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L |
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Labeda |
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A
Loose, Tunic-like Garment Worn By Men, Mostly In Nepal. Possibly
From Persian Libada.
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| Lace |
A
Fine Openwork Fabric With A Ground Of Mesh Or Net On Which Patterns
May Be Worked At The Same Time As The Ground Is Formed Or Applied
Later, And Which Is Made Of Yarn By Looping, Twisting, Or Knitting,
Either By Hand With A Needle Or Bobbin, Or By Machinery; Also A
Similar Fabric Made By Crocheting, Tatting, Darning, Embroidering,
Weaving, Or Knitting.

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| Lahore |
A
Piece-dyed Dress Fabric Made From Cashmere In Small Dobby Effects.
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| Lamb's
Wool |
Wool
Obtained From A Lamb (a Young Sheep Up To Eight Months Old Or Up To
Weaning).
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| Lambskin
Cloth |
A
Term Particularly Applied To A Heavily Wefted Cotton Fabric, With A
Dense Pile Of Fibre On The Surface. The Weave Is Of A Weft-sateen
Character.

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| Lame |
A
Fabric Woven Or Knit With Metallic Yarns . It Is Usually Gold Or
Silver In Color . Used In Evening Wear.
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| Lamé |
A
General Name For Fabrics In Which Metallic Threads Are A Conspicuous
Feature.
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| Laminated |
A
Compound Fabric Usually Comprised Of A Continuous Sheet Of
Thermoplastic Film Such As Polyurethane Or Pvc Bonded To A Base
Fabric With Heat Or Adhesive.

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| Lampas |
A
Multi-colour Figured Drapery And Upholstery Fabric Similar To A
Brocade, Made Of Silk, Viscose Rayon, Or Combinations Of Yams. Two
Warps, One Forming The Ground And One Bind Wefts, In Regular Or
Irregular Order, Form The Figure.

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| Lap |
(1)
(general) A Sheet Of Fibres Or Fabric Wrapped Round A Core With
Specific Applications In Different Sections Of The Industry, E.g.,
Sheets Of Fibre Wound On Rollers Or Round Endless Aprons To
Facilitate Transfer From One Process To The Next., Note: In Cotton
Spinning, The Sheets Of Fibre From Openers And Scutchers, Sliver-lap
Machines, And Ribbon-lap Machines Are Wound On Cores. , ( 2) (flax)
An Arrangement Of The Fibre Strands In Scutched Flax, Pieced Out For
Hackling, Or In Pieces Of Hackled Flax, To Facilitate Their Removal
As Separate Units From Built-up Bundles. (3) (fabric.) The Length Of
Fabric Between Successive Transverse Folds When Pieces Are Plaited
Down Or Folded,, (4) (fabric) An Individual Layer Of Fabric In Roll
Form., (5) Fibres Wrapped Accidentally Round Any Rotating Machine
Part., (6) Silk Waste After Discharging And Combing, But Before
Processing Into Sliver Or Top. The Staple Length Of The Fibre
Decreases Between The First, Second And Third Drafts (combings).

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| Lap
Waste (wool) |
A
Sheet Of Fibres Accidentally Wound Round Rollers Or Aprons. It Is
Substantially Without Twist And May Be Carded Without Further
Processing.

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| Laser
Cut |
The
Process Of Cutting A Design Into The Fabric By Using A Narrow Beam
Laser To Vaporize The Fabric.
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| Latent
Crimp |
A
Crimp That Is Potentially Present In Specially Prepared Fibres Or
Filaments And That Can Be Developed By A Specific Treatment Such As
Thermal Relaxation Or Tensioning And Subsequent Relaxation.

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| Lawn |
A
Fine, Plain-woven Fabric Of Linen Or Cotton, Made In Various Fine,
Sheer Qualities. Various Finishes May Be Applied To A Fabric Of This
Type, In Which Case The Product Is Known By The Name Of The Finish
Used, E.g. Organdie

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| Lawn |
A
Thin, Light, Crisp, Plain Weave Fabric Usually Of Cotton, Cotton
Bends Or Linen. More Firm Than Batiste Or Voile But Less Firm Than
Organdy.

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| Lawn
Finish |
A
Medium-starch Finish Applied To Lawn And Other Fine-yarn Plain
Fabrics To Give A Crisp Finished Effect.
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| Lea
(cotton) |
In
Cotton, A Length Of 120 Yards; In Worsted 80 Yards; In Linen 300
Yards., Note: In Cotton And Worsted These Lengths Are One-seventh Of
The Standard Hank. In Determining Grist. It Was Less Wasteful To
Count Leas Per 1000 Grains Than Hanks Per Pound (7000 Grains).

