Types of Woven Fabrics – universally used fabric names

Woven fabrics are made by using two or more sets of yarn interlaced at right angles to each other. Much variety of
fabrics are produced by weaving.

Woven fabrics are made by using two or more sets of yarn interlaced at right angles to each other. Much variety is
produced by weaving. Woven fabrics are generally more durable. They can be easily cut into different shapes and are
excellent for producing styles in garments. However, the raw edges ravel or fray easily and need to be protected. Fabrics
having more fabric count (number of warp and weft yearns present) keep the shape well. Low-count fabrics are less
durable and may snag or stretch which are established after several textile testing sessions.

Woven fabrics are manufactured in different widths depending on the end use. The fabrics used for apparel usually
contain a 90 cm width. The Sheeting materials are generally made having a width of 160 cm/140cms and 150cms/180
cm.

Types of Woven Fabrics

1. Buckram Fabric

It is a stiff-coated fabric made from a lightweight loosely woven fabric, impregnated with
adhesives and fillers. This fabric is used as interfacing so as to provide support and shape
retention to necklines, collars, belts, cuffs, waistbands, button closures etc in garments.
They are also used as reinforcements for handbags and other articles.

2. Cambric Fabric

Cambric is a lightweight fabric woven in plain weave and produced with a stiff finish.
It is suitable for women’s dresses and children’s dresses that require crispness.

3. Casement Fabric

Casement is a medium-weight cotton fabric made of closely packed thick warp yarns.
Generally, it is used for curtains, table linen, and upholstery and is rarely used for dresses.

4. Cheese Cloth

It is a popular lightweight sheer fabric having an open weave. It has a low-count fabric
consisting of carded yarns. Originally it was used for wrapping cheese or meat and hence the name. It is neither strong
nor durable. It is finished in a variety of ways that attract the consumer. It is used not only for women’s and children’s
dresses but also for drapery fabrics. Due to its open structure, it does not require much ironing.
 5. Chiffon Fabric

Chiffon fabrics are sheer, lightweight fabrics made of hard twisted yarns. Originally these
are made in silk fabrics but today they are made from rayon or polyester. They are used for
sarees and women’s evening wear. The fabrics encounter the problem of shrinkage.

6. Chintz Fabric

Chintz is a medium-weight, plain woven cotton yarn. It

is often given a glazed finish which may be temporary or semi-permanent glazed chintz is available in a solid colour as
well as printed with floral prints. These are often made from blends of cotton and polyester or rayon. They are used for
skits, dresses, blouses, pyjamas, aprons, and draperies.

7. Corduroy Fabric

It is a cut pile fabric available in solid colours. The cut pile fibres are seen in the form of
ribs on the surface. It is mainly used for pants, jeans, and shirts.

8. Crepe Fabric

Silk fabric is originally characterized by a crinkle, puckered surface formed by highly

twisted yarns in the warp or weft or both. By using ordinary yarns similar crepe effects can also be produced.
Synthetic fabrics also impart a crepe effect finish. It is used for sarees, shirts, and women’s and children’s dresses.

9. Denim Fabric

It was traditionally a yarn-dyed, warp-faced cotton twill fabric. Warp is usually coloured (mostly blue, maroon, green and
brown) and the weft is white. This fabric is made of two weights for sportswear and overalls. Its use as jeans has made it
very popular and so the nature of denim is also changed to suit the trend. It is often
napped, printed and made with stretch yarn.
 10. Drill Fabric

It is a warp-faced twill woven fabric. It has a stiff finish. Originally it was produced in
white and now it is available in solid colours. It is mainly used for pants, knickers, and uniforms.

11. Flannel Fabric

Flannel is a woollen fabric woven in plain or twill weave having the characteristic soft
handle. It looks like a bulky fabric due to the milling that is usually done to this fabric.
Flannel fabric is used for suits and pants and infant clothing.

This fabric is popular as a cleaning fabric due to its extreme softness. This is also used to
protect children from the cold atmosphere.

12. Gabardine Fabric

Gabardine is a closely woven, clear finished warp-faced twill fabric. It contains a

number of warp yarns than weft yearns and is also more durable. It is usually woven in 2/1 or 2/2 twill and has a raised
diagonal twill effect on the right side. It is largely used for raincoats, suitings, and sportswear.

13. Georgette Fabric

Georgette is a sheer lightweight fabric, woven in plain weave. It has a characteristic rough
texture produced by hard twisted ply, and yarns both in warp and weft. Originally it was
made in silk, but today it is produced in rayon and polyester too. It’s mainly suitable for
women’s evening wear.

