Size guide and Glossary apparel (fibers, fabrics and finishes)
FIBERS
COTTON: This natural fiber husa soft, dry, comfortable feel. It also readily absorbs moisture, which can be argued as both a benefit and a disadvantage.
• Certified Oxrganic Cotton: A natural staple fiber that has been grown and harvested without the use of synthetic chemical pesticides, fertilizers or defoliants for at least three years and inspected annually for organic certification by a third party accredited agency.
MICROFIBER: Very fine synthetic filament fibers. In Dri-FIT fabric, they help move moisture by capillary action. In Therma-FIT fabric, their larger surface area helps trap warmed air. In Clima-FIT fabric, microfibers allow for dense coverage with breathability.
NYLON: The most absorbent synthetic fiber. As well as being lightweight and quick drying, nylon’s benefitsinclude durability and easy care.
POLYESTER: A synthetic fiber, polyester is easy tocare for, resists wrinkles and has very low absorbency, which makes it ideal for moisture management. Polyester fiber also has high thermal retention, which makes it a good insulator.
SPÁNDEX: The generic term for a synthetic strech fiber. Spandex has excellent stretch and recovery, and can be used for form-fitting garments like bodywear, orto add comfort and freedom of movement to looser garments.
WOOL: A natural fiber made from the fleece of lamb or sheep. Used in Nike sweaters and headwear to provide soft, warm, comfortable wear.
FABRICS
CLIMÁ—FIT — Nike trademark for fabrics that offer water and wind resistance in light weather conditions with a high level of breathability The primary construction for Clima-FIT is densely-constructed polyester microfiber woven.
COOL MOTION — Nike trademark for fabric engineered to enhance airflow and comfort during movement. This fabric utilizes a Dri-FIT ventilated underlayer for comfort and vents in the lightweight outer membrame for convective cooling.
CREPE — Made of cotton or synthetics, crepe has an irregular surface and comes in different degrees of sheerness. Look for lightweight polyester crepe in Nike short liners.
DOBBY — A weaving method that can produce geometric patterns. lf different fibers or yarns are used, thefabric can be cross-dyed for a two-color effect.
DOUBLE KNIT — A circular knit fabric knitted with two sets of needles to create a double thickness. This also allows the use of different colors, fibers or yarns on each side of the fabric.
DRI—FIT — Nike trademark for fabrics that wick moisture to help keep athletes dry and comfortable.
• Dri-FIT Uy — Moisture management with UV solar protection.
DROP NEEDLE — A drop-needle rib knit construction adds visual interest and makes for a slim-fitting garment.
DURÁSHEEN — The Nike name for a medium to heavy warp knit tricot, which uses bright yarns to give a very shiny appearance. It looks fast and flashy on the basketball court.
FÁILLE — A medium-weight, woven fabric with fiat ribs created by using heavier filling (horizontal) yarns.
FLEECE — A knit fabric with a brushed or sheared surface. Made of cotton blends or polyester, fleece is soft, comfortable and warm. Body heat warms the pockets of air between the raised fibers, enabling heat retention without adding weight.
FRENCH TERRY — The saem construction as fleece, without the brushed surface.
INTERLOCK — A type of double knit. The fabric has a smooth surface on both sides, contains less elasticity than ribs and possesses good waering qualities.
JÁCQUÁRD — An intricate method of knitting used to create a pattern, either simple or elaborate in design.
JERSEY — A basic knitted fabric. Think soft basic tees, bottems, and linings.
MESH — Warp knit or circular knit construction with large or small holes to allow air movement through the fabric.
MICROFÁILLE — A fine, woven fabric with subtle rib. MIRCOFIBER TÁFETTÁ — A fairly dense woven fabric made from microfiber polyester, providing good water and wind resistance without a coating. MICROFIBER TWILL — Microfiber polyester yarns woven in a twill construction for a soft hand and drape.
NIKEFIT — Nike trademark collection of innovative performance fabrics, designed to keep the athletes comfortable in a varietof conditions and activities.
