Glossary

Bedspread

Cover for bed: a decorative covering placed on top of bedding.

Comforter

A covering used instead of a blanket, made of two layers of fabric that contain a warm filling (such as down).

Cotton

Natural vegetable fiber of great economic importance as a raw material for cloth. Its widespread use is largely due to the ease with which its fibers are spun into yarns. Cotton's strength, absorbency, and capacity to be washed and dyed also make it adaptable to a considerable variety of textile products.

Combed Cotton

Cotton which has had all short fibres and impurities removed from the long cotton fibres. Combed yarn is finer and smooter than other cotton types.

Egyptian Cotton

A Fine, lustrous, long staple cotton grown in Egypt. Long staple cottons are more expensive than the commonly available cottons. The consumer identifies Eygptian cotton with quality.

Flannelette Cotton

A heavy, soft material with a nappish finish, usually only on one side. Launder well, is warm to sleep against and is measurable by weight.

Cotton Sateen

Cotton which is woven with a cotton sateen yarn to ensure a soft lustrous feel and sheen.

Coverlet

Lightweight bedcover.

Damask

Figured woven material.

Duvet Inner

Type of bed quilt: a bed quilt made up of broad channels stuffed with down or synthetic material, usually used inside a removable washable cover in place of or together with sheets and blankets.

Faux Fur

Faux fur is as warm as real fur, it's as beautiful as genuine fur, and it's as soft and luxurious as fur can be. You can indulge in it without any guilt, as it's 100% man made.

Jacquard

The weaving threads are individually controlled on the loom, creating elaborate and complicated patterns. On jacquard woven fabric, the design appears in relief on the reverse side

Linen

Made from flax, linen was first used by the ancient Egyptians. Because the earliest linen cloth was usually white, it became a symbol of purity for the Egyptians, and was used not only for clothing and household articles but also in religious practices. The Egyptians also produced textiles made of cotton imported from India. The term linens, now popularly used to designate such household items as cotton sheets, napkins, and towels, probably originated from the Egyptian word linum.

Percale

A fine lustrous, smooth cloth with a thread count of 220 threads oer 10 square centimetres and above.

Silk

Fiber produced as a cocoon covering by the silkworm, and valuable for its use in fine fabrics and textiles. The silkworm, in fact, is not a worm but a caterpillar. Although cocoon coverings of fiber are made by a large number of insects, only those of the mulberry silk moth, Bombyx mori, and a few other moths closely akin to it, are used by the silk industry. The silk of other insects, are used for certain manufacturing purposes, particularly for the cross hairs of telescopes and other optical instruments.

Smocked

Fabric that is gathered and then stitched with firm, ornamental rows of embroidery.

Textile Fiber

The term textile fibers refers to fibers that can be spun into yarn or made into fabric by such operations as weaving, knitting, braiding, and felting. Weaving, one of the first crafts, was practiced as early as the New Stone Age, as shown by fragments of flax fibers found in the remains of lake dwellings in Switzerland. In ancient Egypt, the earliest textiles were woven from flax; in India, Peru, and Cambodia, from cotton; in the southern European area, from wool; and in China, from silk.

Thread Count

The actual number of threads used per 10 square centimetres of woven fabric, warp threads plus weft threads.

Valance

Fabric cover for bed base: a plain, pleated, or gathered fabric cover that hangs from a shelf or from the base of a bed to the floor.

Velour

A woven knitted fabric with a surface resembling velvet.