Technical Information / Terms of Textile

Terms of Textile

For the convenience of the users we have included the terms of textile used in the pages of the site. The terms will help you in getting a better understanding of our line of activites and our specialised field of operations.

A

Abrasion -- The act or result of rubbing during laundering or normal
wear. Synthetic threads generally have superior abrasion resistance
to cellulose threads.

Air-entangled (or Locked Filament) Thread -- A type of continuous filament thread with fibers entangled by high-pressure air from an air jet, rather than twisted by machine. Air-entangled thread can be manufactured by either parallel-interlace, or the core-and-effect method, which produces better sewing thread.

Anti-wicking -- A thread finish that prevents a liquid from migrating
through the needle hole. It is commonly applied to threads used in
tents, awnings, tea bags, and boots.

Aramids -- Synthetic threads that exhibit low flammability and do not
melt

Article -- Product identification for final finished goods.

B

Balling -- Winding thread into the form of balls from thread on
cheeses.

Bleaching -- Improving the whiteness of thread by decolourising it
from the grey state.

Bleeding -- Loss of dye from coloured thread when immersed in water
or solvent leading to an obvious colouration of the liquor or of
adjacent material.

Bobbin -- A thread supply for the bottom thread in a lockstitch
machine. Pre-wound bobbins, manufactured to maximize yardage on the
bobbins, can be bought from Sunko.

Bonding -- A continuous filament finishing process which coats fibers
with resin, giving thread better ply security, abrasion resistance,
and heat resistance.

Box Content -- No. of makeup units of the final product contained in
one primary carton.

Bulked Yarns -- Yarn that has been treated physically or chemically
so as to have a notably greater "Apparent Volume".

Bundle Thread -- Thread sold in the form of hanks made into bundles..

C

Cable -- The fullness of handicraft thread is normally refered to as
its cable.

Carding -- The reduction of an entangled or matted mass of fibres
into a web by working between two closely spaced moving surface with
sharp points.

Carded Yarn -- Yarn produced from fibres that have been carded only
(ie. not combed).

Carton Content -- No. of selling units packed in a master carton and
is fixed for a given Article/Ticket.

Cellulosic Fiber -- A fiber made from plant material (e.g., cotton or
rayon).

Chainstitch -- A stitch that interloops the needle thread(s) with a
bottom looper thread on the underside of the seam. Most main seams
sewn in woven apparel are sewn with this stitch formation.

Cheese -- A large cylindrical package of yarn wound on to a flangless
support.

Colorfastness - The ability of thread to retain its color during
normal wear, laundering and exposure to sunlight. A dye may be
colorfast when exposed to one agent, but less so when exposed to
another. Polyester and nylon threads generally exhibit the best
colorfastness; vat-dyed cotton threads have reasonable colorfastness.
Thread used for contrast stitching should possess an "AA"
colorfastness rating.

Combing -- The straightening and parallellising of fibres and
removing of short fibres and impurities using a comb assisted by
knives, brushes and rollers.

Cone -- A package of thread, usually a plastic tube, capable of
holding thousands of yards of thread for industrial sewing. Thread is
wound onto cones in an x-shaped pattern for easy release.

Cone Winding -- Winding thread on to paper/plastic cones from thread
on cheeses.

Continuous Filament -- A fiber of indefinite or extreme length.

Cord -- The product formed by twisting together two or more plied
threads.

Corespun or Core Thread -- A thread manufactured by wrapping a cotton
or polyester staple cover around a bundle of continuous filament
polyester fibers. Two or more of these strands are then plied
together to make a sewing thread. Core threads of varying sizes are
used in everything from fine blouses to heavy coveralls, and are
recommended for automatic sewing machines. Cotton-wrapped core thread
has good needle-heat resistance.

Count -- A number indicating the mass per unit length or length per
unit mass of a yarn ( ie. a measure of the fineness or coarseness of
a yarn.

Coverstitch -- A stitch, often used to seam knitwear, which consists
of at least two needle threads, a looper thread and a top thread
passing over the edge of the material. Spun or textured polyester
thread is generally used to form these stitches.

