| L |
|
| Labeda |
A Loose, Tunic-like Garment Worn By
Men, Mostly In Nepal. Possibly From Persian Libada.
|
| Lace |
A Fine Openwork Fabric With A Ground
Of Mesh Or Net On Which Patterns May Be Worked At The Same Time As The
Ground Is Formed Or Applied Later, And Which Is Made Of Yarn By Looping,
Twisting, Or Knitting, Either By Hand With A Needle Or Bobbin, Or By
Machinery; Also A Similar Fabric Made By Crocheting, Tatting, Darning,
Embroidering, Weaving, Or Knitting.
|
| Lahore |
A Piece-dyed Dress Fabric Made From
Cashmere In Small Dobby Effects.
|
| Lamb's Wool |
Wool Obtained From A Lamb (a Young
Sheep Up To Eight Months Old Or Up To Weaning).
|
| Lambskin Cloth |
A Term Particularly Applied To A
Heavily Wefted Cotton Fabric, With A Dense Pile Of Fibre On The Surface.
The Weave Is Of A Weft-sateen Character.
|
| Lame |
A Fabric Woven Or Knit With Metallic
Yarns . It Is Usually Gold Or Silver In Color . Used In Evening Wear.
|
| Lamé |
A General Name For Fabrics In Which
Metallic Threads Are A Conspicuous Feature.
|
| Laminated |
A Compound Fabric Usually Comprised
Of A Continuous Sheet Of Thermoplastic Film Such As Polyurethane Or Pvc
Bonded To A Base Fabric With Heat Or Adhesive.
|
| Lampas |
A Multi-colour Figured Drapery And
Upholstery Fabric Similar To A Brocade, Made Of Silk, Viscose Rayon, Or
Combinations Of Yams. Two Warps, One Forming The Ground And One Bind
Wefts, In Regular Or Irregular Order, Form The Figure.
|
| Lap |
(1) (general) A Sheet Of Fibres Or
Fabric Wrapped Round A Core With Specific Applications In Different
Sections Of The Industry, E.g., Sheets Of Fibre Wound On Rollers Or
Round Endless Aprons To Facilitate Transfer From One Process To The
Next., Note: In Cotton Spinning, The Sheets Of Fibre From Openers And
Scutchers, Sliver-lap Machines, And Ribbon-lap Machines Are Wound On
Cores. , ( 2) (flax) An Arrangement Of The Fibre Strands In Scutched
Flax, Pieced Out For Hackling, Or In Pieces Of Hackled Flax, To
Facilitate Their Removal As Separate Units From Built-up Bundles. (3)
(fabric.) The Length Of Fabric Between Successive Transverse Folds When
Pieces Are Plaited Down Or Folded,, (4) (fabric) An Individual Layer Of
Fabric In Roll Form., (5) Fibres Wrapped Accidentally Round Any Rotating
Machine Part., (6) Silk Waste After Discharging And Combing, But Before
Processing Into Sliver Or Top. The Staple Length Of The Fibre Decreases
Between The First, Second And Third Drafts (combings).
|
| Lap Waste (wool) |
A Sheet Of Fibres Accidentally Wound
Round Rollers Or Aprons. It Is Substantially Without Twist And May Be
Carded Without Further Processing.
|
| Laser Cut |
The Process Of Cutting A Design Into
The Fabric By Using A Narrow Beam Laser To Vaporize The Fabric.
|
| Latent Crimp |
A Crimp That Is Potentially Present
In Specially Prepared Fibres Or Filaments And That Can Be Developed By A
Specific Treatment Such As Thermal Relaxation Or Tensioning And
Subsequent Relaxation.
|
| Lawn |
A Fine, Plain-woven Fabric Of Linen
Or Cotton, Made In Various Fine, Sheer Qualities. Various Finishes May
Be Applied To A Fabric Of This Type, In Which Case The Product Is Known
By The Name Of The Finish Used, E.g. Organdie
|
| Lawn |
A Thin, Light, Crisp, Plain Weave
Fabric Usually Of Cotton, Cotton Bends Or Linen. More Firm Than Batiste
Or Voile But Less Firm Than Organdy.
|
| Lawn Finish |
A Medium-starch Finish Applied To
Lawn And Other Fine-yarn Plain Fabrics To Give A Crisp Finished Effect.
|
| Lea (cotton) |
In Cotton, A Length Of 120 Yards; In
Worsted 80 Yards; In Linen 300 Yards., Note: In Cotton And Worsted These
Lengths Are One-seventh Of The Standard Hank. In Determining Grist. It
Was Less Wasteful To Count Leas Per 1000 Grains Than Hanks Per Pound
(7000 Grains).
