C
Cable Cord,
A white cotton cord sold at fabric stores in a variety of widths. When covered with fabric, it is used to finish edges of upholstered items.
Cafe Curtains
A curtain made to fit the bottom half of a window only, to give privacy but to let in light.
Calendering
A process for finishing fabrics in which such special effects as high luster, glazing, embossing, and moiré are produced.
Calico
A tightly-woven cotton type fabric with an all-over print, usually a small floral pattern on a contrasting background color. Common end-uses include dresses, aprons, and quilts.
Calico
Also referred to as "print", it is a cotton cloth of various qualities of weave and print. The term is most often applied to the more coarse, printed cottons. Avoid the temptation to follow your heart into the "Little House On the Prairie" look of a multitude of muted, small print calicos, especially those festooned with hearts and such. Northern and Southern women and children would almost never have been seen in the small calico printed fabrics, as those were almost exclusively slave goods, and referred to as "slave calico" or "nigger calico". The fabric design choices in calicos for Northern and Southern white women and children would have been more along the lines of solids, stripes, plaids, and large floral prints.
Cambric
A thin, fine white linen.
Camel's Hair
A natural fiber obtained from the hair of the Bactrian camel, a two-humped pack-carrying species. The fiber is used primarily in coats, sweaters, and suits.
Canvas
An open-mesh fabric of linen, or a blend of linen and cotton.
Carding
A process which eliminates fibers too short for inclusion in the spun yarn. The process also removes dirt and foreign matter still remaining in the fiber mass, and arranges the fibers into a very thin layer.
Cased Heading
A channel at the top of the curtain to thread a curtain rod through.
Cashmere
A luxury fiber obtained from the soft fleecy undergrowth of the Kashmir goat of Tibet, Mongolia, China, Iran, Iraq, and India. Most commonly used in sweaters, shawls, suits, coats, and dresses.
Casing
A stitched channel between two pieces of fabric to hold either a length of dowelling or a curtain rod.
Casing
Fabric envelope of sorts for encasing elastic, a drawstring, or similar material, usually along a waistline, cuff, hem. Elastic waist slacks have a casing into which the elastic is woven. Sweat pants have a turned up casing into through which elastic is encased (if there are not ribbed cuffs).
Cellulose
A material derived from the cell walls of certain plants. Cellulose is used in the production of many vegetable fibers, as well as being the major raw material component used in the production of the manufactured fibers of acetate, rayon, and triacetate.
Chain Weights
A continuous chain of small heavy beads covered in a cotton casing used for lightweight fabrics.
Challais
(see Challie)
Challie
A fine, delicate fabric, usually printed in a multiple number of colors, without a gloss of wool or of silk and wool.
Challis
A lightweight, soft plain weave fabric with a slightly brushed surface. The fabric is often printed, usually in a floral pattern. Challis is most often seen in fabrics made of cotton, wool, or rayon.
Chambray
A plain woven fabric that can be made from cotton, silk, or manufactured fibers, but is most commonly cotton. It incorporates a colored warp (often blue) and white filling yarns.
Chicoree
A material used as a trim with its edge cut and left unhemmed.
Chiffon
A plain woven lightweight, extremely sheer, airy, and soft silk fabric, containing highly twisted filament yarns. The fabric, used mainly in evening dresses and scarves, can also be made from rayon and other manufactured fibers.
Chine
An indistinct figure in the fabric, or a mottling of the fabric, that is formed by using threads of different colors, but most commonly black.
Chintz
A plain-weave fabric, which has been glazed to produce a polished look. Usually made of cotton, this fabric is most commonly used in blouses, dresses, draperies, and slipcovers.
Chintz
Cotton cloth, usually white, that originated in India. It is also printed in a number of colors.
Clean-finishing
Edge of fabric turned under once and stitched. Used on edges of facings, hems, seams, etc.
Cleat
A two pronged hook which is fixed to one side of the window frame to secure the cords when a blind is pulled up.
Clip (curve)
Methods vary from person to person, but to clip a curve keep in mind that an outside curve (shaped like an upside down U) needs to be clipped to within a breath of the seam line. An inside curve (shaped like a right side up U) can be either clipped or you can cut very small notches (V shape) out of the curve itself in order to have it lay flat and not make bunches when the project or garment is done. If you use a serger to finish your seams, clipping is not an issue.
