TextileGlossary.com

A blouse most commonly refers to a woman's shirt, although the term is also used for some men's military uniform shirts. Blouses are often made of cotton or silk cloth and may or may not include a collar and sleeves. They are generally more tailored than simple knit tops, and may contain "feminine" details such as ruffles or embroidered decorations. Blouses have buttons reversed from that of a men's shirts. That is, the buttons are normally on the wearer's left-hand and the buttonholes are on the right. The reasons for this are unclear, however. Some suggest this custom was introduced by launderers so they could distinguish between women's and men's shirts, and could thus charge more for women's blouses, supposing women are more gullible and submissive. Another theory purports that the tradition arose in the middle ages when one manner of manifesting wealth was by the number of buttons one wore. Female servants were in charge of buttonning their mistresse's gowns (since the buttons were usually in the back). Tiring of attempting to button the buttons backwards, they started reversing the direction of the buttons, therefore, easing their jobs considerably.

Resistant to a specified agency either by reason of the physical structure or the chemical non-reactivity of the textile, or arising from a treatment designed to impart the desired...

Soft, white, closely woven cotton fabric calendered to achieve a high glaze. Used mainly for pocket linings, underwear, aprons, shirts, and handkerchiefs. Originally made in Cambrai, France of...

(woven fabric) - usually caused by an extra piece of yarn that is woven into fabric. It can also be caused by thick places in the yarn. Often is caused by fly waste being spun in yarn in the...

A nonwoven fabric in which the fibres are held together by a bonding material. This may be an adhesive or a bonding fibre with a low melting point. Alternatively, the material may be held together by...

A class of chemicals including many variants used as water soluble solvents in a variety of cleaning products, latex paint, water-borne wood finishes and other applications. Members of this class...