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Apparel From A to Z
Boost your wearables IQ and talk like a pro with this
handy glossary of key apparel terms.

By Lisa Bennett

Can’t tell the difference between cashmere and chambray or expound upon the finer points of Pima cotton? Don’t let the fancy terminology get in the way. We’ve put together a handy dictionary of more than 150 popular wearable's terms, plus expanded descriptions on some of today’s hot apparel phrases. Keep this guide close by at all times, and you’ll never again be at a loss for words when selling wearable's.

ADDITIONAL ARTICLES

Apparel A- Z
A glossary of Apparel terms
Bank On This
Why The Bank Bag gets Results
Boomerang Article
A Proven Way To Reactivate Clients.
Follow Up Is Key to Post
Trash can
Mail they won't toss
Try Whispering
A new approach with proven results

Acetate: A manufactured fiber in which the fiber forming substance is cellulous acetate.

Acrylic: A manufactured fiber that is silk like in appearance in feel, and springs back when crushed. The fiber forming substance is any long chain of synthetic polymer composed of at least 85% by weight of acrylonitrile units.

Air Jet: Technique for bulking filament yarns by treating them with pressurized air from a miniature spout. Most commonly used in Taslan process.

Allen Solley Placket: A one piece placket that is hidden after being sewn.

Anti-Pilling: A treatment applied to the garment to prevent pilling, or the formation of the little balls of fabric due to wear.

Back Pleats: Small folds in the back of a garment to allow for greater movement.

Backed Cloth: Single textile material with addition of an extra warp or filling added for weigh and warmth.

Batiste: A medium weight, plain weave fabric, usually made of cotton or cotton blends. End-uses include blouses and dresses.

Birdseye: Cotton or linen cloth woven to produce a small pattern that has a center dot resembling a bird's eye.

Bleeding: The running of color from wet dyed material onto a material next to it or the running of colors together.

Blend: A term applied to a yarn or a fabric that is made up of more than one fiber.

Broadcloth: Tightly woven cotton cloth with fine imbedded crosswide ribs that resembles poplin.

Backing: A woven or non-woven support material added to the back of the fabric being embroidered. It can be hooped with the item or placed between the machine throat plate and the hooped garment It comes in various weights in three types — tear-away, cutaway and wash-away. Bean Stitch: Three stitches placed back and forth between two points. Often used for outlining because it eliminates the need for repeatedly digitizing a single-ply running stitch outline.

Bobbin: Spool or reel that holds the bobbin thread, which forms secure stitches on the underside of the fabric.

Buckram: Coarse cotton woven fabric treated with a glue substance to stabilize fabric for stitching. It is commonly used for caps to hold the front panel in place.

Cashmere: Fine downy undercoat hair of the Cashmere goat from Tibet ; produces luxuriously soft garments.

Chambray: A plain woven fabric that can be made from cotton, silk or manufactured fibers, but is most commonly cotton. It incorporates a colored warp (often blue) and white filling yarns.

Chenille: A form of embroidery in which a loop stitch is formed on the top side of the fabric. Heavy yarns made of wool, cotton, or acrylics are used.

Chino: Classic all cotton Army twill” fabric made of combed two ply yarns. At one time chino was traditionally for army uniforms, but it's now finding popularity in mainstream apparel.

Collar: The upright or turned-over neck-band of a coat, jacket or shirt.

Color fastness: A term used to describe a dyed fabric's ability to resist fading due to washing, exposure to sunlight, and other environmental conditions.

Combed Cotton: Cotton that has been combed to remove short fibers and straighten long fibers for a smooth, finer hand. Combing: The combing process is an additional step beyond carding. In this, the fibers are arranged in a highly parallel form, and additional short fibers are removed, producing high quality yarns with excellent strength, fineness, and uniformity

Cool Knit: A pique variation with a defined surface texture resembling a “waffle” pattern.

Cord Locks: A stopper or toggle on a draw cord that keeps the cord from retracting into the garment.

Corduroy: A cut filling pile cloth with narrow to wide ribs. Once corduroy was a cotton fabric, now it can be found in polyester, and man-made blends.

Cotton: Soft vegetable fiber obtained from the seedpod of the cotton plant and one of the major fashion fibers in the textile industry The longer the fiber, the better the quality. Lengths vary from less than one half inch to more than two inches. Cotton is currently grown in 19 states and is a major crop iin 14 states.

