DECORATION

Bring your shirt design or company clothing to life. Explore embroidery, printing, dye, and finish design options for your custom logo apparel.

Logo Embroidery

Logo Heat Transfer

Logo Laser Applique

Logo Laser Etching

Pop Your Pocket

Logo Reverse Applique

Screen Printed T-Shirts

Soft Screen Printed T-Shirts

Glossary

DYEING & FINISHING

ANTI-MICROBIAL FINISH: Topical chemical treatment to safely prevent and control growth of microorganisms on your shirt decoration and fabric. Treatment will also inhibit odor development caused by biological growth on textiles exposed to perspiration, especially on synthetic fabrics.

ANTI-PILL: A garment’s resistance to abrasion caused from wear, preventing fibers from twisting together and forming little balls on the fabric surface of your shirt decoration and fabric.

DURABLE WATER REPELLENT (DWR): Water repellent fabric which will maintain its repellency characteristics after multiple launderings. A DWR finish is a popular method for Many Vantage jackets and windshirts.

GARMENT DYED: Color is introduced onto finished garments, after sewing. Color remains on the surface of the fabric (not absorbed fully into the yarns), making it susceptible to color rub-off (crocking).

MOISTURE MOVEMENT: Process of a fabric absorbing liquid moisture (by wicking) and moving it to the outer surface so it may rapidly evaporate.

PIECE DYED: Color is introduced onto fabric, “in the piece”, after weaving or knitting, providing a single color for the material.

SOIL/STAIN RELEASE FINISH: Topical chemical treatment acting as fabric shield for protection against water-based and oil based soils or stains. Liquids bead-up on fabric surface for quick blotting, absorbed soils or stains are released from fibers during home laundering.

ULTRAVIOLET PROTECTION: Fabric that provides protection by blocking Ultra Violet Radiation (UVR) from passing through, reducing the risk of skin injury associated with Ultra Violet exposure. The Ultraviolet Protection Factor (UPF) is the measure of the UVR protection provided by the fabric. UVR protection can be created through a combination of fiber type, stitch construction, color, etc., or by topical treatment with a chemical finish for ultraviolet radiation protective properties.

WATER REPELLENT: Fabric has a thin coating applied to the outer fabric which allows water to bead up and roll off instead of being absorbed. The fabric is permeable to air and is comfortable to wear. The finish is temporary and will wear off.

WATER PROOF: Fabric provides maximum wet weather protection by preventing all water entry under severe and demanding conditions. The fabric is impermeable to water and air, and usually uncomfortable to wear. For a garment to be water proof, every design and construction detail must be engineered (such as sealing exposed seams, protected zippers and other closures) to be completely leak proof.

WICKING: Fabric or yarn’s ability to absorb or draw-in and hold liquid moisture (perspiration) by drawing it into the fibers.

WINDPROOF: Fabric prevents wind from moving through it. Fabrics can be windproof because of tight weave construction, by topical coating or by lamination of a windproof membrane onto an air-permeable fabric. All waterproof fabrics are also windproof.

YARN DYED: Color is introduced following yarn spinning onto greige (unfinished, “natural”) yarn before the fabric is knit or woven.

FABRIC

AIR-JET TEXTURED NYLON: A very high filament fabric in which yarns are propelled through a shed by means of a jet of air at high speeds giving it a very soft texture.

BROADCLOTH: A fine, closely woven, lustrous cotton or cotton/poly blend made in plain weave.

CANVAS: A fabric usually made from cotton, flax, hemp, or jute in heavier weights, plain or double-end plain weaves, featuring strength and firmness.

CHAMBRAY: A plain woven fabric, most commonly in cotton, incorporating a colored warp (often blue) and white filling yarns.

CIRCULAR KNIT (Tubular): Fabric knit on circular needle-bed knitting machine which produces fabric in tubular form.

DENIM: A twill weave fabric made with different colored yarns in the warp and the weft. Due to the twill construction, the warp color predominates on the fabric surface.

DOUBLE-TUCK PIQUE: A pique knit fabric with a tuck stitch, where two loops are formed in a single loop, creating a mesh pattern.

END-ON-END: A fabric in which white or contrast color threads are interwoven alternately with colored threads to produce a subtle textured effect.

FAILLE: A soft, finely-ribbed woven fabric made using heavier yarns in the cross-grain to produce a horizontal, ribbed effect.

FLANNEL: A plain or twill weave fabric that has a very soft hand, brushed on both sides to lift the fiber ends out of the base fabric and create a soft, fuzzy surface. End-uses of this popular method include shirts, linings, and pajamas.

FLEECE: A soft bulky fabric with deep pile; used chiefly for clothing.

