Textile Terminology / Glossary 

Abrash

Abrash refers to natural color variation in handwoven textiles caused by differences in dye lots or yarn batches. It is especially appreciated in antique rugs and tribal weavings.

Aari Embroidery

Aari embroidery is a chain-stitch embroidery technique executed using a hooked needle. It is known for fine floral designs and elaborate surface decoration.

Adire

Adire is a Yoruba resist-dyed textile tradition from Nigeria. Indigo-dyed patterns are created using stitching, starch resist, or tying techniques.

Ajrakh

Ajrakh is a traditional block-printing technique from Gujarat and Sindh that uses natural dyes and complex resist-printing processes. It is known for deep indigo and madder-red geometric patterns.

Amlikar Rumal

An Amlikar Rumal is a finely embroidered Kashmiri textile or shawl traditionally decorated with elaborate needlework. Such pieces often reflect Mughal artistic influences.

Anatolian Kilim

An Anatolian kilim is a flatwoven textile produced in Turkey. Bold geometric motifs and symbolic tribal patterns are common design elements.

Appliqué

Appliqué is the process of sewing fabric pieces onto a larger textile surface to create decorative imagery or patterns. It appears in both ceremonial and domestic textiles.

Arabesque

An arabesque is a decorative motif featuring flowing, interlaced vegetal forms. The design appears widely in Islamic textiles and architectural ornamentation.

Backstrap Loom

A backstrap loom is a portable loom tensioned by the weaver’s body. It has been used across Asia, Latin America, and Indigenous weaving traditions.

Bagh

Bagh embroidery is a dense Punjabi embroidery tradition where the cloth surface is almost entirely covered with threadwork. The designs often resemble blooming gardens.

Bandhani

Bandhani is an Indian tie-dye technique in which small portions of cloth are tightly tied before dyeing. The resulting fabric displays intricate dotted patterns.

Banjara Textile

Banjara textiles are embroidered works made by the Banjara communities of India. They commonly feature mirrors, vibrant colors, and geometric motifs.

Batak Ulos

Ulos is a ceremonial woven cloth of the Batak people of Indonesia. It is traditionally exchanged during important social and ritual events.

Batik

Batik is a wax-resist dyeing technique used to create patterns on cloth. Designs are formed by applying wax to selected areas before dyeing.

Batik Cap

Batik Cap is batik produced using copper stamps rather than hand drawing. The method allows repeated motifs and faster production.

Batik Tulis

Batik Tulis refers to hand-drawn batik made using a canting tool to apply wax. It is considered one of the most refined forms of batik production.

Batik Tiga Negeri

Batik Tiga Negeri is a historic Indonesian batik style involving multiple dyeing traditions from different regions. The name means “three countries” or “three regions.”

Bead Embroidery

Bead embroidery is the attachment of beads onto fabric using needle and thread. It is often used to enhance ceremonial garments and tribal textiles.

Beadwork

Beadwork is the decorative use of beads on textiles, garments, or accessories. Patterns may carry cultural, social, or symbolic meanings.

Bishnoi

Bishnoi refers to a community from Rajasthan, India, known for strong traditions of environmental stewardship and distinctive cultural practices. Bishnoi textiles and dress traditions often feature handwoven fabrics, natural dyes, and embroidery associated with desert communities of western India.

Brocade

Brocade is a richly decorative woven fabric featuring raised patterns, often created with gold or silver threads. It has historically been associated with luxury textiles.

Block Printing

Block printing is a textile printing method using carved wooden blocks. Each color and motif is applied separately by hand.

Canting

A canting is a pen-like tool used in batik to apply molten wax onto cloth. It allows precise hand-drawn designs.

Cashmere

Cashmere is a soft luxury fiber obtained from cashmere goats. It is highly prized for warmth and fineness.

Chain Stitch

Chain stitch is an embroidery stitch forming linked loops resembling chains. It is widely used in Kashmiri and Central Asian embroidery traditions.

Chikan Embroidery

Chikan embroidery is a whitework embroidery tradition from Lucknow, India. Delicate floral patterns are stitched onto lightweight fabrics.

Chintz

Chintz is a glazed printed cotton textile historically exported from India. Floral motifs and bright colors made it highly popular in Europe.

Cicim

Cicim is an Anatolian weaving technique creating raised decorative motifs on flatwoven textiles. Supplementary weft threads produce textured designs.

Cochineal

Cochineal is a natural red dye derived from insects native to the Americas. It historically produced brilliant crimson and scarlet shades.

Cotton

Cotton is a soft plant fiber widely used in textile production. Its versatility made it central to global textile trade.

Crewel Embroidery

Crewel embroidery uses wool yarn stitched onto fabric surfaces. Traditional motifs often include vines, flowers, and animals.

