Next Page (C4)     Previous Page (C2)      Textile Glossary

cincture  girdle, belt; especially, a cord or sash worn around an ecclesiastical vestment, as an alb or religious habit

cinereous  gray tinged w/ black.

cinnamon  a light yellowish brown.

circular knitting or knitting in the round, is a form of knitting that creates a seamless tube. Originally, circular knitting was done using a set of four or five double pointed needles. Later a circular needle was invented; the circular needle looks like two standard knitting needles connected by a cable between them. Machines also do circular knitting; these use individual latch-hook needles to make each stitch in a round frame.

cir  a fabric with a cir finish, namely a highly glazed finish usually achieved by applying wax to the fabric.  A garment with a cir finish, namely a highly glazed finish usually achieved by applying wax to the fabric

claret  a dark purplish red.

clerical collar  a narrow upright white collar worn buttoned at the back of the neck by members of the clergy

cloak  a loose outer garment

cloche  a woman's small close-fitting hat usually with deep rounded crown and very narrow brim

clodhopper  a large heavy work shoe or boot.

clog  a shoe, sandal, or overshoe having a thick typically wooden sole

cloque a fabric with an embossed design; a fabric especially of piqu
with small woven figures.  Additional definition for te word cloque provided by an Apparel Search viewer Sept. 2007 is as follows...  Cloque - From the French word for 'blister', a finishing technique applied to a jacquard or double cloth of mixed fibres in order to shrink the cellulose content and bubble up the design.  The longer the jacquard float or the larger the embossed design the more exaggerated the effect.

closeout  merchandise that is being sold below original wholesale cost. Can be Overstock, Shelf Pull or Discontinued merchandise.

cloth  the word cloth is sometimes used as a generic term for "fabric".  The word cloth also considered a unit of length for measuring cloth

cloth yard  a yard esp. for measuring cloth; specific: a unit of 37 inches equal to the Scottish ell and used also as a length for arrows

clothes  clothing; all the cloth articles of personal and household use that can be washed

clothes-horse  1) a frame on which to hang clothes.  2)  a conspicuously dressy person

clothes-line  a line (as of cord or rope) on which clothes may be hung to dry.

clothes moth  any of several small yellowish or buff-colored moths (esp. Tinea pellionella and Tineola bisselliella of the family Tineidae) whose larvae eat wool, fur or feathers.

clothes-pin   a forked piece of wood or plastic or a small spring clamp used for fastening clothes on a clothesline.

clothier  one who makes or sells clothing.  For example, if the Apparel Search Company sells clothing, they would be considered a clothier.

clothing  garments, in general; covering.  Clothing Definition

clothing horse

clothing industry 

Clothing Store Glossary

clutch  clutch bag

clutch bag  a woman's small usually strapless handbag

CMYK   Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black; the colors used when printing process color (often referred to as 4-color process).  These are special pigment colors of ink that are very transparent.  CMYK is used where a photo realistic look and many colors are required.  The blending of these 4 primary colors can generate the effect of several other colors.

coat  an outer garment worn on the upper body and varying in length and style according to fashion and use

coatdress  a dress styled like a cost usually with a front buttoning from neckline to hemline

coating  coat, covering.   Cloth for coats.

coat of mail  a garment of metal scales or chain mail worn as armor

cobalt  cobalt blue.

cobalt blue  a strong greenish blue.

Cocktail Dress

cocoa  a medium brown.

Codpiece

coif  a close-fitting cap; a hood-like cap worn under a veil by nuns; a protective usually metal skullcap formerly worn under a hood of mail; a white cap formerly worn by English lawyers and especially by serjeants-at-law

Coir (from Malayalam kayaru - cord) is a coarse fibre extracted from husk, the fibrous outer shell of a coconut.

coldcut (label) processing can be employed only when using coated fabrics that will naturally resist fray.  It is used only for printed large format poster labels as it allows very large scale labels to be processed.

color  a person's recognition of an object's color is the result of a complex process involving the response of the brain to the interaction of light with the object. Numerical descriptions of these three components ( 1. light source, 2. object, 3. observer) are all that is required to calculate the description of any color with an objective set of numbers. Other factors certainly influence our perception of color, but without these three components there is no perception.  By the way, blue, black, green, red are all examples of color.  Due to the fact that you are smart enough to use the Apparel Search glossary, we assume you already now this.

Colorfastness to Crocking (AATCC Test Method 8-2001): This test is designed to determine the amount of color transferred from the surface of colored textile materials to other surfaces by rubbing. It is applicable to textiles made from all fibers in the form of yarn or fabric whether dyed, printed or otherwise colored. Testing procedures employ white test cloth squares. Testing is usually done for both wet and dry crocking (wet is cloth that is wet with water). Color transfered to the white test cloth after rubbing, is assessed by a comparison with the Gray Scale for Staining or the Chromatic Transference Scale and a grade is assigned. Because washing, drycleaning, shrinkage, ironing, finishing, etc., may effect the degree of color transfer from the material, the test may be made before, after or before and after such treatment.

color management  deals with ensuring that the colors developed by a company's design team are successfully reproduced on the garments that wind up on the retail floor.

collar  a band, strip, or chain worn around the neck; a short necklace; clerical collar. Learn about various types of collars.

