Glossary - Clothing and Knitwear

Parts of the Garment:

Neck Lines:

Boat Neck - a wide round neckline, high at the front

Crew Neck - a round neckline

Henley - collarless, with buttons

Rollneck - High, neck covering edge that folds "rolls" over

Round Neck - forms a round shape at the front. Same as Crew Neck

T-neck - with a collar, that zips or buttons up

Turtle Neck - see Rollneck

V-neck - forms a V shape at the front

Body Shapes:

Classic Cut - the standard fit for the body.

A-line - looser fit at the bottom of a jumper or skirt

Loose Fit - loose fit around the body

Tailored - fitted to the body, coming in at the waist

Wrap - the garment is designed to be tied around the body

Sleeves:

Cap Sleeve - very short sleeve that just covers the shoulder

Short/Half Sleeve - sleeve stops above the elbow

3/4 Sleeve - sleeve stops below the elbow

Long Sleeve - sleeve reaches the wrist

Raglan Sleeve - the upper sleeve seam cuts across the chest to the neckline

Set In Sleeve - the upper sleeve seam is vertical at the shoulder

Fabrics and Materials:

Alpaca - soft, durable, luxurious and silky natural fibre similar to sheep's wool. It is warmer, not prickly, and has no lanolin, which makes it hypoallergenic.

Cashmere - a fibre from cashmere goats, pashmina goats, and some other breeds of goat. It is finer, stronger, lighter, softer and approximately three times more insulating than sheep's wool.

Corozo - a tropical palm nut producing a 100% natural product similar in consistency to a hard resin. Also known as tagua or “vegetable ivory”, it has excellent durability and scratch resistance. Used for buttons.

Cotton - a natural material, and when spun into yarn, it becomes both soft and strong at the same time. Garments made from cotton are easily cared for, and cool and comfy to wear.

Elastane - the generic term for branded textiles such as Lycra, known for its incredible elasticity.

Linen - a textile made from the fibres of the flax plant. It is very strong, absorbent, and dries faster than cotton, so comfortable to wear in hot weather.

Lycra - see Elastane

Merino - wool from the Merino sheep. It has fantastic softness, smoothness and breathability.

Polyester - a man-made synthetic fibre which has a high water, wind and environmental resistance compared to plant-derived fibres.

Polymide - Nylon. Used combined with wool to add strength and durability.

Viscose - a semi-synthetic fabric made from wood pulp. Used as a silk substitute, it has a similar drape and smooth feel to the luxury material.

Wool - the fleece from (usually) sheep, turned into yarn for the production of lovely jumpers.

Styles of Knit/Weave:

Cable Knit - a pattern of knit that has the appearance of thick cables twisted around each other

Knit Weights - Extra Fine/Fine/Light/Medium/Heavy. This refers to the yarn width, but the result is the thickness off the jumper.

Moss Stitch - a textured, but even style of knit.

...There are hundreds of different styles of knit, too many to list here. If you are unsure what style as jumper's knit is, you can zoom in to any of the pictures. You can often see the knit style easier on a light colour.

Double Faced Jersey Fabric is soft, stretchy, and forgiving. It has the same finish on both sides that may or may not vary colour.

Raw Edges - the fabric used is not seamed, but may be finished with a zig zag stitch to prevent fraying.

Other terms you might like to know about:

Windproof - a fabric woven to stop cold air getting in.

Breathable - a fabric woven to allow warm air out.

...Holebrook Sweden windstoppers are both!