 
Acetate
Silk like in appearance and feel. Resistant to stretch and shrinkage. Fiber-forming substance in cellulose acetate.
Acrylic
Soft and woolly. Appearance varies from smooth and thin to a thick woven texture. Springs back when crushed.
Basket weave
Variation of the plain weave in which two or more warp and weft threads are woven side by side to resemble a "basket" look Fabrics have a loose construction and a flat appearance.
Canvas
Heavy, firm, strong plain weave or basket weave fabric often made of cotton. It is produced in many grades and qualities and may have a soft or firm hand.
Chambray
Plain weave fabric usually of cotton, rayon, or a blend of these. Chambray usually has yarn dyed yarns in the warp direction, and white yarns in the filling direction. It is often made in striped patterns. It is also frequently made with indigo or pigment dye to fade with multiple washing.
Cotton-combed
Smooth, even yarns are made of long staple cotton fibers into fine weave or fine gauge knit fabrics.
Cotton-ring spun
Spinning process that further refines a yarn to achieve the desired yarn size. This results in a smoother and more uniform yarn and produces fabrics that take dyes evenly and have superior hand feel.
Cotton-sueded
Fabric that goes through a brushing process to raise the nap and give the garment a soft hand.
Denim
Twill weave, yarn dyed fabric, usually made of cotton/polyester blend. The warp yarns are coloured and the filling yarns are white.
Double knit
Fabric knitted on a machine by interlocking loops with a double stitch (two sets of needles). Contrasts with single needle construction. Double knit fabrics are heavier than single knit fabrics.
Engineered stripes
Usually yarn dyed knitwear made on modern knitting equipment with wide bands of multiple colours. The effect is not possible to achieve on less sophisticated repeat machines. This is a jersey or pique fabric with different, more complicated needle selections.
Flannel
Light to heavyweight plain or twill weave fabric with a napped surface. Can be made of cotton or wool. The brushing process creates insulating air cells that provide more warmth than plain cotton.
Fleece
Luxurious fabric with a thick deep nap that provides warmth without weight. May be twill or plain weave. The term correctly applies only to wool fabrics, although there are so-called fleeces of other fabrics.
French Terry of Fleece
Pile knit fabric with uncut loops on one side. It is called fleece if the loops are sheared and brushed. A pile, woven fabric with uncut loops is called terrycloth.
Herringbone
Broken twill weave fabric created by changing the direction of twill from right to left and back again. This creates a chevron pattern. Herringbone fabrics are made in a variety of weights, patterns, and fiber types. Herringbone patterns can also be knitted as a jacquard.
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Fabric Types
Interlock
Firm double knit fabric. Both sides of the fabric look the same (similar to the face of jersey). Used in short sleeve knit shirts.
Jacquard
Type of woven or knitted fabric, which is constructed on a special machine that uses needle selection which results in intricate, complex all-over designs. Single knit jacquards are commonly knit with two separate coloured yarns that are knit together in a row. Double knit jacquard are knit with up to five separate coloured yarns across a row. Double knits are generally much more intricate, more colourful and yet heavier (mostly used in long sleeve product). Woven jacquard fabrics include brocade, damask, and tapestry.
Jersey
Single knit construction which has rows of vertical loops (knit stitches) on the face and rows of horizontal half-loop (purl stitches) on the back. Jersey can be any fiber content and can be knit flat or circular. Often used in short sleeve knit shirts.
Knit
Fabrics constructed by interlocking a series of loops of one or more yarns by hand or by machine. Can be any fiber content. (See double knit, interlock, and jersey).
Lycra
DuPont's trademark from spandex fiber. Spandex has excellent stretch and is always blended with other fibers, imparting stretch to the resulting fabric.
Melton
Dense, thick coating fabric with a smooth face, made with a tight plain or twill weave and two sets of softly twisted filling yarns. It is heavily full napped to hide all traces of the weave. Named for Melton Mowbray, a town in Leicestershire, England, where the original cloth was used to make hunting outfits.
Microfiber
Super fine polyester filament yarn recently developed. Microfiber has superior hand feel and draping characteristics to ordinary polyester yarn. Because the fabric is high-count polyester or nylon yarn, it is durable, water-repellent, and windproof, and retains its colour, resilience, and soft touch.
Nylon
High strength, high abrasion resistance, low absorbency, good elasticity. Texture varies from smooth and crisp to soft and bulky.
Oxford
Soft, somewhat porous and rather stout cotton shirting weave gives a silk like finish, also made from spun rayon, acetate, and other man-made fibers. Oxford also means a woolen or worsted fabric with a grayish cast.
Pique
Single knit construction also know as honeycomb or mesh. An open knit surface with a coarser than jersey or interlock.
Polyester
Versatile in weights and textures for weaves and knits. Resists wrinkling. Excellent shape retention.
Reverse jersey
Knit that uses the backside of jersey fabric for the face of the garment.
Rib knit
Knitted fabric produced with two sets of needles (double knit) in which the vertical rows of loops (wales) can be seen alternately on the face and back. Stretch in the width is excellent.
Sheepskin
General term for a tanned hide with the wool still intact. Used to make exceptionally durable outerwear.
Sherpa fleece
Fleece fabric where the brushed/napped side is used as the face of the garment.
Sueded nylon
A fabric that goes through a brushing process to raise the nap and give the garment a soft hand.
Taslon
Durable nylon fabric that is generally used for rugged outerwear.
Twill
One of the three basic weaves (the other are plain and satin). A diagonal rib (twill) generally running upward from left to right (right hand twill) characterizes it. Left hand twill (traditional denim weave) has the diagonal rib running upward from right to left. Twill weaves are used to produce a strong, durable firm fabric.
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