Fabric Types and Properties: A Buyer’s Guide to Knit, Woven and Nonwoven Fabrics

Fabric types and properties come down to four layers

To describe a fabric completely, state its construction, fibre, yarn and finish separately. The table summarises the four layers and what each one changes.

The yarn layer is the one most often confused with fabric names, and the best-known example is penye. Cotton is cleaned of short fibres, neps and small dirt particles on a combing machine. According to Cotton Incorporated, combing can significantly improve yarn evenness, handle, strength and lustre, and finer yarn counts are often spun from combed cotton (ISP 1006, 2003). So penye is a yarn process, not a fabric structure: “penye süprem” means single jersey made from combed cotton yarn. The Turkish Language Association dictionary (TDK) also defines penye as a kind of fine fabric finished with a special tool in weaving, which is why the two meanings blur. On a quotation, write construction and yarn separately.

The three main fabric groups by production method

The first split in the construction layer is how the surface is formed.

We compare woven and knit fabrics in more detail (behaviour, end use and cost) in knit vs woven fabric. The sub-types of each group follow.

Knit fabric types

Knit fabrics divide into weft knit and warp knit (Dönmez, 2008). In weft knitting a single yarn forms loops side by side, linked with the rows above and below. Flat and circular machines are used, and T-shirts, tracksuits, sweatshirts, jumpers, socks and underwear belong here. According to Cotton Incorporated, weft knit fabric can curl at the edges and unravel, and it stretches more across the width. In warp knitting the wales are formed by lengthwise yarns and the fabric generally does not unravel, or only lengthwise; swimwear, lace, tulle curtains, towels and filters are examples (Dönmez, 2008, citing Marmaralı).

The table compares the main circular knit (weft knit) fabrics used in clothing. The choice between single jersey, piqué, interlock and rib for T-shirts is covered in T-shirt fabric types.

Sweatshirt and tracksuit fabrics: two-thread, three-thread, fleece

In Turkish trade language these structures are called iki iplik and üç iplik (two-thread and three-thread), brushed (şardonlu) or unbrushed (şardonsuz). Academic papers call them “lined knits” (Turkish: astarlı örgü) or fleece (Uyanık, 2023). Brushing (şardon) means brushing the floats on the reverse; Cotton Incorporated says napping creates a pile of protruding fibre ends on the surface. CottonWorks distinguishes two-thread fleece from French terry by the brushing of the inner loops, and defines French terry as an unbrushed fleece with float loops on the reverse. Brushed two-thread fabrics feel warmer than unbrushed ones (Güneşoğlu et al., cited in Uyanık, 2023).

Woven fabric types

Weaving interlaces two sets of yarn: lengthwise warp yarns and crosswise weft yarns. Warp yarns are raised and lowered on the loom to form an opening (the shed), and weft yarns are inserted through it one by one (CottonWorks, Weaving Basics). Most woven designs rest on three basic weaves: plain weave, twill and satin.

The three basic weaves

The table rests on CottonWorks’ page on basic woven designs. The same source uses satin for satin-weave fabric woven from silk and sateen for that woven from other fibres. The Turkish word saten does not name the fibre, so state it separately in your enquiry.

Woven fabric names by weave family

Most woven fabric names on the market describe a variant of these three weaves, a loom technique or a finishing process.

Denim: structure and dyeing combined, not a fibre

Denim is not a fibre name. According to CottonWorks, the warp is dyed with indigo and the weft left undyed; the construction is usually 2×1 or 3×1 twill, and the learning pages cite 3×1 as the standard. Indigo does not dye the yarn through: it leaves a coloured ring around a white core (CottonWorks, Denim Construction). Denim therefore cannot be described by one layer: twill weave (construction), indigo-dyed warp (dyeing) and, in CottonWorks’ definition, cotton (fibre) together make denim.

Nonwoven fabrics

Based on ISO 9092, EDANA defines a nonwoven as an engineered, essentially planar fibrous structure that has been given a certain structural integrity by physical and/or chemical means, other than weaving, knitting or papermaking. The raw material can be natural or manufactured fibres, continuous filaments or chopped yarns. The properties of the product depend on the choice of raw material, the forming and bonding method, and finishing treatments such as printing, embossing and lamination (EDANA).

