This page gathers the 442 dictionary entries belonging to the domain “Textiles”, as labelled by Wiktionary. Each word leads to its full entry: definitions, etymology, pronunciation, examples. Page 3 of 5: from “let down” to “rib”.
- let down verb To lengthen by undoing and resewing a hem.
- lettice cap noun A high fashion cap worn in 16th-century England, typically made of white fur from the least weasel, or sometimes velvet.
- ligne noun A unit of length used for measuring the diameter of buttons.
- Limerick lace noun A kind of hybrid lace of embroidered needle lace or crocheted lace on a machine-made net base, originally made in Limerick, Ireland, and…
- little black dress noun A simply cut and often quite short evening or cocktail dress.
- lock off verb To turn in the warp thread or strands of a piece of cloth when finished to stop strands unravelling.
- lockstitch noun A stitch made by a sewing machine in which two threads are interlocked.
- loft noun The thickness of a soft object when not under pressure.
- longarm noun A free-motion sewing machine with an extended arm and frame for holding large quilts.
- longline adj longer than usual; especially reaching to the hips
- LT noun Initialism of left twist.
- m noun Initialism of medium (the manufactured size or an item of that size).
- macaroni dress noun A type of extravagant and flamboyant clothing worn by a subculture of young English men in the late 18th century.
- marabou noun A kind of thrown raw silk, naturally nearly white, but capable of being dyed without scouring.
- matelot adj Associated with or typical of sailors.
- matrix noun The five simple colours (black, white, blue, red, and yellow) from which all the others are formed.
- MC noun Initialism of main colour.
- medium adj That is medium (the manufactured size).
- merrow verb To overlock.
- mi-parti adj Vertically divided into distinctly-coloured or patterned halves; party per pale.
- mispick noun A defect in woven fabric in which a yarn across the warp is in the wrong place.
- mispin noun An instance of mispinning.
- mock turtleneck noun A neck collar for a knit garment that is shorter and typically not as loose as a regular turtleneck.
- mode noun The openwork between the solid parts of a pattern.
- monofilamental adj Relating to a monofilament
- motif noun A decorative appliqué design or figure, as of lace or velvet, used in trimming.
- nap dress noun A type of women's dress having heavy smocking, overexaggerated puff sleeves and a typically long, slightly pleated skirt.
- narrow verb To contract the size of, as a stocking, by taking two stitches into one.
- nightcap noun A warm cloth cap worn while sleeping, often with pajamas, being common attire in northern Europe before effective home heating became…
- nondrying adj Of a garment, not requiring use of a dryer after washing.
- on the bias prep_phrase Describing the method of cutting fabric diagonally across the grain (so as to make the clothing cling to the body)
- one-size-fits-all adj Of a garment, designed to be worn with comfort by people with a wide range of sizes.
- openband adj Right-handed or "Z shaped", with individual fibers pointing up and to the right when the thread, yarn, or rope is vertical.
- opened-toe adj (of a foot of a sewing machine) that does not have its front area cut away (opposite of closed-toe)…
- Orleans noun A cloth made of worsted and cotton, used for making clothes.
- ottoman noun A fabric with a pronounced ribbed or corded effect, often made of silk or a mixture of cotton and silk-like yarns.
- overbust adj Above the bust.
- overhand adj Sewn with close, vertical stitches that draw the edges of a seam together.
- overlock noun A stitch that sews over the edge of one or two pieces of cloth for edging, hemming or seaming.
- overshot noun A pattern resulting from a plainweave ground fabric and floats of supplemental weft, associated with coverlets in the colonial United…
- overtop noun A garment designed to be worn over the top portion of other clothes, such as an overshirt, vest, or overtunic.
- panel noun A plain strip or band, as of velvet or plush, placed at intervals lengthwise on the skirt of a dress, for ornament.
- pattern noun The paper or cardboard template from which the parts of a garment are traced onto fabric prior to cutting out and assembling.
- pbf verb purl into back and front of same stitch
- peak noun visor (horizontal part of a cap sticking out in front and shading the wearer's eyes)
- pecker noun A picker, a shuttle-driver: the device which moves backwards and forwards in the shuttle-box to drive the shuttle through the warp.
- peekaboo blouse noun A blouse that is made partially or completely of fabric that is sheer or transparent and usually reveals portions of the breasts.
- peekaboo dress noun A dress that is made partially or completely of fabric that is sheer or transparent and that reveals small portions of skin.
- percale noun A fine, closely woven fabric, made from cotton, polyester or a mix of these, and used for sheets and clothing.
