We have created this easy-to-use glossary to help you understand some of the words associated with technical textiles. This may come in handy when researching courses or jobs in the industry.

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Glossary

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Abrasion resistance - The ability of a textile to resist wear by friction.

Adhesive bonding - Used when producing nonwoven textiles. The process involves applying binders to a web, which when dried, will bond the fibres together.

Binder - An adhesive material used to hold fibres together in a nonwoven structure.

Bonded fabric - A nonwoven fabric in which the fibres are held together by an adhesive.

Breaking strength - The amount a textile can be stretched before breaking.

Breathe ability - The ability of a fabric or coating to transfer water vapour from one of its surfaces through the material to the other side.

Cable - The twisting together of two or more folded yarns.

Canvas - A plain weave usually made from cotton or linen.

Carding - A technique used when processing fibres. The fibres are untangled, mixed and cleaned by passing them through moving pins, wires or teeth.

Composite - A textile made up of a number of components, such as resin or fibres, to make a stronger structure.

Core-spun yarn - A Yarn consisting of an inner core, which is surrounded by other fibres for strength.

Fabric - A cloth manufactured by knitting, weaving or felting fibres. The fabric structure should hold together well enough to give it strength.

Felting - The process of making felt by matting animal hair or wool fibres together using heat or moisture.

Fibre - A natural or synthetic filament, such as of cotton or nylon, capable of being spun into yarn.

Filament - A fine, thinly spun thread of any length.

Fire retardant - The ability for a fabric to reduce or delay burning. Materials are usually made fire retardant by adding a treatment to the material in production.

Flame retardan - The ability for a material to suppress, reduce or delay the spread of flames. Materials are usually made flame retardant by adding a treatment to the material in production.

Geotextile - A textile that can let small amounts of liquids or gasses through it, which has been specifically designed to be used in the ground.

Hollow fibres - These fibres have one or more holes at their core to make them more effective insulators. They give warmth without adding weight.

Industrial Textiles - A category of technical textiles used as part of an industrial process.

Knitting - To make (a fabric or garment) by intertwining yarn or thread in a series of connected loops.

Man-made Fibre - Synthetic fibres produced from chemicals or regenerated natural fibres.

Membrane - A film incorporated in a garment to make it waterproof.

Microfibre - An extremely fine, synthetic fibre, which can be woven into textiles to make them easier to wash, more breathable or waterproof.

Monitoring Apparel - Garments that have built-in electronic sensing systems that can monitor body signals e.g. heart rate.

Nanotechnologies - The science and technology of building electronic circuits and devices from single atoms and molecules (small particles).

Needle-punching - A process for making a nonwoven textile where a at of fibres or filaments is matted together using barbed needles to create a fabric.

Nonwoven - A manufactured fabric which has been bonded by friction or by using an adhesive substance, rather than the traditional methods of knitting or weaving to create a fabric. Many nonwovens have useful properties due to their structure, such as the ability not to fray.

Permeability - The ability of a textile to allow air or water vapour to pass through it.

Polyamide - A synthetic polymer (man-made fibre) most commonly known as Nylon, also as aramid. These fibres are often used in the technical textiles industry, especially in medical, aerospace and automotive textiles.  

Polyester - A synthetic polymer (man-made fibre) - the earliest synthetic fibre produced.

Polymer - A long molecule made up of natural and synthetic parts. Examples include: polyacrylic, polyamide (nylon), polyester, polypropylene, polyurethane.

Smart materials - Materials that respond to an external source, such as temperature or light, which makes them change in some way. Smart materials have a memory and revert back to their original form once the external source is removed.

Spinning - The process of twisting fibres into yarns or threads.

Synthetic Fibres - Man-made fibres which are made from an artificially produced polymer.

Technical Textiles - Textile materials and products manufactured primarily for their technical performance and functional properties rather than style or colour, such as a bullet proof vest.

Thermal bonding - A process used in the creation of nonwoven fabrics where a web of synthetic fibres is heated to create a strong bond.

Ultraviolet stability - The ability of a textile to retain strength when exposed to ultraviolet light over a specified period.

Weave - To make cloth by interlacing threads, using a loom.