Microfiber is a synthetic fiber less than 1 denier wide. It can be made of polyester, rayon, nylon or from almost any other synthetic material – but most often, it is made from polyester. What’s a denier? Denier is a way of quantifying a fiber’s mass. A fiber’s denier number is equal to the weight of 9000… Read More »
Two things determine a fabric, the yarns used and how they’re assembled into fabric. Here’s a quick glossary. There are many more ways to weave and knit than are listed here, and I’ll add to the list over time, but these are the most common methods. Essential Terms Warp and Weft Warp yarns run the… Read More »
Just like Kleenex has come to be the generic term for a tissue in the US, or Coke for any cola beverage, so Spandex has come to be a catch-all term for any shiny fabric with a four-way stretch. However, Spandex and Lycra are both brand names for elastane, which is a very stretchy synthetic fiber… Read More »
Simply put, polyester is plastic. Actually, Wikepedia tells me that the word polyester applies to a “category of polymers that contain the ester functional group in their main chain”, whatever that means. Around here, polyester refers to the synthetic fiber that is woven into a yarn referred to by the same name. Polyester gets a bad… Read More »
To paraphrase Wikipedia, silk is a natural protein fiber produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The insect most commonly used in silk production is, obviously, the silkworm. Silk fiber has been used since prehistoric times. An individual strand of silk is smooth but not slippery (unlike its synthetic counterparts) and it’s strong for its… Read More »
Lurex is a brand name for a type of metallic-coated plastic yarn that’s become synonymous with the fabric it’s made into. It’s a shiny, stretchy knit which just screams evening-wear and other fabulous uses. Lurex was really popular in the sixties, seventies and eighties – especially for slinky cocktail dresses. Go to Etsy and type… Read More »
Hoo. Jersey is one of those terms that gets applied to a lot of fabrics, with a varying degree of accuracy, so let’s nail this down. Jersey is a knitted fabric, made with lightweight yarns of natural or artificial origin. Back in the day, it was made of fine wool in the Jersey Islands of… Read More »
I mentioned elastane in the Introduction to Fibers page, but there’s always room for more information. Spandex is a brand name that has become synonymous with the generic thing that it represents – like Kleenex and Xerox and Google. Technically, Spandex is a trademarked fabric using elastane as one of its main components. What’s elastane?… Read More »
I’m mentioning this because it’s popping up a lot on some popular fabric websites. “Hatchi knit” is a brand name. Whoever’s behind it seems to be churning out light-weight knits made of cotton-poly blends and pure polyester. I’ve seen it in solids, stripes and some multicolored prints – all very much following current fashion trends.… Read More »
At first glance, fleece looks a lot like flannel. It’s a soft fabric, napped on one or both sides. It comes in a variety of solid colors and printed patterns and can be used for loungewear and children’s wear – although you’re not going to see a guy in a fleece suit any time soon… Read More »
Fabric For Cosplayers