Custom: Designing a specific garment to fit the needs of a client.

Deboss: Machine presses a dye into the surface of the material, resulting in a depressed imprint

Digitizing: A method of programming a design. Artwork is converted into a series of digital commands to be read by an embroidery machine’s computer.

Denim: A durable cotton twill traditionally a shade of blue. Once denim was strictly used for jeans or work pants; now it's popular in all modes of apparel.

Dobby Weave: A decorative weave, characterized by small figures, usually geometric, that are woven into the fabric structure. Dobbies may be of any weight or compactness, with yarns ranging from very fine to coarse and fluffy

Double Knit: A circular knit fabric knitted via double stitch on a double needle frame to provide a double thickness. Most double knits are made of polyester.

Double-Needle: Two rows of parallel stiching at the sleeve and/or bottom hem for a cleaner, more finished look.

Double-Stitched: A finish used on a sleeve and/or bottom hem that uses two needles to create parallel rows of visible stitching. It gives the garment a cleaner, more finished look and adds durability

Down: The soft fluffy under feathers of ducks, and geese, primarily used as insulation in outerwear.

Drop Tail: A longer back than front for the purpose of keeping the shirt tucked in during activity

Duck: A heavy, closely woven material, often cotton, used for heavyweight shirts or outerwear.

End-on-End: A 2-ply weave of different color yarns that run parallel each other so that both colors are visible, creating a soft contrast in the garment.

Embossing: A surface effect achieved on fabric by means of passing cloth through a series of engraved rollers that impart figures or designs to its surface. Rollers work through heat and pressure.

Emblem: Logo or design with a finished edge, commonly an insignia of identification. Embroidery: Decoration on fabric using thread to produce designs either by hand or machinery.

Fill Stitch: A series of running stitches commonly combined to cover large areas. Finishing: Processes performed after embroidery is complete. Includes trimming loose threads, cutting or tearing away excess backing, removing topping, cleaning any stains, pressing or steaming to remove wrinkles or hoop marks, and packaging for sale or shipment.

Extended Tail, also called Dropped Tail: The back part of the garment is longer than the front.

Hoop: A round device made from wood, plastic or steel with which fabric is held in place for machine embroidering.

Monogram: Embroidered design corn-woven, with an open texture, fine or coarse for added comfort and ventilation.

Microfiber: A tightly woven fabric usually of fine poiy thread. Microfiber has a soft hand and is comfortable to wear.

Micro Fleece: A lighter microfiber weight but still warm fleece made of knit micro-fibers brushed less than a regular fleece garment.

Mylar: A polyester film used to cover a metallic yarn. Often used in apparel decoration.

Nap: A fuzzy, furlike feel created when fiber ends extend from the basic fabric structure to the fabric surface. The fabric can be napped on either one or both sides.

Nylon: A synthetic polymer, a plastic, durable fabric used in apparel and other everyday items.

Open-End Yarn: A cost-saving process that eliminates some manufacturing steps needed for ring-spun yarn.

Ottoman: A tightly woven plain weave ribbed fabric with a hard, slightly lustered surface. The ribbed effect is created by weaving a finer silk or manufactured warp yarn with a heavier filler yarn, usually made of cotton or wool.

Oxford: A fine, soft, lightweight woven cotton or blended with manufactured fibers in a 2 x i basket weave variation of the plain weave construction. The fabric is used primarily for shirts.

Pattern: An outline of a garment on paper. It usually embodies all the pieces necessary to cut a complete garment from material.

Percale: A smooth, textured, closely woven cotton or polyester fabric.

Pigment: A sfubstance that is added to give color to fabric.

Pill: A tangled ball of fibers that appears on the surface of a fabric, as a result of wear or continued friction or rubbing on the surface of the fabric.

Pima Cotton: A high-end yarn made by plying yarns spun from long combed staple. One of the best grades of cotton in the world. Pima cotton has extra long fiber lengths making it soft, yet strong. Pique: A closely woven ribbed fabric produced from natural fibers, usually cotton. Pique is very poplar in polo-style shirts.

Placket: The opening of a shirt or jacket where the garment fastens or at a pocket. A reverse placket is the reversed opening for women’s garments.

Plain Weave: A basic weave with a smooth surface for printing.

Ply: Two or more yarns that have been twisted together.

