Monday, April 1, 2013

Textile Dictonary





HAND: The tactile qualities of a fabric, e.g., softness, firmness, elasticity, fineness, resilience,
and other qualities perceived by touch.
HAND-BLOCKED PRINT: A fabric that has been printed by hand with wooden or linoleum
blocks. (Also . PRINTING.)
HANG PICK: A pick that is caught on a warp yarn knot for a short distance which produces a
triangular hole in the fabric. Hang picks usually result from knots that are tied incorrectly, shuttle
tension that is too loose, or harness that is timed too early.
HANK: 1. A skein of yarn. 2. A standard length of slubbing, roving, or yarn. The length is
specified by the yarn numbering system in use; e.g., cotton hanks have a length of 840 yards. 3.
A term applied to slubbing or roving that indicates the yarn number (count); e.g., a 1.5 hank
roving.
HANK ROVING: . HANK.
HARD FIBER: Stiff, elongated fibers obtained from leaves or stems of plants. Coarse and stiff,
they are used in matting and industrial products.
HARDNESS: 1. When used in reference to water, hardness is the total parts per million (ppm) of
calcium an CaCO3 plus the magnesium expressed as equivalent CaCO3 [ppm hardness (as CaCO3)
= (ppm Ca x 2.497 + ppm Mg x 4.116)]. 2. Used in reference to pulp to denote the degree of
delignification.
HARD SIZE: A condition found in areas of fabric where the warp contains an excessive quantity
of sizing.
HARNESS: A frame holding the heddles in position in the loom during weaving.
HARNESS CHAIN: A mechanism used to control the vertical movements of the harness, or
shaft, on a loom.
HARSH FIBER: Fiber that is rough or coarse to the touch, but not fused or bonded filaments.
HEAD END: 1. The beginning of a new piece of fabric in the loom that bears appropriate
identification. 2. A small sample of fabric that may be submitted to a customer for approval.
HEATHER YARN: A term describing mottled or melange-type yarns.
.
HEAT RESISTANCE: A property of certain fibers or yarns whereby they resist degradation at
high temperature. Heat resistance may be an inherent property of the fiber-forming polymer or it
may be imparted by additives or treatment during manufacture. (Also . HEAT STABILIZED.)
HEDDLE: A cord, round steel wire, or thin flat steel strip with a loop or eye near the center
through which one or more warp threads pass on the loom so that the thread movement may be
controlled in weaving. The heddles are held at both ends by the harness frame. They control the
weave pattern and shed as the harnesses are raised and lowered during weaving.
HELIX ANGLE: 1. The angle formed by the path of a ply and the major axis in a yarn or tire
cord. 2. The angle between the tangent to a yarn and the minor axis of the package on which it is
wound. Also called wind angle.
HEMICELLULOSES: The principal noncellulosic polysaccharides in wood. Wood contains 28
to 35% hemicelluloses, the balance being cellulose and lignin.
HEMP: A coarse, durable bast fiber of Cannabis sativa found all over the world. Used primarily
for twines, cordage, halyards, and tarred riggings.
HERRINGBONE: A broken twill weave characterized by a balanced zigzag effect produced by
having the rib run first to the right and then to the left for an equal number of threads.
HESSIAN: A name for burlap used in the United Kingdom, India, and parts or Europe. (Also
. BURLAP.)
HETEROFILAMENT: Also called Heterofil. . BICOMPONENT FIBERS.
HEXAMETHYLENEDIAMINE: 1,6-diaminohexane, (H2N(CH2)6NH2). It is used in the
polymerization reaction to form nylon 66.
HIGH-BULK YARN: . TEXTURED YARNS.
HIGH DENSITY: A term to describe a material with heavier than normal weight per unit
volume. (Also . DENSITY.)
.
HIGHLOFT: General term for a fiber structure containing more air than fiber. Specifically, a
lofty, low-density nonwoven structure that is used for applications such as fiberfill, insulation,
health care, personal protection and cleaning material.
HIGH-LOW PILE: A pile construction characterized by the
presence of two or more pile heights. High-low pile carpets
sometimes combine looped and cut surface yarns.
HIGH MODULUS: A term that refers to a material with a higher
than normal resistance to deformation. (Also . MODULUS.)
