Fabric glossary
The words that appear in a spec sheet, a mill email or an inspection report — defined without the trade-school detour.
AQL
Acceptable Quality Limit — the sampling rule for inspection.
Carded yarn
Yarn that is opened and aligned but not combed — the standard for fleece and denim.
Colour fastness
How well a dyed fabric resists fading and bleeding.
Combed yarn
Yarn with short fibres removed, giving a smoother, stronger fabric.
Dye lot
One batch of dyeing; shade can vary slightly between lots.
Fleece
A knitted fabric with a brushed inside, used for hoodies.
French terry
A knit with loops on the inside, lighter than fleece.
Greige fabric
Unfinished fabric, straight off the loom or knitting machine.
GSM
Grams per square metre — the standard measure of fabric weight.
Hand feel
The tactile quality of a fabric — how it feels in the hand.
Interlock
A double knit that is smooth on both faces and does not curl.
Jersey
The basic single knit, used for t-shirts.
Lab dip
A small dyed sample that approves the bulk colour.
Mercerization
A caustic treatment that makes cotton stronger, smoother and more lustrous.
Ounce (oz/yd²)
The US measure of fabric weight, common for knits and denim.
Pilling
Small fibre balls that form on the surface through rubbing.
Poplin
A fine plain weave with a slight crosswise rib, standard for shirting.
Rib
A knit with vertical ridges that stretches widthways, used for cuffs and neckbands.
Selvedge
The self-finished edge of a woven fabric.
Shrinkage
How much the fabric changes dimension after washing.
Slub
A deliberately irregular yarn that creates texture in the fabric.
Twill
A weave with diagonal lines, used for chinos, denim and workwear.
Warp
The lengthwise yarns in a woven fabric.
Weft
The crosswise yarns in a woven fabric.