is a dispersion of dye in an aqueous solution, with added salt, acid or alkaline or whatever will best assist the colour in the dye bath to penetrate and be absorbed by the fabric.

A fabric which is less elastic than Stretch, with a much more compact handle owing to the particular crespa core stretch yarn used in the weft.

the number of 840 yard hanks weighing one pound (Old English/Imperial system).
Ne: the number of hanks per pound.
Metric versions include:
Tex: the number of grams in 1000m of yarn.
Denari: the number of denari in 450m of yarn.
There are different methods for measuring wool, linen etc.

A robust fabric made with a 4 shaft diagonal twill usually running from right to left. The typical characteristic is that the warp is dyed with indigo (a natural dark blue colour that fades over time, in sunlight and with repeated washing) or sometimes with black or brown in the similar way. The weft is always greige (natural cotton colour) giving the characteristic look. This fabric originated in the South of France at Nimes, and therefore was described as “de Nimes”.

Generally they are all the different structures and weaving patterns that it is possible to created within a fabric using a Dobby (Old English) loom, usually up to 16 shafts maximum. White versions are often called “white on white” dobbies. More complicated weaving structures than dobby are usually referred to as Jacquard.

This is the process where the threads of the warp are drawn with hooks, either by hand or mechanically, through the heddles (lifting wires on the loom) and through the comb which is used to beat the weft yarns into a neat position during the weaving process.

The process whereby the raw or natural coloured yarns are changed into different colours by the application of different solvents of dye in a vat or centrifuge. The dyes original used were derived from plant materials but more normally are now from the chemical industry. Good dyestuffs must be uniform in colour and even in penetration to the yarn, as well as safe to use and for the consumer.

Comprising a series of operations which prepare the material to the required aspect. The final finish is particularly a combination of finishing processes.

A combination of chemical and mechanical treatments or processes (including bleaching, mercerising, dyeing, printing etc) which the woven cloth goes through in order to improve the appearance, handle and physical appearance of the finished fabric.
The various processes, depending on the type of fibre, can be classified as:
- Preparation
- Colouring (dyeing or printing)
- Stabilising or Sanforising
- Final finishing

A flannel woven from wool, or a wool/cotton mix (also a term applied to some 100% cotton fabrics with a wooly aspect called flanelette). It has a directional pile achieved by brushing that makes the fabric very soft to the touch, and also warm. Flannels are often used for clothes that have direct contact with the skin, such as shirts, suits, trousers and ladies wear.

A very compact fabric usually woven in a 4 shaft twill or herringbone and traditionally used for raincoats, as being dense they are quite weatherproof. Usually the twill effect of the typical gabardine is on the face side. Gabardines are also sometimes used for trousers and for heavyweight sporty shirts and can be emerised to feel softer to the touch.

An openwork fabric with a particular contraction where the warp and warp threads move around and across each other to produce open work effects that resemble knitted fabrics. A light and airy fabric ideally suited for summer and refined leisure shirts and jackets.

A very compact piquet fabric, only in white or black, used for the front bib of evening shirts (and/or waistcoats) Marcella is often starched with resin to further stiffen it for an even greater formality.

Muslin is typically very light, and named after the Mesopotamium (Iraq) city of Mosul where it is believed to have its origin. It’s usually in a plain weave.

Fabric woven from an extremely fine yarns, usually singlefold, that is very open and transparent. It can be woven in cotton or silk. Quite similar to muslin in structure, its major difference is a particular kind of Swiss finishing which imparts a rather stiff aspect to the material. Its name derives from the city of Urghenz in Turkestan that was one an important market for textiles between Asia & Europe.

The name of this fabric is taken from the English collegiate City of Oxford where it was worn by the students for leisure wear as generally considered to be a bit more sporty, less formal than Poplin or Zephyr. Its characteristic structure is a warp (usually coloured) that is much finer than the weft which is thicker and traditionally white, producing a chalky white characteristic melange effect .

This fabric, generally in wool or cotton, is a derivitive of plain weave, but instead two warp threads (ends) of warp are crossed with two weft threads (picks). It is also called a Matt weave, and the name derives from its appearance that resembles the weave of the traditional straw panama hat.

Cotton double faced cloth which presents different relief effects similar to the weaves seen on silk tie fabrics, or in any case combinations of different types of weaves within the same fabric. The fabric is usually very richly constructed in order to achieve the raised weaving effects, whether they be satins, ottomans or vertical or horizontal ribs. The fabric is woven on top and bottom beams to keep the good tension. Other typical piquet constructions are the Bedford Cord or wavy Marcella effects often associated with formal evening wear fabrics.

