A “linsey-woolsey” coverlet
with linen warp and woolen weft
Applique Stitchery in which a design is created by sewing pieces of fabric or other materials to a fabric background.
Batik (1) A method of applying dye to cloth which is covered in part with a dye-resistant, removable substance such as wax.
After dyeing, the wax is removed and the design appears in the original color against the newly-colored background. (2) The cloth itself.
Clamp Resist Cloth is folded, then repeatedly reverse folded until it is a neat bundle before being placed in a dye bath.
Discharge Dyeing Using a chemical agent to remove or diminish color from a previously dyed fabric.
Faille A woven cotton, rayon or silk fabric showing a slight ribbing.
Felting (1) Fabric made of unspun wool (sometimes with fur and other natural or synthetic fibers) which is matted together with moisture, heat and pressure. (2) A fabric resembling this, such as highly napped cotton.
Hand-screened Stencil-printed cloth to which one or more colors are applied by hand through stretched, fine-meshed “screens” of silk or organdy. The mesh is blocked where color is not wanted.
Harness The frame of a loom upon which the heddles are placed.
Ikat Yarn which is either tie-dyed or painted before being woven into fabric.
Loom A frame that holds the warp ends under tension so weaving can take place.
Overshot A distinct weaving pattern involving a special loom threading and the use of heavy yarn (alternating with finer yarn) in the weft or narrow direction.
Plangi Woven fabric pattern-decorated by tie dyeing; that is, by tieing or knotting parts of the fabric so that it will not absorb the dye.
Resist (Resist Dye) Patterning of yarn or textile by covering certain areas, usually with liquid wax, before dyeing.
Selvedge The side edges of the weaving around which the weft passes as it enters the open shed.
Shibori A resist technique from Japan in which areas of cloth are wrapped or bound before the fabric is dyed.
Shuttle Object that carries the weft as it interweaves with the warp.
Tapestry A weft-faced fabric in which pictures are woven with discontinuous wefts (wefts travel back and forth within each color area, not between selvedges).
Trapunto Decorative quilting in which the design is outline-stitched in two layers of fabric, then padded heavily between to form a high relief.
Warp The yarn that runs the long way in cloth made on a loom. It is under tension during weaving and is usually stronger than the “weft” or “fill” yarns which run across it.
Weft The yarns that run across the cloth, woven over the warp.
Weaving The process of making fabric by interlacing a series of warp yarns with weft yarns at right angles.
Weft-faced A tapestry weave in which the yarn running the short way is dominant in the design.
- This glossary was developed by the Southern Highland Craft Guild and is used with permission