Glossary
Uniform fabric terms: H
The vocabulary that turns up on spec sheets, quotations and tender documents, defined in a line or two. Where a term deserves more than that, it links to the guide that covers it properly.
H
- Handle
- How a fabric feels to the hand: soft, crisp, dry, smooth. It is subjective but consistent enough between experienced buyers to be worth discussing against a physical sample. Read the guide on Handle
- Header card
- Another name for a sample book, a mounted set of cuttings across qualities. Worth knowing as a separate term because asking a mill for a header card and asking for a shade card request two different things, and the wrong one arrives either a stage too early or a stage too late in the approval sequence. Read the guide on Header card
- Heat setting
- A controlled heat treatment that fixes the dimensions of a synthetic or blended fabric so it stops trying to return to an earlier state. It is what stops a polyester blend relaxing or distorting in later washing, and a fabric that was not properly heat set will show it as shrinkage or as a shifting hand after the first few laundering cycles. Read the guide on Heat setting
- Heat transfer
- Applying a logo or print by pressing a pre-printed film or vinyl onto the fabric under heat and pressure. How well it lasts depends on the fibre content of the cloth and on the wash temperature it later sees. Read the guide on Heat transfer
- Heat-setting
- Passing a polyester-rich fabric through controlled heat to lock its dimensions. It is the polyester equivalent of sanforizing, which applies to cotton. Read the guide on Heat-setting
- Hot wash
- A wash cycle at the top of the temperature range, typical of hospital and institutional laundries that wash for hygiene. It is where unstabilised shrinkage, yellowing on whites and loss of handle show up first, so fabric bound for hot-wash service should be tested at the temperature the laundry actually uses. Read the guide on Hot wash
- HS heading
- The four-digit level of the Harmonised System, one level above the national tariff line. Origin rules and agreement schedules are often written at heading level, so a rule stated for headings 55.12 to 55.16 covers every national line underneath them.
- HSN code
- A code from the Harmonised System of Nomenclature that classifies goods for tax and customs. Fabric is classified by fiber and construction, not by the garment it will become. Read the guide on HSN code
Looking for something that isn't here? The full guide library goes deeper on every term, and you can always ask us directly.
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