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Glossary
General Textile Terms
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To
access a listing of general textile terms, click on a letter above.
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A&E®:
A registered trademark of American & Efird, Inc. |
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Abrasion:
The act or result of surface rubbing during laundering or normal
wear. Synthetic threads have superior abrasion resistance to cellulosic threads. Nylon threads like
Anefil™ or Anecord® have
excellent abrasion resistant characteristics.
Perma Core® has good abrasion resistance and chemical resistance
needed in many pre-washed garments. |
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Acid Dyes:
Dyes used to dye Nylon threads. There are two classes of Acid dyes
that are used by A&E, premetalized and regular acid dyes.
Premetalized dyes have superior color
fastness characteristics but can produce a limited color range.
(See Thread Dyeing.) |
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Acrylic:
A manufactured fiber in which the fiber forming substance is any
long chain of synthetic polymer composed of at least 85% by weight
of acroylnitrile units. The fiber is made in
staple form only. Common trade names include Acrilan, Creslan,
and Zefran. Acrylic fabrics are lightweight, soft and resilient.
Some acrylic fabrics, particularly knits,
approximate the hand of fine wool. Because of the composition and
cross section of the fiber, fabrics made from acrylic have a high
bulk to weight ratio. This is further enhanced with the so-called
"high Bulk" spun yarns. End uses include floor coverings, blankets,
and apparel such as tailored clothing, dresses and sweaters. |
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Aesthetics:
Refers to the appearance of the thread in the finished seam that can
be affected by contrast stitching, color matching, the sheen of the
thread, the size of the thread. |
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Air Entangled: Threads that have been made from
continuous filaments that have been entangled by high-pressure
air as they run through an air jet. Air entangled threads can be
made either with a "parallel" or "core & effect" construction. The
core & effect construction thread has superior
ply security minimizing thread breakage. A&E's air entangled
thread is called Magic® and it comes
in a variety of sizes from T-21 to T-135. Same as "locked filament"
thread. (See Thread
Construction.) |
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Air Splice: A
means of joining ends of yarn together using high pressure air. This
produces a union not as thick as a weaver's knot so a better quality
product is produced. Air splices will sew through the needle of a
lockstitch without causing a sewing interruption. |
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ANECALC™: A tool
for calculating the thread consumption for a sewn product, the
estimated number of cones required for a quantity of sewn items
being produced, and the estimated thread cost per sewn Item. ANECALC™
is a tool that can be used to compare the thread cost using
different thread types and sizes. It is also used as a tool to show
the value of using high performance sewing threads. |
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Anecord®: A&E's brand name for a nylon
monocord thread that is made from a number of nylon
continuous filaments that have been brought together with a low
degree of twist and then bonded
together. Anecord threads are flat
and ribbon-like providing a lower seam profile and excellent
loop strength. Anecord
Bobbins™ have more yardage than twisted multi-filament
bobbins and they are available either sided or sideless.
Registered trademark of A&E. |
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Anecord Poly®
A&E's brand name for a polyester
monocord thread that is used in applications requiring good UV
resistance including awnings, tents, covers, and boat tops. A
registered trademark of A&E. |
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Anecot®
, Anecot Plus®,
Anecot® X-tra:
A&E's brand name for 100% CP
cotton threads. Anecot Plus® is a CS
cotton sewing threads that has a higher
tenacity than Anecot® threads, allowing the use of smaller
thread sizes. Anecot X-tra is designed to minimize seam failures
during over-dyeing on regular, stretch denim and corduroy garments. Registered trademarks of A&E. |
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Anefil Nylon® and Anefil Poly®: A&E Brand names for twisted multi-filament
sewing threads used for sewing applications such as footwear,
luggage, automobile applications, upholstered furniture, mattress, &
bedding, etc. They are very strong for their size and very uniform
in their physical properties. Both are available either "soft" or
with an additional "bond" for better ply
adhesion and abrasion resistance.
