Seen something in one of the apparel descriptions you're unsure of?
This is a good place to start.
| ClimaLite ® |
Developed
by adidas, Climalite fabrics are light and breathable and when worn close
to the skin conduct sweat away from the body to keep you cool and dry
in warm conditions. |
| CoolMax ® |
Developed by Invista,
Coolmax® fabrics
are designed to move moisture away from the body and enhance fabric drying
rate thus, keeping you feeling cool and dry. Coolmax® fabrics deliver
performance and comfort through the use of proprietary polyester fibres
with unique engineered microchannel cross sections and/or specially engineered
two sided, denier gradient fabrics made using Coolmax® qualifiable
polyester or nylon yarns.
find out more |
| Cotton |
The fibre is most
often spun into thread and used to make a soft, breathable textile, which
is the most widely used natural-fibre cloth in clothing today. |
| Dart |
A structure
used to shape a garment around a convex body part, such as the
bust line, shoulder blade, buttocks or belly. It is a stitched pointed
pleat that permits shaping in the middle of a pattern piece rather than
at a join between two pieces |
| Draw Cord |
a cord or ribbon run
through a hem or casing and pulled to tighten or close an opening or drawstring. |
| Dri-Fit |
see Nike |
| Double Needle |
a double row of stitching
at the seam. |
| Drytec |
see Cutter & Buck |
| Flat
Front |
a style
which does not include darts or pleats, this allowing the fabric to sit
flat against the body. |
| Interlock |
a fine-gauge
knit fabric produced by interlocking or interlocking stitches on a circular
knit machine. Similar to a jersey, except both front and back of fabric
look identical. Interlock is a variation of rib knit construction. The
fabric is extremely soft, firm and absorbent. |
| Jacquard
knit |
dyed yarn
knit on sophisticated equipment to produce a desired pattern and/or texture. |
| Jersey |
a type
of fabric with a flat appearance, knit on a circular, single-knit machine;
its principal distinction is that it is not a fabric with a distinct rib. |
| Knit
Collar |
Using
the Interlock
or rib knit construction, knit collars are
extremely soft, firm and absorbent. |
| Mercerised |
a process
that eliminates all of the small "hairs" of yarn, which adds
to its luster. This yarn is then additionally run through a caustic solution,
which further smoothes and adds gloss to the yarn surface by burning off
additional fabric hairs. |
| Microfibre |
Very fine
fibres, which give a unique appearance and soft hand. Microfibre fabrics
are generally lightweight, resilient and resist wrinkling. They have a
luxurious drape and the body retains its shape and resists pilling. They
are also very strong and durable. |
| Mock |
A shortened version
of the turtleneck where the neck of the garment does not fold over. |
| Nappa
Leather |
a full-grain
leather, typically dyed, made from un-split kid-, lamb- or sheep-skin,
and noted for softness |
| Pique |
A knit
fabric that is characterised by its waffle-like appearance. |
| Placket |
the construction
that forms the opening in the front of the shirt, allowing the wearer to
put it on and take it off with ease. |
| Plain Weave |
simplest, most common
of all basic weaves. The surface provides a smooth surface for printing. |
| PlayDry™ |
|
| Pleat |
A type
of fold formed by doubling fabric back upon itself and securing it in place. |
| Poplin |
A medium-to-heavyweight
unbalanced plain weave. It is a spun yarn fabric that is usually piece
dyed. |
| Polyester |
Polyester clothing
is generally considered to have a "less natural" feeling to it
compared to natural fibres. Polyester fibres are often spun together with
fibres of cotton, producing a cloth with some of the better properties
of each. |
| Raglan |
A raglan
sleeve is stitched under the arm and in two parallel lines leading from
the armpit to the neck; it makes for ease of arm movement. |
| Reinforced Stitching |
|
| Rib |
a stretchy
fabric normally used for trim. This stitch is formed by two sets of needles
at right angles to each other. The face of the fabric appears to be the
same as the backside. |
| Set-in
sleeve |
A style
of sleeve that is sewn into the shoulder, as opposed to the neck. |
| Side seams |
These
are the seams that join the front and back together. This feature is not
found on T-shirts and some placket shirts. |
| Single Needle |
a stitch, requiring
a single needle and thread, characterised by its straight-line pathway.
A single-needle shoulder seam has been finished with a visible row of stitching,
single needle, for additional reinforcement and fashion. |
| Sphere Dry |
see Nike |
| Tencel |
a fibre
made from wood pulp. Tencel gives fabric a very soft, smooth and luxurious
hand. |
| Twill |
characterised
by a diagonal rib. Twill weaves are used to produce a strong, durable,
firm fabric. |
| UV Fabric |
Sun protective clothing
is clothing that is manufactured from ultraviolet (UV) protective fabric.
The definition of a sun protective fabric is a fabric that must achieve
a minimum UV Protection Factor (UPF) rating of at least UPF15 after the
equivalent of 2 years of normal wear and tear. UPF is similar to SPF (sun
protection factor) used to rate sunscreens but UPF is the rating used to
measure the amount of UV rays that pass through fabrics when exposed to
UV radiation. |
| Waterproof/breathable |
Ability to keep water
from penetrating but permits water vapor to pass through. There are over
200 fabrics of this type available today, offering a varied combination
of waterproofness and water vapor permeability. |
| Water resistant |
A treatment to fabric
that actually allows water to "bead" and fall off a garment. |
| Weather Resistant |
A loose term referring
primarily to a fabric's wind-resistant and water-repellent properties.
Water-resistant fabrics are those that resist the penetration of water.
The greater the force of impact as the water hits the fabric surface, the
greater the likelihood that it will penetrate the fabric. Water resistant |
| Woven |
fabric constructed
by the interlacing of two or more sets of yarns at right angles to each
other. |
| Wrinkle Free |
the basic process
for imparting the wrinkle free finish into fabric involves applying a resin
into the fabric, drying and curing at extremely high temperatures to the
desired dimension, scouring to remove any residual chemicals, and final
drying. The application and curing of wrinkle free may occur before or
after the garments are produced. "Pre cured wrinkle free" means
that the finish has been applied to the fabric before the garment has been
manufactured. Because the "post-cure wrinkle free" means that
the finish has been applied after the garment has been manufactured and
because the "post-cure wrinkle free" process is set into the
final, pressed garment, it is more popular. |
| Yoke |
contoured
portion of a garment, usually at the shoulder or hip. |