HIGH pH FINISH: A finish, basic in nature rather than acid or neutral, that is applied to yarn or
fiber.
HIGH-SHRINK STAPLE: Staple with a higher degree of potential shrinkage than regular staple
of the same generic fiber. When blended with regular staple and treated (in yarn or fabric form)
to induce shrinkage, it produces a high degree of bulk in the product.
HIGH-TEMPERATURE DYEING: . DYEING.
HIGH TENACITY: A term to describe a material with a higher than normal tensile strength.
(Also . TENACITY.)
HITCH-BACK: . STICKER, 1.
HOLES (TOW): In tow opening processes, partial or complete filament breakage within a
confined spread of tow, usually circular or oval in shape. Not to be confused with splitting or
partial crimp deregistration, which are linear.
HOLLAND: . SHADECLOTH.
HOLLAND FINISH: A glazed or unglazed finish containing oil and a filling material. The
finish is applied to cotton fabrics to make them opaque or semiopaque. The resultant fabric
resembles a beetled linen fabric called Holland fabric.
HOLLOW FILAMENT FIBERS: Manufactured, continuous filament fibers, having voids
created by introduction of air or other gas in the polymer solution or by melt spinning through
specially designed spinnerets.
HOMESPUN: Coarse plain-weave fabric of uneven yarns that have a handspun appearance.
HONAN: A pongee-type fabric of the very best Chinese wild silk. Honan is sometimes woven
with blue edges.
HOOK REED: . REED.
HOPSACKING: A coarse, open, basket-weave fabric that gets its name from the plain-weave
fabric of jute or hemp used for sacking in which hops are gathered.
HORIZONTAL FLAME TEST: . FLAMMABILITY TESTS.
.
HORIZONTAL LINE: . RING.
HOT-AIR SHRINKAGE: Generally, the reduction in the dimensions of a fabric, yarn, or fiber
induced by exposure to dry heat. Specifically, a fundamental property of fibers.
HOT-HEAD PRESS: A pressing machine capable of generating high temperatures and
pressures. Used for pressing and processing permanent-press fabrics.
HOT-MELT ADHESIVE: A solid material that melts quickly upon heating, then sets to a firm
bond upon cooling. Use of this type adhesive provides almost instantaneous bonding.
HOUNDSTOOTH: A term describing a medium-sized broken-check
effect; the check is actually a four pointed star.
HUCKABACK: A heavy, serviceable toweling made with slackly
twisted filling yarns to aid absorption. The cloth has a honeycomb
effect.
HYBRID COMPOSITE: Advanced composite with a combination
of different high-strength continuous filaments in the matrix. Also,
composite in which continuous and staple fibers are used in the same
matrix.
HYBRID FABRIC: Fabric for composite manufacture in which two or more different yarns are
used in the fabric construction. This provides design flexibility to meet performance
requirements and controls cost by permitting some lower priced fibers to be used.
HYBRID YARN: In aerospace textiles, a yarn having more than one component. (Also .
COMMINGLED YARN.)
HYDRAULIC ENTANGLEMENT: . HYDROENTANGLING.
HYDROENTANGLING: Process for forming a fabric by mechanically wrapping and knotting
fibers in a web through the use of high-velocity jets or curtains of water. (Also . SPUNLACES
FABRIC.)
HYDROEXTRACTOR: . CENTRIFUGE.
HYDROGENATION: The process of passing hydrogen into an unsaturated chemical in the
presence of a catalyst to convert the material to a more saturated state (i.e., containing more
combined hydrogen.)
HYDROLYSIS: A double decomposition reaction involving the addition of the elements of
water and the formation of an acid and a base, an acid and an alcohol, or an acid and phenol.
.
HYDROPHILIC: Having strong affinity for or the ability to absorb water.
HYDROPHOBIC: Lacking affinity for or the ability to absorb water.
HYDROSCOPIC: Having the ability to absorb moisture from the atmosphere. All fibers have
this property in varying degrees.
HYDROXYL END GROUP: A polymer chain-terminating (-OH) group.
HYGROSCOPIC: . HYDROSCOPIC.
HYSTERESIS: 1. In tire cord, a measurement of work lost through heat during dynamic
operation. 2. In tensile testing, loss of linear recovery following repeated loading and relaxation.