HERRINGBONE: A variation on the twill weave construction in which the twill is reversed, or broken, at regular intervals, producing a zigzag effect.

HOUNDSTOOTH CHECK: A variation on the twill weave construction in which a broken check effect is produced, utilizing at least two different colored yarns.

JACQUARD: A specialty fabric of intricate weave or knit pattern.

JERSEY: A single knit fabric with a smooth, flat face, and a more textured, but uniform back, may be produced on either circular or flat knitting machines.

KNIT: Fabric formed by interloping one or more strands of yarn by the use of knitting needles. The vertical rows of loops are called “wales”; horizontal rows of loops are called “courses”. Changing the loop arrangement will produce a variety of knit constructions or stitches, such as pique, interlock, jersey, rib, etc.

MESH: A type of fabric characterized by its net-like open appearance, and the spaces between the yarns; available as a woven or knits.

MICROSUEDE: Woven fabric made from microfiber yarns that are napped and sheared to provide a ‘suede-effect’.

MILANO KNIT: Identified by a fine rib effect on the face of the fabric.

OTTOMAN KNIT: A warp-faced fabric showing a bold weftwayrib effect on the face.

OXFORD: A lightweight woven fabric in a 2 x 1 basket weave variation of the plain weave construction. The fabric is used primarily in shirts.

PIQUE: A knit fabric distinguished as a waffle or honeycomb surface effect.

POPLIN: A fabric made using a rib variation of the plain weave, having a slight ridge effect in the filling direction.

QUILTING: Two or more layers of fabric which have been stitched through, often with batting. The stitching forms a pattern, most commonly a square or diamond shape.

RIB KNIT: Rib knits have a very high degree of elasticity in the crosswise direction. This knitted fabric is commonly used for sleeve cuffs, neckbands/collars, and sweater waistbands. Rib knits provide a close, body-hugging fit.

RIP-STOP: Large rib yarns in this plain weave fabric stop tears without adding excess weight to active sportswear fabric.

TAFFETA: A lustrous plain weave fabric commonly used for linings and windbreakers.

TERRY CLOTH: A pile weave fabric with uncut loops on the surface. Typical uses include towels, robes, and apparel.

TERRY VELOUR: A pile weave fabric with an uncut loops on one side and a cut pile on the reverse side, having a soft, luxurious hand. Commonly used for toweling and robe fabrics

TWILL WEAVE: A basic weave in which the fabrics are constructed by interlacing warp and filling yarns to create a diagonal effect on the face of the fabric.

WOVEN: Fabric formed with two sets of yarns which are interlaced together on a loom. Yarns in the length direction are called “ends” or “warp”; yarns in the width direction are called “picks” or “weft”. Changing the interlacing will produce a variety of weave constructions, such as plain weave, twill, dobby, jacquard, etc.

QUALITY ASSURANCE

BUNGEE CORD: An elasticized rubber cord used to fasten or cinch the garment around a body part.

BUTTON-DOWN COLLAR: Shirt collar with pointed ends fastened to shirt by small buttons.

BYRON COLLAR: Pointed collar with no band.

CONVERTIBLE COLLAR: A rolled collar (sewn directly to the neckline), designed to be worn either fastened as a stand-up collar or unfastened as a lay-down collar.

EYELET: A small hole or perforation, usually rimmed with metal or edged with embroidered stitches, used for ventilation or to insert a cord/pin through the opening.

FUSED COLLAR/ PLACKET/ CUFF: Made with an interfacing as a foundation fabric with adhesive making it easier to iron or wrinkle-free.

GROMMET: A small ring or stud (metal or plastic) used to reinforce an eyelet or a stitch.

GUSSET: A fabric insert, as in the seam of a garment, for added strength or expansion; often triangular in shape.

HIDDEN-BUTTON COLLAR: Shirt collar with pointed ends fastened to shirt by small buttons to a hidden loop on the underside of the collar points.

JOHNNY COLLAR: A small collar over a ribbed v-neck.

MOCK TURTLE: Separate reduced height band collar, single ply, that fits close to the neck.

NOTCHED LAPEL: A tailored collar which has an indentation or “notch” cut out where the lapel joins the collar.

PLACKET: Slit at neck, wrist in shirt/blouse, or front of pants/ skirt to facilitate taking garments on and off. Fastened by button, zippers, etc.

SPREAD COLLAR: Shirt collar with a wide division between points in front.

STAND-UP COLLAR (Banded): Collar extending higher on the neck . May also be turned down in either front or back, to form two distinct types of collars.

TURTLENECK COLLAR: High band collar, usually knitted, that fits very close to the neck and rolls over.