Registered trademarks of A&E. |
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Anefil®
Kevlar
®: A&E
thread of twisted multi-filament sewing threads used for sewing
applications that require tremendous tensile strength and resistance
to heat degradation. Also see Kevlar®. |
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Anti-wicking:
Refers to a finish (Quarpel) put on
the thread to minimize wicking. The wrapper on cotton wrapped, core
threads or 100% cotton threads will sometimes swell after being sewn
into the seam to minimize water migration. Polyester wrapped core
threads are also used with very small needle sizes to minimize the
size of the hole made in the fabric. |
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Aramid:
Includes DuPont™ fibers like Kevlar®
and Nomex®, which exhibit excellent
flammability characteristics and will not melt or support
combustion. DuPont™ Nomex® has better long-term heat resistance but
is weaker than polyester threads and stretches easily. DuPont™
Kevlar® is very strong and had good short-term heat resistance but
should not be recommended where the thread will be subjected to
prolonged exposure to high temperatures. (DuPont™, Kevlar®
and Nomex® are registered
Trademarks of E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company and are used under
license to A&E®.) |
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Backtacking:
Refers to the reverse feed sewing at the beginning and ending of the
seam to prevent the thread from unraveling. Most
lockstitch machines purchased today will be capable of
backtacking either automatically or with the pushing of a lever. |
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Bartack: A
pattern of stitches sewn on cycle machines used to reinforce seams,
attach belt loops, etc. Bartacking sewing machines are available
either lockstitch or single-thread
chainstitch. |
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Basting:
Refers to temporary stitching used in tailored garments to hold
garment pieces together until another operation is performed. |
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Best Stretch®: A&E's brand-name for our
textured nylon thread that is commonly used on high-stretch
fabrics used in intimate apparel, foundations, sportswear, etc.
Registered trademark of A&E. |
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Blindhemming: Refers to
a 503 EFc-1 overedge hemming
operation often sewn on
knit garments. Many manufacturers are
using either spun or textured
polyester for these operations on the sleeve or bottom of garments. |
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Bobbin: A yarn package that single yarn is wound on in a
textile mill. A bobbin is also a small metal spindle that is
inserted into the hook of lockstitch
sewing machines. Sewing machine bobbins can be wound at the sewing
operators work station or pre-wound bobbins can be purchased. When
ordering pre-wound bobbins, the following information is required:
Thread type & size, color, bobbin style, and sided or sideless. |
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Bonded Finish:
Refers to a finish applied to continuous
filament nylon and polyester threads which coats the fibers giving
the thread better ply security and
abrasion resistance. Bonded threads include
Anefil Polyester®, Anefil Nylon®, and Anecord®.
(See Thread Finishing.) |
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Bottom Cover-thread
Stitch:
Refers most often to the two needle one
looper 406 stitch used for 2-needle hemming
knit garments, making belt loops for jeans, attaching elastic to
panties, and binding operations on knits with a top edge folded
binding. |
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Bottom Thread:
Refers to the under thread in a stitch formation, usually called a
bobbin thread on lockstitch
machines or a looper thread on
chainstitch, overedge and
coverstitch machines. |
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Bottom Weights:
Heavy weight fabrics used for jeans, coveralls, jackets, coats, etc.
