Textile fibers, threads, yarns and fabrics are measured in a multiplicity of units.
A fiber is measured in terms of linear mass density, the weight of a given length of fiber. Various units are used to refer to the measurement of a fiber, such as: the denier and tex (linear mass density of fibers), super S (fineness of wool fiber), worsted count, woolen count, linen count (wet spun) (or Number English (Ne)), cotton count (or Number English (Ne)), Number metric (Nm) and yield (the reciprocal of denier and tex). A yarn or thread, a spun agglomeration of fibers used for knitting, weaving or sewing, is measured in terms of count and yarn density. Fabric, material typically produced by weaving, knitting or knotting textile fibers, yarns or threads, is normally measured by weight, g/m2 , thread count (a measure of the coarseness or fineness of fabric), in ends per inch (e.p.i) and picks per inch (p.p.i).
Fibers
Micronaire Micronaire is a measure of the air permeability of cotton fiber and is an indication of fineness and maturity. Micronaire affects various aspects of cotton processing.
Micron
One millionth of a metre, or one thousandth of a millimetre; about one-fourth the width of a strand of spider silk. Cotton Bale Size Cotton lint is usually measured in bales, although there is no standard and the bale size may vary country to country. For example, in the United States it measures approximately 0.48 cubic metres (17 ft3) and weighs 226.8 kg (500 lb). In India, a bale equals 170 kg (370 lb).
S or super S number
Not a true unit of measure, S or super S number is an index of the fineness of wool fiber and is most commonly seen as a label on wool apparel, fabric, and yarn.
Slivers, tops and rovings
Slivers, tops and rovings are terms used in the worsted process. The sliver come off the card, tops come after the comb, rovings come before a yarn, and all have a heavier linear density.
Grams per metre If the metric system is in use the linear density of slivers and tops is given in grams per metre. Tops destined for machine processing are typically 20 grams per metre.
Yarn and thread
Twist
Twists per inch Number of twists per inch.
Twists per metre Number of twists per metre.
Linear density There are two systems used for presenting linear density, direct and indirect. When the direct method is used, the length is fixed and the weight of yarn is measured; for example, tex gives the weight in grams of one thousand metres of yarn. An indirect method fixes the weight and gives the length of yarn created.
Units The textile industry has a long history and there are various units in use. Tex is more likely to be used in Canada and Continental Europe, while denier remains more common in the United States.
tex: Grams per 1,000 metres of yarn. Tex is a direct measure of linear density. den or D (denier): Grams per 9,000 metres of yarn. Den is a direct measure of linear density. dtex (deci-tex, decitex): Grams per 10,000 metres of yarn. Dtex is a direct measure of linear density. gr/yard: Grains per yard of yarn. Gr/yard is a direct measure of linear density, but is rarely used in the modern textile industry. ECC or NeC or Ne (English Cotton Count): The number of 840 yd lengths per pound. ECC is an indirect measure of linear density. It is the number of hanks of skein material that weighs 1 lb. Under this system, the higher the number, the finer the yarn. In the United States cotton counts between 1 and 20 are referred to as coarse counts. NeK or NeW (Worsted Count): The number of 560 yd lengths per 1 lb of yarn. NeK is an indirect measure of linear density. NeK is also referred to as the spinning count. NeL or Lea (Linen Count): The number of 300 yd lengths per 1 lb of yarn. NeL is an indirect measure of linear density. NeS (Woollen Count or Yorkshire Skeins Woollen): The number of 256 yd lengths per 1 lb of yarn. NeS is an indirect measure of linear density. One of the best known of the many different woolen yarn counts.
Denier Denier (), often abbreviated den or D, is a unit measuring individual thread density. In modern usage, it is defined as grams per 9,000 linear thread-meters. The unit originates with the medieval French denier coin. A distinction can be made between filament and total measurements. The former measures a single filament of fiber (commonly called denier per filament (DPF)), whereas the second measures a yarn. To measure a fiber's denier count, generally a sample of 900 meters is weighed, and the result is multiplied by ten. For single fibers, instead of weighing, a machine called a vibroscope is used. A known length of the fiber (usually 20mm) is set to vibrate, and its fundamental frequency measured, allowing the calculation of the mass and thus the linear density.
Yarn length Given the linear density and weight the yarn length can be calculated; for example: l/m = 1693 × lm/Nec × m/kg, where l/m is the yarn length in metres, lm/Nec is the English cotton count and m/kg is the yarn weight in kilograms.
Fabrics
Grams per square metre g/m2 Fabric weight is measured in grams per square metre or g/m2 (sometimes abbreviated as GSM). g/m2 is the metric measurement of the weight of a fabric—it is a critical parameter for any textile product. Fabric weight may affect many physical properties of the fabric such as density, thickness and strength. Typically, cheap T-shirt fabric is approximately 150 g/m2. The g/m2 of fabric helps in determining the consumption, cost and application. Higher g/m2 corresponds to thicker and heavier construction.
Mommes Mommes (mm), traditionally used to measure silk fabrics, the weight in pounds of a piece of fabric if it were sized 45 inches by 100 yards. The momme is based on the standard width of silk of 45in wide (though silk is regularly woven in 55-inch (1.4 m) widths and uncommonly in larger widths). The usual range of momme weight for different weaves of silk are:
Habutai—5 to 16 mm Chiffon—6 to 8 mm (can be made in double thickness, i.e. 12 to 16 mm) Crepe de Chine—12 to 16 mm Gauze—3 to 5 mm Silk noil—35 to 40 mm (heavier silks appear more "wooly") Organza—4 to 6 mm Charmeuse—12 to 30 mm The higher the weight in mommes, the more durable the weave and the more suitable it is for heavy-duty use.
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