Glossary
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S
Saxony: Originally a high grade coating fabric made from Saxony merino. It is given a distinguished face finish that has become a favourite staple in the clothing business.
Schreiner Finish: This method of milling is commonly used to increase the luster for many cloths. The cloth is subjected to a pounding roller motion.
Scotch Tweed: A two-up and two-down twill with white warp and dyed filling. Colours tend to be quite vivid in the filling to give contrast in the fabric. The staple yarn also tends to be irregular to achieve distressed effects in the cloth.
Scouring: This is an important part of the finishing process of fabric. The main aim of this process is to cleanse the fabric from any dirt, this is done so by applying soaps and detergents to the fabric.
Seersucker: A lightweight cloth made traditionally from cotton, however now various blends are also used. Two warps are used – a base warp which lies flat in the goods and a warp that becomes crinkled due to a chemical treatment. One warp weaves tightly while the other is slack. It is this weaving technique which give the cloth its distinctive appearance.
Selvage: This runs down the edge of woven fabric and usually displays the brand name of the manufacturer, type of goods and place of origin.
Sensitized: These are fabrics which have been impregnated with certain finishing chemicals.
Serge: Implies any smooth face cloth with a two-up and two-down weave.
Sharkskin: A worsted fabric made from a small twill colour-effect weave. Often made with two different coloured yarns to produce a neutral effect. The name comes from the texture resembling the skin of a shark.
Shearing: Cutting of the fleece from a sheep by hand or machine.
Shed of the Loom: This is the space between the top and bottom sets of warp yarns which form the shed of the loom.
Shetlands Wool: Rugged wool mainly raied in Scotland and nearby islands.
Shrinkage: The reduction in width and length of cloth when it is washed or drycleaned.
Shuttle: A device which carries the yarn wound on the bobbin.
Silk Damask: Silk fabric with ground and motif weave made on a five sahft satin weave. A double damask is constructed on an eight harness satin weave.
Single Knit: Knitted fabric made on a single knitting machine.
Single Yarn: A yarn that has not been plied, drawn, twisted or wound into a yarn.
Slashing: Involves section beams being sent through a sizing compound to add strength and support to the warp yarn so that it can withstand the stress during weaving.
Slip Resistant: Fabric is enhanced in terms of firmness through chemical processes.
Slubbing &Roving Frames: The slubbing frames condenses the silver into a slubbing. The roving frames condesnses this silver into a roving form. Machines feed in the fibres from a bobbin and deliver them on another smaller set of bobbins.
Slub Yarn: Yarn of any type which is irregular in diameter. These are popular in novelty goods.
Soaping: This process is applied to the cleaning and finishing of fabric.
Space Dyed Yarn: Yarn dyed in single colour or multi colour spaces along a given length or yarn in either repeat.
Spandex: A manufactured fibre used to give stretch to fabric & apparrel.
Specking: Appears in finished piece goods. It is removed by tweezers or burling irons.
Spinning: The final operation in manufacturing yarn. It involves drawing and twisting and winding newly spun yarn onto a bobbin. These are then fed into looms for weaving.
Spiral Yarn: Is made of two yarns whose yarn counts are varied to a marked degree. The finer yarn is given a hard twist whilst the chunky yarn is given a slack twist.
Shrinkage: This is a pre-shrinkage technique done by dampening fabric with a sponge, by rolling in moist muslin or by steaming. It is applied to woollens and worsted by the garment maker before garment production begins.
Spooling: Is packaging of yarn.
Spun Blend: Fibres from two or more textile sources are spun into a commercial yarn.
Spunbonded: Non woven materials formed from continuous fibres via processes of fibre spinning, web formation and bonding.
Spunlaced: A textile consisting of fibres entangled in a repeated pattern to form a strong structure. No chemicals used.
Square Cloth: A term used for cloth having the same number of ends as picks per inch.
Stability: Within fabrics prevents sagging, slipping or stretching.
Stone Washed: A process applied traditionally to blue indigo jeans to create a washed out ‘look’ by tumbling them with pumice stone chips or powder.
Stretch Yarns: Yarns which have been modified or textured to give them elasticity.
S-Twist: Refers to the direction of twist in the yarn, also know as left reverse.
Supima: A certification mark for Southwestern extra long staple cotton fibre.
Swatch: Referred to in the textile trade as any small sample of material.
Synthetic Dyes: Are developed from a coal-tar or petrol base as opposed to natural dyes.
