Contents
Preface vii
Volume I
1. A 1
2. B 99
3. C 222
Volume II
4. D 409
5. E 511
6. F 552
7. G 659
8. H 704
9. I 761
10. J 794
Volume III
11. K 811
12. L 834
13. M 889
14. N 975
15. O 1006
16. P 1034
17. Q 1160
18. R 1165
Volume IV
19. S 1227
20. T 1405
21. U 1494
22. V 1507
23. W 1532
24. X 1586
25. Y 1588
26. Z 1605
Preface
It has been told the first thing that a business man should know, is—the little things of his business. This book is meant for textile personae, be it a textile student, textile chemist, a spinner, a weaver, garment maker or a merchandiser who may be an expert in his/her field but he/she may come across many terms in his/her day to day business which he/she is not familiar with but is related to his/her field which he/she should know, but nine times out of ten does not know. He/She may not have an expert in that field of that term near him/her to clear his doubt about that term. This book comes handy in such circumstances. There is nothing scholarly in this book, but is a compilation of short easy understandable meanings of the textile terms enough to help the referrer to understand the term. I have come across dictionaries which gives the meaning of the textile terms in one sentence. But it may not be sufficient to give a full idea about it. But this book is a little different. The meaning of the terms is explained in a concise manner even with the help of diagrams or photos, wherever necessary, which is enough to clear his/her doubts. These terms and meanings have been collected right from my college days and throughout my career. I believe it is not complete, but, such as it is, the compilation is reliable. There are further terms which are being collected by the author which will be added in the next edition, probably. The author believes that he has produced a book which may be profitably consulted by all who are either interested or practically engaged in textile trade.
It has to be specially mentioned that students can use the present book as a reference guide for his/her immediate needs without going to many textbooks. For detailed study of any terms he/she can further refer to books specialized in that field. I may not suggest this book for a research student. The author has also tried to explain the construction of many fabrics new or old for general knowledge.
Hope this book will be greatly accepted by textile personnel. Any suggestions or corrections are welcome, which will be included in the next editions.
A
2×1 Plain stitch in warp knitting: This stitch is the same as tricot stitch except that each yarn laps over to the next but one wale. [See Warp knitting, Plain (Tricot stitch)].
2×2 Rib (A weft knitted fabric): A wide range of fabrics can be produced, depending on the set-out of the needles. The most popular is 2 × 2 rib which is made by taking every third needle out of action in each needle bed (2 : 1 needle set-out). The two sides of the rib fabric look the same. If the fabric is stretched in the width, the two rib loops will be exposed between the two face loops. It is very elastic in the width direction. Applications include cuffs and welts, pullovers and dresses.
A la grecque: French name of the meander pattern.
A la reine: French silk droguet of different coloured warp and filling.
A.B.S. (ABS): A plastic; short form for acrylonitrile butadiene styrene. ABC material is an alternative to PVC.
A.B.C. Silk: A plain weave cotton/silk fabric with cotton warp and spun silk filing. Used for under wears and lining; it comes in white and plain colours.
AAFEBR: Anaerobic Attached Film Expanded Bed Reactor, i.e. an expanded bed biofilm reactor operated anaerobically.
Aachen felting test: Test for estimating the felting character of certain wool. The wool is made into the shape of a ball and immersed in felting solution and shaken for a predetermined period and then taken and dried. The measure of the ball dia compared to the earlier dia gives the felting character of that wool.
Aal: A red dye produced from the plant of the same name, related to the madder.
AAO process, A2O process: An adaptation of the A/O process. It is an activated sludge process that can achieve nitrification, denitrification and biological phosphorus removal as well as BOD removal. The three-stage process involves an anaerobic zone of about one hour retention followed by an anoxic zone of similar size, and finally an aerobic (oxidation) zone of 4–6 hours retention See also Nitrification, Denitrification, A/O Process, Anoxic.
AATCC: American Association of Textile Chemists and Colourists. Their website is www.aatcc.org. AATCC was founded to promote greater knowledge of textile dyes and chemicals, and therefore is concerned specifically with textile products. This organization works very closely with ASTM, but writes chemical-type tests. In addition to the development of test methods, AATCC sponsors scientific meetings and promotes textile education. The activities are concerned primarily with the chemical properties of textiles in contrast to ASTM’s emphasis on physical properties.
AATCC fading unit (AFU): Unit for the evaluation of colour fastness to light. 20 AFU corresponds to the amount of light exposure necessary to bring about a perceptible change of shade on a specified AATCC Blue Wool LF Standard.
AATCC Blue Wool LF standard: One of a group of dyed wool fabrics distributed by AATCC for use in determining the amount of light exposure of specimens during light fastness testing.
Aba: (1) Coarse and thick, felted woollen fabric made of naturally coloured wool that is usually grey, made in Hungary, once worn by the peasants. (2) In some other countries it is a coarse fabric, made of wool and camel’s hair, made in stripes.
Abaca: Manila hemp, alternative name for manila hemp called by natives in Philippines.
Abaiser: Ivory black.
Absinthe, absinth: The light-green colour of the potent liqueur of the same name which was banned in France in 1915 because of its effect on health and the performance of French troops at the beginning of World War I. It continues to be banned in France and in the United States, but is allowed in the United Kingdom where it continues to be imported since 1998. The liqueur takes on a milky colour when water is added.
Abassi: Raw cotton grown in Egypt, the staple is of good quality and white in colour, but not as strong as the other cottons.