OT word of the day

Taffeta

A smooth, crisp, tightly woven, plain weave fabrc, noted for its body.
Pre twentieth century references to it mean a silk fabric. Since the
twentieth century however, it could mean a synthetic fabric.

References to rustling petticoats, or the rustle of silk, almost
always refer to taffeta. It is almost as well known for its sound as
its suitabilty for linings and middle garments.
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Nothing has been the same since that house fell on my sister.

Greige Fabric

Most literally griege fabrics are fabrics that are unfinished.
They are unchanged from when they were rolled off the loom, and have
not been washed, dyed, stretched, pressed, or treated in any way.

After washing the weave of griege goods will close up some, and may
appear very different from the unwashed state. This also affects the
shrink which will be more considerable in griege fabrics than in
finished fabrics. Expect the shrink to be anywhere from five to
fifteen, or even twenty percent, dependent on fiber composition and
the weave. Depending on quality, content, and weave, griege fabric
may shrink in unpredictable ways, thus retentering the fabric may
become necessary.
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Nothing has been the same since that house fell on my sister.

Grading

Seams- Reducing the bulk of seams by trimming the individual seam
allowances at different widths.

Patterns- altering a pattern to a different size. For example
altering a pattern for 12 inch quilt block to make an 18 inch block,
or perhaps a 10 inch block.
Another example would be altering a garment pattern to fit a different
size person, or just to fit different sized features, such as
increasing or decreasing the bustline, and etc.

--

Nothing has been the same since that house fell on my sister.

Sari Fabric

A length of uncut fabric, five to seven yards long, usually of thin
cotton or silk.
When worn, part of the fabric is wrapped around the waist to form a
skirt, and one end is thrown over the shoulder. There are regional
variants as to how to wear the end thrown over the shoulder. It is
usually worn over a thin underskirt. The accompanying top is called a
choli.

There are an amazing number of looming, dying, and embroidery
techniques, again varying by region, that can go into a length of sari
fabric. An astonishing amount of sari fabric, particularly silk, is
still handloomed. Some techniques are being kept alive only by one or
two familes. It may take six months or more for two people to complete
a single length.
--

Nothing has been the same since that house fell on my sister.

There are many sari shops along Devon Avenue, the commercial center
for Chicago's Indian community. The saris range from cheap rayon
($10) to elegant silk ($$$$). There are also many salwaar kamiz
(sp?)--the tunic/trouser combo, usually elegantly embellished.

At our AAUW state convention a couple of years ago two of the Indian
members showed us how to wrap a sari. The models were non-Indian
AAUWs--they showed that saris flatter everyone!

Nann
P.S. Before you ask: www.aauw.org will tell you more about the
organization that has breaks through educational and economic barriers
to give all women a fair chance.


On Dec 16, 5:31*am, (NightMist) wrote:
Sari Fabric

A length of uncut fabric, five to seven yards long, usually of thin
cotton or silk. *
When worn, part of the fabric is wrapped around the waist to form a
skirt, and one end is thrown over the shoulder. *There are regional
variants as to how to wear the end thrown over the shoulder. It is
usually worn over a thin underskirt. *The accompanying top is called a
choli.

There are an amazing number of looming, dying, and embroidery
techniques, again varying by region, that can go into a length of sari
fabric. *An astonishing amount of sari fabric, particularly silk, is
still handloomed. *Some techniques are being kept alive only by one or
two familes. It may take six months or more for two people to complete
a single length.
--

Nothing has been the same since that house fell on my sister.

Raw Silk
Silk Noil

I have to put these two together, because they are often used as
synonyms, but they are not.

Raw Silk is silk woven from the strands as reeled straight off the
cocoon. The strands are connected as they are thrown on the loom, they
are comletely untreated and unspun. This is why raw silk is nubby and
slubby, and has to be well washed before use. Reeled Silk is a
synonym.

Silk Noil is silk spun from the interior fibers of the cocoons. These
fibers are shorter, finer and softer than the outer fibers, and for a
long time were regarded as a waste product because they are a pain to
work with. Sometimes longer coarser fibers from broken cocoons are
used with the inner fibers, this makes the inner fibers easier to work
with and provides a use for the broken cocoons which were once also
regarded as a waste product because they cannot be used in standard
silk spining processes. Spinning using the short fibers creates a
slubby, uneven yarn.

Both Noil and Raw silk have a similar appearance and weight, though
they feel very different, and wear differently.
--

Nothing has been the same since that house fell on my sister.

Ground

The fabric upon which designs are worked.
OR
a small all over desigin that serves as a background to a larger
design.

Both references apply to various sorts of decorative work, embroidery,
needlepoint, printing, painting etc.

In lacemaking it usually refers to the sections between motifs.
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Nothing has been the same since that house fell on my sister.

So that's where the term 'background' came from. I hadn't realized thy were
2 separate words.

Butterfly (how interesting)

"NightMist" wrote in message
...

Ground

The fabric upon which designs are worked.
OR
a small all over desigin that serves as a background to a larger
design.

Both references apply to various sorts of decorative work, embroidery,
needlepoint, printing, painting etc.

In lacemaking it usually refers to the sections between motifs.
--

Nothing has been the same since that house fell on my sister.

Points and Aiguillettes

These terms go all the way back to before knights in shineing armor.
In fact they were sometimes used to describe the thongs holding some
of that shining armor in place.

Originally the metal tags on thongs of leather. By the 15th Century,
the metal tags were called aiguillettes and the thongs 'points'. Used
on a garment by placing a corresponding row of eyelet holes in the
garment and the section of or the seperate garment to which it was to
be attached,(recalling that back then things like sleeves were a
seperate garment) threading the points through the holes and tying the
ends together.
Sometimes they were functional, the equivilent to modern buttons and
zippers. Sometimes they were purely ornamental.

In modern times, aiguillettes are the fancy braided cord seen on
military or police dress uniforms.

The word aglet, which is what the stiff metal or platic bit on the
tips of shoelaces is called, is derived from aiguillettes.
It all comes from the french word for needle, aguille.
Which of course comes from the latin word for needle, acus.

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Nothing has been the same since that house fell on my sister.

Hessian
Burlap

The scratchy stuff sacks are often made of.
Usually coarse woven of jute, possibly in combination with similar
fibers (hemp, sisal, etc.).

It actually was part of Hessian soldier's uniforms.

In addition to sacks it also has assorted uses in crafts, as a rug
base, in assorted interior decor, as a protective covering in
agriculture, in religious mortifications, and etc. It is still
prefered by some people for part of the barrier between subflooring
and laid flooring that is secured with adhesives, or as an underlayer
for roofing felt, and similar constructions.
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Nothing has been the same since that house fell on my sister.