FABRIC TYPES

Cotton
A natural fiber that comes from the cotton plant. Cotton allows the skin to breathe and it wears and washes well.

Embroidery
An embellishment of a fabric or garment in which coloured threads are sewn onto the fabric to create a design. Embroidery may be done either by hand or machine.

Eyelet
A type of fabric with patterned cut-out designs, around which stitching or embroidery is applied to prevent the fabric from raveling.

Jacquard
Any fabric that has a pattern woven into the fabric rather than printed on it. The name comes from Joseph Marie Jacquard who designed a loom attachment capable of weaving patterns into fabric. This attachment provides versatility in designs and permits individual control of each of the warp yarns. Thus, fabrics of almost any type or complexity can be made. Brocade and damask are types of jacquard woven fabrics.

Lining
The name given to material sewn into the inside of a garment to make it more opaque or more comfortable against the skin. Frequently lining is used in a bra to add structure or provide a pretty background to sheer and/or lacy fabrics.

Lycra
A trademark of the spandex fiber owned and produced by DuPont. It is lightweight and soft, but stronger and more durable than rubber. It is often blended with other fabrics to produce a lightweight freedom of movement in foundation garments.

Marl
A term applied to a yarn or a fabric that is made up of more than one fiber. In blended yarns, two or more different types of staple fibers are twisted or spun together to form the yarn. Polyester/cotton is an example of a typical blended yarn or fabric.

Microfiber
The name given to both ultra-fine manufactured fibers and to the technology of developing these fibers. The fabrics made from these extra-fine fibers provide a superior texture, a gentle drape, and incredible softness. It is a man-made fiber that looks and feels good on the skin as it forms to the body’s shape.

Opaque
When used in the lingerie industry, opaque means the body cannot be seen through the garment.

Panne
A velvet-like fabric that has been flattened to achieve a desired design or look.

Pique
A medium-weight fabric, either knit or woven, with raised dobby designs including cords, wales, waffles, or patterns. Woven versions have cords running lengthwise, or in the warp direction. Knitted versions are double-knit fabric constructions, created on multi-feed circular knitting machines.

Polyamide
The basic fiber-forming substance for nylon. It is also the European term for nylon.

Polyester
This is both the name of a fabric and a fiber. A manufactured fiber introduced in the early 1950’s, it is second only to cotton in worldwide use. Its ability to stretch and resist wrinkling makes it a popular fabric for lingerie. Polyester has high strength (although somewhat lower than nylon), excellent resiliency, and high abrasion resistance. Low absorbency allows the fabric to dry quickly.

Scallop
A decorative border on fabric or lace made up of a series or half circles.

Shirring
A decorative effect created by material being gathered into lines.

Spandex
With the same attributes as Lycra but not registered, spandex is often blended with other fabrics to give stretch and softness to a garment