YARNS GLOSSARY
YARN CONSTRUCTION
★ SINGLE YARN:
DESCRIPTION: A single continuous strand of fibers or filaments with enough cohesion or twist to be used as yarn.
USE: Used directly in weaving and knitting or as the base strand for plied and cabled yarns.
★ PLIED YARN:
DESCRIPTION: A yarn made by twisting two or more single yarns together, usually to improve strength, balance or surface character.
USE: Used in knitwear, woven fabrics, socks, tailoring and other products that benefit from greater stability or texture.
★ CABLED YARN:
DESCRIPTION: A yarn made by twisting two or more plied yarns together, often in the opposite direction to the previous twist.
USE: Used for heavier knitwear, socks, outerwear, cords and durable textile constructions that require a rounded or robust yarn.
★ FILAMENT YARN:
DESCRIPTION: A yarn made from one or more continuous filaments that run for very long lengths rather than being assembled from short staple fibers.
USE: Used for smooth, strong or lustrous fabrics in linings, hosiery, activewear, lingerie and technical textiles.
★ SPUN YARN:
DESCRIPTION: A yarn made by drawing and twisting staple fibers together into a continuous strand.
USE: Used across apparel, knitwear, woven fabrics, home textiles and industrial products where a fiber-based hand is desired.
★ CORE-SPUN YARN:
DESCRIPTION: A composite yarn in which staple fibers or another yarn are wrapped around a central core, often a filament or elastane.
USE: Used in stretch denim, activewear, socks, underwear, workwear and other textiles that require strength, stretch or combined properties.
SPINNING & SURFACE
★ WORSTED YARN:
DESCRIPTION: A smooth, compact yarn made from combed long wool fibers that are aligned more parallel before spinning.
USE: Used for fine knitwear, suiting, tailoring, hosiery and structured wool fabrics where clarity and smoothness are important.
★ WOOLEN YARN:
DESCRIPTION: A soft, airy yarn spun mainly from carded wool fibers that remain more randomly oriented and trap more air.
USE: Used for warm sweaters, coats, scarves, blankets and textured wool fabrics where bulk and insulation are desired.
★ TEXTURED YARN:
DESCRIPTION: A filament yarn modified by heat, air or mechanical action to create crimp, loops or bulk and improve stretch or cover.
USE: Used in activewear, hosiery, intimate apparel, knitwear, upholstery and technical fabrics that need stretch, softness or volume.
★ NOVELTY YARN:
DESCRIPTION: A decorative yarn intentionally produced with irregular structures, effects, colours or materials rather than a uniform surface.
USE: Used for statement knitwear, decorative fabrics, trims, accessories and interiors where visual or tactile texture is desired.
★ BOUCLÉ YARN:
DESCRIPTION: A novelty yarn characterized by loops or curls projecting from the yarn surface.
USE: Used for textured jackets, knitwear, scarves, accessories and upholstery with a soft, irregular surface.
★ CHENILLE YARN:
DESCRIPTION: A plush yarn with short fiber pile projecting around a central core, creating a soft, velvety surface.
USE: Used for sweaters, scarves, blankets, upholstery and accessories where softness and pile effect are important.
★ SLUB YARN:
DESCRIPTION: A yarn intentionally spun with irregular thicker sections, or slubs, along its length.
USE: Used for T-shirts, denim, knitwear, casual shirts and summer fabrics where a visible irregular texture is part of the design.
★ MÉLANGE YARN:
DESCRIPTION: A yarn made by blending fibers of different colours, tones or dye affinities before spinning to create a mixed-colour effect.
USE: Used for knitwear, T-shirts, activewear, socks and casual fabrics with a heathered or mottled appearance.
FIBER PREPARATION
★ SLIVER:
DESCRIPTION: A loose, continuous and nearly untwisted strand of fibers produced after carding or combing.
USE: Used as an intermediate fiber preparation before drawing, roving or spinning into yarn.
★ ROVING:
DESCRIPTION: A continuous bundle of fibers drawn from sliver and usually given a small amount of twist before final spinning.
USE: Used as an intermediate stage that feeds fibers into many staple-yarn spinning systems.
★ TOP (COMBED FIBER):
DESCRIPTION: A combed fiber preparation in which shorter fibers and impurities have been removed and the remaining long fibers are aligned.
USE: Used primarily for spinning smooth, fine worsted yarns for high-quality woven and knitted fabrics.
YARN MEASUREMENT
★ YARN COUNT:
DESCRIPTION: A numerical system used to express yarn linear density or relative fineness. Direct and indirect count systems use different conventions.
USE: Used by mills, designers and buyers to specify yarn size and to control fabric weight, appearance, handle and performance.
★ TEX:
DESCRIPTION: A direct linear-density unit equal to the number of grams per 1,000 metres of yarn.
USE: Used to specify yarn and fiber size; for example, 15 tex means 1,000 m of yarn weighs 15 g.
★ DECITEX (DTEX):
DESCRIPTION: A direct linear-density unit equal to the number of grams per 10,000 metres of yarn or fiber.
USE: Used widely for man-made fibers and filament yarns; a higher dtex value indicates a heavier, coarser linear density.
★ DENIER (DEN):
DESCRIPTION: A direct linear-density unit equal to the number of grams per 9,000 metres of yarn or filament.
USE: Used especially for filaments, hosiery and technical textiles; a higher denier indicates a heavier, coarser linear density.
★ NM (METRIC COUNT):
DESCRIPTION: An indirect yarn-count system expressing the number of 1,000-metre lengths in one kilogram of yarn.
USE: Used mainly for spun yarns; for example, Nm 30 means 30,000 m of single yarn weighs 1 kg, and higher Nm values indicate finer yarns.
★ NE (ENGLISH COTTON COUNT):
DESCRIPTION: An indirect yarn-count system expressing the number of 840-yard hanks in one pound of yarn.
USE: Used commonly for cotton-spun yarns; higher Ne values indicate finer yarns.