For introductory courses in Textiles, courses in Fashion Design/Production, Fashion Merchandising, Visual Merchandising, Interior Design, and Costume Studies. Fabric Reference is a guide for anyone who needs accessible information on today’s fabrics–how they behave and why. Designed as a companion book to theFabric Glossary, this book presents a complete and up-to-date source of the highly technical basics of textile science, from fibers to finished fabrics. Specially prepared graphics, illustrations, comparison tables, and flow charts make the process of creating modern fabrics clear to both students and instructors. This edition features more on nanotechnology, industrial textiles and other smart textiles and covers practical applications such as care, assessment and ecology. Buy both together and save! Fabric Glossary & Fabric Reference Package! Hallmark Features Covers all aspects of textile production and behavior—such as fibers; yarns; weaves and knits; tufted, twisted lace; felt; nonwoven; natural fabrics; finishing; dyeing; printing and other applied design. Gives students valuable exposure to a wide variety of textiles, providing them with a broad base of knowledge and preparing them to work with any/all fabrics in a professional setting. Offers a concise, accessible format—that is rooted in textile science but avoids challenging technical language. Allows students to gain valuable knowledge of a complicated subject without undue frustration. Covers fabric care and assessment—including care instructions, assessment guidelines, and discussions on commercial cleaning, textile testing, quality control, dyeing, and more. Builds students' confidence in predicting basic colorfastness and performance of today's materials, allowing them to make the best selection of fabric for the project at hand. Devotes a section to fabrics and ecology—see Ch. 7. Explores clothing as environment (keeping warm or cool, protection from UV rays); discusses textiles, pollution, and recycling and other 21st century developments. Covers for students an often ignored perspective that is emerging as a top concern for textile professionals. Includes a wealth of illustrations—such as photographs, bar and flow charts, and, computer scans of actual fabrics (many unraveled or arranged to reveal structure). Allows students to grasp the process of the manufacture of fabrics with good visual cues. Focuses on terminology—and defines key terms throughout the narrative and in quick-reference glossaries. Gives students a working knowledge of the language of today's consumer marketplace. Offers a unique companion book, The Fabric Glossary —an accompanying dictionary/swatch book; a swatch set of the fabric files in the book is also available. These files represent major fabrics and clarify some 600 names and terms met in all stages of production. This new edition of Fabric Reference has tables showing links to these. Offers students a valuable resource that can be used in their future careers and profession.