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| Lea
(linen) |
The
Count Of A Flax-spun Yarn., Lea Count-strength Product; Csp; Break
Factor (u.s.), The Product Of The Lea Strength, And The Actual Count
Of Cotton Yarn

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| Leading
Strings Or Tatas |
Long
Narrow Strips Of Cloth Attached To The Shoulders Of Small Children's
Dresses To Hold Them By When They Began To Walk. These Aids Were
Used In The 17th And 18th Centuries. In England, In The 18th
Century, Young Girls Wore These Bands Of Cloth Until Marriage.

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| Lehnga |
A
Kind Of Skirt. Worn Generally In Combination With An Odhani, Which
Is Tucked Into It At The Waist. Possibly Derived From Sanskrit
Lanka, Standing For The Waist, And Anga Or Limbs.

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| Length,
Fabric |
Unless
Otherwise Specified, The Usable Length Of A Piece Between Any Truth
Marks, Piece-ends, Or Numbering, When The Fabric Is Measured Laid
Flat On A Table In The Absence Of Tension

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| Leno |
Refers
To An Open Weave Fabric. In A Leno Weave The Warp Yarns Are Arranged
In Pairs, Twisting Or Interlocking Around The Filling Yarn To
Prevent Slippage And Make The Open Weave Stronger And More Firm.

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| Leno
Fabric |
A
Fabric In Which Warp Threads Have Been Made To Cross One Another,
Between The Picks, During Weaving. The Crossing Of The Warp Threads
May Be A General Feature Of Plain Leno Fabrics (as Marquisette And
Some Gauzes And Muslins) Or May Be Used In Combination With Other
Weaves (as In Some Cellular Fabrics ).

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| Letona |
A
Bast Fibre Obtained From The Plant Agave Letonae
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| Leuco
Dye |
A
Reduced Form Of A Dye From Which The Original Dye May Be Regenerated
By Oxidation
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| Levelling |
Migration
Of Dye Leading To Uniform Coloration Of A Substrate.
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| Lever
Lace |
Lace
Made On A Leavers Machine. The Machine Uses Mechanically Controlled
Bobbins And Is Controlled By A Jacquard Mechanism. They Can Produce
Fine Delicate Patterns That Resemble Handmade Laces.

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| Limbric |
A
Light- To- Medium-weight, Closely Woven, Plain-weave, Cotton Fabric
Made From Good-quality Yams. The Weft Is Coarser And More Closely
Spaced And Has A Lower Twist Factor Than The Warp Giving A Soft
Fabric In Which The Weft Predominates On Both Sides (cf. Casement
Cloth). A Example Was 50s X 36s (12 X 16 Tex), Both Egyptian Yams,
68 X 102 (27 Ends/cm X 40 Picks/cm).

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| Limp |
Refers
To A Fabric That Is Very Drapey And Lacking In Body.
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Line
Flax (obsolescent)
 |
Hackled
Flax |
| Linear
Density |
The
Mass Per Unit Length Of Linear Textile Material.
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| Linen |
(1)
Descriptive Of Yarns Spun Entirely From Flax Fibres., (2)
Descriptive Of Fabrics Woven From Linen Yarns., (3) Descriptive Of
Articles Which, Apart From Adornments, Are Made Of Yarns Spun From
Flax, Note: Despite Some Usage Of This Term In Non-technical Circles
As A Generic One, E.g. Linen Department, Baby Linen, Household
Linen, It Does Not Apply To Individual Articles That Do Not Comply
With The Definition.

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| Linen
Prover |
See
Counting Glass
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| Lingerie |
Feminine
Underwear, Slumberwear And Similar Garments Of Fine Texture And
Aesthetic Appeal., Note: The Term, Derived From The French 'lin',
Referred Originally To Linen Articles, Especially Ladies' Underwear.

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| Linseed
Flax |
Varieties
Of Flax Cultivated Mainly For Seed Production.
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Linsey-wolsey
(formerly Linsey-woolsey)
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(1)
A Coarse Linen Fabric., (2) A Strong, Coarse Fabric With A Linen
Warp And A Worsted Weft. |
| Lint |
(1)
The Main Seed Hair Of The Cotton Plant, (cf. Linters).,(2) A
Plain-weave, Highly Absorbent Material With One Raised Fleecy
Surface. For Surgical Purposes It Is Sterilised.

