Alaskan Fiber Arts - References

Dictionary of Textile Materials and Technologies
All those terms you did not realize you wanted to know!

Back to: A - O
P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z

Paddle: A small, handled board containing holes through which threads are drawn so that several threads may be wound on a warping board or mill at the same time. The best paddles have holes and slots alternated, to facilitate making the cross
Paper quill: Piece of paper rolled onto a bobbin winder shaft and around which yarn can be wound to use in a boat shuttle
Pattern: A form, shape or outline. Anything designed as a guide or model for making something. In the classification of weaves, a pattern is the lowest or last division as it is a specific arrangement of design elements in one of any techniques. Also, pattern is one of the basic qualities of a textile design, the other being texture and color
Pattern weave: Although pattern of some kind, even though merely the design made by a simple thread arrangement, is present in all textiles, the weaves which emphasize pattern and permit wide variety of pattern elaboration, particularly symmetrical patterns of bold design, are often called pattern weaves
Pattern weft: see secondary weft
Pawl: The lever that fits into the teeth of a ratchet to stop the ratchet from turning backward
Perle cotton: A soft spun, high gloss, mercerized cotton thread or yarn
Philadelphia system: The cut system of yarn count number for woolens in which 1-cut is 300 yards
Pick: A term for weft shot. Comes from the designers practice of picking the weft, thread-by-thread, from the warp to determine the arrangement
Pick-up: A technique of picking up by hand certain warp threads other than those lifted by the heddles, to form patterns in weaving
Pick-up stick: A sharp-pointed stick for picking up warp threads
Picker: a device to pick or open locks of wool
P.P.I.: Abbreviation for "picks per inch". The number of weft threads in an inch.
Piece-dyeing: The dyeing of a textile after it has been woven instead of dyeing the yarn before weaving
Pile: The surface of a fabric formed by threads protruding more or less perpendicularly from the fabric
Pine tree: A characteristic conventionalized design used on multiple harness Colonial summer and winter, or double weave coverlets as a border
Pitch: the number of rows of tines on combs
Plaid: A design formed by bands of weft colors crossing bands of warp colors
Plain warp beam: A warp beam which has no dividing pegs, on which the entire warp width is beamed in a single process
Plain weave: The simplest type of weave, in which the weft alternates going over and under the warp threads
Plaiting: Intertwining threads that hang parallel
Ply: Refers to the number of single spun yarn elements twisted together to form a heavier and stronger yarn, called a plied yarn
Point twill: A twill weave in which the threading sequence is reversed at intervals so that the diagonals meet to form points
Polychrome: Literally, multicolored. The weaving method of entering two or more colors, each in a different pattern block area, through weaving with all of the colors simultaneously. A structural weave rather than tapestry
Poke shuttle: Same as stick shuttle
Potassium aluminum sulfate: The metallic salt more commonly known as "alum," which is used as a mordant in natural dyeing
Potassium dichromate: The metallic salt more commonly known as "chrome," which is used as a mordant in natural dyeing
Primary color: A pure color that cannot be produced by mixing other colors together. In dyeing and painting, red, yellow, and blue are considered primaries
Primitive loom: A hand loom made of sticks or bars and usually requiring the hand manipulation of heddles
Profile draft: A short form draft which may be used for the class of weaves known as the unit weaves, in which each square on the draft represents a static group or unit of threads rather than a single thread. Only harnesses which control pattern blocks are indicated on a profile draft; harnesses which control bound weave or tie-downs only are omitted
Pulled wool: Wool fleece that has been pulled by the roots from a dead sheep.
Pulley: Small wheel over which pass the cords that support the heddle shafts so that the shafts can be pulled up or down. See also Bobbin pulley and Spindle pulley

Quarter: One of the grades of wool in the blood system of grading
Quill: A bobbin with one pointed end off which the yarn unwinds
Quilting: A double weave technique by which one or more threads on each surface are interchanged at regular intervals to hold the two surfaces together
Quivit: The fiber from the downy undercoat of the Ovibos moschatus, more commonly known as the Musk Ox