Crock Fastness -- Resistance to color migration from the thread to
the fabric due to rubbing. This is particularly important in contrast
stitching applications.

D

Denier -- A thread numbering system used primarily for continuous
filament threads. The gram weight of 9,000 meters of thread. The
lower the denier, the finer the thread.

Depots -- Locations identified as selling points.

Denier -- The weight in grams of 9000 meters of filament of yarn.

Direct Dyes -- Dyestuffs that can be applied directly to fibers in a
neutral or alkaline bath without preliminary treatment.

Doubling -- The twisting of two or more yarns to form a thread ( also
called twisting ).

Drawning -- Operations by which slivers are blended levelled and by
drafting reduced to the stage of roving.

Drug Line -- Actual quantity of dyes and chemicals required for each
requisition.

Dyeing -- Introducing colour into thread.

Dye Lot -- Minimum quantity for dyeing and is fixed for each type of
dyeing ( ie. hank/cheese ) .

Dye Penetration -- The degree to which dye is absorbed into fibers.
Dye penetration affects wash down characteristics.

Dye Stuff Enquiry -- Request issued to wet process for formulating
recipe.

E

Elasticity -- The ability of a seam to stretch without thread
breakage. Threads with higher elongation produce greater seam
elasticity.

Elongation -- A measure of thread stretch, usually recorded at the
breaking point.

Examination -- Process of detecting various types of faults and the
removal of these faults.

Extensibility -- The length gained by stretching to breaking point.


F

Fastness -- The property of resistance to washing, light, rubbing
etc.

Feedback -- A computerized shade-matching tool. It uses information
from one dye batch to calculate the dye recipe for a new shade.

Finish -- A type of treatment (e.g., lubrication) applied to thread
to protect it from needle heat and to give it good sewing
characteristics.

G

Garment Overdyeing - A process in which the garment is dyed after it
has been sewn.

Gassing -- A finishing process that reduces fuzz and produces a sheen
by rapidly passing cotton thread over an open flame.

Gassing/Singeing -- The process of removing unwanted protruding
fibres by passing the thread thru a gas flame.

Gassing Reeling -- Process of preparing hanks of thread from gassed
thread cheeses.

Glace -- A term for polished thread.

Glazing -- A finishing process that produces a high luster by
treating cotton thread with wax, starch or chemicals.

Greige (grey) Thread -- Unfinished thread. It has been spun, twisted
and wound to the desired thickness and texture, but has not yet been
dyed, bonded or lubricated.

Grist -- The resultant count of a plied or corded thread. In other
words the overall fineness or coarseness of thread.


H

Hank -- A large skein of thread ( usually 90 inch or 54 inch in
circumference ).

Hank Winding -- Converting hanks into the form of cheese for
subsequent process.

Hydroextraction -- To remove water by centrifugal extraction.

Hue -- The characteristic of color described by the terms red, blue,
yellow and green, etc. (White, grey, and black have no hues and are
referred to as neutrals.)

I

ISO-9000, ISO-9002 -- A internationally recognized system that
specifies the operating parameters that a good quality control system
will employ.

K

Kier Boiling -- The process of pressure boiling of cotton with
alkaline liquors to remove any pectic ( vegitable ) matter. This
process is also called scouring.

King Tube -- A large plastic tube with a flanged bottom used to
control spillage of smooth threads (e.g., continuous filaments).

L

Lockstitch -- A stitch formed by interlocking needle threads with a
bobbin thread. This is the most common stitch formed on industrial
sewing machines.

Looper -- A stitch forming device used to interloop the bottom thread
with the needle thread on a chainstitch, overedge, or coverstitch
machine.

Lubrication -- Process of giving a wax/emulsion coating on thread to
insulate the thread passing through the needle against high needle
heat.

Luster -- The display of different intensities of light reflected
from the surface exposed to incident light.

M

Make-up -- Labelling, Wrapping and Packing.

Mercerizing -- A finishing process that applies caustic soda to
cotton thread to improve luster, and increase strength and
receptivity to dyes.

