Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Appliqu:
A technique of applying cutout patterns of fabric onto a ground cloth using either plain or
embroidery stitches.
Black stitch:
An embroidery worked in black threads on a white or ivory-colored background fabric.
Brocade:
A heavy fabric with elaborate patterns that are raised against a ground cloth by the addition of
supplementary wefts.
Brocatelle
A variant of damask with raised areas of patterns.
Bullion fringe:
A twisted length of hanging robe made from gold, silver or metallic fibers. Primarily used for
skirt base of sofa and armchairs.
Buttonhole stitch:
A looped outline stitch used to finish the raw edges of fabric.
Canvas:
A coarse, hardwearing fabric woven from fibers of hemp or flax.
Chenille:
A velvet-like fabric woven from a soft, fuzzy-textured woven yarns of natural or synthetic
fibers.
Checker:
A geometric pattern consisting of regularly spaced squares of alternating color.
Chinoiserie:
Western adaptations of Chinese artifacts and styles of ornaments.
Cord:
A form of rope of various thickness made from twisted threads of fiber. Primarily used as trims
or tie backs.
Corduroy:
A pile fabric with regularly spaced, parallel ridges.
Damask:
A monochrome reversible fabric displaying patterns (usually floral) created by the contrast
between a shiny, satin-weave ground and matte, satin weave figuring.
Embroidery:
A decorative stitching applied to the surface of a fabric
Fleur-de-lis
A stylized three of five petal lilly. Originally a symbol of purity.
French knots:
A decorative embroidery knots worked on the show side of a fabric to create textured dots of
color.
Fringe:
A trimming for upholstery or curtains.
Fustian:
A Collective term for a group of coarse, usually patterned fabrics woven from wool or
cotton/wool.
Gaufrage:
A Method of embossing patterns onto the surface of fabrics with heated metal rollers (often
used with velvets).
Gimp:
A type of braids made from strands of silk, wool or cotton, braided or twisted around a cord or
wire.
Gingham:
A lightweight cotton fabric with geometric check pattern of two alternating colors on a white or
off white background.
Hemp:
A Coarse fabric woven from fibers of plants.
Herringbone:
A geometric pattern consisting of alternating diagonal lines similar in appearance to the spine
and ribs of a herring fish.
Holland:
A generic term for fine-woven linen cloth, available bleached or unbleached.
Ikat:
An Indonesian fine cotton or silk fabric, decorated with clocks, circles or stripes, softened by a
vegetable dying process that blends the edges of the colors into one another.
Jute:
A Fiber derived from Asian plants.
Latticework:
A grid like design made up of open diamond shapes.
Linen:
A Strong fabric woven from fibers of flat plant stalks
Matelasse:
Derived from the French verb "matellaser", which means to quilt. Metalasse is a term used to
describe double-woven damasks and other fabrics that incorporate raised figures or motifs on
their surface.
Monochrome:
A length of robe, cord or fabric used to secure a curtain to one side of a window.
Velour:
A heavy, velvet-like fabric with a thick pile that lies in one direction.
Voile:
A fine, sheer, crisp fabric woven from cotton, silk, wool or synthetic fibers.
Wool:
A yarn spun from the fibrous coat of an animal, such as a sheep or a goat.
Worsted:
A smooth, strong woolen fabric made from carded and combed wool yarn.