14. Kashmir Silk Fabric

Kashmir silk is a silk fabric produced in plain weave and is either embroidered or
printed. The motifs used are characteristic of Kashmir. It is used for shirts, women’s wear and sarees. Kashmir shawls are
woven in twill weave and are usually embroidered with traditional Kashmiri embroidery.
 15. Khadi Fabric

Khadi is a term used for a wide variety of fabrics that are hand-spun and hand woven. They
are produced in mainly one cotton fibre, blends of two or more fibres. They are known for
durability and simplicity. The fabrics can be suitings dhotis overalls and household textiles.

16. Lawn Fabric

The lawn is a fine sheet, lightweight, crisp fabric either made of cotton or linen.
Various finishes are given to this fabric, which the fabric is called by the name of the finish. It is mainly used as lining in a
dress.

17. Mulmul Fabric

It is an Indian term generally applied to fine cotton fabric slightly heavier, than muslin.
These are often printed fabrics. They find use as sarees.

18. Muslin Fabric

Muslin is a lightweight open cloth of plain weave. It

may be used as grey or bleached and dyed. It is used as household textiles and dress materials. The name is derived from
the city of Mosul where the fabric was first made.

It is a very light and open tabby (plain) woven fabric used for summer dresses and utility use. At first, the cloth was not
always plain but could also have silk and gold thread woven into it. As the ability to spin yarns of greater fineness
developed cotton was used more readily than silk. In this muslin, the motif weaves in and out of the cloth, as if it has
been embroidered. In the Madras net, the motif is predominately woven on the surface.

19. Poplin Fabric

Poplin is a medium weight, the cotton fabric having a fine weft rib. it is generally used for
shirting, dresses, and upholstery.
 20. Sheeting Fabric

These are primarily used for bed coverings. They are medium-weight, closely woven
fabrics woven either in plain or twin weave. Sheeting fabrics are made in different widths. High-quality cotton sheetings
are made in plain weave with a width of 64″ x 58″ and in a twill weave with a width of 60″x72″.

21. Taffeta Fabric

Taffeta is a smooth, crisp, transparent fabric having a fine rib. Originally it is made with silk
fibres but now it is also made of rayon. It has a characteristic finish which produces
crispness. It is used as women’s evening wear.

22. Tissue Fabric

It is a fine fabric either made of silk or man-made fibre.

They are characteristically interwoven with gold or silver threads. It is produced in rich colours and they are used as
women’s dress material, sarees etc.

23. Velvet Fabric

It is a warp-cut pile fabric, originally made from silk. It is also produced in Rayon. The
dense cut pile makes it very soft and lustrous. It is used as dress material for women and
children. It is also produced with special high twisted yarns which are single or ply yarns.
Based on the yarns used and twist given, they are named as semi violes (single yarns1x1)
full voiles. (ply yarns 2×2) or half voile (double in warp and single in weft 2×1).

24. Mousseline Fabric

A term used to denote very fine clear fabrics, finer than muslins. Made of silk, wool
or cotton, the weave structure is either (plain) tabby or two-and-one twill. In the 18th century, the British term referred
to a fine cloth with a cotton warp and a worsted weft. In France, from the late 18th century onwards mousseline-
delaines were made of very fine wool which was printed in beautiful designs. This fabric
proved very popular for fashionable dress and shawl fabrics. The mousseline cloth is so fine and transparent that it is
often found backed with another cloth of either satin or taffeta silk.

25. Organdie / Organza Fabric

Originally it is a lawn fabric which is given a stiff finish. Acid is used for this finish to make
the fabric transparent and stiff. It is mainly used for women’s wear.

A thin light fabric in a (plain) tabby weave which, if organza, has a very stiff crisp finish; and
for organdie, the finish is lighter or there is no finish, and thus the cloth is more pliable.
The structure of the cloth always has more warps than wefts per inch, and the weft threads
are finer than the warp threads. Illustrated is a colourful group of organza fabrics.

26. Leno Fabric

A fabric in which an open effect is created by causing certain thread ends or

doup threads to cross over. Two threads or ends act as one thread; when a weft thread passes between them, the doup
ends twist catching the weft and holding it tightly in place. Very fancy and beautiful clothes can be produced by
combining the cross weaving, with other weave structures.

27. Aertex Fabric

A trade name for a cloth patented in Britain in 1886, which was first manufactured in 1888. The
cloth traps air in between its structure, keeping the body cool in summer, and warm in
winter. Two threads or ends act as one thread; when a weft thread passes between them, the
doup ends twist catching the weft and holding it tightly in place. Very fancy and beautiful
clothes can be produced by combining the cross weaving with other weave structures.

