Fabric glossary and information:
Combed Cotton
Combing is an additional process in fiber form to better remove any foreign contaminants and better align the fibers. Combing cotton removes shorter fibers and may cause pilling in the final product. Our fabric with fine yarn is combed (like the sateen), and the fabric with coarse yarn (like the twill and canvas) is not combed. There's not really a reason to use combed yarn for applications like this when it is a heavy yarn. The knits are all combed.
Denim
A heavier version of a twill weave (see twill below). Our denim: Good for heavier use residential upholstery, apparel - jacket or bottom weights, tote bags, purses, diaper bags, and more!
Drape
A term used to describe how a fabric hangs. A nice drape will flow. Our sateens drape very well.
Drill
A term used to describe the weave of a fabric. 2/1 Weave is Called Twill and 3/1 Weave is Called Drill - but can also be referred to as a twill.
Fiber-Reactive Dye
Fiber-reactive dyes are water-based and the color soaks into the fabric. The printing process requires an extra washing step after the printing. The fabric ends up with a softer hand and is more wash-fast than pigment printed fabrics. Note dyes are not as light-fast (fade with direct sunlight) as pigment printed fabrics.
GOTS
Global Organic Textile Standards are a 3rd party certification standard that applies to the processing part of organic fabrics. NOP standards apply to the growing of the raw fiber and GOTS applies to ALL of the processing post harvesting including (but not limited to) ginning, spinning, weaving, dyeing, printing, finishing, cutting and sewing. It also includes fair trade treatment of the workers processing the fabric. For the full standard go to www.global-standard.org. Visit our "Why Harmony Art Organic Cotton?" page for a simple breakdown of the differences between GOTS and conventional fabric processing. For a product to bear the GOTS logo ALL steps along the way have to be 3rd party certified to GOTS. Harmony Art sources GOTS certified fabrics from India and is also independently GOTS certified.
Greige
Fabric that is woven but not finished. Natural in color. The fabric before it is whitened, printed or dyed.
Mill
A textile company that owns the machinery that makes the fabric. Harmony Art is not a mill. We contract with GOTS certified mills to make our fabrics.
Muslin
A plain weave cotton fabric (one warp to one weft). Our muslin: Slightly thinner than the sateen. Good light-weight fabric perfect for summer wear, light curtains, etc.
NOP
National Organic Program - the USDA standard for all organic agricultural products. It addresses how a product is farmed and the same standards are applied to a tomato, orange or cotton fiber. For more information visit this USDA site. The organic logo you see on products in grocery stores are 3rd party certified to this standard.
Percale
A plain weave cotton fabric (one warp to one weft) similar in construction to a muslin but typically with a higher thread count and using finer combed cotton.
Pigment Printed
With pigment printed fabrics the color sits on top of the fabric (rather than soaking into the fiber). The fabric is heated after printing to set the color. The process ends up with a hand that is not as soft as dyed fabrics. Pigment printed fabrics are also not as wash-fast but they are more light-fast than fiber-reactive printed fabrics.
Put-up
The term used for how a fabric is packaged for sale. Harmony Art organic fabrics are sold in 50 yard put-ups. The put-ups on our wide-width fabrics are doubled and rolled (folded in half and rolled on a tube).
Ring Spun
Ring Spun means the fiber is spun on a Ring Spinning Frame-which gives the strongest, softest, and highest quality yarn. All of our regular collection fabrics use ring spun cotton.
Sanforized
The mechanical process by which the fabric is treated to reduce the amount of shrinkage. All of our fabrics printed in India are sanforized.
Sateen
A type of weave that creates a strong fabric by floating more weft yarns over warp yarns. The effect is a smooth surface. The shine or sheen is created by the light reflecting off the fibers and not being scattered as much as it is with a plain weave. Our sateens: (think high-end sheeting weight and feel) Lovely drape. Great for sheets, apparel like summer dresses or shirts, light-weight curtains, re-usable fabric shopping bags, quilts, napkins, and much, much more. Our most versatile fabric.
Thread Count
The total number of horizontal (weft) and vertical (warp) threads in one square inch of fabric. Although public opinion (with the help of advertisers) is that higher thread count means "better" fabric this is just not true. The quality of the cotton and yarn and how it is processed has more to do with how the fabric feels (aka hand) then the tread count does. [Note: we ran a 400tc (thread count) organic sateen and found it was not nearly as nice as our standard 230tc.]
Twill
A type of weave that creates a diagonal line when looked at closely. (Traditionally jeans are a twill weave.) Twills weaves have fewer interlacing than plain weaves which make them stronger and more durable. Our twill: Nice drape but heavier weight than the sateen. Good for residential upholstery, table cloths, apparel - jacket or bottom weights, aprons, bags, throw pillows, baby carriers and much more.
Warp
The lengthwise yarns that that make up a woven fabric. The warp yarns run parallel to the selvage.
Weft
The yarns that run the opposite direction of the warp threads (or perpendicular to the selvage). One way to remember warp vs weft is that Weft runs Left to Right.