Race: A shelf, about 1 1/2 inches wide, on the front of the beater just under the reed, on which the shuttle travels through the shed
Raddle: A comblike tool that is clamped onto the back beam to aid is dressing the loom during the beaming process to keep the warp threads evenly spaced
Raffia: The fiber from the raffia palm, used for novelty effects in weaving
Rag shuttle: A large stick shuttle consisting of two pointed side pieces joined together by two bars around which rags or heavy weft threads are wound
Rambouillet: A fine-wool breed of sheep, one step down from the Merino, approximately 62s to 70s in the numerical count system
Ramie: A spinable fiber from an Asian nettle. A heat-resistant vegetable fiber, very white and silky
Ratchet: A circular gear-like device, used with a pawl, on the cloth and warp beams of treadle looms to allow them to turn in only one direction
Raw silk: Silk in its natural state, which still contains 20% to 30% gums. It is harsh and stiff, but is used in some special fabrics. Silk noil yarn is often miscalled raw silk
Raw wool: Wool that has been shorn from the sheep, not carded or spun
Rayon: a wide range of regenerated fibers made from modified cellulose, usually wood pulp
Reed: The comb-like device on a loom through which warp threads are threaded to keep them properly spaced during the weaving, and which acts as a comb for beating in the weft
Reed hook: A flat hook for drawing warp threads through the reed
Reed marks: Marks left in a finished fabric by the reed. Usually disappear in washing or steaming unless too many ends per dent have been sleyed, or the reed is faulty
Reel: A turning frame on which warp is wound for chaining. Also called warping mill
Rep: A fabric in which the warp completely covers the weft, or the weft completely covers the warp. A ribbed texture formed in either warp or weft-face fabric in which the invisible threads are larger than the visible threads
Repair heddle: A heddle an be added to the heddle shaft in between other heddles to replace a broken one and enclose the warp thread
Repeat: One complete drafted or threaded pattern of the type which is reporduced twice or more across a warp. For instance, the threads 1,2,3,4 make a twill repeat
Resiliency: The property of recoiling or rebounding, similar to elasticity, found in some fibers, chiefly wool and nylon. Resiliant fibers do not crease easily
Rett: damp/wet treatment of bundles of flax, separating the fiber from the stem material
Return: The part of a pattern or a draft which is the mirror image of the preceding part; that is the second part, which repeats the first part in reverse
Reverse: The reverse in the direction of a draft or a pattern. This may or may not be the same as a return, as a reverse does not necessarily produce a symmetrical arrangement but may simply be part of a design elaboration
Rhythm: Measured motion. In handweaving usually refers to the correct way of weaving, with unbroken,continuous motions
Rigid heddle: A combination reed and heddle with eyes in every other tooth for the threading of alternate warp threads; by pushing the rigid heddle down or up one forms alternate sheds
Rippling: The process of separating flax seeds from the stocks
Rising shed: The shed formed when a treadle is pressed and the corresponding heddle shafts are raised; as opposed to sinking shed
Rolag: The roll of carded wool that is the result of rolling a mass of fibers when they come off the hand cards
Rolled hem: A type of hem in sewing where the fabric is rolled under and sewn in that position with a slip stitch
Rollers: The cylindrical bars on a counterbalanced loom from which the heddle shafts are hung, and which provide the pulley action for the shafts
Roller shuttle: A Swedish type of boat shuttle which has small wooden rollers on the under side to facilitate its progress through the shed
Romeldale: A crossbreed sheep yielding wool approximately 58s to 60s in the numerical count system
Romney: A long-wool breed of sheep; 40s to 48s in the numerical count system
Rope machine: A wooden device that twists yarns into a rope
Rose: One of the basic figures which make up overshot patterns. The reverse of a star, and can be woven on a star threading
Rough sleying: Sleying groups of threads rather than single threads when using the reed as a spreader
Roving: The continuous rope of loosely twisted fibers prepared for spinning
Rug fork: Same as rug beater
Rug shuttle: A large stick shuttle that will hold a good quantity of heavy-weight yarn for rug weaving
Run: The Boston system of measuring woolen yarn, based on 1 pound of size 1 yarn having 1600 yards
Rya: A Scandinavian weave structure in which short length of yarn are tied around pairs of warp threads to for a pile fabric, these being secured by a structural wefts