Damask

Damask is a reversible patterned fabric created through complex weaving techniques. Contrasting light reflection reveals the woven design.

Dayak

Dayak refers to the Indigenous peoples of Borneo, including groups such as the Iban and Kenyah, and the textile traditions associated with their communities. Dayak textiles often feature intricate ikat weaving, symbolic motifs, and ceremonial significance connected to ancestry, spirituality, and social identity.

Double Ikat

Double ikat is a highly complex weaving technique where both warp and weft threads are resist-dyed before weaving. Patola textiles are among the best-known examples.

Do-Rookha

Do-rookha refers to a double-sided weaving or embroidery technique in which both sides of the textile are equally finished and usable. The term is associated with South Asian textile traditions, especially shawls and embroidered fabrics where reversible craftsmanship is highly valued.

Embroidery

Embroidery is the decorative stitching of thread onto fabric. Techniques of drawing the thread over the base cloth using a needle across the vary widely across cultures and historical periods.

Ethnographic Textile

An ethnographic textile is studied for its cultural and anthropological significance. Such textiles often reveal information about identity, ritual, and social structure.

Felt

Felt is a non-woven textile produced by matting and compressing fibers together. Wool felt has been widely used in nomadic cultures.

Flatweave

A flatweave is a woven textile without pile. It is generally lighter and more flexible than knotted carpets.

Handspun

Handspun yarn is produced manually using a spindle or spinning wheel. Variations in thickness contribute to its distinctive texture.

Indian Trade Textile

Indian trade textiles were fabrics produced in India for export across Asia, Africa, and beyond. They played a major role in historic trade networks.

Indigo

Indigo is both a natural dye and the deep blue color it produces. It has been one of the most important dyes in textile history.

Ikat

Ikat is a resist-dyeing process applied to yarns before weaving. The resulting patterns often appear softly blurred.

Jamawar

Jamawar refers to richly patterned Kashmiri textiles and shawls traditionally woven with intricate floral and paisley designs. Historically associated with luxury and courtly fashion, Jamawar fabrics often combined fine wool or silk with complex weaving techniques.

Jamdani

Jamdani is a fine muslin weaving tradition from Bengal featuring supplementary weft motifs. The textiles are known for airy textures and delicate designs.

Kalamkari

Kalamkari is a traditional Indian textile art involving hand painting or block printing on cloth using natural dyes. The name derives from the Persian words for “pen” and “craft,” reflecting the use of a bamboo pen for detailed narrative and floral designs.

Kantha

Kantha is a Bengali embroidery tradition created from layered stitched fabrics. Recycled cloth is transformed into quilts and decorative textiles.

Kani

Kani refers to a traditional Kashmiri shawl weaving technique in which small wooden bobbins, called kanis, are used to create intricate patterned designs. Kani shawls are celebrated for their fine craftsmanship, elaborate motifs, and association with historic luxury textile traditions.

Kente

Kente is a ceremonial woven cloth of Ghana associated with Akan traditions. Bright colors and geometric strip patterns carry symbolic meanings.

Khadi / Khaddar

Khadi is handspun and handwoven cloth associated with Indian independence and self-reliance movements. Cotton khadi became a political symbol during Gandhi’s era.

Kilim

A kilim is a flatwoven rug traditionally produced across Central Asia, Anatolia, and surrounding regions. It is known for bold geometric patterns and lightweight construction.

Kutch Embroidery

Kutch embroidery originates in Gujarat and includes mirror work, colorful threads, and intricate stitching. Different communities developed distinctive styles.

Loom

A loom is the device used to interlace threads and create woven textiles. Many traditional weaving cultures developed unique loom types.

Mata ni Pachedi

Mata ni Pachedi is a painted and printed ritual textile associated with Gujarat. It often depicts Hindu deities and sacred narratives.

Mirror Embroidery

Mirror embroidery incorporates small reflective mirrors into stitched designs. It is especially associated with textile traditions of western India.

Natural Dye

Natural dyes are coloring agents derived from plants, insects, or minerals. Indigo, madder, and cochineal are well-known examples.

Nomadic Textile

Nomadic textiles are produced by communities with mobile lifestyles. They frequently combine utility, symbolism, and portability.

Odhana

An odhana is a traditional draped cloth or veil worn in parts of South Asia. It may be decorated with embroidery, dyeing, or printed motifs.

Paisley

Paisley is a curved teardrop-shaped motif associated with Persian and Indian textile traditions. It became widely popular in European textiles during the nineteenth century.

