Textile Categories

How categories work on Tengiva?

We do it differently.

The most important thing to remember about Tengiva’s categories, is this :

We don’t want to force you towards specific fabrics for specific end products, when in reality they could be used for other products as well. We find it limits creativity and doesn’t serve you best.

For example, we won’t say “shirting fabrics” because they could actually be used to make dresses, head bands, pocketing, and much more.

So, How do you search on Tengiva?

For this example we'll take a fleece. 

Fleece can be weft knits, warp knits, wovens or multi-layers. 

With this in mind, you can understand why we didn’t create a category named fleece, it would overlap other categories.

Let’s consider a few options and differences to explain our point : 

A traditional hooded cotton fleece
would be a jersey + a third yarn loop pile (add-on added during the knitting process) + a brushed 1 side mechanical finish;

A traditional polar fleece (high pile)

would be  a solid warp knit (usually knitted on a raschel machine) + a cut-pile third yarn (added during the knitting process) + a third yarn loop pile (add-on added during the knitting process) + a brushed 2 sides (mechanical finish).

A traditional polar fleece (low pile) 
would be a jersey knit + a third yarn loop pile (add-on added during the knitting process) + a brushed 2 sides (mechanical finish)

A traditional pyjama cotton fleece 
would be a 1x1 plain weave + a brushed 1 side (mechanical finish)

A traditional softshell 
would be a 2 layers composed material + a water repellent (chemical finish) + a brushed 1 side (mechanical finish)

And that’s just fleece!

Basically, you’re the creator of your products destiny!

Introduction to the textile categories

On each category page header you will find 3 things to help you :

Wovens

Yarns coming from two directions (warp and weft) that overlap each other.

Plain weave

The face of the fabric is flat and uniform.
Though, its construction offers the possibility to conceive lighter weight textiles, it can also be used in heavier textiles.
It is, by construction, more sensitive to tearing, than twill.

Twill weave

This construction offers a better resistance to tearing, compared to an equal composition of plain weave.
It's easily recognizable by the diagonal texture on its surface, created by the float offsets.

Satin weave

This construction is mostly used with lustrous filaments and/or fibers.
The floats, over or under 4 or more yarns, have the upside of revealing the shine of these yarns,
but also the downside of rendering these materials sensitive to snag.

Complexe weave

This category includes jacquards and more complex woven structures.
They are usually selected for their surface texture and visual effects.
Each one has its strengths and weaknesses.
Just remember that, the longer the floats are (over 3 yarns and more), the more sensitive to snags the fabric becomes.

Knits

Single orientation yarns (warp or weft) that interlace.

Weft knits

Are weft yarns that interlace horizontally. They can be knitted on single or double beds (frames).
Single beds are called single knits and are mainly jersey, ribs, jacquard single knit, purl, etc.
Double beds are named double knit and are mainly : Interlock vertical, interlock horizontal (Ponte di roma) or jacquard double knit.

Warp knits

Are warp yarns that interlace vertically. These knit tend to be less extendable, but more resistant to runs, than weft knits.
Warp knits are always flat knitted. They’re sometimes called Raschel knit, named after the type of machine used to do the knitting.

Non-Wovens

Are randomly placed fibers or filaments (not yarns) that are maintained together by either glue, mechanically induced tangle or heat application (calendering).
They are commonly used as filling layer, such as insulation, or as felts for outer shell fabrics.

Composed materials (multi-layers)

Multiple layers of different fabrics that are assembled together by a lamination process (glue) to become a single fabric.
They can sometimes include a membrane, but not always. Other times, they can be used as double face fabrics.
** please note that a coating, unlike the membranes, is not considered a layer. It’sa chemical finish that’s applied to a fabric. (see filters)