VENT: A slit in a garment which allows room for movement, as in the sides of a polo or the back seam opening of a jacket.

YOKE: Portion of garment across shoulders in front or back, usually a separate piece seamed across front and back sometimes lined.

GARMENT

ABRASION: The wearing away of a material by rubbing against another surface. Color abrasion of textiles is measured by Colorfastness to Crocking test.

ABSORBENCY/ABSORPTION: The propensity of a material to take in and retain liquid.

ACCEPTABLE QUALITY LEVEL (AQL): In a series of lots, a quality level that sets the limit of defects allowable in a sampling for the lot to be acceptable. The smaller the AQL number, the fewer defectives allowed per sample size. Vantage inspects at AQL 2.5, considerable stricter than the general apparel industry standard of AQL 4.0.

BARRE: An unintentional, repetitive visual pattern of bars and/ or stripes usually in the width direction of a fabric.

CARE INSTRUCTIONS: A series of directions describing which care practices should refurbish a product without adverse effects and warning against practices expected to be harmful.

CAUSE: An identified reason for the presence of a defect or problem.

CODE OF CONDUCT: Expectations of behavior. Every Vantage qualified factory provides signed commitment to responsible manufacturing, ethical and responsible conduct, respect for rights of all individuals and for the environment.

COLORFASTNESS: Resistance to fading; a fabric’s ability to retain color properties under conditions of laundering, perspiration, light or sun exposure, rubbing or abrasion (crocking), et al.

COLOR BLEEDING: The loss of color due to improper dyeing or the use of poor quality dyes; causes staining of white or light shade fabrics in contact when exposed to water, solvents, chemicals or other liquids.

COLOR FADING: The lessening of color intensity due to inferior colorfastness properties, dye weakness, exposure to chemicals, natural or artificial light, water, chemicals or other agents.

COMMERCIAL LAUNDERING: Process where textile products are refurbished in commercial laundering equipment, typically at higher temperatures, higher pHs and longer cycle times than used for home laundering.

COMPLIANCE: The state of meeting prescribed specifications, contract terms, regulations or standards.

CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT (CI): A philosophy for analyzing capabilities and processes and improving them repeatedly to achieve the objective of customer satisfaction.

CORRECTIVE ACTION: Implementation of solutions resulting in the reduction or elimination of an identified problem.

CROCKING: The transfer of color from the surface of colored textile materials to other surfaces by rubbing.

DEFECT/DEFECTIVE: Non-fulfillment of an intended requirement or reasonable expectation for use; a unit that contains one or more defects with respect to the quality characteristic(s) under consideration.

DRY CLEANING: The cleaning of textile products with organic solvents instead of water.

FABRIC STRENGTH: The maximum force applied to a fabric brought to rupture, known as breaking or tensile strength of woven fabrics, or burst strength of knit fabrics.

INSPECTION: Measuring and examining one or more characteristics of a product or service and comparing the results with specified requirements to determine conformity.

ISO 9000 STANDARDS: A set of international standards on quality management and quality assurance developed to effectively document the system elements to be implemented to maintain an efficient quality system.

LAB DIP: Dye swatch prepared in laboratory to establish dye formulation and standardization of a textile shade.

LIGHTBOX: Standardized viewing area for rating of color match under variable light bulb conditions.

METAMERIC COLOR MATCH: A colored product which maintains its same color appearance under variable light conditions.

PERFORMANCE STANDARD: The metric against which a product or action is compared.

PREVENTIVE ACTION: Action taken to remove or improve a process to prevent potential future non-conformance.

QUALITY: The characteristics of a product or service to satisfy stated or implied needs; a product or service free of deficiencies.

QUALITY ASSURANCE: The planned and systematic activities in a quality system to provide confidence a product will fulfill requirements for quality.

QUALITY CONTROL: The operational techniques and activities used to fulfill requirements for quality.

RANDOM SAMPLING: A sampling technique where sample units are selected so that all combinations of units under consideration have an equal chance of being selected as the sample.

SAMPLE SIZE: The number of units in a sample.

SHRINKAGE (dimensional change): The change in length and/or width dimensions of a garment when subjected to specified conditions.

SKEW, SPIRALITY OR TORQUE: A rotation or twisting of fabric or garment panels from the release of latent stresses in knitting or weaving.

SPECIFICATION: A document that states the requirements to which a product or service must conform.

STANDARD: The metric, specification, or physical product sample against which the outputs of a process are compared and declared acceptable or unacceptable.

WEAR LIFE: The expected useful life of the product under normal use conditions.

VALUE ADDED: The parts of the process or product that add worth from the perspective of the external customer.