Glossary

ABSORBENCY: The ability of a fabric to take in moisture. This property affects many other characteristics such as skin comfort, static build up, shrinkage, stain removal, water repellence and wrinkle recovery.

BED SKIRT: A gathered, tailored or pleated piece of fabric that is placed between the mattress and the box spring. The bed skirt hangs to the floor on three sides of the bed. Also called a valance.

BEDSPREAD: A decorative cover for a bed. Can reach to the floor on either side and is usually large enough to cover the pillows.

BLEND: A term applied to a yarn or fabric made up of more than one type of fibre. In blended yarns, two or more different types of staple fibres are twisted or spun together to form the yarn.

CARDING: A process, prior to spinning, which eliminates fibres too short for inclusion in spun yarn. The process also removes dirt and foreign matter.

CHAIN STITCH: A type of embroidery in which a series of loop stitches form a chain-like pattern. See our TREMITI collection.

COLOURFASTNESS: A term used to describe a dyed fabric’s ability to resist fading due to washing, exposure to sunlight and other environmental conditions.

COMBING: The combing process is an additional step beyond carding. In this process, prior to spinning, additional short fibres are removed and remaining fibres are arranged in a highly parallel form, allowing production of very high quality yarns with excellent strength, fineness and uniformity.

CORDING: A continuous series of straight, uniform, raised stitches very close together which give a sateen effect. Used as a finishing detail on bed linen. See our ELBA collection.

COTTON: A natural fibre that grows on the seedpod of the cotton plant. Fibres are typically 1,3 to 5,1 centimetres long.

DAMASK: A highly traditional fabric, woven with large leaf or floral designs in contrasting matt and satin textures. It is similar to brocade but is flat and reversible. Usually used for quality table and bed linen.

DUVET COVER: Decorative cover used to protect down comforters or quilts. Also called Quilt cover, Doona cover.

EGYPTIAN COTTON: Recognised as the best quality, longest staple cotton in the world.

EUROPEAN PILLOW CASE: A square-shaped pillow case.

EMBROIDERY: Embellishment of a fabric or garment in which coloured threads are sewn on to the fabric to create a design. Embroidery may be done by hand or machine.

FIBRE: The basic entity, either natural or man made, which is twisted into yarn and then woven into fabric.

FITTED SHEET : A bed sheet with an elastic band around its perimeter designed to fit tightly the mattress.

FLAT SHEET : A bed sheet which has multi-purpose. It can be used as either a bottom sheet (instead of a fitted sheet) or a top sheet.

HANDLE: The way a fabric feels when it is touched. Words such as softness, crispness, dryness and silkiness are all terms used to describe the handle of the fabric.

HOUSEWIFE PILLOW CASE:  A rectangular pillow case usually used as a the main pillow for sleeping on. Dimensions are generally 50 x 75 centimetres.  Also know as a Standard Pillow Case.

JACQUARD: A intricate fabric woven on a jacquard loom which controls each of the warp yarns giving the ability to create contrasting silky and matte textures.

KING SIZE PILLOW CASE: A pillow case used for sleeping on that is longer than the Standard Pillow Case.  Dimensions 50 x 90cm.  DEIA Living King Sized Pillow Cases come with an oxford border.

LADDER STITCH: A type of embroidery in which crossbars at equal distances are produced between two solid ridges of raised work, giving the appearance of a ladder. See our SARIA collection.

LINEN: Fabric woven from fibres obtained from the woody stems of the Flax plant.

LOOM: A device or machine used for weaving threads or yarn into textiles.

OXFORD BORDER: A simple and elegant tailored flange that frames pillow cases, quilt covers or other bed linen.

PERCALE: A cotton weave of one thread over, one thread under. Percale has a smooth, crisp finish and washes well.

QUILT: A bed cover made of two layers of fabric stitched together, enclosing cotton padding or feathers.

QUILT COVER: Removable, washable cover for a quilt to be used on a bed. Usually features a buttoned flap at one end to help enclose the quilt. Also known as a Doona cover, Duvet cover.

RESILIENCY: The ability of a fabric to spring back to its original shape after being twisted, crushed or distorted.

SATEEN: A cotton weave which places more threads on the weft than the warp giving the fabric surface a softer and more lustrous feel.

SATIN FABRIC: A very smooth fabric which can be made from silk or synthetic fibres. Satin is very shiny with a matte reverse side.

SHAM: A decorative pillow cover used mainly to add texture or colour when dressing a bed. Generally it´s not directly used for sleeping on. Can also be referred to as Oxford.

STANDARD PILLOW CASE: A rectangular pillow case usually used as a the main pillow for sleeping on. Dimensions are generally 50 x 75 centimetres.  Also known as a Housewife Pillow Case.

TERRY CLOTH: A cotton generally used for towels and bathrobes which has  moisture absorbing loops covering the surface on one or both sides. Used for towels and bathrobes as well as some fashion items. It is also known as Terry Towelling.

THREAD COUNT: A measurement of the amount of cotton used to make a fabric. It accounts for the number of cotton threads in one inch following the direction of the warp plus the number of cotton threads in one inch following the direction of the weft.

WAFFLE CLOTH: A fabric with a honeycomb texture woven to allow air to flow through easily making the fabric absorbent, easy to dry and lightweight. Commonly used for bathrobes.

WARP:  In woven fabric, the yarns that run lengthwise and are interwoven with the fill (weft) yarns.

WEFT:  In woven fabric, the crosswise filling yarns.

YARN: A continuous strand of textile fibres created when a cluster of individual fibres are twisted together. These long yarns are used to create fabrics, either by weaving or knitting.

YARN-DYE: In yarn-dyed fabrics the yarn is dyed before the fabric is woven, allowing different-coloured threads to create a pattern.