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| Lint
Ball |
Lint
Or Fluff That Has Accumulated On A Knitting Machine And Become
Incorporated In The Fabric.
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| Linters |
Whole
And Broken Lint Fibres And Fuzz Fibres, Which Are Removed From
Ginned Cotton Seed By A Special Ginning Process., Note: The First
Ginning Of Cotton Removes Most Of The Lint Fibres From The Ordinary
Raw Cotton Of Commerce. The Seed Is Then Subjected To A Second
Processing On A Special Gin To Remove The Linters, Which Are
Composed Of A Small Proportion Of Whole-lint Fibres, Greater Amounts
Of Broken-lint Fibres, And Fuzz Fibres That Are Much Coarser And
Shorter Than The Lint. The Removal Of Lint And Fuzz Is Not Completed
By This Operation And The Residue May Be Successively Re-ginned. The
Products Are Termed 'first-cut Linters', 'second-cut Linters', Etc.,
The Length Of The Fibres In Each Successive Cut Becoming
Progressively Shorter.

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| Liquid
Ammonia Treatment |
A
Process During Which Textile Material Is Immersed In Or Brought Into
Contact With Anhydrous Liquid Ammonia. The Treatment Confers 'flat
Setting', I.e., Smooth Drying Properties And An Attractive Soft
Handle To Cotton Fabrics.

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| Lisle
Thread |
A
Highly Twisted, Plied (usually 2-ply) Good Quality Cotton Hosiery
Yarn, Spun Generally In Fine Counts. All Lisle Threads Are Gassed
And Some May Be Mercerized (mercerized Lisle). A Lisle Thread Was
Formerly A Plied Yarn Having Singles Of Opposite Twist.

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| Llama
Fibre (hair) |
Fibre
From The Fleece Of The Llama (lama Glama) That Inhabits The High
Mountain Regions Of South America

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| Loading |
Increasing
The Weight Of Fabrics By The Addition Of Delequescent Salts, Starch
Or China Clay. This Term Is Not Restricted To One Class Of Textile
Fabrics, But Is Used Loosely In Connection With Finishing Of Wool,
Cellulose, Or Silk Goods.

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| Locks |
A
Term Used In Wool-sorting For Short Oddments Of Wool Which Fall From
The Skirting Tables Or Are Swept Up From The Boards. In Some
Countries It Can Include Soiled Tufts And Pieces From Near The Rumps
Of Sheep.

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| Loden |
Coarse
Woollen Milled Water-repellent Fabric Used For Jackets, Coats And
Capes.
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| Lofty |
A
Term Applied To An Assemblage Of Fibres To Denote A Relatively High
Degree Of Openness And Resilience, Or A Large Volume For A Given
Mass.

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| Loom |
A
Term Used For Weaving Machine.
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| Loom-state |
Any
Woven Fabric As It Leaves The Loom Before It Receives Any Subsequent
Processing.
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| Loose |
Refers
To A Fabric That Is Not Tightly Constructed And Shifts Easily.
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| Lousiness |
See
Exfoliation
 |
| Love
Lock |
In
The First Half Of The 17th Century Men Grew One Lock Longer Than The
Rest Of The Long Hair. It Is Tied With A Ribbon And Laid To The
Front Of The Left Shoulder ("cavalier"-style).

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| Lungi |
A
Garment-piece Worn By Men, As A Long, Straight Skirt-cloth.
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| Lurex
Brand |
Brand
Of Metallic Fiber And Yarn Of The Lurex Co.
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| Lustre |
The
Display Of Different Intensities Of Light, Reflected Both Specularly
And Diffusely From Different Parts Of A Surface Exposed To The Same
Incident Light. High Lustre Is Associated With Gross Differences Of
This Kind, And Empirical Measurements Of Lustre Depend On The Ratio
Of The Intensities Of Reflected Light For Specified Angles Of
Incidence And Viewing., Note: This Definition Makes These
Differences In Intensity Of Light The Key Point, Since These Form
The Chief Subjective Impression On The Observer Of Lustre. Both
Specular And Diffuse Light Must Be Present Together, For, If Diffuse
Light Only Is Present, The Surface Is Matt, Not Lustrous, Whereas,
If Specular Light Only Is Present, The Surface Is Mirror-like, And
Again Not Lustrous. The Phrase 'exposed To The Same Incident Light'
Has Been Included To Rule Out Shadow Effects, Which Have No Part In
Lustre Proper. The General Term 'surface' Is Intended To Apply To
Fibres, Yarns, And Fabrics, And Indeed To Other Surfaces, E.g., That
Of A Pearl (through There The Differently Reflecting Parts Are Very
Close Together). In The Second Sentence Of The Definition, Lustre Is
Regarded As A Positive Function Of The Differences, The Appropriate
Adjective Of Intensification Being 'high'.

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| Lycra
Brand |
Du
Pont Brand Of Spandex Yarn.
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