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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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Package
Dyeing: A process for dyeing thread wound on packages. Dye
solution is forced under pressure from the outside of the package
inward, and then from the inside out. |
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Peeler
Cotton or CP Cotton: A high quality
long staple upland cotton with a staple 1-1/8
inches in length or more. |
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Performance Bobbin®: An A&E® thread product of ready wound bobbins.
(Packed loosely in an easy-to-use one piece box.) Registered
trademark of A&E. |
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Perma Core®: A&E's brand name for a polyester wrapped
polyester core thread. Perma Core comes in a variety of sizes for
sewing anything from fine blouses to heavy weight denim garments.
Also see, Perma Core NWT, designed
to minimize repairs after harsh finishing processes like enzyme and
stone-washing, hand sanding, and sand blasting on denim and twill
garments. Registered trademark of A&E. |
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Perma Spun®: A&E's brand name for a spun polyester sewing
threads made from 100% polyester staple. Perma
Spun threads have excellent color fastness
and chemical resistance and are used for a variety of sewn products.
Registered trademark of A&E. |
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Permanent
Press: Refers
to either pre-cured or post-cured chemically treated fabrics that
retain their wrinkle-resistant properties after wearing. Usually,
they are made from a blend of polyester and cotton. Threads
recommended for sewing permanent press fabrics include Perma Core® and D-Core®. |
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Pigtails:
Tails of thread
that are made during winding on the inside of the cone.
Pigtails allow the thread to be tied to another cone for continuous
operation. To have thread with pigtails, the thread must be ordered
with special winding instructions. |
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Pixelles®:
A&E' brand name for a trilobal polyester thread. Pixelles
threads are used for quilting and embroidery or decorative accenting.
(See Signature®
Specialty Threads.) |
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Plain
Sewers: Refers
to a single needle lockstitch machine that
uses a needle thread and bobbin thread. Many
plain sewers today are equipped with automatic back tack, needle
positioners, and top & bottom thread trimmers. |
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Ply
or Plies: Refers
to the number of singles yarns twisted together
to make a sewing thread. Most core and spun sewing threads have
either two or three ply constructions.
The ply twist is normally a "Z" or left twist compared to
a "S" or right twist in the singles yarns. (See Thread
Construction.) |
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Ply
security or Ply Adhesion: Refers
to a sewing thread's ability to stay together during the sewing
process. The most common type of thread break is caused by a loss of
ply security. When the plies open up during the sewing process they
are much more susceptible to breaking and causing an unraveled type
thread break. For apparel applications, corespun threads like Perma Core® and D-Core®
have the best ply security and will sew on many tough sewing
operations with minimum interruptions. For industrial sewing
applications where leather and vinyl fabrics are sewn, bonded nylon
or polyester threads like Anefil Nylon® or Anefil Poly® have the best ply security ratings. |
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Polyester: A synthetic fiber
made from a chemical composition of diethyl terephthalate and
ethylene glycol. The polyester is melted, extruded through a
spinneret, and drawn. It can be different tenacities and be fully
oriented (FOY) or partially oriented (POY) depending on how it is
processed. Usually, sewing threads are made from FOY fibers. (Fiber
brands: Dacron®,
Trevira®, Fortrel®,
Kodel®). (See Fiber
Science.) |
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Polyethylene: An Olefin fiber
used in outdoor furniture and similar applications. This fiber has
very good UV and chemical resistance. We do NOT have a thread made
with this fiber. We generally recommend polyester threads for sewing
polyethylene fabrics. |
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Post-Cured
Fabrics: Fabrics
that have been chemically treated but must be heat activated after
sewing by passing the finished garment through an oven. |
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Pre-Cured
Fabrics: Fabrics that have already been chemically treated and
heat activated prior to sewing. They exhibit wrinkle resistant
properties. See also Permanent Press. |
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Pre-Wound
Bobbins: Refers
to bobbins that are wound by the thread supplier. From 15 to 20%
more thread can be wound by precision winding equipment than by a
sewing operator using a sewing machine bobbin winder. When ordering
pre-wound bobbins the following information is required: 1) thread
type; 2) thread size; 3) sided or
sideless; 4) Bobbin style; and 5) color. Most of our pre-wound
bobbins are sold by the gross. |
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PTFE: A polymer
based thread made from fluoride and ethylene (polytetrafluoroethylene)
used in applications where either UV or chemical resistance is
important. A&E® brand names of PTFE products are
Filtrane™
and Solarance™. They are available either
white or solution dyed black. These thread are promoted to last as
long as the associated fabric. They are also very expensive compared
to Polyester or Nylon threads. |
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Puckering:
Refers to the wrinkled appearance of a seam, which can be caused
by a number of factors including: 1) Structural jamming; 2) Tension
puckering, and 3) Feed puckering. A&E's Perma Core® is recommended on many fabrics to minimize seam
puckering because of its high tenacity and
excellent lubricity characteristics.
(See Technical Bulletin, Seam
Puckering.) |
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Purl
Stitch: Refers
to an overedge stitch usually sewn on the edges
of napkins. Many manufacturers use a textured
nylon or polyester sewn with a high stitch count to cover the edge
properly. A&E's T-50 or T-70 Wildcat Plus is ideal for purl
stitching on napkins, etc. |
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Put-up: Refers to the type,
size, and yardage of the cone, king-tube or tube upon which thread
is wound. |
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Core: Refers to Polyester Wrapped Core thread - Perma Core®. See core
spun thread construction. |
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Quarpel
Finish: Refers to a water-repellent finish used on fabric or
thread, which causes water to bead up and run-off rather than absorb
into the fabric. This is a special finish that must be processed on
request. It can adversely affect the frictional characteristics of
the thread. (See Thread
Finishing.) |
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Rayon:
Refers to a regenerated cellulosic fiber similar to cotton in
its physical characteristics. Rayon is primarily used today for
embroidery applications. Madiera is a company that markets rayon
embroidery thread around the world. Currently A&E® does not
produce a rayon embroidery thread. |
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Reactive
Dyes: Dyes
used for cellulose fibers like cotton or rayon. Reactive dyes are
available in very bright shades but may not have good color
fastness characteristics. (See Thread
Dyeing.) |
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Regenerated
Cellulose: Rayon,
Lyocell® and Tencel®
are made from regenerated cellulose and is a wood-pulp
by-product. They are man-made fibers that are wet-spun and exhibit
similar properties to cotton. |
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Ring
Spinning: Refers
to the method of spinning that uses a Ring Spinning Frame where a
roving yarn is drafted and twisted using a
traveler to form a singles yarn. Ring Spinning is stronger than
either air-jet spinning or open-end spinning and makes the highest
quality sewing threads. |
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Robison-Anton®: The industrial
embroidery thread division of American & Efird®. Robison-Anton
and the "RA" logo are registered trademarks of American & Efird®
Enterprises, Inc. |
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Roving:
In spun yarn production, roving is an intermediate state between
sliver and yarn. Roving is a condensed sliver, which has been
drafted, twisted and wound on a roving
bobbin,
which is the supply package for spinning. |
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Runback:
Refers to the thread sliding out of a seam causing thread
failure. This occurs on knit shirts and other
undergarments that are sewn with an overedge
stitch using a narrow bite. Sewing with light machine thread
tensions and with the proper number of stitches per inch will reduce
this problem. Also using a thread with a fibrous or fuzzy surface -
spun or corespun - will minimize runbacks compared to textured
and other continuous filament thread
constructions |
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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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Contact A&E®
Call:
(800) 861-3256
(Toll Free)
Or click on this link to email us. (Also see,
Technical Support.) |
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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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