Textile Glossary - W

WALE:

1. In knit fabrics, a column of loops lying lengthwise in the fabric. The number of wales per inch is a measure of the fineness of the fabric.
2. In woven fabrics, one of a series of ribs, cords, etc., running either warpwise or fillingwise.

WARP:

1. The set of yarn in all woven fabrics, that runs lengthwise and parallel to the selvage and is interwoven with the filling.
2. The sheet of yarns wound together on a beam for the purpose of weaving or warp knitting. (Also see WARP SHEET.)

WARP BEAM: A large spool or flanged cylinder around which the warp threads, or ends, are wound in a uniform and parallel arrangement. (Also see BEAM.)

WARP-DRAWING: See DRAW-WARPING. Warp-drawn fibers may be taken up on packages other than beams.

WARP HOLDING PLACE: See STICKER, 1.

WARPING: See BEAMING.

Textile Glossary - Z

ZEIN FIBER: A manufactured fiber of regenerated protein derived from maize.

ZERO-TWIST: Twistless, devoid of twist.

Z-TWIST: See TWIST, DIRECTION OF.

Textile Glossary - V

VARIANT: A manufactured fiber modified in polymer configuration or by additive during manufacture, resulting in a change in the properties of the fiber. Examples are flame-retardant variants, deep-dyeing variants, high-tenacity variants, low-pilling variants, and cotton-blending or wool-blending variants. 

VAT DYES: See DYES. 

V-BED FLAT-KNITTING MACHINE: A latch-needle weft-knitting machine with two needlebeds at a 90° angle to each other in the form of an inverted V. Each needlebed is at a 45° angle to the horizontal. These machines are used primarily to produce collars, sleeves, sweater strips, and rib trims. 

VEGETABLE FIBER: A textile fiber of vegetable origin, such as cotton, kapok, jute, ramie, and flax. 

VELOUR: 1. Generally, a soft, closely woven fabric with a short, thick pile, weighting about 10 to 20 ounces per yard and made in a plain or satin weave. Velour is usually made of cotton or wool, or with a cotton warp in wool, silk, or mohair velour. It is also made in blends of spun manufactured fiber and wool. Velours are used for coats, draperies, upholstery, powder puffs, and other pile items. 2. A felt with velvet-like texture used for men’s and women’s hats. 

Textile Glossary - U

ULTIMATE TENSILE STRENGTH: See TENSIL STRENGTH. 

ULTRASONIC QUILTING: See PINSONIC® THERMAL JOINING MACHINE. 

ULTRAVIOLET DEGRADATION: Weakening or deterioration caused by exposure to ultraviolet rays of sunlight or artificial light. 

ULTRAVIOLET RESISTANCE: Ability to retain strength and resist deterioration on exposure to sunlight. 

UNCRIMPING ENERGY: See CRIMP ENERGY. 

UNDRAWN TOW: See DRAWN TOW. 

UNDRAWN YARN: Extruded yarn (filaments), the component molecules of which are substantially unoriented. Undrawn yarn exhibits predominantly plastic flow in the initial stages of stretching and represents an intermediate stage in the production of a manufactured yarn. 

UNEVEN DYEING: A fabric dyeing that shows variations in shade resulting from incorrect processing or dyeing methods or from use of faulty materials. 

Textile Glossary - T

TABLET TEST: See FLAMMABILITY TESTS, Methanamine Pill Test.

TACKINESS: The property of being sticky or adhesive.

TACTIC POLYMER: A polymer whose molecular structure exhibits regularity or symmetry ofnon-backbone side groups rather than random ordering. (Also see ATACTIC POLYMER, ISOTACTIC POLYMER, and SYNDIOTACTIC POLYMER.)

TAFFETA: A plain-weave fabric with a fine, smooth, crisp hand and usually a lustrous appearance. Taffeta fabric usually has a fine cross rib made by using a heavier filling yarn than warp yarn. Taffetas are produced in solid colors, yarn-dyed plaids and stripes, and prints. Changeable and moiré effects are often employed. Although originally made of silk, manufactured fibers are now often used in the production of taffeta.

TAK DYEING: See KUSTERS DYEING RANGE.

TAKE-UP (TWIST): The change in length of a filament, yarn, or cord caused by twisting, expressed as a percentage of the original (untwisted) length.

TAKE-UP (YARN-IN-FABRIC): The difference in distance between two points in a yarn as it lies in a fabric and the same two points after the yarn has been removed from the fabric and straightened under specified tension, expressed as a percentage of the straightened length. In this sense, take-up is contrasted to the crimp of a yarn in a fabric, which is expressed as a percentage of the distance between the two points in the yarn as it lies in the fabric. Take-up is generally used in connection with greige fabric.

TANGENT MODULUS: The ratio of change in stress to change in strain derived from the tangent to any point on a stress-stain curve.

Textile Glossary - S

SAILCLOTH: Any heavy, strongly made woven canvas of cotton, linen, jute, polyester, nylon, aramid, etc., that is used for sails. Laminated fabrics are also finding use in this market. Sailcloth is used for apparel, particularly sportswear.

SAND: Used as a filter medium in fiber manufacture, particularly used in spinning packs for nylon or polyester production.

SANDWICH BLEND: A method of preparing fiber mixtures by layering them horizontally in alternating layers with all elements in the proper proportion. Vertical sections are cut and fed to the next machine in the process, where blending is effected.

SANFORIZED®: A trademark of Cluett, Peabody & Co., Inc., denoting a controlled standard of shrinkage performance. Fabrics bearing this trademark will not shrink more than 1% because they have been subjected to a method of compressive shrinkage involving feeding the fabric between a stretched blanket and a heated shoe. When the blanket is allowed to retract, the cloth is physically forced to comply.

SANFOR-SET®: A trademark of Cluett, Peabody & Co., Inc., denoting a controlled standard of shrinkage performance originally developed for denims. Fabrics bearing this trademark will not shrink under home-wash, tumble-dry conditions because they have been subjected to a liquid ammonia treatment and compressive shrinkage.

SAPONIFICATION: Specifically in relation to manufactured fibers, saponification is the process of removing part or all of the groups from acetate or triacetate fiber, leaving regenerated cellulose.