Introduction to Weaving and Textile Terminology
Introduction to Weaving and Textile Terminology
This domain tests the vocabulary every later question assumes: the names of the two thread systems, the sequence of loom motions, and the counting systems for yarns and fabrics. Examiners often wrap a small calculation (EPI, PPI, ends, yarn count) inside a plain-language definition, so both the word and the number must be exact.
Core rules
- Warp: the lengthwise, tensioned threads. Weft (filling): the crosswise threads inserted by the shuttle. One warp thread = an end; one weft thread = a pick.
- Loom cycle: shedding (opening the warp into two layers) → picking (passing the weft) → beating-up (pushing the pick to the fell) → taking-up (winding cloth) and letting-off (releasing warp).
- Fabric count: EPI (warp ends per inch) and PPI (picks per inch); GSM is mass in grams per square metre, not thickness.
- Yarn numbering: indirect systems (Ne, cotton count) rise as yarn gets finer; direct systems (tex = g/1000 m, denier = g/9000 m) rise as yarn gets coarser.
- Selvedge, dent (a space in the reed), heald eye, weave repeat, float and crimp complete the word list.
Worked example
A cotton cloth is 40 in wide at 60 EPI and 48 PPI; find ends and picks in 2 m. Ends = width × EPI = 40 × 60 = 2400 ends. 2 m = 78.74 in, so picks = 78.74 × 48 ≈ 3779. Reasoning: EPI and PPI are counts per inch of cloth, so multiply by width for ends and by length for picks - never swap them.
Marks-losing traps
- Treating the weft as the tensioned thread, or swapping warp and weft inside a count question.
- Believing a higher denier means a finer yarn - it means coarser.
- Quoting EPI without stating the basis (loom-state, grey or finished), although shrinkage changes it.