Fabric Glossary: Curtain and Upholstery Fabric Terms A to Z

A

Acrylic

A synthetic fibre that feels soft like wool and resists sun and moisture well; the main fibre of outdoor fabrics. Read more →

Antibacterial

Treated to reduce bacteria on the fabric, proved by a named laboratory test against specific bacteria. Read more →

Antimicrobial

A broad term for fabrics treated to inhibit microorganisms; check which organisms were actually tested. Read more →

B

Blackout

A fabric or lining that blocks almost all light, made by coating the back or by weaving in a dense black yarn. Read more →

Blackout lining

A lining sewn or hung behind a curtain so that any face fabric blocks light. Read more →

Boucle

A fabric woven from looped bouclé yarn, with a nubby, cloud-like texture; also spelled bouclé. Read more →

Brocade

A jacquard with extra weft yarns floating on the surface to form a raised, often multi-coloured pattern. Read more →

Buckram

A stiff interlining sewn into a curtain heading so pleats stand up; usually around 10 cm deep. Read more →

C

Carrier

A runner on an S-fold track; carriers linked by a spacing cord set the size of every wave. Read more →

Chenille

A soft, plush fabric woven from a fuzzy chenille yarn made of short tufts held between twisted core yarns. Read more →

Coated fabric

A fabric with a backing applied to the reverse, such as a blackout or thermal coating. Read more →

Colourfastness

How well a fabric's colour resists washing, rubbing or light; wash and rub fastness are graded 1 to 5. Read more →

Colourway

One colour version of a fabric design; each collection comes in several colourways. Read more →

Corduroy

A pile fabric whose pile forms raised parallel ribs, called wales. Read more →

D

Damask

A reversible jacquard in one or two colours, with the pattern formed by contrasting satin and matte weaves. Read more →

Dimout

A curtain fabric that reduces light and gives full privacy but still lets a soft glow through; also called room-darkening. Read more →

Double pleat

A pinch pleat with two folds per pleat, slightly lighter than a French pleat. Read more →

Drop

The finished length of a curtain, from the track or pole to the hem. Read more →

E

Eyelet

A curtain heading with rings set into it, threaded straight onto a pole; also called grommet. Read more →

F

Fire retardant (FR)

A fabric made or treated to resist ignition, proved by testing to a named standard such as BS 5867 or NFPA 701. Read more →

Flat weave

A fabric woven without a pile, with a smooth or lightly textured surface. Read more →

Float

A length of yarn that passes over several threads on the surface or back of a weave; long floats can snag. Read more →

French pleat

A curtain heading with groups of three folds stitched at the base; also called triple pinch pleat. Read more →

Fullness

The finished curtain width divided by the track width, for example 2 times for S-fold or 2.5 times for French pleat. Read more →

G

Glider

A small runner that slides inside a curtain track; curtain hooks hang from it. Read more →

GSM

Grams per square metre, the standard measure of fabric weight. Read more →

H

Heading

The top of a curtain and the way it is made and hung, such as S-fold, French pleat or eyelet. Read more →

Herringbone

A weave of short diagonal lines that change direction to form a zigzag, like a fish skeleton. Read more →

I

Interlining

A soft, blanket-like layer between a curtain and its lining that adds body and insulation. Read more →

J

Jacquard

A fabric whose pattern is woven into the cloth on a loom that lifts each warp thread individually. Read more →

L

Light-fastness

How well a colour resists fading in light, graded on the Blue Wool scale from 1 to 8. Read more →

Linen

A natural fibre from the flax plant, with a slubbed texture; it creases and moves with humidity. Read more →

Linen-look

A fabric, usually polyester, woven with slubbed yarns to imitate linen's texture. Read more →

Lining

A second layer of fabric behind a curtain that protects it from sun, improves drape and adds privacy. Read more →

M

Martindale

The standard abrasion test for upholstery fabric; the result is a rub count. Read more →

Matelassé

A double-cloth jacquard with a quilted, padded look and no stitching. Read more →

O

Openness factor

For sunscreen blind fabrics, how open the weave is, such as 1%, 3% or 5%; lower gives more glare control. Read more →

P

Pattern repeat

The distance before a design repeats, vertically and horizontally; extra fabric is needed to match it. Read more →

Pencil pleat

A gathered curtain heading made by pulling cords in a heading tape. Read more →

Pile

Fibres or loops standing up from the base cloth, as in velvet, chenille and corduroy. Read more →

Pile direction

The way a pile lies; pile fabrics look lighter or darker depending on it, so all panels must run the same way. Read more →

Pilling

Small balls of fibre that form on a fabric's surface with rubbing; graded from 1 (heavy) to 5 (none). Read more →

Pin hook

A curtain hook with a pin that pushes into the back of a pleat. Read more →

Pinch pleat

The family of headings where fabric is pinched into pleats and stitched at the base. Read more →

Polyester

A strong synthetic fibre that resists creasing, fading and humidity; the most common curtain fibre. Read more →

R

Railroading

Turning an extra-wide fabric sideways so its width becomes the curtain's drop, avoiding seams. Read more →

Return

The part of a curtain that turns back to the wall at the end of the track, closing the side gap. Read more →

Ripple fold

Another name for S-fold. Read more →

Roman blind

A fabric blind that folds up in soft horizontal pleats, made from curtain fabric. Read more →

Rub count

The number of Martindale test cycles a fabric survives before breaking down; higher means more abrasion-resistant. Read more →

S

S-fold

A curtain heading that hangs in continuous, even waves from carriers on a dedicated track. Read more →

Selvedge

The finished edge that runs along each side of a fabric roll. Read more →

Sheer

A lightweight, translucent fabric that filters daylight and gives daytime privacy. Read more →

Solution-dyed

Coloured by adding pigment to the fibre before it is spun, so the colour runs through every fibre and resists fading. Read more →

T

Textured weave

A tight weave using slubbed or irregular yarns for a tactile surface without loops. Read more →

Thermal lining

A lining with a coated or brushed back that reduces heat passing through the window. Read more →

V

Velvet

A woven fabric with a short, dense cut pile that gives a smooth surface and rich colour. Read more →

Velveteen

A cotton pile fabric with a shorter weft pile than velvet. Read more →

Voile

A soft, lightweight plain-weave sheer. Read more →

W

Wale

One raised rib of corduroy; the wale count is the number of ribs per inch. Read more →

Warp

The lengthwise threads of a woven fabric, held under tension on the loom. Read more →

Weft

The crosswise threads woven over and under the warp. Read more →

Width

The width of the fabric roll, from selvedge to selvedge; extra-wide curtain fabrics are about 280 to 330 cm. Read more →

What are the main types of curtain fabric?

By light control: sheer, dimout and blackout. By construction: plain weaves, jacquards, velvets, linen and linen-look weaves, and textured weaves. See Blackout vs Dimout vs Sheer.

What are the main types of upholstery fabric?

Polyester flat and textured weaves, velvets, chenilles, boucles, linen blends and, for outdoor use, solution-dyed acrylic. Choose by the rub count as well as the look. See the sofa fabric guide.

What does GSM mean for fabric?

Grams per square metre, the weight of the fabric. Sheers are often around 100 gsm, while upholstery velvets can be 450 gsm or more.