Artificial fibre : Textile fibre obtained from natural polymers such as viscose and acetate.

Batiste : Got its name from its creator Batiste Chambray. Delicate white cloth. Was in linen at the origin. Nowadays, it is made out of fine brushed and mercerized cotton. It is used for pockets.

Bengaline : Bottomweight fabric originating from Bengal (India) that is recognized by its horizontal ribs generally produced with a large weft thread. Its weaving is tight. Bengaline has been employed in the fabrication of ladies lingerie, apparels and home decor fabrics.

Bouclé : Fabric made out of wool, silk, or other fibres and containing a bouclé fantasy thread.
Broadcloth : Tight woven fabric a little bit glazy. The most common variety on the market is made of polyester and cotton. It is used for many purposes.

Calico : Cotton cloth, often printed. Calico is used by quilters.

Canvas : Cloth recognisable for its spaces in between the threads. Canvas is used to strengthen some parts of a garment or as a support for needle tapestry or hand-embroidery.

Challis : Made of wool or rayon, challis usually has a printed surface of delicate patterns that follow the fashion trends. It is a lightweight, flexible and semi-transparent fabric. At the origin, challis was a mix of cultivated silk and brushed wool manufactured in Norwich, England.

Chambray : Cotton cloth composed of a tinted and a white or unbleached wooft. Thus, this fabric has a double shade.

Chenille : Soft and fuzzy thread embroidered or added to a basic fabric. It contains short and tight fringes that make it look like a chenille (caterpillar in French).

Chiffon (muslin, sheer) : Semi-transparent, multifilament, soft but solid fabric regardless of its fragile look. Belongs to the same family of fabrics as the organza.

Chiné : Fabric created by putting together threads of different colours or of mixed fibres that react differently to dying. This mixture of colours or values creates a multicoloured surface fabric.

Chintz : Cotton like fabric coming from India. Nowadays, this fabric is printed or not, and covered with a permanent chemical resin that gives it a glazed look.

Cloth : light to medium weight fabric, cotton like, generally printed with a picturesque pattern. Used in home décor and for apparels.

Cotton : Natural fibre resulting from the hairs of the seed of the "gossypium" or cotton plant. It is characterized by its comfort, its appearance and its easiness to transform it.

Cordura : Registered mark of hydrofuge nylon that is very resistant manufactures by DuPont. This fabric is used in the making of back packs, sportswear, or reinforcement of garments.

Corduroy : Velvet that the weft has a rib look more or less wide expressed in number of whales per linear inch. Thus, the higher number of wale is, the smaller are the whales and closer from one another.

Crêpe : Often used to describe many kind of fabrics : wool, cotton, silk, rayon and other synthetic or mixed fibres with a waffle or slightly granular surface.

Crêpe de Chine : A lighter weight crêpe.

Crochet : Loose knit manufactured in loop with an hook needle. Crochet is generally used for light sweaters.

Denim : Its name comes from the city of Nîmes. Cotton fabric of indigo colour and with an unbleached weft. Often called ‘’jeans’’.

Down : Small lightweight and soft feathers that are found on the abdomen of aquatic birds such as duck or goose. It is very warm. It is mainly used for stuffing.

Elasthan : Generic term composed of "elastic" and "polyurethane" meaning threads with high elasticity that are made out of at least 85% of polyurethane, such as "Lycra ®".

Eyelet fabric (Broderie anglaise) : Fabric characterized by different patterns of eyelets. Some of these patterns are underlined with a thin cord, carved in their middle or on their edges.

Faux suede : Fabric that looks and feels like buckskin.

Flanelette : Woven cotton fabric scratched on the back so it gets a fuzzy and soft touch.

Flannel : Wool or cotton fabric that has been slightly fulled followed by a decrepit to give it softness and a cozy hand that are specific to this fabric.

Flocking : Application technique of flocks on a previously coated surface with adhesive. This has for effect of giving a velvet look to the fabric.

Gabardine : Tightly and long lasting woven fabric, fabricated like twill: the woven is diagonal. Usually made out of cotton, wool or rayon, gabardine is often used for sportswear, uniforms and raincoats.

Gauze : Lightweight, transparent and openwork fabric that got its name from the city of Gaza. It is obtained by a particular process of junction of straight threads and rounded threads to avoid the threads from slipping. Per extension, all openwork taffeta fabrics are called gauze.

Georgette : Lightweight fabric that looks like sheer and that has a surface similar to the one of fine crêpe. Georgette can be made out of silk or synthetic fibres such as polyester.

Guingan : Cotton or other materials of yarn-dyed cloth. There exists a wide variety of plaids sizes.

Guipure : French fabric that is made on a Leavers weaving loom. It is made out of large mercerized or not Cotton thread. The patterns are made out of stapled threads and fixed bottom threads that are related by linking loops. Guipure requires particular care at the cutting and the confection steps.

Health sheet : Fabric composed of 65% of acrylic and 35% of polyester. It is a brushed knit on one side used for sheeting.

Hemp : Vegetable fibre extracted from the bark of the "cannabis sativa".

Herringbone : Weave close to the twill, giving the effect of a zigzag. To obtain a more visible effect, the colour of the warp is usually different than the one of the weft.

Interlock : Run-resistant knit characterized by the fact that it has no front or back and that its edges do not roll.

Jacquard : Created by the Frenchman Jean-Marie Jacquard in 1801. It designates a fabric weaved on a weaving loom of the same name, on which each thread may be manipulated independently. This permits a wide range of wovens and patterns. Certain jacquards have specific names such as brocade, damask or tapestry.

Jersey : Generic name of a type of knit that has no distinct rib. Originally made out of wool, jersey was manufactured on the island of Jersey (Great-Britain).

