Units of textile measurement
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[edit] Denier
Denier is a unit of measure for the linear mass density of fibers. It is defined as the mass in grams per 9,000 meters. In the International System of Units the tex is used instead (see below).
One can distinguish between Filament and Total denier. Both are defined as above but the first only relates to a single filament of fiber (also commonly known as Denier per Filament or D.P.F) whereas the second relates to an agglomeration of filaments.
The following relationship applies to straight, uniform filaments:
- D.P.F. = Total Denier / Quantity of Uniform Filaments
The denier system of measurement is used on two and single filament fibers. Some common calculations are as follows:
| 1 denier | = 1 gram per 9 000 meters |
| = 0.05 grams per 450 meters (1/20 of above) |
- A fiber is generally considered a microfiber if it is 1 denier or less.
- A 1-denier polyester fiber has a diameter of about 10 micrometres.
- Denier is used as the measure of density of weave in tights and pantyhose, which defines their opaqueness.
[edit] Mommes
Mommes (mm) is a unit of weight traditionally used to measure the density of silk. It is similar to the use of thread count for cotton fabrics. Mommes express the weight in pounds, of a piece of material of size 45 inches by 100 yards.
Silk is measured by weight either by grams or by momme (mm). 28 grams = 1 ounce. 8 momme = 1 oz.
The usual range of momme weight for different weaves of silk are:
- Habutai - 5 to 16 mm
- Chiffon - 6 to 8 mm (can be made in double thickness, i.e. 12 to 16 mm)
- Crepe de Chine - 12 to 16 mm
- Gauze - 3 to 5 mm
- Raw silk - 35 to 40 mm (heavier silks appear more 'wooly')
- Organza - 4 to 6 mm
[edit] Tex
Tex is a unit of measure for the linear mass density of fibers and is defined as the mass in grams per 1000 meters. Tex is more likely to be used in Canada and Europe, while denier remains more common in the United States. The unit code is "tex". The most commonly used unit is actually the decitex, abbreviated dtex, which is the mass in grams per 10,000 meters. When measuring objects that consist of multiple fibers the term "filament tex" is sometimes used, referring to the mass in grams per 10,000 meters of a single filament.
Tex is used for measuring fiber size in many products, including cigarette filters, optical cable, yarn, and fabric.
One can calculate the diameter of a filament given its weight in dtex with the following formula:
where ρ represents the material's density in grams per cubic centimeter and the diameter is in cm.
[edit] Thread
Thread is a cotton yarn measure, equal to 54 inches.
[edit] Thread count
Thread count is a measure of the coarseness or fineness of fabric. It is measured by counting the number of threads contained in one square inch of fabric, including both the length (warp) and width (weft) threads. It is used especially in regard to cotton linens such as bed sheets.
Thread count is a simple measure of fabric quality, so that "standard" cotton thread counts are around 150 while good-quality sheets start at 180 and a count of 200 or higher is considered percale. Extremely high thread counts (typically over 500) tend to be misleading as they usually use 'plied' yarns. i.e. one yarn that is made by twisting together multiple finer threads. For marketing purposes, a fabric with 250 yarns in both the vertical and horizontal direction could have the component threads counted to a 1000 thread count although "according to the National Textile Association, which cites the international standards group ASTM, accepted industry practice is to count each thread as one, even threads spun with two- or three-ply yarn. The Federal Trade Commission agrees and recently issued a warning that consumers 'could be deceived or misled' by inflated thread counts."[1]
In 2002, ASTM proposed a definition for "thread count" [2] that has been called "the industry's first formal definition for thread count" [3].
Older, informal definitions include the "U.S. Customs Harmonized Tariff Schedule, which states each ply should be counted as one using the "average yarn number." [4]"
