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Units of textile measurement
 
 
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enier is a unit of measure for the linear mass density of fibers. It is defined as the mass
Mass

In physical science, mass refers to the degree of acceleration a body acquires when subject to a force: bodies with greater mass are accelerated less by the same force....
 in gram
Gram

The gram , ; symbol g, is a Physical unit of mass.Originally defined as "the absolute weight of a volume of pure water equal to the cube of the hundredth part of a metre, and at the temperature of melting ice" , a gram is now defined as one one-thousandth of the SI base unit, the kilogram, or Scientific notation kg, which itself is...
s per 9,000 meters. In the International System of Units
International System of Units

The International System of Units is the modern form of the metric system and is generally a system devised around the convenience of the number ten....
 the tex is used instead (see below).

One can distinguish between Filament and Total denier. Both are defined as above but the first only relates to a single filament of fiber (also commonly known as Denier per Filament or D.P.F) whereas the second relates to an agglomeration
Agglomeration

In the study of human settlements, an agglomeration is an extended city or town area comprising the built-up area of a central place and any suburbs linked by continuous urban area....
 of filaments.

The following relationship applies to straight, uniform filaments:
D.P.F.






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Denier

Denier is a unit of measure for the linear mass density of fibers. It is defined as the mass
Mass

In physical science, mass refers to the degree of acceleration a body acquires when subject to a force: bodies with greater mass are accelerated less by the same force....
 in gram
Gram

The gram , ; symbol g, is a Physical unit of mass.Originally defined as "the absolute weight of a volume of pure water equal to the cube of the hundredth part of a metre, and at the temperature of melting ice" , a gram is now defined as one one-thousandth of the SI base unit, the kilogram, or Scientific notation kg, which itself is...
s per 9,000 meters. In the International System of Units
International System of Units

The International System of Units is the modern form of the metric system and is generally a system devised around the convenience of the number ten....
 the tex is used instead (see below).

One can distinguish between Filament and Total denier. Both are defined as above but the first only relates to a single filament of fiber (also commonly known as Denier per Filament or D.P.F) whereas the second relates to an agglomeration
Agglomeration

In the study of human settlements, an agglomeration is an extended city or town area comprising the built-up area of a central place and any suburbs linked by continuous urban area....
 of filaments.

The following relationship applies to straight, uniform filaments:
D.P.F. = Total Denier / Quantity of Uniform Filaments


The denier system of measurement is used on two and single filament fibers. Some common calculations are as follows:
1 denier = 1 gram per 9 000 meters
= 0.05 grams per 450 meters (1/20 of above)


  • A fiber is generally considered a microfiber
    Microfiber

    Microfiber refers to synthetic fibers that measure less than one denier . The most common types of microfibers are made from polyesters, polyamides , and or a conjugation of polyester and polyamide....
     if it is 1 denier or less.
  • A 1-denier polyester
    Polyester

    Polyester is a category of polymers which contain the ester functional group in their main chain. Although there are many polyesters, the term "polyester" as a specific material most commonly refers to polyethylene terephthalate ....
     fiber has a diameter
    Diameter

    In geometry, a diameter of a circle is any straight line segment that passes through the center of the circle and whose endpoints are on the circle....
     of about 10 micrometers.
  • Denier is used as the measure of density of weave in tights
    Tights

    Tights are a kind of cloth leg garment, most often sheathing the body from about the waist to the feet with a more or less tight fit, hence the name....
     and pantyhose
    Pantyhose

    Pantyhose are Sheer , close fitting coverings of the body from the waist to the feet. Traditionally considered a woman's garment, pantyhose appeared in the 1960s and provided a convenient alternative to stockings....
    , which defines their opaqueness.


Mommes

Mommes (mm) is a unit of weight traditionally used to measure the density
Density

The density of a material is defined as its mass per unit volume. The symbol of density is ....
 of silk
Silk

Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be weaving into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from Pupa#Cocoons made by the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity ....
. It is similar to the use of thread count for cotton fabrics. Mommes express the weight in pounds
Pound (mass)

The pound or pound-mass is a Units of measurement of massused in the Imperial unit, United States customary units and other systems of measurement....
, of a piece of material of size 45 inch
Inch

An inch is the name of a Units of measurement of length in a number of different systems, including Imperial units, and United States customary units....
es by 100 yard
Yard

A yard is a Units of measurement of length in several different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units....
s.

Silk is measured by weight either by grams or by momme (mm). 28 grams = 1 ounce. 8 momme = 1 oz.

The usual range of momme weight for different weaves of silk are:
  • Habutai
    Habutai

    Habutai or Habotai is one of the most basic plain weaves. Whilst it was traditionally woven in Japan, most Habutai is today woven in China....
     - 5 to 16 mm
  • Chiffon
    Chiffon (fabric)

    Chiffon, from the French language word for a cloth or rag, is a lightweight, balanced plain weave Sheer textiles woven of alternate Spinning crepe yarns....
     - 6 to 8 mm (can be made in double thickness, i.e. 12 to 16 mm)
  • Crepe de Chine - 12 to 16 mm
  • Gauze
    GAUZE

    Gauze is the first studio album released by Dir en grey on July 28, 1999. It is the band's first full-length record. Five tracks were produced by X Japan co-founder Yoshiki , all of which had been previously released as singles....
     - 3 to 5 mm
  • Raw silk
    Raw Silk

    Raw Silk was a 1980s post-disco and dance music group that consisted of members Sybil Thomas, Ronald Dean Miller and Bert Reid . Their first release "Do It to the Music" has become a staple part in rare groove 1980s dance compilations....
     - 35 to 40 mm (heavier silks appear more 'wooly')
  • Organza
    Organza

    Organza is a thin, plain weave, sheer textile traditionally made from silk, the continuous filament of Bombyx mori. Nowadays, though many organzas are woven with synthetic filament fibers such as polyester or nylon, the most luxurious organzas are still woven in silk....
     - 4 to 6 mm


S or Super S Number

Wool suits and other tailored wool apparel are sometimes labeled with an Super S or S number that indicates the finess of the wool fiber used in the making of the apparel. The numbers may also be found on wool fabric and yarn.

