Tamil Nadu HSE Second Year Textile and Dress Designing flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Cotton fibre composition

Cotton is about 90% cellulose with natural convolutions along the fibre. These twists give the fibres grip during spinning, so maturity and staple length strongly influence yarn strength and evenness.

Tex and denier

Tex is the mass in grams of 1000 metres of yarn; denier is the mass in grams of 9000 metres. One tex equals nine denier, and a higher value means a coarser yarn.

Cotton count (Ne)

The number of 840-yard hanks of yarn that weigh one pound. It is an indirect count, so a higher Ne indicates a finer yarn, the opposite of tex and denier.

S-twist and Z-twist

Twist direction named by the slant of the fibre helix. S-twist slopes like the middle of the letter S; Z-twist slopes like the middle of Z. Singles are usually Z, plied yarns S.

Carded versus combed yarn

Carding opens and cleans fibres; combing then removes short fibres and aligns the long ones. Combed yarn is smoother, stronger, more lustrous and more expensive than carded yarn.

Twist multiplier

Turns per inch divided by the square root of the cotton count. It expresses twist relative to yarn thickness, so yarns of different counts can be compared for hardness and hand.

Plain weave

Each warp end passes over one weft pick and under the next, alternating every row. Interlacing is maximum, giving a firm, strong, less lustrous fabric such as poplin or cambric.

Twill weave

Weft floats over two or more warp ends, and the starting point shifts each pick to produce a diagonal line. Denim and gabardine are twills, stronger and denser than plain weave.

Satin weave

Long floats of four or more yarns produce a smooth, lustrous face and a dull back. Float length gives shine but reduces abrasion resistance, so satin is not for hard wear.

Primary loom motions

Shedding separates the warp into two layers, picking passes the weft through the shed, and beat-up pushes the pick to the fell. Weaving cannot continue without all three.

EPI and PPI

Ends per inch is the number of warp threads per inch of width; picks per inch is the number of weft threads per inch of length. Together they describe fabric sett and cover.

Single jersey knit

Face loops show on one side and purl loops on the other. The structure curls at the edges, stretches in both directions and is the base for most T-shirt fabric.

Non-woven fabric

Fabric made directly from a fibre web bonded by needle punching, heat or adhesive, with no yarn interlacement. Production is fast but strength and drape are generally lower.

Mercerising

Treating cotton with strong caustic soda under tension. It swells the fibre, increasing lustre, tensile strength and dye absorption, and is a standard finish for cotton yarn and fabric.

Reactive dyes

Dye class that forms a covalent chemical bond with cellulose fibres. The bond gives excellent wash fastness, making reactive dyes the standard choice for cotton apparel dyeing.

Disperse dyes

Fine-particle dyes applied mainly to polyester and other synthetic fibres, where the dye dissolves into the fibre. They are usually applied at high temperature under pressure for level results.

Grey scale fastness rating

Fastness is graded 1 to 5 against a grey scale, where 5 means no change in shade or no staining and 1 means severe change. Wash, light, rubbing and perspiration are graded separately.

Sanforising

A compressive shrinkage process that mechanically shrinks cotton fabric before cutting. It limits residual shrinkage in garments to roughly one per cent, so finished size stays stable after washing.

CIELAB colour space

A colour measurement system where L* indicates lightness, a* the red-green axis and b* the yellow-blue axis. Delta E expresses the total difference between a sample and a standard.

Dart manipulation

Relocating a dart's fullness without changing fit. The pattern is pivoted around the dart point or slashed and spread, moving the dart to the shoulder, neckline, armhole or waist.

Seam allowance

The extra width beyond the stitching line, usually 1 cm on curves and 1.5 to 2.5 cm on straight edges and hems. It is added after the block is drafted and trued.

Grain line

A marked line on the pattern showing the direction of the warp threads. It must run parallel to the centre front or centre back, otherwise the garment twists and hangs badly.

French seam

A seam sewn twice, first wrong sides together and then right sides together, enclosing the raw edges. It suits light, sheer fabrics and gives a neat inside finish.

Pattern grading

Increasing or decreasing a base size pattern by fixed increments at set points to produce other sizes. It is not the same as altering a pattern for an individual figure.

Croquis proportions

A fashion croquis is stylised to about eight and a half to nine heads tall, with the waist above the midpoint and long legs. The real human figure is about seven and a half heads.

Elements of design

Line, shape or form, colour, texture and space. These are the raw components a designer arranges; principles such as balance, rhythm and emphasis govern how they are arranged.

Complementary colour scheme

Two hues opposite each other on the colour wheel, such as red and green. The contrast is strong and vibrant, so one colour is usually used in a smaller area.

Fashion cycle stages

Introduction, rise to peak, decline and obsolescence. Classics remain acceptable for years, while fads pass through the whole cycle within a season or two.

Care label iron symbols

Iron symbols carry dots for temperature: one dot about 110 degrees Celsius, two about 150, three about 200. A crossed-out iron means the item must not be pressed at all.

Protein stain rule

Blood, egg, milk and sweat are protein stains and must be treated with cold water, because hot water coagulates the protein and sets the stain permanently into the fabric.

Break-even quantity

Fixed cost divided by the difference between selling price per unit and variable cost per unit. It gives the number of garments that must be sold before any profit is made.

AQL 2.5 inspection

Acceptable quality limit used in garment export inspection. A lot is accepted or rejected by sampling a set number of pieces and comparing defects found against the AQL table.