Palindon & Palelitangan

Palindon & Palelitangan refers to painted narrative cloths associated with the Kamasan artistic tradition of Bali, Indonesia. These textiles depict scenes from Hindu epics, mythology, and courtly life, and were traditionally used in temples, ceremonies, and royal contexts.

Patola

Patola is a highly prized double-ikat silk textile from Gujarat. Both warp and weft threads are resist-dyed before weaving to create precise patterns.

Pile Weaving

Pile refers to the raised surface of certain textiles and carpets created by cut or looped yarns. Pile contributes softness and texture.

Phad

A Phad is a painted narrative textile from Rajasthan used for storytelling and religious performance traditions. Large cloth panels depict sacred tales and heroes.

Phulkari

Phulkari is a Punjabi embroidery tradition characterized by colorful silk floss stitched onto handwoven cloth. The name literally means “flower work.”

Pidan

Pidan refers to ceremonial temple hangings found in parts of Southeast Asia and Indonesia. These textiles often carry religious and ritual significance.

Pua Kumbu

Pua Kumbu is a sacred ceremonial textile woven by the Iban people of Borneo. Complex motifs are traditionally created through ikat techniques.

Qashqai

Qashqai refers to the textiles and carpets produced by the Qashqai nomadic tribes of southwestern Iran. Their weavings are known for bold geometric motifs, rich natural dyes, and designs reflecting pastoral and tribal life.

Resist Dyeing

Resist dyeing is a process in which parts of a fabric are protected from dye. Techniques such as batik and tie-dye are examples of resist methods.

Shawl

A shawl is a woven or embroidered textile worn over the shoulders or body. Many historic shawls are valued as both garments and works of art.

Sari

A sari is a long draped garment worn primarily in South Asia. Regional weaving and decoration traditions create immense stylistic diversity.

Selvage

Selvage is the finished edge of woven fabric that prevents unraveling. It forms naturally during the weaving process.

Shipcloth

Shipcloths are ceremonial textiles featuring ship motifs and are associated with maritime cultures of Southeast Asia. They often symbolize journeys, trade, or ancestral connections.

Silk

Silk is a natural fiber produced by silkworms. Its sheen, strength, and softness have made it one of the world's most valued textile materials.

Songket

Songket is a Southeast Asian brocade textile woven with metallic supplementary threads. Gold and silver designs create shimmering patterns.

Soumac

Soumac, also spelled Sumak or Soumakh, is a weaving technique that creates richly textured flatwoven textiles using wrapped supplementary weft threads. It is commonly found in Caucasian, Persian, and Central Asian rugs and produces a durable surface with a slightly embroidered appearance.

Supplementary Weft

Supplementary weft is an additional decorative thread inserted during weaving to create motifs. It is commonly used in brocade and Jamdani textiles.

Sungkit

Sungkit is a decorative weaving technique in which supplementary threads are added to create raised patterns. It is closely related to songket traditions.

Tampan

A Tampan is a ceremonial shipcloth from Lampung, Sumatra. These textiles were historically used in ritual exchanges and social ceremonies.

Temple Hanging

A temple hanging is a decorative textile displayed in religious spaces. Such textiles may depict sacred symbols, deities, or ritual narratives.

Textile Fragment

A textile fragment is a surviving portion of a larger historic textile. Fragments are often studied for evidence of techniques, materials, and cultural history.

Thangka

A thangka is a painted or embroidered Tibetan religious hanging. Although primarily a sacred image, textile forms are important within Himalayan traditions.

Tie-Dye

Tie-dye is a resist-dyeing method in which tied sections of fabric resist color penetration. Variations exist across many cultures worldwide.

Tuareg

Tuareg refers to the nomadic Amazigh communities of the Sahara and the textiles, leatherwork, and woven traditions associated with their culture. Tuareg craftsmanship often features geometric motifs, indigo-dyed fabrics, and utilitarian objects adapted to desert life.

Ulos

Ulos is the traditional woven cloth of the Batak peoples of Indonesia. Different types of ulos serve specific ceremonial and social functions.

Warp

Warp threads run lengthwise on a loom and form the structural foundation of a woven textile. They are interlaced with weft threads during weaving.

Weft

Weft threads pass across the width of a textile during weaving. Together with the warp, they create the woven structure.

Weaving

Weaving is the process of interlacing warp and weft threads to create fabric. It is one of humanity’s oldest textile technologies.

Wayang Batik

Wayang batik combines batik techniques with imagery derived from Indonesian wayang shadow-puppet traditions. Narrative and mythological scenes are common subjects.

Zardozi

Zardozi is an elaborate embroidery technique using metallic threads, sequins, beads, and precious materials to create richly decorative surfaces. Originating in Persian and Mughal court traditions, zardozi has long been associated with ceremonial garments and luxury textiles.