Monocord -- A bonded continuous filament nylon or polyester thread
with a small amount of twist. Monocord threads are used on furniture,
shoes, and heavy-duty applications because of their strength and
abrasion resistance. Fine sizes of monocord threads are used for
blindstitch operations on tailored garments.

Monofilament -- A single filament thread resembling fishing line. It
is extruded with a specific diameter. Monofilaments are typically
used in blindstitch operations because the thread is translucent and
blends in with many colors.

Multifilament -- A type of thread made from several plies of
continuous filament that have been twisted together.

N

Nep -- Small knot of entangled fibres ( in the case of cotton dead or
immature cotton hairs ).

Nylon -- A synthetic fiber formed into a filament for use in thread
making and other applications. It has good strength and excellent
abrasion resistance.

P

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.

Peeler -- A high quality extra-long staple upland cotton with a
staple 1-1/8 inches in length or more.

Ply/Plies -- The number of strands that have been twisted together to
form a sewing thread. Most core and spun polyester threads have two
or three plies.

Polyester -- A synthetic resin used in thread making. It can be in
either staple or filament form.

Pre-wound Bobbins (Ready-wound Bobbins) -- Bobbins that are
manufactured to specific length and size specifications that maximize
the yardage on the bobbin and are ready for the operator to put in a
lockstitch machine.

Q

Quarpel Finish -- A water-repellent finish used on fabric or thread
which causes the moisture to bead up and run off rather than to
permeate the fabric.

R

Rayon -- A regenerated cellulose fiber, physically similar to cotton,
and primarily used for embroidery applications.

Reeling -- Reeling into crossed reel hanks for further processing
like bleaching and dyeing.

Requisition -- Production Request issued to wet process or finishing.

S

SAK (or Supima) -- An Extra Long Staple (ELS) cotton grown in
Arizona, Texas, New Mexico and California, with fiber lengths varying
in length from 1 1/4 to 1 9/16 inches.

Safety Stitch -- A stitch formation that incorporates both
chainstitch and overedge.

Serging -- The overedging of fabric to prevent raveling.

Sewability -- The performance of thread on a sewing machine. Good
sewability means that the thread seldom breaks or skips stitches.

Single-end Strength - The breaking point of thread.

Soft Finish -- A thread finish that does not change the physical
characteristics of the thread. A soft finish utilizes no special
treatment other than bleaching, dyeing and/or lubricating.

Sourcing Units -- Production locations executing conversion jobs.

Spectrophotometer -- A color-testing instrument used to measure the
reflectance of light as a function of wave length.

Spun Polyester -- A thread made from staple polyester fibers which
are spun into single strands and then plied into a thread.

Staple -- Short lengths of natural or synthetic fiber. These lengths
are spun and twisted into thread.

T

Tenacity - The relative strength of a thread, calculated by dividing
the tensile strength by the thickness of the thread.

Tencel -- A cellulosic fiber physically similar to cotton.

Tensile Strength -- The tension at which a thread breaks.

Tension -- The stress a sewing machine applies to the thread during
stitching to regulate the balance between the top and bottom threads.
Generally, a looser tension is desirable to minimize sewing problems
and enhance sewing performance.

Tex Size -- A thread numbering system in which size is equal to the
weight in grams of 1,000 meters of greige thread. The larger the tex
size, the coarser the thread.

Textured Threads -- Threads that have been false-twist textured to
entangle the parallel continuous filament.

Ticket -- An attribute of the finished product denoting thickness of
thread.

Twisting -- The process of combining two or more parallel single
strands into a plied thread and then winding this twisted thread onto
a dye tube. Twist of a single strand (which is generally to the
right, or the "S" direction) is balanced by applying reverse twist
(generally to the left, or the "Z" direction). This helps to achieve
a balanced twist and eliminate any tendency to kink from excessive
torque. Thread twist direction is always denoted by capital letters
and yarn twist by small letters.

V

Vat Dyes -- Dyestuffs with a high degree of fastness to light and
washing.

W

Wash Fastness -- The ability to resist color change after three to
five home washings.