USTER TESTER

An instrument that provides a continuous measurement of the variation in Weight per unit length of sliver, roving, and yarn.

VEGETABLE FIBER

A textile fiber of vegetable origin, such as cotton, kapok, jute, ramie, and flax.

VELOUR

• Generally, a soft, closely woven fabric with a short, thick pile, weighting about 10 to 20 ounces per yard and made in a plain or satin weave. Velour is usually made of cotton or wool, or with a cotton warp in wool, silk, or mohair velour. It is also made in blends of spun manufactured fiber and wool. Velour’s are used for coats, draperies, upholstery, powder puffs, and other pile items.
• A felt with velvet-like texture used for men’s and women’s hats.

VELVET FABRIC

A warp-pile woven fabric with short, dense cut pile that produces a rich fabric appearance and soft texture. Two methods are used for weaving velvets. In the double-cloth method, two fabrics are woven face to face with the pile ends interlocking. A reciprocating knife cuts through these pile ends to produce two separate pieces of velvet. In the second method, pile ends are lifted over cutting wires that are inserted with the filling and that are withdrawn to cut the pile. Velvet is produced in a wide range of constructions and types. Originally made of silk, but now also of cotton or manufactured fibers giving fabrics that are sometimes washable. The fabric can be especially finished to make it crush-resistant and water-repellent or it may be embossed or patterned by burn-out printing.

VISCOSE RAYON

One type of rayon. It is produced in far greater quantity than cuprammonium rayon, the other commercial type.

VISCOSE

Viscose fabrics are general fibres like nylon or cotton which have been coated in a special cellulose-based solution. Once treated the finished fabric has an especially soft feel and superb for everyday use in clothing or bed linens.

VOILE FABRIC

A sheer spun cloth that is lightweight and soft. It is usually made with cylindrical, combed yarn. Voile is used for blouses, children’s wear, draperies, bedspreads, etc.

WALE

• In knit fabrics, a column of loops lying lengthwise in the fabric. The number of wales per inch is a measure of the fineness of the fabric.
• In woven fabrics, one of a series of ribs,cords, etc., running either warpwise or fillingwise.

WARP

• The set of yarn in all woven fabrics, that runs lengthwise and parallel to the selvage and is interwoven with the filling.
• The sheet of yarns wound together on a beam for the purpose of weaving or warp knitting.

WARP BEAM

A large spool or flanged cylinder around which the warp threads, or ends, are wound in a uniform and parallel arrangement.

WARP-DRAWING

See DRAW-WARPING. Warp-drawn fibers may be taken up on packages other than beams.

WATER-REPELLENT

A term applied to fabrics that can shed water but are permeable to air and comfortable to wear. These fabrics are produced by treating the material with a resin, wax, or plastic finish that is not completely permanent.

WEAVING

The method or process of interlacing two yarns of similar materials so that they cross each other at right angles to produce woven fabric. The warp yarns, or ends, run lengthwise in the fabric, and the filling threads (weft), or picks, run from side to side. Weaving can be done on a power or handloom or by several hand methods.

WAFFLE

Generally this is a cotton textured fabric with a sunken weave to give a three dimensional effect in oblong or square shapes. Additionally this fabric is very soft and easy to be manipulated.

WOOD PULP

The cellulosic raw material for viscose rayon and for acetate.

WOOL

The term is usually used for the fleece of sheep, but according to the Textile Fiber Products Identification Act, wool is defined for purposes of labeling as: “The fiber from the fleece of the sheep or lamb or hair of the Angora or Cashmere goat (and may include the socalled specialty fibers from the hair of the camel, alpaca, llama, and vicuna) which has never been reclaimed from any woven or felted wool product.”

WOVEN FABRIC

Generally used to refer to fabric composed of two sets of yarns, warp and filling, that is formed weaving, which is the interlacing of these sets of yarns. However, there are woven fabrics in which three sets of yarn are used to give a triaxial weave. In two-dimensional wovens, there may be two or more warps and fillings in a fabric, depending on the complexity of the construction. The manner in which the two sets of yarns are interlaced determines the weave. By using various combinations of the three basic weaves, plain, twill, and satin, it is possible to produce an almost unlimited variety of constructions. Other effects may be obtained by varying the type of yarns, filament or spun, and the fiber types, twist levels, etc.

YARN DYED

This is when a fabric has threads or yarns dyed prior to the weaving or knitting, as opposed to the colour having been being printed or dyed onto the cloth after being woven.

ZERO TWIST

Zero twist yarns are formed by bonding cotton together to create pure loops with the largest exposed service for a maximum absorption. Twisting of cotton staples keep them together to form the thread which prevents the cotton from achieving ultimate absorption and softness. World of Linens zero twist Egyptian cotton towels are the softest and most absorbent towels currently available.