S twist: Diagonals can be characterized by the direction of the slant and whether it matches the slant in the letter S or the letter Z. "S" means the diagonal goes up to the left
Saddle blanket: Coarse wool blanket, very firmly woven, usually 30 X 60 inches in size, which is placed on a horse's back under the saddle. A weft rep is the often used
Safflower: An important Old World dyestuff made from the plant of the same name; the yellow can be rinsed from it in a special process
Saffron: Dyestuff collected from the pistils of the autumn crocus
Sample: A small piece or mode of a fabric
Sampler: A long piece of fabric woven with bands in different weave interpretations to determine the potentialities of a threading or the most suitable pattern. Sometimes incorrectly refer to as a gamp
Sampling: The process of making samples. A step in textile designing
Sassafras: An aromatic root bark that yields a pinkish-beige color in natural dyeing
Satin: One of the basic weave structures, in which the weft floats over the top of groups of warp threads, forming a very smooth weft-face surface on the top side of the fabric
Saxony yarn: The highest grade Merino wool yarn
Scales: The overlapping surface structure of wool fibers - so called because under a microscope they look like fish scales
Scorch: The burning of a fiber without the presence of flame
Scouring: The process of removing the lanolin (grease), dirt and impurities from raw wool by washing soap and water
Second cuts: Short fibers in a fleece that are the result of shearing the fibers twice in the same area
Secondary colors: The colors (orange, green, and purple) that are produced by mixing primary colors
Secondary weft: A term often applied to the pattern weft of a 2 shuttle weave in which the primary weft weaves the base or ground fabric and the secondary weft forms the pattern
Section: One of the divisions in a sectional warping beam, usually measures 1 or 2 inches wide from center to center of the dividing pegs
Sectional beam: A warp beam, varying in circumference, on which the warp is wound in sections in what is called bouts
Sectional warping: A warping method in which sections of warp one or two inches wide are wound onto the warp beam one at a time. This requires as many spools as there are warp ends for each section
Seersucker: A weave structure in which alternate groups of warp threads are of less tension than the rest; this forms puckers in the warp
Seine twine: A heavy, 3 ply cord with a Z-S-Z twist. Used mainly for making fish net
Selvedge (selvage, selfedge): The woven edge of a fabric
Semi: The second classification in the grading of the condition of wool fleece
Serape: Mexican blanket, usually of weft-face stripes and tapestry design
Sett: Number of warp ends per inch (e.p.i.)
Sericulture: Term for the process of raising silkworms and producing silk yarn from their cocoons
Shadow weave: A multiple-harness weave based on the 2 harness log cabin technique, introduced to weavers by Mary Atwater
Shaft: Same as harness
Shed: The opening created when you pull some warp threads up and some down. Different types of looms create sheds with different methods.
Shed stick: The stick that permanently separates alternate warp threads on the primitive looms
Shot: The single passage of a weft thread through the shed
Shrinkage: Loss of weight in fleece due to the removal of the yolk and foreign matter
Shropshire: A medium-wool breed of sheep, approximately 48s to 56s in the numerical count system
Shuttle: Any contrivance on which yarn is packaged in order to facilitate its passage through a shed
Shuttle race: The lower horizontal member of the beater on a treadle loom, which supports the reed and on which the lower warp threads of the shed rest
Silk: A continuous protein filament secreted by certain larvae in order to make their cocoons

