Glossary - F

Fabric
Cloth or fabric is a flexible artificial material made up of a network of natural or artificial fibres (thread or yarn) formed by weaving or knitting (textiles), or pressed into felt. The words fabric and material are commonly used in the textile assembly trades such as tailoring and dressmaking, as synonyms for cloth. They are however, words with much more general meanings.

Fasteners
A general term covering a wide variety of screws and nails, which may be used for mechanically securing various components of a building.

Feather Stitch
A type of stitch in which short stitches project at right angles from a main line of stitching formed similarly to coiling. Also known as ray stitching.

Fibre
Fiber (American English) or fibre (Commonwealth English) is a class of materials that are in discrete elongated pieces, similar to pieces of thread. Fibers are often used in the manufacture of other materials. They can be spun into thread or rope. They can be used as a component of composite materials. They can also be matted into sheets to make products such as paper or felt

Fleece
Co-opted from the original textile industry when wool was the only fleece and cotton was a base layer, this is now the end-all term for many of the vests, insulation layers and even soft shells made of a fabric with a deep, soft pile. Typically a brushed, knitted, polyester fibre, fleece can also be constructed with nylon, lycra or even cotton, and sometimes uses a ceramic blend for wicking purposes.