These fabrics usually require heavy
thread sizes with good needle heat resistance. |
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Bound Seams (BS):
One of four classes of seams in the Federal Specification -
Stitches, Seams, and Stitchings. A seam where a binding or piping is
sewn to the edge of one or more plies of fabric usually with the
assistance of a folder on the sewing machine. |
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Breaking
(Thread): Caused by a number of variables including: 1. Using
wrong thread for application, 2. Thread defects including knots,
slubs, etc., 3. Too much elongation or being sewn with too much
tension, 4. Worn sewing machine parts, 5. Machine out of adjustment,
and 6. Operator handling. (See Technical Bulletin,
Minimizing Thread Breakage and Skipped Stitches.) |
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Busted Seam
Construction:
Seams that are sewn and then pressed flat after seaming. Used on
tailored garments like coats, trousers, dresses, etc. |
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Button Holing:
The sewing of buttonholes with either a single thread or
lockstitch cycle machine. Buttonhole machines can be complicated
and cause many sewing problems. Many manufacturers use a PW or CW
core thread on these machines to minimize thread breakage and
skipped stitches. Some eyelet buttonhole machines also use button
gimp like our T-180 Anecot® Gimp
that is inserted along the edge of the buttonhole to give the edge
of the buttonhole stability. |
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Button Sewing:
The sewing of buttons with cycle machines which can either use a
single thread chainstitch or
lockstitch to attach the button to
the body. A lockstitch button sewing machine is recommended to
minimize the possibility of the stitch unraveling and the button
falling off. |
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Carding: A
process used in the manufacture of staple
yarn, which separates, cleans, aligns and delivers the fibers in a
sliver form. The machine consists of a series of rollers, the
surfaces of which are covered with many projecting wires or metal
teeth. |
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Cellulosic Fiber:
A fiber made from plants - a wood pulp by-product. Cellulosic fibers
include Cotton, Rayon and Tencel®
or Lyocell®. These fibers have
similar physical properties in that they have a relatively low
tenacity, a low elongation, and good heat resistance. They are
not as durable to abrasion, laundering, and
chemicals as polyester or nylon fibers. |
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Chain Tacking ("Latch Tacking"): Refers to the sewing of the
overedge chain back into the stitch to prevent the seam from
unraveling. This is usually performed at the beginning of the seam.
The thread chain is pulled off the overedge stitch tongue and then
aligned and sewn back into the beginning of the next seam. |
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Chaining-off:
Refers to what sewing operators do when they sew on or off the
fabric at the beginning or end of a seam without stopping. On some
machines, chaining or sewing without fabric is more difficult than
sewing on the fabric because the fabric helps in loop formation. On
the other hand, overedge and
coverstitch machines have needle plates with chaining fingers or
stitch tongues to aid in chaining-off between pieces. |
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Chainstitch:
Refers to a 401 multi-thread chainstitch where a needle thread is
interlooped with a bottom looper
thread on the underside of the seam. A looper thread 60% of the
strength of the needle thread can be used and still maintain seam
strength because a loop of looper thread holds the needle thread on
the underside of the seam. Most main seams on
woven apparel are seamed with this stitch formation. |
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Clearlon®: Refers to A&E's brand name for its
monofilament sewing thread. Clearlon is translucent and is
available in either clear or smoke. Registered trademark of A&E. |
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Color Card or
Palette: A&E has regional color cards specifically designed to
serve the needs of the regional market. These regional color cards
include a Western Hemisphere card, a European card, and a Far East
card. A&E also has developed a Global Color Palette that was
designed for global companies that would like to specify one color
for thread regardless of where the sewn products will be produced in
the world. Special color cards are also available for special
products like Wildcat Plus®
textured threads, Anecord®,
Anefil Nylon® &
Polyester™ threads, etc. |
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Color Matching:
Refers to the selection of a thread that will match the sewn fabric.
The best process is to match a color off the color card because: 1.
The shade has been formulated; and, 2. There is a better chance that
there is inventory available. |
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Colorfastness: The ability of the thread to retain its color
during normal use, laundering, and /or when exposed to sunlight.
Polyester threads exhibit the best colorfastness for most apparel
applications. Colorfastness variables include
wash fastness,
crock fastness,
sublimation, cold water migration and light fastness. Some
thread types are relatively fast to some variables and only
moderately fast to others. We recommend doing pre-production testing
prior to going into production to assure quality results. |
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Combing:
Refers to a step used when processing 100% cotton subsequent to
carding, which straightens the fibers and extracts
neps, foreign matter, and short fibers. Combing produces a
stronger and more even, compact, finer, and smoother yarn. |
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Compatibility:
Refers to the ability of a thread to follow another thread supplier,
thread type, and/or thread color on the sewing floor with minimum
machine adjustments. To minimize thread incompatibility, A&E
recommends using the minimum number of suppliers if possible. |
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Cones: Threads are wound on cones or spools with a precision
wind. Most cones today are made of plastic that can be recycled.