Colorfastness
A term used to describe a dyed fabric's ability to resist fading due to washing, exposure to sunlight, and other environmental conditions.
Column Stitch
A series of zig-zag stitches placed closely together to form a column. Also known as a steil stitch or satin stitch.
Combination Rods
Two or three curtain tracks sharing one set of brackets. Used for a layered look of curtains and top treatments.
Combing
The combing process is an additional step beyond carding. In this process the fibers are arranged in a highly parallel form, and additional short fibers are removed, producing high quality yarns with excellent strength, fineness, and uniformity.
Condensed Format
Condensed is a format in which a machine that can read condensed format, can change the size, density, column widths, and stitch lengths of a design. Two such condensed formats are Melco Condensed and Brother PG Outlines.
Construction stitching
Stitching, such as seams and darts, that shapes and holds a garment together (as distinct from stay-stitching, finishing, etc.).
Contrast Lining
A coloured fabric used as a lining when parts of it will show from the front.
Converter
A person or a company which buys grey goods and sells them as finished fabrics. A converter organizes and manages the process of finishing the fabric to a buyers' specifications, particularly the bleaching, dyeing, printing, etc.
Cording
Another word for Piping.
Cording
A twisted or woven "rope" or "string" that is used primarily in piping and to act as a drawstring in a jacket hood, waistband, or as stabilizer for frog closures. Cording is covered with bias strips of fabric when used for most decorative applications (such as edging a pillow). Other decorative effects can be achieved by zig-zagging over cording on a fabric for a raised design.
Corduroy
A fabric, usually made of cotton, utilizing a cut-pile weave construction. Extra sets of filling yarns are woven into the fabric to form ridges of yarn on the surface. The ridges are built so that clear lines can be seen when the pile is cut.
Corduroy
Fabric that is corded and furrowed.
Core-Spun Yarns
Consist of a filament base yarn, with an exterior wrapping of loose fiber which has not been twisted into a yarn. Polyester filament is often wrapped with a cotton outer layer in order to provide the strength and resiliency of polyester, along with the moisture-absorbent aesthetics and dye affinity of cotton. Sewing thread as well as household and apparel fabrics are made from these yarns.
Cornice
Another word for a Pelmet.
Cottage Blind
Another word for a Cafe Curtain.
Cotton
A unicellular, natural fiber that grows in the seed pod of the cotton plant. Fibers are typically 1/2 inch to 2 inches long. The longest staple fibers, longer than 1 1/2 inch, including the Pima and Egyptian varieties, produce the highest quality cotton fabrics.
Covered button
A button covered with coordinating or same fabric as the garment for which it is being made. Kits are available for this effect or creative and careful application of fabric, fabric glue and shank buttons can be used.
Crepe-back Satin
A satin fabric in which highly twisted yarns are used in the filling direction. The floating yarns are made with low twist and may be of either high or low luster. If the crepe effect is the right side of the fabric, the fabric is called satin-back crepe.
Crepe
A semi-transparent crinkled or plain fabric, often black
Crepe Lisse
Smooth crepe.
Crinoline
A lightweight, plain weave, stiffened fabric with a low yarn count (few yarns to the inch in each direction).
Crinoline
A stiff, open cloth made of horsehair and linen or cotton. It also refers to a stiff hoop skirt or stiff petticoat.
Crocking
The rubbing-off of dye from a fabric. Crocking can be the result of lack of penetration of the dyeing agent, the use of incorrect dyes or dyeing procedures, or the lack of proper washing procedures and finishing treatments after the dyeing process.
Crocking
Color rubbing off.
Cuprammonium
A process of producing a type of regenerated rayon fiber. In this process, the wood pulp or cotton liners are dissolved in an ammoniac copper oxide solution. Bemberg rayon is a type of Cuprammonium rayon.
Curtains
Usually two rectangles of fabric hung from a track or pole to decorate a window and give privacy.
Cut Width
The width of fabric needed including seams or hems.
Cutting Board
A board used to layout patterns on and cut fabrics on.
Cutting Line
On a pattern, the outermost dark line is the line upon which you cut. Traditions vary; some people cut through the center of this line, others cut just to the outside of this line.