28. Madras Muslin Net Fabric

Madras net is used mainly for furnishing such as curtaining. The cloth is an open
gauze ground cloth where an extra weft is inserted to produce a motif, this is then woven into the ground cloth. Where
there is a surplus floating weft yarn this is then cut away after weaving revealing the motif, the edge of the sheared motif
shows shorn ends of the weft yarn.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WOVEN AND KNIT FABRIC

If you are a designer, you would be able to tell the difference between woven and knit fabric, just by looking at them.
However, it is not that easy to notify the difference between the two. Because knit fabric is made from one continuous
thread, it stretches all over. Woven fabric, on the other hand, will only stretch diagonally, on bias. Knit fabric does not
have dimensional stability and has higher elastic properties. Knit is a cool and breathable fabric, while woven is
comparatively thick and wind resistant. Because of being produced using one single yarn, knit fabric has less labor cost of
manufacturing, as compared to woven fabric. Also, knit fabric is wrinkle resistant and woven fabric holds creases well.
Moreover, woven fabric frays easily and should be finished well, as compared to knit fabric. Woven and knit fabric can be
further distinguished on the basis of:

1. LOOK

The basic difference between woven and knit fabric is the yarn that they are composed of. Knit fabric is made up of single
yarn, looped continuously to produce braided look. However, multiple yarns comprise of woven fabric that are wound in
such a way that they create criss-cross pattern.

2. STRETCH
Stretching a fabric is also one of the ways to distinguish between woven and knit fabric. Woven fabric will not stretch
along its width, but it may stretch along its length. However, knit fabric stretches easily along its width with a slightly less
stretch along its length.

3. WRINKLE

Woven and knit fabric behaves differently towards wrinkle resistance. Knit fabric can be easily pressed, but they retain
their shape after some time. While woven fabric, on being pressed, has wrinkles on its surface.
GSM stands at Gram per square meter. It is the weight of fabric in one gram per square meter. It is the metric
measurement of the weight of the fabric. Its unit is gm/m2.

What is Crimp Factor?

Crimp percentage or crimp factor is defined as the mean difference between the straightened thread length and the
distance between the ends of the thread while in the cloth, expressed as a percentage.

Woven Fabric GSM Calculation Method:

During calculating woven fabric GSM from fabric construction, we have needed the following formula.

GSM (Gram per square meter),

Example:

Suppose,
Woven fabric construction is like that-

Now, calculate the fabric GSM.

Solution:

From the given fabric construction we can see that,

• Warp count- 50

• Weft count- 40

• EPI (Ends per inch) – 130

• PPI (Picks per inch) – 60

• Warp crimp factor- 1.2

• Weft crimp factor- 1.0

Now, by applying all the data in the required formula, we can easily find out the above-woven fabric GSM.

GSM (Gram per square meter),

= (3.12 + 1.5) × 23.5
= 108.57

So, above woven fabric GSM is 108.57

What are the Different Types of Woven Fabric?

Here, we’ll look into the different types of woven fabric and their qualities. It’s essential to consider these qualities when
thinking about which woven fabric to choose for curtains or upholstery.

There are many types of woven fabric

1. Plain Weave Woven Fabric

Plain weave woven fabric is a common option for curtain and upholstery textiles, due to its simple and plain criss-cross
weave. It’s manufactured to be durable and long-lasting, while various thread strengths can be used to enhance
resilience. Striped patterns can also be created within plain weave woven fabric, by altering the colour of the warp
textiles.

2. Twill Woven Fabric

Twill woven fabric is a great choice for upholstery textiles. It’s woven differently, as the threads are re-organised to create
a diagonal pattern within the fabric. The way twill woven fabric is created makes it a more durable option for upholstery
projects.

This Manhattan drape fabric created with a twill weave is ideal for curtains. Its slub qualities add textural curiosity, while
concentrated yarns produce a uniform, structured drape.

3. Satin Woven Fabric

Satin woven fabric is one of the more complicated types of woven fabrics. It has a high lustre effect. The yarns are
infused into the weave so that they reflect light, creating a luxurious, shiny appearance. Satin woven fabric is often less
durable, so more suited to curtains than upholstery.

The satin woven Elixir fabric by Edmund Bell is exquisitely crafted. Available in 15 alluring colours, the intricate design
captures an iridescent sparkle for an interesting interior design development.

4. Herringbone Weave Woven Fabric

Herringbone weave fabric is easily recognisable by the chevron shapes created within the weave. This adds a noticeable
aesthetic touch to the textile, which can have a great impact within any room. It often infuses wool yarns into the weave,
making herringbone weave fabric the quintessential cosy upholstery choice.
This Aspen upholstery fabric is sophisticatedly woven with a herringbone structure. Subtle and carefully mixed with
various coloured yarns, Aspen is an exemplary herringbone weave upholstery fabric.

Herringbone Weave Woven Fabric