Fairchild's Dictionary of Textiles

by Phyllis G. Tortora, Robert S. Merkel

The revised and expanded edition features over 14,000 definitions of fibers, fabrics, laws, and regulations affecting textile materials and processing, inventors of textile technology, and business and trade terms relevant to textiles. Key terms are comprehensively defined and include details about historic background, geographic references, and uses both past and present. Extensive cross-referencing and listings of synonyms help the user to gain a broader understanding of the specific term being defined. Names of governmental entities relevant to the textile field and their acronyms are also included in the text including U.S. and multinational trade, educational, and professional associations, together with a description of their purposes and/or functions. This dictionary is an invaluable reference for students and those working in the textile industry.

Genres: Fashion, Fashion Design, Historical Sewing, Nonfiction

688 pages, Hardcover

First published January 10, 1996

Reviews

[Carol Volkman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found the information very helpful in my Historic clothing construction hobby. It's well researched and dependable in choice of fabrics for definite time frames.

[Bernie4444 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun for perusing

The quickest way to become a textile literate is to dive into this dictionary. It is also good to keep them next to your favorite books so you do not have to guess at the occasional workday that they do not take the time to elaborate on. 10 minutes into the dictionary and I finally learned that "carbonate" is not some sort of BBQ. Really though professions and avocations require unique terminology if you are going to do it well.

The dictionary has interesting items in the margins as on page 290 there are drafts of regular and irregular satin weaves. There are pictures of reeds and reels. Just about anything that needs a graph to explain is in the margin.

"Definitions of key terms can be fairly extensive, with comprehensive descriptions including details about historic background, geographic references, and uses both past and present."