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ARMURE

BIRDSEYE

  
French term for a small irregular pebbled or embossed effect. The fabric surface has a wavy rib character that produces an all-over textural effect. A worsted suiting type, featuring a small design based on the diamond principal with a small dot in the centre of each figure, achieved by a combination of weave and colour.
  BROCADE

CAVALRY TWILL

  
This term originally meant a silk cloth figured with gold and silver threads, although today the name applies to a much broader range of fabric compositions, though the weave principle remains the same. The fabric is of a single texture where the ground is formed of a very simple weave and the figured areas are formed by floating the warp or weft threads and interlacing them in a more or less irregular order to form a pattern. BrochÈ is a French term for a brocaded fabric in which the ornamentation is produced by additional threads that do not form part of the structure itself. A firm and sturdy warp-faced fabric in which the weave has steep double twill lines separated by pronounced grooves formed by the weft. The term is derived from the fabrics once used for making riding breeches for military forces.
  CLOQUE
CREPE
  
A double fabric with a figured blister effect produced by the use of yarns of a different character or twist, which respond in different ways to finishing treatments. Once available only in black and worn for mourning. A puckered and crinkled fabric that has a weave construction produced by a random distribution of floats using highly twisted yarns, crÍpe is available in a wide variety of weights and fibres, such as crÍpe de chine, georgette and moss-crÍpe. CrÍpon is a variety of crÍpe with a more prominent fluted effect in the warp direction giving a tree-bark effect.
  DAMASK
DRILL
  
The name is derived from Damascus and at first referred to the pattern not the fabric but it has also become known as a type of weave. It produces a figured fabric usually, in silk or linen, in which the pattern is created by reversing the weave alternately between a warp-faced satin and weft-faced sateen. The pattern is often self-coloured but can be emphasized with the use of coloured yarns. A robust twill fabric similar to denim most commonly used for heavy weight shirtings and workwear. Interestingly, the grain runs in the opposite direction to a normal twill.
  GABARDINE
GLEN URQUHART
  
A firmly woven, warp faced fabric, most commonly used for raincoats and sportswear, in which the end density considerably exceeds the pick density and so produces a twill line at a steep angle. A more pronounced twill is also known as a whipcord. The term gabardine originates from the 16th century and was a name for a 'horseman's cloak'. This check is one of the most common and forms the basis for numerous variations. The alternate blocks of colouring in warp and weft on a 2/2 twill produce panels of houndstooth check and panels of guard's check.
  GUARD'S CHECK
HERRINGBONE
  
When a 2 and 2 colour order is used in both the warp and the weft of a 2/2 twill, a distinctive vertical line effect is produced. A combination of twill weaves in which the direction of the twill is reversed to produce a striped pattern resembling herring bones. Also known as the feather or arrowhead twill.
  HONEYCOMB
HOPSACK
  
A fabric in which the warp and weft threads float to form a diamond shape with ridges and hollows to produce a cellular cloth. Brighton and Grecian weaves are adaptations of the honeycomb principle. Also known as basket weave is a modification of a plain weave fabric in which two or more ends and picks are woven as one. This produces a rustic surface, especially if loosely woven.
  HOUNDSTOOTH
LENO
  
One of the most easily identifiable checks is the houndstooth or dogstooth check. This weave is produced in a pattern of four light and four dark yarns in both warp and weft. The gun club check is a variation of the houndstooth but using a different colour sequence traditionally on a light coloured ground. A gauze weave with an open effect in which warp threads are made to cross one another between the picks. The lightweight fabric produced is often used as a ground for more elaborate ornamentation
  MATELASSE
PRINCE OF WALES CHECK
  
A double cloth with a quilted appearance commonly made with two warps and two wefts. The quilted effect can be accentuated by the use of wadding threads and the designs are formed by floating threads or small areas of fancy weaves. Perhaps is one of the most misused terms, the original of which was made for Edward VII when he was Prince of Wales. It is actually a very large check with a repeat of nine inches in bold red or brown on a cream ground with a grey overcheck. However, a misunderstanding arose when Edward, Duke of Windsor became the Prince of Wales and he favoured a black and white Glen Urquhart check and the two designs became confused in many people's minds.
  REPP
SATIN
  
A plain weave fabric with a prominent weftway-rib effect, made from two warps and two wefts. Both the warp and the weft threads are arranged alternately coarse and fine. Coarse threads are raised above coarse picks and fine threads are raise above fine picks, the rib effect being accentuated by different tensions in the warps. The group of repp fabrics are known by different names depending on the prominence of the rib. Some examples, in increasing order of prominence of the rib, are taffeta, poult, faille and grosgrain. Originally a silk cloth with warp predominating over weft. The weft is almost completely covered, giving a very smooth warp face free from twill. Sateen is the reverse of satin with a smooth weft face. In both versions, the main characteristic is a lustrous and glossy sheen. A great variety of fabrics are now made in satin weave including wool, polyester, cotton and linen. The quality and weight of the cloth varies according to the number of ends. Venetian weave in cotton and wool is a modified satin weave that has been lightly milled and cropped to reveal a fine, steep twill. Silk duchesse satin is a very fine and expensive material with up to 360 ends per inch.
  SEERSUCKER
SHARKSKIN
  
A term originating in the USA, seersucker is characterized by the presence of puckered and flat sections particulary in stripes and checks. The effect is produced in various ways, either by stripes with different tensions that cause controlled crinkles, by using yarns of different shrinkage properties or by treatment with caustic soda that causes the treated areas to contract. This originated as a closely woven twill fabric with a rather stiff handle. A delustred continuous filament yarn is most commonly used for woven sharkskin to give the effect of a finely grained surface.
  SHEPHERD'S CHECK
TATTERSAL CHECK
  
This is sometimes confused with the houndstooth but is woven with a colour sequence of five or more yarns alternating and a 2/2 twill weave that causes the houndstooth shape to be lost. Instead solid square shaped blocks are produced where the colours intersect. Is a simple design that was originally a small scale version of horse blanket checks. The names comes from famous horse auction rooms in London and the equestrian influence continues as the designs are still most coomonly used for riding shirts. Window pane checks are a much larger version of the tattersal and frequently appear as overchecks on other designs.