This fabric is woven in a particular way to achieve a fine pleated sort of effect that is used for formal dress shirts. Some Plisse fabrics may be chemically treated by caustic soda to produce a pleated effect, like the typical pleated fabrics of Fortuny.

This name refers to a fabric derived from “papalina” with reference to the Papal City of Avignon from where it originated. The number of weft picks is only half the number of warp ends. This particularity permits the coloured stripes to be clear and bright , in comparison with the much softer weft checks. In fact it primarily became important since the 1960’s owing to the greater loom speeds that could be achieved on account of the lesser number of weft yarns, in comparison with the gingham or zephyrs of the past.

The materials need to be prepared for dyeing, printing or finishing. During this phase the auxiliary substances used to assist the warping and weaving (oils, waxes and size) as well as the impurities which are always found in a natural fibre, are eliminated, in order to arrive at the very pure presentation needed for the successive working.

A cotton fabric with a smooth soft and shiny surface that resembles silk. The effect is achieved by the fabric being woven with an armoured warp faced effect where the yarn interlaces with the weft only after 5 picks of weft. The smooth way the warp fibres lay on the surface give the bright effect. Satins can be woven as an allover effect or also as stripes. When satin effects are made with the weft on the face they are called sateen.

A summery aspect fabric which is normally constructed with different constructions woven side by side. The different structures have different tensions in the warp which give the characteristic waffle effect of the genuine seersucker. Its also possible to achieve a similar effect in the finish, by differential shrinkages achieved with differential shrinkage or the application of substances.

A process that involves the application of natural and synthetic substances, called in Italian “bozzime”, to the yarn to improve its resistance or strength during the warping and weaving processes, whilst at the same time assisting the various successive processes of dyeing and finishing of the woven fabric. The applied substances are removed during the finishing process. .

The process where the disorganised mass of staple fibres (be it cotton/wool/linen flax etc) can be organised into a long and fine length, that is into the spun yarn that can then be used for weaving or knitting. The spinning processes are many and varied from the most simple to the most state-of-the-art, and will vary depending on the characteristics of the raw material, and with the yarn than is destined to be obtained from it. Overall it is necessary to try to achieve the highest possible quality, with good strength, regular thickness and minimal hairiness.

A fabric woven with a weft of nylon & lycra that results in a fabric with great elasticity in the widthwise direction. The nylon aids the crease recovery aspect.

A very light fabric in plain weave which is used both for fashion and furnishing fabrics. The transparent effect is achieved because the yarn is extremely tightly twisted and therefore the resultant woven fabrics are very airy and open.

French term for a classic check of 5mm colour/5mm white, produced on any “Zephyr “ base . In England these sorts of checks are usually called “Gingham”.

The process of preparing the yarn for weaving where a chain of yarn is prepared with threads of exactly equal length and tension, presented in the correct order that can then be lifted onto the weaving loom in order to be ready to weave into the eventual design of fabric.

Here the warp threads or ends are grouped and wrapped around the front and back beams of the loom. Then through the procedure of lifting a % of the warp ends in one pass, a horizontal weft called a pick is passed through the gap, or shed created by the lifted warp. The come then strikes the weft pick into place, and a different lift of warp ends follows and the next weft pick passes through the shed, and is struck into place. The succession of alternating weft picks builds up the structure of the cloth. This same procedure is followed with every woven cloth, the main difference being the lifting patterns of the warp ends, which create different structures, and of course the variance of colour in warp and weft.

The last phase of the spinning where the yarn is transferred to either a cylindrical or conical cone that is especially suited to weaving or to dyeing. It is usually necessary to wind onto one sort of cone for dyeing (for maximum and even penetration of the dyestuff) and then once dyed to another sort of cone that is more suited to warping.

There are various ways of measuring the thickness of a yarn, which due to its fineness and irregularity cannot be expressed as a direct measurement of diametre, but instead is a combination of the weight and a specific unit of length. The most significant and traditional one still used today is the cotton count.

This was a term invented inside our own company David & John Anderson towards the end of the 19th Century. David Anderson was trying to define a much finer quality of fabric than the typical and fairly ordinary term “ gingham” and the term he chose was Zephyr, the name of a very light and gentle wind. The name has become an Internationally recognised description of a lightweight gingham fabric whose number of warp ends are similar to the weft picks giving a very even check appearance. It can be noted in our archives the large number of Zephyr design volumes from the late 19th Century.