Key Words

Key Word	Definition
Sustainable	Capable of being sustained. Capable of being continued with minimal long term effects on the environment.
Social	Social factors are things that might affect our lifestyle, and include wealth, gender, family and religion. These can change over time as well as peoples attitudes to them.
Moral	Morals are concerned with the differences between proper and improper behaviour.
Ethical	Ethical factors concern things that are seen as the right thing to do and morally correct.
Upcycling	The process of changing an unwanted product or material into something new.
Linear Economy	A linear economy is a process of taking, making and wasting.
Circular Economy	a continuous life cycle of taking, making, wearing, and fixing it when necessary as well as giving/selling it away and finally it.recycling
Carbon Footprint	The amount of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere.
Biodegradable	Breaks down over time using natural resources.
Loom	A frame or machine used to create woven fabric.
Warp	The threads that run vertically down the fabric when woven on a loom.
Weft	The threads that are woven across horizontally.
Selvedge	The self finished edge created when the weft thread changes direction to weave the next row on a loom.
Pattern piece	The industry term for the templates used to create textile products.
Fabric gain	The direction of the warp threads in woven fabric.
Lay plan	The industry term for the planned layout of the pattern pieces on the fabric before cutting out.
Seam	The line of sewing that joins the fabric.
Seam allowance	The distance between the sewing line and the cutting line.
Finite resources	Non renewable materials that are in limited supply and cannot be regrown or replaced. Examples are oils and iron.
Non finite resources	Renewable materials that can be regrown or replaced such as trees and plants - once dug up we can replant/regrow them.
Natural fibres	Natural textiles come from either animal or vegetable (plant) sources.
Synthetic fibres	Synthetic fibres are made from crude oil called petrochemicals
Regenerated fibres	Regenerated fibres are made from wood pulp (cellulose).
Petrochemicals	A large group of chemicals derived from petroleum and natural gas and used for a variety of commercial purposes.
Calico	A strong, plain weave fabric made from unbleached and not fully processed cotton.
Facing	A piece of fabric that are used to finish and conceal the raw edges. It creates a clean, professional al look and can add strength and stability to the textile product.
Ethical	In accordance with accepted standards for morally right conduct and practice.
One off production	When only one product is made. This could be a prototype or a special order.
Batch production	When a small to medium number of identical products are made.
Mass production	When thousands of identical products are made, usually on a production line.
CAD	Computer aided design. Design using computer software.
CAM	Computer aided manufacture. The use of computer software to control manufacturing systems.
Block printing	The process of printing patterns by carving designs onto a ‘block’. Traditionally, a woodblock is used.
Stencil printing	A printing technique where patterns are created by applying ink through a stencil onto a surface.
Flat bed screen printing	A traditional method where ink is squeezed through gauze attached to flat, stationary rectangular frames.
Rotary screen printing	A continuous method of printing using perforated cylindrical screens.
Sublimation printing	A process that uses heat and pressure to transfer your design from sublimation paper onto polyester fabric or polymer coated surfaces.
Digital printing	A modern printing method where digital files are transferred directly onto fabric without the need for traditional printing plates.
Design specification	A list of requirements that the products must meet.

Aesthetics
Tack	A way of temporarily joining fabric using a running stick to avoid the need for pins.
Overlock	A specialist machine stitch that cuts and finishes the raw edge of the fabric to prevent fraying.
Sew	To join with thread.
Stitch	To join with thread.