Polyester: A strong, durable synthetic fabric with low moisture absorbency Polyester is popular for its comfort and resistance to usually a plain, strong fabric with fine ribbing creating a slight ridge effect; often made of cotton.

Pre-Shrunk: Fabrics or garments, that have received a pre-shrinking treatment. Often done on cottons to remove the tendency for cloth to shrink before cutting the fabric for use in a garment to prevent further shrinkage.

Raglan: This popular style of apparel is a loose-fitting garment with a sleeve extending to the collar ofa garment instead of ending at the shoulder. A raglan sleeve is attached with slanting seams running from under the arm to the neck.

Rayon: A manufactured textile fiber composed of regenerated cellulose.

Rib Knit: A basic stitch used in welt knitting in which the knitting machines require two sets of needles operating at right angles to each other. Rib knits have a very high degree of elasticity in the crosswise direction. This knitted fabric is used for complete garments and for sleeve bands, neck-bands, sweater waistbands, and special types of trims for use with other knit or woven fabrics. Lightweight sweaters in rib knits provide a close, body-hugging fit.

Ring Spun: A process of spinning the yarn to make it softer and more durable.

Rip-Stop Nylon: A lightweight, wind-resistant, and water-resistant plain weave fabric. Large rib yarns stop tears without adding excess weight to active sportswear apparel.

Satin: The name originated in China. Satin cloths were originally of silk. Similar fabrics are now made from acetate, rayon and some of the other männade fibers. The fabric has a very smooth, lustrous face effect while the back of the material is dull.

Shrinkage: The reduction in width and length, or both, that takes place in a fabric when it is washed or dry-cleaned. Residual shrinkage is the term used to indicate the percentage of shrinkage that occurs in the fabric at the time of its first washing.

Side Vents: Fashion details allowing for comfort and ease of movement.

Silk: The only natural fiber that comes in a filament form. Spun from silkworms, this fine fabric is comfortable and soft but must be treated gently.

Single Knit: A fabric knitted on a single needle machine. This fabric has less body, substances and stability when compared with double knit.

Stitch: A series of zig-zag stitches placed closely together to form a column. Also know as a Steil Stitch or Satin Stitch. Copy: Lettering imprinted on an item. Can be an advertiser’s name, slogan, or trademark and transfers it to an item. Pad printing is usually used for three-dimensional items.

Registration: This refers to the ability to line up details and parts of designs with each other.

Running Stitch: A series of single stitches forming a line.

Satin Stitch: A zigzag sewing action where two stitches form a column. It is often used for lettering, outlining and detail.

Short Stitch: A digitizing technique that
places shorter stitches in curves and corners to avoid an unnecessary bulky buildup of
stitches.

Silk Screening: Also known as screen-printing, photographic process that transfers artwork onto a porous nylon screen, which allows a custom color ink to flow onto the garment .

Stock Designs: Digitized common embroidery designs that are commercially available for general use by embroiderers.

Tackle Twill: Letters or numbers cut from polyester or rayon twill fabric that is commonly used for athletic teams and organizations.

Tension: The tautness of thread when forming stitches.

Trimming: The action of cutting loose thread, removing backing, etc., from the final embroidered product underlay

Stitching: The stitching action that will attach the backing to the fabric being embroidered. It also supports the top embroidery for a more lofty, dimensional looking the weft threads over one warp thread and then under two or more warp threads. Examples of twill fabric are gabardine, tweed and serge.

Ultra Suede: Registered trademark of Spring Mills Inc. for a fabric marketed under its Skinner brand. Fabric is not woven or knitted and has tiny polyester fibers embedded in its sqft lush surface.

Velour: A term loosely applied to cut pile cloths in general; also to fabrics with a fine raised finish. Velour has a soft, comfortable hand.

Virgin Wool: New wool that has never been used before, or reclaimed from any spun, woven, knitted, felted, manufactured or used products.

Water Repellent: Abiity of a fabric to resist penetration by water under certain conditions. Various types of tests are used, and these are conducted on sample before and after subjection to standard washing and dry cleaning tests.

Water-Resistant: Fabric treated chemically to resist water. Not to be confused with water-repellent.

Welt: A stripe of material seamed to a pocket opening as a finishing as well as a strengthening device, or a covered cord or ornamental strip sewed on a border or along a seam.

Wickability: The ability of a fiber or a fabric