| 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.
|
