Carpet Glossary

See "Dye methods."

See "Dye methods."

Spinning method most commonly used in spinning nylon staple fiber into yarn. Staple fibers measuring 4" to 8" are paralleled by combing and drafting until the fibers are in regular even slivers, or strands of combed yarn. Multiple slivers are combined to make up one finely drafted sliver. This sliver can be further blended for extreme consistency. The final sliver is put on a spinning frame and further drawn (or pulled) as twist is applied, turning the fiber into a cohesive singles yarn ready to be plied and heatset. See "Sliver."

A woven or tufted carpet style having all tufts in a loop form in either a defined or random pattern and design.

Lining up patterned carpet in such a way that the design element is continued across seams, making the finished installation appear cohesive. Patterns must be matched in the same way as they appear on the carpet itself either in a set match or drop match. See "Set match" and "Drop match."

Visually apparent streaking in patterned carpet resulting from linear juxtaposition of pattern elements in one direction. It is usually most visible in the length direction. It is not a carpet defect, but is inherent in certain designs. Contract specifiers should view rolls of carpet laid out on a floor to evaluate geometric or other busy patterns for this characteristic which may be objectionable in long corridors and other large areas, but not visible in small rooms.

In woven carpet and fabric, the number of fill yarns per inch of length. Comparable to stitches per inch in tufting.

A method in which tufted carpet is dyed, as opposed to yarn dye methods in which color is added to yarn before tufting. See "Dye methods."

Highly colored, insoluble substance used to impart color to other materials. White pigments (e.g., titanium dioxide) are dispersed in fiber polymers to produce delustered (semi-dull and dull) fibers. Colored pigments are added to polymer to create producer colored or solution dyed yarns.

Same as "solution dyed yarns."

The visible surface of carpet, consisting of yarn tufts in loop and/or cut configuration. Sometimes called the face or nap.

Loss of pile thickness by compression and bending of tufts caused by foot traffic and heavy pressure from stationary furniture. The tufts collapse into the space between them. It may be irreversible if the yarn has inadequate resilience and/or the pile has insufficient density for the traffic load.

The length of the tufts measured from the primary backing top surface to their tips. Pile tufts should be gently extended but not stretched during accurate measurement. This specification is expressed in fractions of an inch or decimal fractions of an inch in the U.S.

A persistent change in the direction of the pile lay in certain areas resulting in an apparent visual difference of shade. Also known as watermarking, pooling or shading.

The resulting thickness when the thickness of the backing is subtracted from the total thickness of the finished carpet.

The weight in ounces of the fiber in a square yard of carpet.

The yarn making up the tufts of the carpet.

The tendency of fibers to work loose from a surface and form balled or matted particles that remain attached to the surface of the carpet.

See "Flame resistance tests."

A mechanism used in parallel spinning to orient the fibers by using combing pins and rollers.

See "Gauge/pitch."

A measure of the number of individual yarns twisted together to produce the finished carpet yarn. For example, atwo-ply yarn means that each tuft consists of two yarns twisted together. For cut-pile carpets, plied yarns must be heatset to prevent untwisting under traffic.

Polyester fiber

A synthetic fiber, usually produced with staple fiber and spun yarns, that is used in some carpet fiber.

Polymers are large chemical molecules from which synthetic fibers are made. Polymers are complex, chain-like molecules made by uniting simpler molecules called monomers. Synthetic polymers used for commercial carpet fiber include Type 6,6 nylon and Type 6 nylon (polyamides) and polypropylene.

A chemical reaction where small molecules combine to form much larger molecules.

See "Olefin fiber ."

Carpet that has been dyed in its tufted form. Post-dyed means the carpet rather than the yarn has been dyed.

Carpet that has been constructed with colored yarns either by solution dyeing or yarn dyeing.

See "Backing systems."

Carpet having printed colored patterns. Printing methods include flatbed screen printing, rotary screen printing, and modern computer-programmed jet injection printing.

A carpet manufacturer brand name given to a fiber that is mill extruded or produced by a fiber manufacturer. At any given time the carpet manufacturer may choose to change the source of fiber which results in varying performance characteristics of the carpet. See "Mill-extruded fiber."

Color introduced into nylon fiber at the nylon manufacturing stage. See "Dye Methods - Solution-dyed."

See "Backing systems."