|
| Lea (linen) |
The Count Of A Flax-spun Yarn., Lea
Count-strength Product; Csp; Break Factor (u.s.), The Product Of The Lea
Strength, And The Actual Count Of Cotton Yarn
|
| Leading Strings Or Tatas |
Long Narrow Strips Of Cloth Attached
To The Shoulders Of Small Children's Dresses To Hold Them By When They
Began To Walk. These Aids Were Used In The 17th And 18th Centuries. In
England, In The 18th Century, Young Girls Wore These Bands Of Cloth
Until Marriage.
|
| Lehnga |
A Kind Of Skirt. Worn Generally In
Combination With An Odhani, Which Is Tucked Into It At The Waist.
Possibly Derived From Sanskrit Lanka, Standing For The Waist, And Anga
Or Limbs.
|
| Length, Fabric |
Unless Otherwise Specified, The
Usable Length Of A Piece Between Any Truth Marks, Piece-ends, Or
Numbering, When The Fabric Is Measured Laid Flat On A Table In The
Absence Of Tension
|
| Leno |
Refers To An Open Weave Fabric. In A
Leno Weave The Warp Yarns Are Arranged In Pairs, Twisting Or
Interlocking Around The Filling Yarn To Prevent Slippage And Make The
Open Weave Stronger And More Firm.
|
| Leno Fabric |
A Fabric In Which Warp Threads Have
Been Made To Cross One Another, Between The Picks, During Weaving. The
Crossing Of The Warp Threads May Be A General Feature Of Plain Leno
Fabrics (as Marquisette And Some Gauzes And Muslins) Or May Be Used In
Combination With Other Weaves (as In Some Cellular Fabrics ).
|
| Letona |
A Bast Fibre Obtained From The Plant
Agave Letonae
|
| Leuco Dye |
A Reduced Form Of A Dye From Which
The Original Dye May Be Regenerated By Oxidation
|
| Levelling |
Migration Of Dye Leading To Uniform
Coloration Of A Substrate.
|
| Lever Lace |
Lace Made On A Leavers Machine. The
Machine Uses Mechanically Controlled Bobbins And Is Controlled By A
Jacquard Mechanism. They Can Produce Fine Delicate Patterns That
Resemble Handmade Laces.
|
| Limbric |
A Light- To- Medium-weight, Closely
Woven, Plain-weave, Cotton Fabric Made From Good-quality Yams. The Weft
Is Coarser And More Closely Spaced And Has A Lower Twist Factor Than The
Warp Giving A Soft Fabric In Which The Weft Predominates On Both Sides
(cf. Casement Cloth). A Example Was 50s X 36s (12 X 16 Tex), Both
Egyptian Yams, 68 X 102 (27 Ends/cm X 40 Picks/cm).
|
| Limp |
Refers To A Fabric That Is Very
Drapey And Lacking In Body.
|
Line Flax (obsolescent)
|
Hackled Flax |
| Linear Density |
The Mass Per Unit Length Of Linear
Textile Material.
|
| Linen |
(1) Descriptive Of Yarns Spun
Entirely From Flax Fibres., (2) Descriptive Of Fabrics Woven From Linen
Yarns., (3) Descriptive Of Articles Which, Apart From Adornments, Are
Made Of Yarns Spun From Flax, Note: Despite Some Usage Of This Term In
Non-technical Circles As A Generic One, E.g. Linen Department, Baby
Linen, Household Linen, It Does Not Apply To Individual Articles That Do
Not Comply With The Definition.
|
| Linen Prover |
See Counting Glass
|
| Lingerie |
Feminine Underwear, Slumberwear And
Similar Garments Of Fine Texture And Aesthetic Appeal., Note: The Term,
Derived From The French 'lin', Referred Originally To Linen Articles,
Especially Ladies' Underwear.
|
| Linseed Flax |
Varieties Of Flax Cultivated Mainly
For Seed Production.
|
Linsey-wolsey (formerly
Linsey-woolsey)
|
(1) A Coarse Linen Fabric., (2) A
Strong, Coarse Fabric With A Linen Warp And A Worsted Weft. |
| Lint |
(1) The Main Seed Hair Of The Cotton
Plant, (cf. Linters).,(2) A Plain-weave, Highly Absorbent Material With
One Raised Fleecy Surface. For Surgical Purposes It Is Sterilised.
|
| Lint Ball |
Lint Or Fluff That Has Accumulated
On A Knitting Machine And Become Incorporated In The Fabric.