combed cotton Cotton that has had the short fibers and impurities removed.  It is a superior process to the more common treatment called 'carding' because the yarns have less fibers projecting from them.

combing wool long-staple strong-fibered wool found suitable for combing and used especially in the manufacture of worsteds.

comforter  a long narrow usually knitted neck scarf

commode  a woman's ornate cap popular in the late 17th and early 18th centuries

compaction / compacting A technique utilized to control shrinkage in fabric

cool  of a hue in the range violet through blue to green.

coolie hat  a conical-shaped usually straw hat worn especially to protect the head from the heat of the sun

coonskin  an article, as a cap or coat, made of coonskin

cope  a long enveloping ecclesiastical vestment

coppery having the reddish to brownish orange color of copper.

coral  a deep pink.

cord   a fabric made with ribs.  A garment made of cord fabric, namely a fabric with ribs; trousers made of cord fabric

corduroy  cotton, rayon, and other textile fibres.  Filling Pile with both plain and twill back.
Made with an extra filling yarn. In the velvet family of fabrics.  Has narrow medium and wide wales, also thick n'thin or checkerboard patterns.  Wales have different widths and depths.  Has to be cut all one way with pile running up.  Most of it is ashable and wears very well.  Has a soft lustre.

corduroys  trousers of corduroy fabric, namely a durable usually cotton pile fabric with vertical ribs or wales

cornflower blue a moderate purplish blue.

coronal  a circlet for the head usually implying rank or dignity

coronet  an ornamental wreath or band for the head usually for wear by women on formal occasions

corselet  a piece of armor covering the trunk but usually not the arms or the legs; a combination girdle and brassiere

corselette  an undergarment combining girdle and brassiere

corset  a usually close-fitting and often laced medieval jacket; a woman's close-fitting boned supporting undergarment that is often hooked and laced and extends from the torso to below the hips and has garters attached

costume  an outfit worn to create the appearance characteristic of a particular period, person, place, or thing; a person's ensemble of outer garments, especially a woman's ensemble of dress with coat or jacket

cothurnus  a high thick-soled laced boot worn by actors in Greek and Roman tragic drama [Also called, cothurn]

cotta  a waist-length surplice

cotton  a plant of the Genus Gossypium, which yields fiber for the manufacture of durable and permanent fine papers and cellulose derivatives. The boll of the cotton plant is a capsule that bursts open when ripe, allowing the seed and attached lint (hairs) to be easily picked. The cotton fiber is removed from the seed by the ginning process. See also Cotton Linters  fiber from the seed pod of the cotton plant, the use of cotton dates back more than 5,000 years.  Quality depends on the length of the fiber, longer being better, and fiber lengths vary from less than one-half inch to more than two inches.

• American Upland Cotton: Representing the bulk of the world crop, American Upland fiber runs between 3/4" and 1 1/4" .
• Egyptian Cotton: Long staple variety from Egypt with fiber length averaging 1 3/8".
• Pima Cotton: an excellent long staple variety grown in Arizona , New Mexico, Texas and California.  It is a cross between Sea Island Cotton and Egyptian Cotton with fiber length averaging 1 1/2". The "SuPima" certification mark is used only when the product is made entirely from Southwestern extra-long staple cotton grown by members of the SuPima Association of America.
• Sea Island Cotton: The very finest and most expensive cotton, in very limited supply, with a fiber length greater than 1 1/2".

cotton regins fibers left over when cotton, which has already gone through the ginning process, is ginned a second time. Re-ginning is done to further clean, blend, or otherwise process the lint.

count  the count of cloth - the number of ends and picks per inch in a woven fabric. If a cloth is 64 x 60, it means their are 64 ends and 60 picks per inch in the fabric. A cloth that has the same number of ends and picks per inch in woven goods is called a square cloth. For example, 80-square percale, has 80 ends and 80 picks per inch. Pick count is the term that is synonymous with texture or number of filling picks per inch.

course  the horizontal row of loops in knit fabric.

court dress

couture house  fashion designer house

coverall  a one-piece outer garment worn to protect other garments [Usually used in plural]

covert  a firm durable twilled sometimes waterproofed cloth usually of mixed-color yarns.  woolen or worsted, also cotton and spun rayon.  Twill weave.  Made with two shades of color e.g. (Medium and light brown).  The warp is 2 ply (1 light; 1 dark) and filling 1 ply (dark or same as warp).  Very rugged and closely woven. Has a mottled or speckled effect.  First used as a hunting fabric. Has a clear finish and hard texture. Wears exceptionally well and has a smart appearance. Light in weight.

cover-up  a loose outer garment

cowboy boot  a boot made with a high arch, a high Cuban heel, and usually fancy stitching

cowboy hat a wide-brimmed hat with a large soft crown [Also called, ten-gallon hat]

cowl  a hood or long hooded cloak especially of a monk

coxcomb  [Obsolete] a jester's cap adorned with a strip of red

Next Page (C4)

Previous Page (C2)

Textile Glossary

 A   B   C   D   E   F   G   H   I   J   K   L   M   N   O   P   Q   R   S   T   U   V   W   X   Y   Z

Add or Modify Definitions