Lycra Spandex Knits: Lycra Spandex Knits. When you think of swimwear and activewear applications, Lycra or Nylon spandex are the knits you want to use! Usually found with nylon, rayon, spandex type of content, these knits have a very smooth hand and a four-way stretch.

Knits come in the same variety of fiber contents as woven: 100% cotton, 100% polyester, cotton/polyester blends, cotton/spandex blends, wool, nylon, rayon, etc. I’m personally quite fond of the cotton/spandex or cotton/lycra blends. (Spandex and lycra are exactly the same thing, by the way.

Woven fabrics do not stretch unless Lycra, elastic or spandex fibers are woven into the fabric at the same time. This is how button down shirts and jeans get their stretch. Linen, denim, cotton twill, satin, chiffon, corduroy, tweed and canvas are examples of typical woven fabrics.

Spandex: A stretchy fabric that offers comfort, movement, and shape retention. It is also known by its brand name Lycra (created by DuPont). Taffeta: A crisp, tightly woven fabric with a fine crosswise rib that’s easily identifiable by the rustling sound that it makes.

adj. 1 stretched or drawn so as not to be loose; taut.

Some cotton fabrics are more tightly woven than others. Examples of tightly woven cotton include denim, cotton sateen, percale, and poplin. Bedsheets are a good place to find cotton percale and sateen.

Most fabrics that feature a twill or satin weave structure will be tightly woven. Denim, for example, is a cotton twill weave fabric, while charmeuse is a silk satin weave fabric – both of which are tightly woven.

Cotton – the most versatile fabric, woven cotton comes in many different weights from light-weight handkerchiefs to heavy canvas. It’s often used for shirts, skirts, trousers, jeans and bags. Fabrics like denim, moleskin and corduroy are generally made from cotton.

​Gabardine is a warp-faced twill fabric that is woven very tightly creating a durable, tough textile. Gabardine is used for making uniforms, trousers, suits, and windbreakers.

Silk fabrics are very smooth to touch, bright and lusterious to see. The fingers run softly over silk fabrics. Woollen fabrics are course to touch, with small protruding fiber hairs. Polyester and rayon fabrics are smooth to touch and lusterous to see.

(ii) Shearing: The process of removing the fleece of the sheep along with thin layer of skin is called shearing. Once a sheep develops a thick coat of hair, it is shaved off to obtain wool. The process of cutting off the woollen fleece of sheep with a thin layer of skin is called shearing.

Silk is the strongest natural fibre.