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Glossary
General Textile Terms
V | W |
Y | Z
To
access a listing of general textile terms, click on a letter above. |
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-V- |
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Variegated:
Generally, refers to thread that is dyed in multiple colors in
sequence so that the thread will uniformly change colors (from two
to six different colors) every three to seven inches. This thread is
used for decorative stitching or embroidery applications. For
Industrial thread, we offer variegated thread that can be special ordered in
Signature®,
Perma Spun®, and
Perma Core®.
For Consumer thread, we offer variegated thread in
Signature®
Mercerized Cotton, Machine Quilting Thread. |
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Vat
Dyes: A class of dyestuffs generally used for cotton threads
with a high degree of fastness to light and washing. (See Thread
Dyeing.) |
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Vectran™:
A trademark of Kuraray, a
fiber manufacturing company.
Vectran™ is a
high-performance multifilament yarn spun from liquid crystal
polymer. See Technical Textiles. |
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-W- |
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Washfastness:
The ability to resist color change after laundering. |
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Weatherometer:
A testing machine used to expose thread to accelerated
weathering conditions and measure its affect on color
fastness, strength and other physical characteristics. |
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Webbing:
Heavily woven fabric used for handles on
various items such as luggage, backpacks, and briefcases. |
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Wicking:
Refers to a problem with moisture passing through the thread by
capillary action. Many manufacturers are using CW
Core or 100% Cotton to minimize wicking because the cotton swells
when it is wet and fills the seam. Sometimes a special anti-wicking
finish is applied to the thread to minimize wicking; however, this
finish also can have an adverse affect on the frictional
characteristic of the thread. |
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Wildcat Plus®: A&E's brand name for textured
polyester sewing threads generally wound with high performance lubes
to optimize sewing performance when seaming knit
goods and serging operations on woven apparel.
Registered trademark of A&E. |
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Wooly Nylon:
Generally, refers to a textured sewing thread like
Wildcat Plus® or
Best Stretch® that is sewn on
overedge and
coverstitch operations.
Textured sewing threads provide
excellent seam coverage and seam elasticity when sewing knits. |
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Wovens:
Refers to fabrics that are formed with warp and filling yarns
which are interwoven together to form the fabric. Wovens generally
have a tighter more rigid construction than
knits
and are susceptible to seam puckering. The length of the fabric is
referred to as the "warp", the width is referred to as the
"fill", and any angle across the fabric is referred to as
the "bias". On most woven fabrics, the "warp"
direction of the fabric has the least amount of stretch. (See
Thread Application Guide, Wovens.) |
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-Y- |
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Yarn
Imperfections: Refers to yarn defects that usually either cause
thick or thin places in the thread that can cause sewing problems.
Some of these yarn imperfections include: knots, slubs, neps,
dropped ply, dropped filament, singles kinks, etc. |
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Yarn
Size: Yarn size is equal to the equivalent size times the
number of ply (20/1 equivalent size = 40/2 or
60/3 yarn size). The cotton count system is used on most spun and
corespun sewing threads. This is an indirect numbering system where
the larger the number, the smaller the size. (45/2 is finer than a
28/2 yarn size). |
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Yield:
Refers to the yards per pound, which is computed by multiplying
the equivalent size times 840 yards. (28/2 yarn
size = 14 singles equivalent; 14 singles equivalent X 840 =
11,760 yds/lb. - therefore, approximately two 6,000 yd cones can be
wound from one pound of 28/2 yarn.) Yield is important when thread
is sold by the pound rather than by a fixed yardage. The higher the
yield, the lower the thread cost per yard. |
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YKK®
Zippers: Zippers manufactured by YKK
and distributed by A&E® for consumer
use. (Registered trademark of YKK. Other registered trademarks
include YKK Beulon®, YKK Fastrak®, YKK Vislon®, and YKK Ziplon®.) |
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-Z- |
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Zig-Zag
Effect: Refers to the factors that effect the elasticity of a
seam. On a zig-zag stitched seam, the factors that have the greatest
effect on the seam elasticity include: 1. The width of the zig or
zag; 2. The stitches per inch; 3. The stitch balance; and, 4. The
elasticity of the thread being used. The zig-zag effect also applies
to overedge and coverstitched
seams, as well. |
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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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