Tabby: A balanced plain weave; or can refer to a plainweave shed
Table loom: A miniature version of the treadle loom but with hand levers for operatingthe shafts rather than treadles
Tablet weaving: Same as card weaving
Takeup: The extra length that is "taken up" by the undulation of the yarn over and under threads
Tapestry: A weft-face weave structure in which the pattern is formed by different-colored wefts woven back and forth just in their color area
Tapestry bobbin: A bobbin with one pointed end for inserting wefts in tapestry weaving
Tapestry fork: A fork-shaped beater used in tapestry weaving
Tapestry frame: A four-sided frame on which a warp is stretched for tapestry weaving; string heddles are operated by hand
Tapestry loom: Any loom designed specifically for weaving tapestry; can be treadle operated
Tapestry yarn: Usually a medium-fine two-ply long- and lustrous-fibered yarn
Targhee: A crossbreed sheep yielding wool approximately 58s to 60s in the numerical count system
Tease: To pull apart fibers by hand in preparation for carding or spinning; same as pick
Temple: Same as stretcher
Tender wool: Term used in the industry to describe wool that breaks easily
Tension box: A box through which warp threads can pass over dowels to provide even tension for each thread; used in sectional warping
Tertiary colors: Colors made by mixing secondary and primary colors
Thread count: a sum of the warp threads plus the weft threads in one square inch. EPI + PPI = Thread Count Per Inch. Same as yarn count
Threading: Drawing the warp threads through eyes of heddles and dents of reed
Threading hook: Hook used for threading the warp through the heddles and reed
Three-eighths: Third category in the blood system of grading wool
Thrums: is loom waste, the left over ends at the finish of a weaving that results when finished piece is cut off
Ti-dye: A dyeing technique in which fabric, yarn, or fiber is tied tightly in certain areas so that dye cannot penetrate
Tie-up: The arrangement of ties made between treadles and heddle shafts. See also Skeleton tie-up and Standard tie-up
Tin: Short for stannous chloride, a mordant
Tippy wool: Term used in the industry to describe brittle, dry tips in wool fleece
T.O.A.D.: Tossed Object Abandoned in Disgust
Top: A continuous coil of combed fibers. When pulled apart it forms a squared end. This is best quality
Top-dyeing: Dyeing a color over already-dyed wool
Tow cards: Hand cards for preparing flax, hemp, or jute for spinning; distinguished from wool cards by the heavier wire brushes; good for carding coarse wools and hairs
Treadle loom: A loom that uses treadles to operate the heddle shafts
Treadles: The pivoted levers at the base of the loom, which operate the heddle shafts
Tubular weaving: Weaving two layers of fabric at a time, with a fold at both edges; the weft follows a circular route as it alternates from upper to lower layer
Tufting: Term used for a Navajo technique in which tufts of wool or hair are laid in behind two warp threads with ends protruding
Turkey red: A dye derived from madder by a complicated process; the brightest and most lasting color from madder especially for cotton dyeing
Turkish spindle: A hand spindle used in Turkey, which has two removable bars for the whorl
Twice woven: A pile weave made of chenille (usually handwoven chenille) so that the fabric loosely resembles flossa. Used for an excellent type of rug. Also called false flossa
Twill: A weave structure characterized by diagonal lines formed by the shed sequence moving over one warp thread after each shot of weft
Twined warp: Warps twisting around weft threads, as in gauze and card weaving
Twined weft: A double weft strand that is twisted around the warp threads; a technique of weaving used since the very beginning of weaving history
Twining: The twisting of warp or weft threads in the process of weaving
Twist: Term for the procedure essential to the spinning of yarn from fibers. Twist may be "s" or "z". Certain fibers spin better in one direction because of their own natural twist; Flax spins tighter in "s" direction and Cotton spins tighter in "z" direction. Wool spins equally well in either direction. Direction of spin may also be a cultural habit of the spinner that can aid in the identification of historic textiles

Umbrella rib: One of the metal ribs of an umbrella that has an eye; used by Navajo weavers as a large needle for inserting the weft toward the end of the weaving
Umbrella swift: A swift made of ribs that unfold somewhat like an umbrella to accommodate different-size skeins of yarn
Up shed: The shed on an inkle loom formed by pushing unheddled warp threads up; as opposed to the down shed

Value: Term used by color theorist Albert Munsell to describe the property of light and dark in colors
Variegated yarn: Yarn that varies in color
Vat dyes: Dyes that are applied to fiber by the vat method. See also Indigo vat
Vegetable dyes: Dyes from plant sources
Virgin wool: Wool fiber converted into yarn or fabric for the first time