Tex

Tex is a unit of measure for the linear mass density of fibers and is defined as the mass in grams per 1000 meters. Tex is more likely to be used in Canada and Europe, while denier remains more common in the United States. The unit code is "tex". The most commonly used unit is actually the deci
Deci

deci is a SI prefix in the SI system of Units of measurements denoting a factor of 10-1 .Adopted in 1795, the prefix comes from the Latin decimus, meaning tenth....
tex, abbreviated dtex, which is the mass in grams per 10,000 meters. When measuring objects that consist of multiple fibers the term "filament tex" is sometimes used, referring to the mass in grams per 10,000 meters of a single filament.

Tex is used for measuring fiber size in many products, including cigarette filters, optical cable, yarn, and fabric.

One can calculate the diameter of a filament given its weight in dtex with the following formula:

where represents the material's density in grams per cubic centimeter and the diameter is in cm.
Tex (g/km) Yield (yards/#)
550 900
735 675
1100 450
1200 413
2000 250
2200 225
2400 207
4400 113


Thread

Thread is a cotton
Cotton

Cotton is a soft, staple fiber that grows in a form known as a boll around the seeds of the cotton plant a shrub native to tropical and subtropical regions around the world, including the Americas, India and Africa....
 yarn measure, equal to 54 inches.

Thread count

Thread count is a measure of the coarseness or fineness of fabric. It is measured by counting the number of threads contained in one square inch of fabric, including both the length (warp
Warp (weaving)

In weaving, the warp is the set of lengthwise yarns through which the weft is woven. Each individual warp thread in a fabric is called a warp end....
) and width (weft
Weft

In weaving, weft or woof is the yarn which is drawn under and over parallel Warp yarns to create a textile. In North America, it is sometimes referred to as the "fill" or the "filling yarn", and in India, it is referred to as "baana"....
) threads. It is used especially in regard to cotton linen
Linen

Linen is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant, Linum usitatissimum. Linen is labor-intensive to manufacture, but when it is made into garments, it is valued for its exceptional coolness and freshness in hot weather....
s such as bed sheet
Bed sheet

A bed sheet is a large piece of cloth used to cover a mattress. It is this sheet that one typically lies on.In many areas of the world a second flat bed sheet is laid on top of the sheet covering the mattress....
s.

Thread count is a simple measure of fabric quality, so that "standard" cotton thread counts are around 150 while good-quality sheets start at 180 and a count of 200 or higher is considered percale
Percale

Percale is a closely woven plain weave textiles often used for bed linens.The term describes the weave of the fabric, not its content, so percale can be a 50/50 blend of cotton and polyester, 100% cotton, or a blend of other fabrics in any ratio....
. Extremely high thread counts (typically over 500) tend to be misleading as they usually use 'plied
Plying

In the textile arts, plying is a process used to create a strong, balanced yarn. It is done by taking two or more strands of yarn that each have a twist to them and putting them together....
' yarns. i.e. one yarn that is made by twisting together multiple finer threads. For marketing purposes, a fabric with 250 yarns in both the vertical and horizontal direction could have the component threads counted to a 1000 thread count although "according to the National Textile Association
National Textile Association

Summary The National Textile Association is the nation's oldest and largest association of fabric-forming companies. NTA members knit and weave fabric in the U.S.; supply fibers, yarns to the fabric-forming industry; or supply other materials or services to the American textile industry....
 (NTA), which cites the international standards group ASTM
ASTM International

ASTM International , originally known as the American Society for Testing and Materials, is an international standards organization that develops and publishes voluntary consensus technical standards for a wide range of materials, products, systems, and services....
, accepted industry practice is to count each thread as one, even threads spun as two- or three-ply yarn. The Federal Trade Commission
Federal Trade Commission

The Federal Trade Commission is an Independent agencies of the United States government, established in 1914 by the Federal Trade Commission Act....
 in an August 2005 letter to NTA agreed that consumers 'could be deceived or misled' by inflated thread counts. In 2002, ASTM proposed a definition for "thread count" that has been called "the industry's first formal definition for thread count". A minority on the ASTM committee argued for the higher yarn count number obtained by counting each single yarn in a plied yarn and cited as authority the provision relating to woven fabric in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States, which states each ply should be counted as one using the "average yarn number." "

It is important to see that thread count is the number of threads counted along 2 sides (up and across), ADDED not multiplied as it is not an area measurement. (http://www.sheets.co.nz/sheet_choose.html) Many sellers now use Metric figures of threads per 10 square centimeters instead of square inches. To convert: Metric tc divided by 1.25 = inch thread count.

Yield

Similar to tex and denier, yield is a term that helps describe the linear density
Linear density

Linear density, linear mass density or linear mass is a measure of mass per unit of length, and it is a characteristic of strings or other one-dimensional objects....
 of a roving
Roving

A roving is a long and narrow bundle of fiber. It is usually used to Spinning worsted yarn. A roving can be created by carding or combing the fiber, and is then drawn into long strips where the fiber is parallel....
 of fibers. However, unlike tex and denier, yield is the inverse of linear density
Linear density

Linear density, linear mass density or linear mass is a measure of mass per unit of length, and it is a characteristic of strings or other one-dimensional objects....
 and is usually expressed in yards/lb.

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