Combed Cotton
Combing is an additional process in fiber form to better remove any foreign contaminants and better align the fibers. Combing cotton removes shorter fibers and may cause pilling in the final product. Our fabric with fine yarn is combed (like the sateen), and the fabric with coarse yarn (like the twill and canvas) is not combed. There's not really a reason to use combed yarn for applications like this when it is a heavy yarn. The knits are all combed.
Denim
A heavier version of a twill weave (see twill below). Our denim: Good for heavier use residential upholstery, apparel - jacket or bottom weights, tote bags, purses, diaper bags, and more!
Drape
A term used to describe how a fabric hangs. A nice drape will flow. Our sateens drape very well.
Drill
A term used to describe the weave of a fabric. 2/1 Weave is Called Twill and 3/1 Weave is Called Drill - but can also be referred to as a twill.
Fiber-Reactive Dye
Fiber-reactive dyes are water-based and the color soaks into the fabric. The printing process requires an extra washing step after the printing. The fabric ends up with a softer hand and is more wash-fast than pigment printed fabrics. Note dyes are not as light-fast (fade with direct sunlight) as pigment printed fabrics.
GOTS
Global Organic Textile Standards are a 3rd party certification standard that applies to the processing part of organic fabrics. NOP standards apply to the growing of the raw fiber and GOTS applies to ALL of the processing post harvesting including (but not limited to) ginning, spinning, weaving, dyeing, printing, finishing, cutting and sewing. It also includes fair trade treatment of the workers processing the fabric. For the full standard go to www.global-standard.org. Visit our "Why Harmony Art Organic Cotton?" page for a simple breakdown of the differences between GOTS and conventional fabric processing. For a product to bear the GOTS logo ALL steps along the way have to be 3rd party certified to GOTS. Harmony Art sources GOTS certified fabrics from India and is also independently GOTS certified.
Greige
Fabric that is woven but not finished. Natural in color. The fabric before it is whitened, printed or dyed.
Mill
A textile company that owns the machinery that makes the fabric. Harmony Art is not a mill. We contract with GOTS certified mills to make our fabrics.
Muslin
A plain weave cotton fabric (one warp to one weft). Our muslin: Slightly thinner than the sateen. Good light-weight fabric perfect for summer wear, light curtains, etc.
NOP
National Organic Program - the USDA standard for all organic agricultural products. It addresses how a product is farmed and the same standards are applied to a tomato, orange or cotton fiber. For more information visit this USDA site. The organic logo you see on products in grocery stores are 3rd party certified to this standard.
Percale
A plain weave cotton fabric (one warp to one weft) similar in construction to a muslin but typically with a higher thread count and using finer combed cotton.
Pigment Printed
With pigment printed fabrics the color sits on top of the fabric (rather than soaking into the fiber). The fabric is heated after printing to set the color. The process ends up with a hand that is not as soft as dyed fabrics. Pigment printed fabrics are also not as wash-fast but they are more light-fast than fiber-reactive printed fabrics.
Put-up
The term used for how a fabric is packaged for sale. Harmony Art organic fabrics are sold in 50 yard put-ups. The put-ups on our wide-width fabrics are doubled and rolled (folded in half and rolled on a tube).
Ring Spun
Ring Spun means the fiber is spun on a Ring Spinning Frame-which gives the strongest, softest, and highest quality yarn. All of our regular collection fabrics use ring spun cotton.
Sanforized
The mechanical process by which the fabric is treated to reduce the amount of shrinkage. All of our fabrics printed in India are sanforized.
Sateen
A type of weave that creates a strong fabric by floating more weft yarns over warp yarns. The effect is a smooth surface. The shine or sheen is created by the light reflecting off the fibers and not being scattered as much as it is with a plain weave. Our sateens: (think high-end sheeting weight and feel) Lovely drape. Great for sheets, apparel like summer dresses or shirts, light-weight curtains, re-usable fabric shopping bags, quilts, napkins, and much, much more. Our most versatile fabric.
Thread Count
The total number of horizontal (weft) and vertical (warp) threads in one square inch of fabric. Although public opinion (with the help of advertisers) is that higher thread count means "better" fabric this is just not true. The quality of the cotton and yarn and how it is processed has more to do with how the fabric feels (aka hand) then the tread count does. [Note: we ran a 400tc (thread count) organic sateen and found it was not nearly as nice as our standard 230tc.]
Twill
A type of weave that creates a diagonal line when looked at closely. (Traditionally jeans are a twill weave.) Twills weaves have fewer interlacing than plain weaves which make them stronger and more durable. Our twill: Nice drape but heavier weight than the sateen. Good for residential upholstery, table cloths, apparel - jacket or bottom weights, aprons, bags, throw pillows, baby carriers and much more.
Warp
The lengthwise yarns that that make up a woven fabric. The warp yarns run parallel to the selvage.
Weft
The yarns that run the opposite direction of the warp threads (or perpendicular to the selvage). One way to remember warp vs weft is that Weft runs Left to Right.
