In my long experience working with vintage sewing books and patterns, I have come across quite a few fabric terms that have been a mystery to me. Many of the terms included below might not often be seen outside of a 1920s hat pattern, or a 1930s dressmaking book.
For this post I have consulted several resources including websites and many of my antique sewing books to help you make sense of some of the fabric terms you might see in your sewing adventures. This includes fibers as well as weaves. To make it a bit more clear, they are color coded as follows: Weaving Processes, Fibers, Fabrics and Finishes.
If you have a mystery fabric in your possession, check out this amazing burn test chart to help you discover which fibers you might be dealing with!
If you have any terms to add, just leave a comment. I'll try to update this post regularly to make it as helpful as possible!
