Glossary
Uniform fabric terms: K
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.
K
- Kapas (seed cotton)
- Cotton as it is picked from the plant, with the fiber still attached to the seed. It is ginned to separate the lint from the seed. Read the guide on Kapas (seed cotton)
- Khaki
- A family of dull yellow-brown to olive-brown shades used for police, security and defence uniforms. There is no single khaki: each force or buyer specifies its own shade standard, and matching is done against that physical standard rather than against the word. Read the guide on Khaki
- Khaki
- A dull earthy brown-green shade used for police and military uniforms. It is not one colour: each force specifies its own khaki, so the cloth is dyed to a shade standard and approved on a lab dip. Read the guide on Khaki
- Kharif crop
- A crop sown at the start of India's monsoon season and harvested after it. Cotton is a kharif crop, which is why monsoon timing affects sowing and supply. Read the guide on Kharif crop
- Knitted fabric
- Fabric made by interlocking loops of yarn rather than by interlacing warp and weft, which gives it natural stretch. It is the counterpart to woven fabric, and suiting and shirting by the metre are woven. Read the guide on Knitted fabric
- Knitted fabric
- Cloth made by looping yarn through loops of itself, row after row. It stretches and recovers more than woven cloth, which suits T-shirts and PT wear. Read the guide on Knitted fabric
- Knotting
- Tying the ends of a new warp beam to the ends of the finished one still threaded on the loom, so the new yarn can be pulled through without drawing-in again. Used when the same fabric is woven repeatedly. Read the guide on Knotting
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