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Apparel Glossary

536 terms · 17 topics

Apparel has a vocabulary of its own. Singles and slub. Ring-spun and open-end. Coverstitch, side-seamed, garment-dyed. This glossary defines 515 terms across fabrics, knits, construction, and decoration methods — written for the people who put ink, thread, and film on cloth. Each entry is plain, specific, and short, so a spec sheet stops being a puzzle. Read one term or read them all. Either way, you will choose better blanks.

Art & Prepress Business & Ordering Digital Printing Dyeing & Washes Embroidery Fabrics & Materials Finishing & Care Fits & Silhouettes Garment Construction Halftones Heat Transfer Inks & Chemistry Knits & Weaves Necklines & Collars Screen Printing Sizing & Measurement Sustainability & Certifications

Art & Prepress

Art Proof Artwork Approval Bleed Color Matching Color Separations Convert to Outlines EPS File Gradient Index Separation JPEG File Knockout Mockup Pantone Matching System (PMS)PDF Pixelation PNG File Pre-Production Sample Print-Ready Artwork Raster Artwork Resolution RGB Safe Area SVG File Transparent Background Trapping Vector Artwork Vectorization

Business & Ordering

Backorder Blanks Blind shipping Case quantity Contract printing Customer-supplied garments Cut and sew Digital proof Digitizing fee Dropshipping Fulfillment Gang run In-hands date Kitting Less-than-minimum (LTM) fee Minimum order quantity (MOQ)Neck label printing Overs and unders Per-color pricing Per-location pricing Price break Print location Private label Relabeling Rush order Setup fee Size run Size upcharge Tearaway tag Tech pack Turnaround time White label Wholesale blanks

Digital Printing

All-Over Print (AOP)CMYK Cold Peel Color Gamut DPI (Dots Per Inch)DTF (Direct-to-Film) Printing DTF Adhesive Powder (Hot-Melt)DTF Transfers DTG (Direct-to-Garment) Printing Dwell Time Dye Sublimation Full Bleed Gang Sheet Heat Press Hot Peel Hybrid Printing ICC Profile PET Film Pigment Ink Pretreatment Pretreatment Marks Print on Demand Puff DTF RIP Software Sublimation Blank Sublimation Paper UV DTF Wash Fastness White Underbase

Dyeing & Washes

Acid Wash Batik Bleach Wash (Reverse Tie-Dye)Bleeding Colorfastness Dip dye Direct dye Dye blocker Dye lot Enzyme Wash Garment dye Garment wash Ice dye Marble Wash Marled Mineral Wash Natural dye Ombré Optical brightener Overdyeing PFD (prepared for dye)Piece-dyed Pigment dye Reactive dye Resist Dyeing Sand Wash Shibori Silicone Wash Solution-dyed Space-dyed Stone Wash Tie-dye Vat dye Vintage Wash Yarn-dyed

Embroidery

3D puff embroidery Appliqué Bean stitch Bobbin thread Cap frame Chenille embroidery Cutaway backing DST file Embroidered patch Embroidery backing Embroidery digitizing Fill stitch Flat embroidery Hoop marks Hooping Jump stitch Left chest placement Lock stitch Merrowed edge Metallic thread Monogramming Polyester thread Puckering Push and pull compensation Rayon thread Running stitch Satin stitch Sew-out Stitch count Stitch density Tackle twill Tape charge Tearaway backing Thread weight Tone-on-tone embroidery Underlay Water-soluble topping

Fabrics & Materials

Acrylic Bamboo Viscose Burnout Fabric Canvas (Duck Cloth)Combed Cotton CVC (Chief Value Cotton)Fleece French Terry Heather Fabric Hemp Fabric Interlock Knit Jersey Knit Linen Lyocell Merino Wool Mesh Modal Moisture-Wicking Fabric Nylon Open-End (Carded) Cotton Organic Cotton Oxford Cloth Pima Cotton Piqué Poly-Cotton Blend (50/50)Polyester Poplin Rayon (Viscose)Recycled Polyester (rPET)Rib Knit Ringspun Cotton Singles (Yarn Count)Slub Cotton Spandex (Elastane)Tri-Blend Twill Waffle Knit (Thermal)

Finishing & Care

Anti-Pilling Anti-Static Finish Antimicrobial Finish Bio-Polishing Brushed Finish Care Symbols Compacting Dimensional Stability Do Not Iron Decoration Durable Water Repellent (DWR)Flame-Resistant (FR) Finish Garment-Washed Hang Dry Machine Wash Cold Mercerization Odor-Resistant Peached Finish Preshrunk Quick-Dry Residual Shrinkage Sanforized Silicone Finish Singeing Snag Resistance Spirality (Torque)Stain Release Tearaway Label Tumble Dry Low UPF (Ultraviolet Protection Factor)Wash Inside Out Wrinkle Resistance

Fits & Silhouettes

Athletic Fit Baseball Tee Big & Tall Boxy Fit Boyfriend Fit Cap Sleeve Classic Fit Compression Fit Crop Top Dolman Sleeve Drop Shoulder Flowy Fit High-Low Hem Junior Fit Ladies' Fit Longline Tee Missy Fit Muscle Tee Oversized Fit Plus Size Racerback Relaxed Fit Retail Fit Ringer Tee Semi-Fitted Side-Seamed Construction Slim Fit Tall Sizes Tank Top Three-Quarter Sleeve True to Size Unisex Fit