In weaving and knitting the surface is built from yarns; in a nonwoven, fibres or filaments are laid into a web and bonded. EDANA lists absorbent hygiene products (baby nappies, sanitary pads, adult incontinence products), construction, filtration, geosynthetics and civil engineering, medical and healthcare uses, and wipes as the main applications. Production methods such as spunbond, meltblown and needle-punching are outside the scope of this guide. The current edition of ISO 9092 dates from 2026; the definition used here is the one reported by EDANA.

Fabric groups by fibre

The fibre layer sets how a fabric reacts to moisture, heat and washing. Annex I of the EU Textile Fibre Names Regulation (1007/2011) lists the fibre names that may be used on labels and a definition for each. The table combines those definitions with general principles about fabric behaviour.

On a quotation, write the fibre name and percentage rather than the class name: for example “95% cotton, 5% elastane”. Labelling itself is a legal matter. As of this article’s date, Regulation 1007/2011 requires the EU market to name all fibres with their percentage by weight in descending order (Article 9). Confirm the current labelling rules of the market you will sell in with an expert.

Blends offset the weaknesses of a single fibre. Writing about workwear, Vasile et al. (2025) note that fibre choice follows workplace risks and that blends drawing on the useful properties of several fibres are preferred today. For how fibre, construction and weight together affect summer coolness, see breathable fabrics for summer.

Fabric properties and how they are measured

Adjectives such as “soft”, “durable” or “breathable” do not work in a contract; fabric properties are defined by test method. The table lists the properties buyers ask for most often. Standard numbers and editions follow EVS (the Estonian standards body) records as of October 2026. For how each test is run, its result scale and how to read a lab report, see the fabric testing guide.

Weight depends on the state of measurement. In Cotton Incorporated’s example, a 100% cotton single jersey knitted from combed Ne 30/1 ring-spun yarn on a 28-gauge machine measured 135 g/m² greige as delivered and 176 g/m² relaxed; the tubular width fell from 91 cm to 76 cm. After finishing the values were 149 g/m² delivered and 166 g/m² relaxed (ISP 1009, Table I). State which condition you mean, and whether the width is tubular or open. (1 oz/yd² ≈ 33.9 g/m².)

Turkish fabric names on a quotation

Quotations from Turkish mills and suppliers often use local trade names, and names vary by region and supplier. Check the structure, yarn and weight on a sample rather than relying on the name.

Fabric ordering checklist

1. State the use and care. Fix the product, the washing and drying conditions and the printing or dyeing method up front; the fabric is chosen to match.
2. Write construction, fibre, yarn and finish separately. A single word such as “penye”, “cotton” or “synthetic” is not enough.
3. Describe the fabric in one line. Construction or weave, composition (with percentages), yarn, weight (with the state of measurement), width (tubular or open) and finish. Cotton Incorporated says a knit specification can also state the machine gauge, cylinder diameter, number of needles, stitch density, and yarn type and count. Example: “Single jersey, 95% cotton – 5% elastane, Ne … combed ring-spun yarn, … g/m² (relaxed), … cm open width, shrinkage-control finish”.
4. Ask for delivered and relaxed measurements. Have weight, width and stitch or thread density measured in both states.
5. Put the tests that suit the product into the contract. From the table above, state which method applies, with which limit value, for dimensional change, pilling, abrasion, strength and colour fastness.
6. Compare the sample with the lot. Compare the approved sample’s weight, width and colour with the production lot.

Summary

The first step in choosing fabric is to name it correctly. When you write construction (woven, knit, nonwoven and the weave or knit structure), fibre, yarn and finish separately, quotations become comparable and it is clear which test to request. Commercial terms such as MOQ, lead time and price depend on the supplier; for where and how to buy fabric in Turkey, see sourcing fabric from Turkey. If you are looking for a fabric supplier, browse the knitted fabric, woven fabric, nonwoven and denim fabric categories in our company directory.