|
| Linters |
Whole And Broken Lint Fibres And
Fuzz Fibres, Which Are Removed From Ginned Cotton Seed By A Special
Ginning Process., Note: The First Ginning Of Cotton Removes Most Of The
Lint Fibres From The Ordinary Raw Cotton Of Commerce. The Seed Is Then
Subjected To A Second Processing On A Special Gin To Remove The Linters,
Which Are Composed Of A Small Proportion Of Whole-lint Fibres, Greater
Amounts Of Broken-lint Fibres, And Fuzz Fibres That Are Much Coarser And
Shorter Than The Lint. The Removal Of Lint And Fuzz Is Not Completed By
This Operation And The Residue May Be Successively Re-ginned. The
Products Are Termed 'first-cut Linters', 'second-cut Linters', Etc., The
Length Of The Fibres In Each Successive Cut Becoming Progressively
Shorter.
|
| Liquid Ammonia Treatment |
A Process During Which Textile
Material Is Immersed In Or Brought Into Contact With Anhydrous Liquid
Ammonia. The Treatment Confers 'flat Setting', I.e., Smooth Drying
Properties And An Attractive Soft Handle To Cotton Fabrics.
|
| Lisle Thread |
A Highly Twisted, Plied (usually
2-ply) Good Quality Cotton Hosiery Yarn, Spun Generally In Fine Counts.
All Lisle Threads Are Gassed And Some May Be Mercerized (mercerized
Lisle). A Lisle Thread Was Formerly A Plied Yarn Having Singles Of
Opposite Twist.
|
| Llama Fibre (hair) |
Fibre From The Fleece Of The Llama
(lama Glama) That Inhabits The High Mountain Regions Of South America
|
| Loading |
Increasing The Weight Of Fabrics By
The Addition Of Delequescent Salts, Starch Or China Clay. This Term Is
Not Restricted To One Class Of Textile Fabrics, But Is Used Loosely In
Connection With Finishing Of Wool, Cellulose, Or Silk Goods.
|
| Locks |
A Term Used In Wool-sorting For
Short Oddments Of Wool Which Fall From The Skirting Tables Or Are Swept
Up From The Boards. In Some Countries It Can Include Soiled Tufts And
Pieces From Near The Rumps Of Sheep.
|
| Loden |
Coarse Woollen Milled
Water-repellent Fabric Used For Jackets, Coats And Capes.
|
| Lofty |
A Term Applied To An Assemblage Of
Fibres To Denote A Relatively High Degree Of Openness And Resilience, Or
A Large Volume For A Given Mass.
|
| Loom |
A Term Used For Weaving Machine.
|
| Loom-state |
Any Woven Fabric As It Leaves The
Loom Before It Receives Any Subsequent Processing.
|
| Loose |
Refers To A Fabric That Is Not
Tightly Constructed And Shifts Easily.
|
| Lousiness |
See Exfoliation
|
| Love Lock |
In The First Half Of The 17th
Century Men Grew One Lock Longer Than The Rest Of The Long Hair. It Is
Tied With A Ribbon And Laid To The Front Of The Left Shoulder ("cavalier"-style).
|
| Lungi |
A Garment-piece Worn By Men, As A
Long, Straight Skirt-cloth.
|
| Lurex Brand |
Brand Of Metallic Fiber And Yarn Of
The Lurex Co.
|
| Lustre |
The Display Of Different Intensities
Of Light, Reflected Both Specularly And Diffusely From Different Parts
Of A Surface Exposed To The Same Incident Light. High Lustre Is
Associated With Gross Differences Of This Kind, And Empirical
Measurements Of Lustre Depend On The Ratio Of The Intensities Of
Reflected Light For Specified Angles Of Incidence And Viewing., Note:
This Definition Makes These Differences In Intensity Of Light The Key
Point, Since These Form The Chief Subjective Impression On The Observer
Of Lustre. Both Specular And Diffuse Light Must Be Present Together,
For, If Diffuse Light Only Is Present, The Surface Is Matt, Not
Lustrous, Whereas, If Specular Light Only Is Present, The Surface Is
Mirror-like, And Again Not Lustrous. The Phrase 'exposed To The Same
Incident Light' Has Been Included To Rule Out Shadow Effects, Which Have
No Part In Lustre Proper. The General Term 'surface' Is Intended To
Apply To Fibres, Yarns, And Fabrics, And Indeed To Other Surfaces, E.g.,
That Of A Pearl (through There The Differently Reflecting Parts Are Very
Close Together). In The Second Sentence Of The Definition, Lustre Is
Regarded As A Positive Function Of The Differences, The Appropriate
Adjective Of Intensification Being 'high'.
|
| Lycra Brand |
Du Pont Brand Of Spandex Yarn.
|
Post Buy Lead