- perch verb To inspect cloth using a perch.
- percher noun An inspector of cloth before finishing.
- perching noun Inspection of cloth before finishing.
- Peter Pan collar noun A flat collar with rounded ends, cut to fit around the curve of the neckline, usually white or pale-coloured.
- petite adj Of small size; intended for small-framed adult women.
- phosphine noun Chrysaniline, often in the form of a salt.
- pick noun The blow that drives the shuttle, used in calculating the speed of a loom (in picks per minute); hence, in describing the fineness of a…
- pick stitch noun A simple running stitch that catches only a few threads of the fabric, showing very little of the thread on the right (outer) side of the…
- pick-at-will adj Of or relating to a kind of loom with several shuttle boxes, allowing various colours of yarn to be combined as desired.
- picker noun The piece in a loom that strikes the end of the shuttle and impels it through the warp.
- piece-dye verb To dye (a finished fabric) after it has been woven or knitted, but before it is cut and sewn into finished products like garments.
- piecen verb To join broken threads or ends in spinning.
- pill verb Of a woven fabric surface, to form small matted balls of fiber.
- pilled adj Of woven fabric: having formed small matted balls of fiber.
- pincushion noun A device, originally like a small, stuffed cushion, designed to have sewing pins and needles stuck into it to store them safely; some…
- pink salt noun The double chlorides of (stannic) tin and ammonium, formerly much used as a mordant for madder and cochineal.
- pinking shears noun A pair of scissors with zigzag cutting edges, used to cut fabric: the zigzag edge helps keep the fabric from fraying.
- pintuck noun A very narrow tuck.
- piping noun An ornamentation on the edges of a garment; a small cord covered with cloth.
- piqué noun A kind of corded or ribbed fabric made from cotton, rayon, or silk.
- plaid noun A type of twilled woollen cloth, often with a tartan or chequered pattern.
- playshorts noun A style of clothing that combines elements of both playwear and shorts.
- pleat noun A fold in the fabric of a garment, usually a skirt, as a part of the design of the garment, with the purpose of adding controlled fullness…
- pocket noun A bag stitched to an item of clothing, used for carrying small items.
- pocket-hole noun An opening in an article of clothing that gives access to a pocket.
- polynose adj Pertaining to a modification of viscose fibers in which the cellulose is copolymerized.
- popcorn verb To use the popcorn stitch.
- pouf noun Part of an item of clothing consisting of gathered fabric in a bunch.
- pounding block noun A block of a hard material used to flatten seams by clapping or pounding the seam with the block against a hard surface.
- preboard verb To set the shape of (a garment, especially a stocking) by heating on a form or board before dyeing.
- predraft verb To pull fibers slightly out of the top or roving prior to spinning.
- press verb To flatten a selected area of fabric using an iron with an up-and-down, not sliding, motion, so as to avoid disturbing adjacent areas.
- presser foot noun The part of a sewing machine which rests on the fabric and presses it down upon the table of the machine and against the feed dog.
- princess cut noun A garment style in which vertical panels of material are shaped to follow the outline of the figure.
- pug noun In full pug hood: a hood, sometimes with a short cloak attached, worn by women around the middle of the 18th century.
- purl verb To use or create a purl stitch or stitches.
- purse-string adj Of a technique where fabric or leather is pulled tight along a seam to create a bunched, closed opening.
- quilting needle noun A specialized sewing needle designed for quilting, consisting of a short length, fine diameter, a sharp or slightly rounded tapered point…
- race noun A groove on a sewing machine or a loom along which the shuttle moves.
- radium noun A type of cloth woven from silk or synthetic yarn, often with a shiny appearance.
- rah-rah noun Ellipsis of rah-rah skirt.
- rd noun Abbreviation of round.
- rebeam verb To transfer (material) from one beam to another by winding.
- red liquor noun A solution consisting essentially of aluminium acetate, used as a mordant in the fixation of dyestuffs on vegetable fiber.
- reed noun A comb-like part of a beater for beating the weft when weaving.
- regain noun The amount of width a woven cloth grows by when the fibers swell, used to determine the width of the reed to use in weaving.
- regenerated adj Reprecipitated after chemical treatment, especially in the form of fibres; pertaining to fibres prepared in this way.
- rem adj Remaining.
- rep noun A fabric made of silk or wool, or of silk and wool, and having a transversely corded or ribbed surface.
- repeater noun In calico printing, a design repeated at equal intervals in a pattern.
- rib noun A raised ridge in knitted material or in cloth.