Industrial sewing threads are generally wound on larger put-ups or
cones with 6,000 yds., 12,000 yds., etc. |
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Consumer Products: Refers to A&E products for use in home
sewing. |
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Continuous Filament: Refers to synthetic fibers of an
indefinite length. Fibers used to manufacture sewing threads are
either continuous filament or staple.
We can use continuous filament nylon, polyester, and rayon to make
various thread constructions.
The five thread constructions produced from continuous filaments
include monofilament, twisted
multifilament, monocord,
textured, and
air entangled. Corespun threads use a combination of continuous
filament polyester core and a staple cotton or polyester wrapper.
The sizing system for continuous filaments is the
denier system. |
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Contrast Stitching: Refers to the sewing of thread into
fabric of a different color. Using 100% polyester thread will reduce
the chance of color migration. Filament threads have a higher sheen
and spun thread with a fibrous surface has a softer look. |
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Cord:
Refers to the number of ply in
the
thread construction such as a
2-cord thread - 2-ply thread. |
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Cord Stoppers:
Used on the ends of cords for items such as jackets and coats to
prevent the cord from being pulled out of the item. |
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Core or
Core Spun Thread: One of seven
thread constructions made by wrapping a cotton or polyester
staple wrapper around a continuous
filament core of polyester fibers. Two or more of the core yarns are
then plied to make a core spun sewing thread. When using a cotton
wrapper, D-Core® has good needle
heat resistance and will wash down in color during subsequent wash
processes. When wrapped with a polyester wrapper,
Perma Core® threads have excellent
tenacity, chemical resistance, and
color fastness. Core threads are recommended for tough sewing
application such as sewing on automatic multi-directional sewing
machines. |
Coverstitch:
Stitches used for seaming knit
underwear, athletic wear, intimate apparel which provides excellent
coverage on the top and bottom side of the seam. This allows very
flat seam constructions. Below are the common coverstitch stitch
formations:
- 602 2 needle,
1 looper & 1 top spreader thread
- 605 3 needle,
1 looper & 1 top spreader thread
- 606 4 needle,
4 loopers & 1 top spreader thread
- 607 4 needle,
1 looper & 1 top spreader thread
Usually spun
polyester or texturized polyester/nylon threads are used on these
machines. |
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CP Cotton: Refers to Combed Peeler cotton that comes from
California. CP cotton is not as strong as CS
cotton and is also less expensive. CP cotton has a lighter color
when compared to CS cotton. CP cotton threads are available either
soft, mercerized or glaced. See Anecot®
and Fiber Science. |
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Crocking:
Refers to the rubbing off of color. Crocking is checked both dry
and wet using ASTM D-204 Test Method. Excessive crocking can be
caused by poor dye penetration of the thread or a thread that has
not been properly scoured and has residual dye on the surface. |
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CS Cotton: Refers to SAK cotton that has a longer
staple length and is a superior grade of cotton compared to
CP
cotton. CS Cotton is stronger and
recommended when replacing high tenacity
spun polyester threads for garment dye programs. CS cotton threads
are more expensive than CP cotton threads. CS cotton threads are
available either soft, mercerized or glaced. See
Anecot Plus® and Fiber Science. |
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Curing:
Refers to a process that whereby post-cured piece goods are
passed through an oven to activate the wrinkle-resistant finish. |
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Cut Stitches:
Refers to the damage of threads where one seam crosses another seam,
particularly on denim garments that are subjected to stone-washing,
etc. |
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CW:
Refers to cotton wrapped core thread, such as
D-Core®. See Core Spun Thread. |
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Other Information |
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Technical Information
Links
to technical resources that answer your sewing problem questions... |
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Specialty |
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Thread
Science |
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Internet Sites |
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AAFA:
American Apparel and Footwear Association
www.apparelandfootwear.org
AATCC:
American
Association of Textile Chemist and Colorists.
www.aatcc.org
IAF: International Apparel
Federation http://www.iafnet.com |
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