Wale: Parallel lines that appear when a weaving pattern is repeated. For twills, the wale is a set of diagonal lines which are very apparent if the warp and weft are two different colors. For corduroy, the wales are the "bumps" in the fabric.
Walking wheel: Same as high wheel, so called because the spinner steps back and forth as he or she spins
Warp: The group of parallel threads that are held in tension during the weaving process
Warp beam: The horizontal roller at the back of the treadle loom on which the warp is wound
Warp beam rod: The rod at the end of the apron or other extension on the warp beam to which the warp ends are attached
Warp-face: Describing any flat-weave structure in which the warp threads form the surface of the fabric and the weft is more or less invisible; as opposed to weft-face
Warping board: A board or frame with pegs on which a warp is wound to measure out the length
Warping frame: Same as warping board; or the temporary construction of horizontal bars sometimes used in warping for primitive looms
Warping mill, horizontal: The framework drum that turns on a horizontal axis, on which a warp is wound in preparation for winding directly onto the warp beam
Warping mill, vertical: The framework drum that turns on a vertical axis, on which a warp is wound in preparation for making a chained warp
Warping paddle: A small hand paddle with numerous holes for threading warp threads to keep them in sequence as they are wound onto a frame or mill and for making the cross
Warping reel: Same as warping mill
Warping spools: The large cardboard, wooden, or plastic spools onto which skeins of warp yarn can be wound in preparation for winding a warp onto a warping board or onto a sectional warp beam
Warp-weighted loom: A loom in which warp tension is achieved by hanging heavy weights on the ends of vertically hung warp threads
Weave: To form, with threads of any kind, into cloth, by interlacing threads, in such a manner as to form a texture
Weaver's knot: A knot used by weavers to join two ends with a minimum-size knot so that it can easily pass through the heddles and reed
Weaving: The act of one who, or that which, weaves; the act or art of forming cloth in a loom by the union or intertexture of threads.
Web: The woven fabric. Or same as batt
Wedge weaving: A Navajo weaving technique in which diagonal patterns are formed by weaving the weft in on a diagonal; this weft "pulls" the warp out of its vertical alignment and makes the edge "scallop," so it is also called "pulled warp" or "scalloped" weaving
Weft: The independent thread woven across the warp threads in such a way as to join them together to make a fabric; also called "filling", or "woof."
Weft-face: Describing any flat-weave structure in which the weft threads form the surface of the fabric and the warp is more or less invisible; as opposed to warp-face
Weld: A dye plant that yields one of the best and fastest yellows
Whorl: See Spindle whorl
Winding the warp: Measuring out all the warp threads to a certain length by winding them around pegs or bars a certain distance apart
Woad: A dye plant that contains indigotin, but in smaller amounts than the indigo plant
Woof: Same as weft, but the word is more or less obsolete
Wool: Usually refers to the fine, soft, scaly fibers covering the skin of sheep, although it may occasionally be used as well to refer to the hair of the Angora goat (Mohair), the Cashmere goat, the Camel, and the Alpaca, or Vicuna (animals of the Andean plateau).
Wool cards: Hand cards with rather fine teeth for carding wool
Woolen: Yarn made from rolags of carded wool; or wool fibers that lie in all different directions
Wool grease: The fatty substance, actually a wax, that is secreted from the sebaceous glands of the sheep, and from which the commercial product lanolin is made
Worsted: Yarn made from the longest fibers of the fleece that have all been combed parallel to each other
Wraps per inch (W.P.I.): The number of wraps of yarn one can do in one inch around a ruler. It can be varied by whether you pack the yarn in tight or wrap loosely, but gives a rough estimate of how thick the yarn is and how close you will want your sett to be.

Yak hair: Fiber from the coat of a wild ox of the same name from the Tibetan highlands
Yardage: Fabric by the yard
Yarn: Yarn is a long continuous length of interlocked fibers, suitable for use in the production of textiles, sewing, crocheting, knitting, weaving and ropemaking. Very thin yarn is referred to as thread.
Yarn Count: The size of thread as given in numbers, based on the size thread that can be spun a certain length out of a pound of fiber; sameas thread count
Yucca root: Root of a plant growing in the warmer regions of the U.S.; has saponific (sudsing) qualities; good for washing wool and hair

Z twist: Diagonals can be characterized by the direction of the slant and whether it matches the slant in the letter S or the letter Z. "Z" means the diagonal goes up to the right or clockwise.