Garment Construction

Bar Tack Care Label Chain Stitch Coverstitch Curved Hem (Shirttail Hem)Double-Needle Stitching Drawcord Flat-Felled Seam Flatlock Seam Grommet (Eyelet)Gusset Kangaroo Pocket Lined Hood (Two-Ply Hood)Locker Patch (Half-Moon Patch)Mitered V-Neck Neck Binding (Self-Fabric Binding)Overlock Stitch (Serging)Placket Raglan Sleeve Ribbed Collar Ribbed Cuffs Ribbed Waistband Seam Allowance Seamless Collar Set-In Sleeve Side Vents (Split Hem)Side-Seamed Construction Stitches Per Inch (SPI)Tagless Label Taped Neck (Shoulder-to-Shoulder Taping)Tear-Away Label Topstitching Torque (Garment Twist)Tubular Construction Twill Tape Woven Label Yoke

Halftones

Everything about turning continuous tone into printable dots: the shapes, the angles, the rulings, and the two failure modes — highlights that wash off the screen and shadows that plug solid. Most entries here carry worked examples generated from real halftone geometry.

AM Halftone Blown-Out Dots Dot Gain Dot Gain Compensation Dot Percentage Duotone Elliptical Dot FM (Stochastic) Halftone Grayscale Halftone Halftone Halftone Angle Halftone Underbase Highlight Dot Hybrid Halftone Index Print Line Screen Halftone LPI (Lines Per Inch)Mesh-to-LPI Ratio Moiré Plugged Dots Printable Tonal Range Rosette Round Dot Shadow Dot Square Dot

Heat Transfer

Application Temperature Carrier Sheet Clamshell Heat Press Cover Sheet Flock HTV Foil Transfer Glitter HTV Heat Press Pillow Heat Press Pressure Heat Transfer Label Heat Transfer Vinyl (HTV)Heat-Resistant Tape Holographic HTV Hot Split Transfer Hotfix Rhinestones Layering (HTV)Low-Temperature Transfer Metallic HTV Mirroring Plastisol Transfer Pre-Pressing Press Marks Printable HTV Puff Vinyl Reflective Heat Transfer Rhinestone Transfer Scorching Spangle Transfer SS (Stone Size)Swing-Away Heat Press Weeding

Inks & Chemistry

Blocker Base (Barrier Base)Crocking Curable Reducer Cure Temperature Discharge Agent (Activator)Discharge Ink Eco-Friendly Ink Extender Base Fluorescent (Neon) Ink Hand (Hand Feel)High Solids Acrylic (HSA) Ink Ink Opacity Nylon Catalyst (Bonding Agent)Phthalate-Free Ink Pigment Plasticizer Puff Additive (Puff Ink)PVC-Free Ink Reflective Ink Silicone Ink Softener Additive Stretch Additive Thermochromic (Color-Changing) Ink Under-Curing Viscosity

Knits & Weaves

1x1 Rib Anti-Pill Fleece Bird's Eye Mesh Brushed Fleece Chambray Denim Double knit Duck cloth Flannel Herringbone Jacquard Knit vs. woven Micro Piqué Microfleece Pinpoint oxford Plain weave Polar Fleece Ripstop Satin weave Scuba knit Sherpa Fleece Slub Knit Sweatshirt Fleece Terry Cloth Tricot

Necklines & Collars

Boat neck Bound neckline (self-binding)Cadet collar Camp collar Collar stand Coverstitched collar Cowl neck Crew neck Deep V-neck Double-lined hood Flat-knit collar Full-zip hoodie Funnel neck Half-zip Henley Johnny collar Mandarin collar (band collar)Mock neck Neckband Polo collar Pullover hoodie Quarter-zip Ringer collar Scoop neck Scuba hood Self-fabric collar Tear-away tag (tagless)Three-panel hood Turtleneck V-neck V-notch (V-insert)Zipper garage (chin guard)

Screen Printing

Burning a Screen Color Separation Conveyor Dryer Curing Discharge Printing Distressed Print Dye Migration Emulsion Fibrillation Film Positive Flash Cure Foil Printing Four-Color Process (CMYK)Ghosting Glitter Ink Glow-in-the-Dark Ink High-Density Ink Low-Bleed Ink Mesh Count Metallic Ink Plastisol Ink Platen Puff Ink Registration Screen Charge Screen Printing Screen Reclaiming Simulated Process Soft Hand Spot Color Squeegee Underbase Vector Art Water-Based Ink Wet-on-Wet Printing

Sizing & Measurement

Body length Chest width (half chest)Extended Sizes Fabric weight Flat measurement Full Back Print Full Front Print Garment measurements GSM (grams per square meter)Heavyweight t-shirt High point shoulder (HPS)Imprint area Infant and Toddler Sizes Left chest print Lightweight t-shirt Measurement tolerance Midweight t-shirt Ounces per square yard (oz/yd²)Oversized Print Pocket Print Print placement Shrinkage Size chart Size grading Sleeve length Sleeve Print Spec sheet Unisex Sizing Women's Fit Sizing Yarn count Youth Sizes

Sustainability & Certifications

Azo-Free Dyes B Corp Certification Better Cotton (BCI)bluesign Carbon Footprint Carbon Offsets Carbon-Neutral Apparel Circular Fashion Closed-Loop Recycling Deadstock Fabric Fair Trade Certified Fair Wear Foundation Global Recycled Standard (GRS)GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard)Greenwashing Hemp Fabric Higg Index Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)Living Wage Low-Impact Dyes OEKO-TEX Standard 100 Organic Content Standard (OCS)Phthalate-Free Inks Post-Consumer Recycled Content Pre-Consumer (Post-Industrial) Recycled Content Recycled Claim Standard (RCS)Recycled Cotton Regenerative Cotton SA8000 Supply Chain Transparency Sweatshop-Free Traceability Water-Based Inks WRAP Certification