Jute (Hessian) : Rough fabric made out of a vegetable fibre extracted from the stem of a reed. It is commonly used for the packaging of merchandises or…our shrubs!

Kodel : Registered mark of azured, agglomerated and matt polyester fibres. It is used as filling for quilting.

Linen : Vegetable fibre extracted from the stem of the "linum". It is a solid and brilliant fibre that makes a fresh and absorbent but very easily creased fabric

Lycra : Registered mark that belongs to the DuPont company. It is in fact elasthan.

Matte Jersey : Knit with no glaze made out of fine crêpe threads.

Micro fibre : Generic name for any synthetic fibre that is thinner than silk. Fabrics made out of micro fibre are very soft, light and durable and… they breath.

Moleskin : Heavyweight but soft fabric, dyed by the piece or printed and brushed on the back.

Natural fibre: Textile fibre coming directly from mother nature : silk, wool, linen, cotton,…

Ottoman : Fabric with large transversals ribs. The warp is fine and dense, with large wefts.

Oxford : Cotton like fabric, very light and soft. Its rib repeats itself. It is a high-end fabric used for shirting.

Peach skin : Fabric that, by a chemical effect, has a fuzzy aspect and a soft hand reminding of the skin of a peach.

Percale : Cotton cloth, very tight and usually finer than calico. It has had received a finishing touch that gives it brilliancy and firmness. It is used for bedding.

Pill : Happens from wearing effect. When the threads are eroded, they curl up and form small lumps on the surface of the fabric. Especially visible on fleece.

Piqué : Cotton knit with a waffle texture or a diamond shape. Piqués knits have became very popular by French champion tennis man René Lacoste who invented the polo shirt.

Piqué : Fabric characterized by the relief of the patterns that look like they have been stitched with a needle.

Polar fleece : Generic name used to designate polyester arctic fleece. The majority of ‘’polars’’ have one brushed side. This fabric is popular for outdoor garments. It often contains recycled fibres. Note : there is many qualities of fleece determined by the weight even though there is not a standard. The fleece may be treated for anti-pilling and brushed on both sides..

Polyamide : Synthetic material. Its threads are resistant, soft, relatively elastic and of easy care. They can be presented in filaments, monotwig or fibres.

Poly-cotton : Abbreviation for polyester and cotton.

Polyester : Synthetic material containing in the molecular chain at least 85% in weight of an ester of diol and terephtalic acid. Its thread is resistant, soft and has a very good thermal memory (crease resistant). Its maintenance is easy; that is why it is being used more and more.

Poplin : Tight and durable woven similar to broadcloth even though the weight and the rib are heavier. Poplin is made out of silk, cotton, synthetic fibres, wool or other mixes.

Rayon : Woven fabric made out of artificial fibres.

Sateen : The semi-lustre surface sets this soft and durable fabric a part. Its weave is similar too the satin’s. Sateen is usually made out of cotton.

Satin : Soft fabric with a smooth and shiny surface. We usually use acetate and viscose to manufacture it.

Seersucker : Permanently waffled cotton fabric.

Selvage : It is the finished edge of a fabric roll that goes from the beginning to the end of the fabric so it does not fray. The width of a fabric is measured from one selvage to the other.

Shantung : medium weight woven of fibres such as silk, and that contains knotty threads. It is used for the confection of dresses.

Sheer : Very fine, light and transparent fabric composed of fine and over twisted threads.

Sherpa : Registered mark of a knit composed of 80% cotton and 20% polyester. Its back is 100% cotton. It is used for sportswear.

Silk : Silk is produced from a silk warm that can be cultivated or wild. Raw silk is cultivated, filamentous and still has its grès (?). Pure silk is also cultivated but does not have its grès (?).

Synthetic fibre : Textile fibre obtained from petrol derived products : acrylic, polyester, polyamide…

Taffeta : Basic weft of fabric. Synonymous of cloth.

Terry cloth : Cotton made or knit with one or two sides made of loops. Terry cloth is used for towels and bathrobes.

Ticking : Tight woven cotton fabric that is finished with some resin and starch. It is used for bedding and linens.

Toile de Jouy : Linen or cotton fabric printed with 18e century reproductions. It got its name from the manufacture of Jouy-en-Josas.

Tricotine : Fabric with a more pronounced diagonal rib than the one of the gabardine. It has a certain elasticity.

Tulle : Fabric formed of a network of hexagonal stitches. Tulle is often made of nylon or polyester.

Tweed : Multicolour and textured woven fabric created from novelty threads.

Twill : Fabric with a diagonal woven (ex denim, gabardine, tricotine).

Velvet : Soft and fuzzy fabric with dense hairs. Its effect is obtained by the cut of the threads.

Velveteen : Its hairs are shorter than the ones of velvet. It is a light cotton cloth, that has been scratched to give a fuzzy aspect and a soft hand. Its weft is of cotton or poly-cotton.

Viscose : Artificial fibre obtained from regenerated cellulose, presenting themselves in continued threads (rayon or viscose), or in discontinued cut fibres. This fabric is soft, absorbent and it drapes well.

Weight : The weight of a fabric is measured in ounces par linear yard. This permits to determine the density or thickness of the fabric.

Woollen : Thread obtained by spinning fibres with the wool system, and that is characterized by its softness and thickness.

Wool : Animal fibre coming from the fleece of the lamb. The most famous breed is the merinos. This fibre is characterized by its isolating properties that give apparels warmth and comfort. Depending on the origin of the fleece, it is possible to obtain wools that are more or less soft, flexible and fines, permitting to realize a wide range of items. Wool can be used pure or combined with other manufactured fibres. It can be knit or woven.

Yarn Dye : Process from which the threads are dyed before they are weaved. This permits a multicolour effect textile that can be either striped or plaids.