Chintz: Closely woven, lustrous, plain weave cotton fabric, printed or plain that has been friction calendared or gazed. Much used for curtaining and upholstery. 

Cire: Smooth woven or knitted fabric that is impregnated with a synthetic wax and passed through a friction calendar. Gives a waxy or wet-look effect. Can also be achieved with heat alone on thermoplastic fibre fabrics. 

Cleaning: General term indicating a process which removes dirt or soil from a textile material. 

Converter: Textile company or individual that purchases grey cloth and finishes it, including dyeing and/or printing, and then sells the finished fabric. Usually, but not always, the converter does not own machinery, and the processing is done by a commission dyer/finisher.

Crabbing: Process used for worsted fabrics to set them in a smooth flat state so that they will not distort during subsequent wet processing. Essentially the fabric is stabilized by treating the fabric under warp-wise tension in hot or boiling water and allowing it to cool whle still under tension.

Cutting: Finishing process where the surface fibres on a fabric are cut level. Also known as cropping and shearing. 

Cuttling: Process of folding finishing fabric down the middle, placing in folds of predetermined length, or placing open width fabric in loose transverse folds. 

FBA: See fluorescent brightening agent.

Fibrillation: Formation of a fine network of interconnected fibres, where the fine fibrils so produced partially peel away from the fibre surface. Used in finishing lyocell fabrics to develop their characteristic handle and drape. 

Fluorescent brightening agent: Substance that, when added to a textile material, increases the apparent brightness or whiteness by converting ultra-violet radiation into visible light. Also known as brightening agent and optical brightening agent.

Greige cloth: Cloth before it has been bleached, dyed or finished. Also known as grey cloth. 

Nap: Soft fibrous surface produced on a fabric by raising; a finishing process where some of the fibres are lifted from the fabric surface.

OBA: See optical brightening agent.

Oil cloth: Cotton fabric that has been treated on one side with a drying oil to make it impervious to water.

Oil-based liquid: Liquid where an oil or fat is a large component, e.g. salad dressing, gravy.

Oiled silk: Silk fabric made impervious to water by treatment with a drying oil.

Oilskin: Fabric which has been rendered impervious to water by treatment with a drying oil such as linseed. 

Post-cure: Describes a process where a fabric is impregnated with a resin, and the resin is cured after the garment is made.

Pre-cure: Describes a process where a fabric is impregnated with a resin, and the resin is partially cured before the garment is made.

Pre-shrunk: Describes a textile material that has been shrunk in finishing to pre-determined dimensions to minimize shrinkage in use and aftercare.

Proof: Fully resistant to a specified agency, i.e. total resistance to the agent can be shown by standardized tests.

Resistant: Describes a degree of resistance to a particular agency, e.g. crease resistant.

Retardant: Describes a degree of resistance to a particular agency, e.g. flame retardant.

Schreinered fabric: Fabric that has been passed through a schreiner calendar to increase the lustre. 

Softener: See softening agent.

Softening agent: Substance added to a textile in finishing to give a softer handle, e.g. oils, fats and waxes. Also known as softener. 

Static electricity: Electricity produced by materials rubbing together. Can be a problem with synthetic fibres with low absorbency. Solved by building in anti0stat properties during fibre manufacture, or by applying an anti-stat, starch-based finish.

Sueding: Finishing process which gives the fabric the appearance of suede leather. Also see emerizing. 

Surface wetting: Making the surface of the cloth wet. E.g. drops of rain on a cotton jacket. 

Temporary: Describes a finish which substantially disappears with the first washing or dry-cleaning.

Tentering: Process of passing a wool fabric through the tenter.

Warp starches: Carbohydrate substances which are the main constituent of size.

Washed silk: Silk fabric slightly abraded in finishing to increase the softness and subdue the lustre. See emerizing.  

Water repellency: Relative resistance of a fabric to surface wetting, water penetration and water absorption. 

Water repellent: Describes a fabric that resists surface wetting, water penetration and water absorption, but allows the passage of air and water vapor. 

Water-based liquid: Liquid where water is a large component e.g. coffee, fruit juice.

Watered: Descriptive term for fabric showing a moiré effect, derived from the characteristic wavy watermark pattern.