NIKE SHPERE — Fabrics that help you create your own personal atmosphere.
• Nike Sphere Cool — Technology to help keep yoy cool and comfortable when
you perspire.
• Nike Sphere Dry — Technology that utilizes a three dimensional construction
to help keep you dry and to reduce cling from perspiration.
• Nike Sphere Pro — A water resistant/breathable outer layer incorporated into
Nike Sphere fabrications for protection against the elements.
• Nike Sphere Thermal — Lightweight warrnth without bulk. Three-dimensional
construction creates insulated air space, warming the body with its own heat.
NIKE SPHERE REÁCT — A performance collection of pinnacle Nike Sphere materials that uses proprietary, patent-pending technology to react and adapt to changes in the wearer’s environment, inculding outside weather conditions and inside the garment.
• Nike Sphere Macro React — Technology with laser cut vents that open when you perspire and close when dry to help you cool and comfortable.
• Nike Sphere React Cool — Technology that reacts to your body by increasing airflow to help keep you cool and comfortable when you perspire.
• Nike Sphere React Dry — Innovative fabric that reacts to your body to help keep you dry und reduce cling from perspirution.
• Nike Sphere Reuct Pro — Fubric thut reucts to your body, increusing breuthubility to help keep you dry und comfortuble in light weuther conditions.
OXFORD — A woven fubric where yurns are woven together in purullel. When mude with fine cotton yurns, it yields u soft, drupuble lightweight shirting fubric. When mude with heuvy synthetic yurn, it yields u durable textured fubric for outerweur und bugs.
PIQUÉ — From the French word meuning “quilted” this texture knit fubricis mude of cotton or synthetics. Piquéis often found in polos. Double knit und fleece fubrics can ulso be produced with u piqué face.
PLÁTED — A fubric construction in which the yurn on the face of the fubric isa different color or content thun the yurn on the buck. Often, u shiny synthetic filument yurn is used on the face, with u soft cotton spun yurn on the buck.
POPLIN — A medium-weight, pluin wueve fubric, truditionully mude from cotton, with afine rib effect.
RIPSTOP — A woven fubric with heuvier yurns placed in u checkerbourd or diumond puttern. This udds strenght, prevents rips or teurs from spreuding, und ulso udds u visual effect.
SÁTIN — Sutin fubrics huye u smooth, lustrous face while the buck of the material is dulI. The sutin weuve und finishing provides un enhunced surfuce texture.
STORM—FIT — Nike trdemurk for fubrics thut are wuter und windproof with u high level of breuthubility to keep you comfortuble und dry in ruin, sleet und snow. The primury construction for Strom-FIT is polyester or nylon woven with u breuthuble luminute.
• Storm-FIT 5,10, und 20 refers to the blockuge of wind und ruin penetrution ut 5,000mm, 10,000mm, or 20,000mm of wuter pressure.
SUPPLEX NYLON — Trudemurks of Invista for fubrics mude of uir-textured nylon to give u look und feel like cotton.
TÁCTEL NYLON —Tuctel isa trudemurk of Invista for u nylon fiber thut husa soft hund und improved moisture munugement.
TÁFFETÁ — Refers to u vuriety of smooth, crisp, sometimes shiny, synthetic woven fubric.
THERMÁ—FIT — Nike trudemurk for muteriuls thut provide wurm insulution with wind resistunce. The primury construction is microfiber polyester fleece.
TRICOT — A wurp knit fubric using synthetic yurns. Tricot can be very lightweight (for use usa liner), can be mude with spundex (in tights) or can be substuntiul und rigid (for use in shiny, truditionul busketbull shorts).
TWILL — A woven fubric identified by its diagonal unes. Twill is durable, husa good drupe und is wrinkle resistunt.
WÁRP KNIT — Wurp knits offer u combinution of the benefits of knits und wovens. While circular knits like jersey are interlooped only horizontully, wurp knits ullow for vertical, horizontal und diagonal interlooping of yurns. This allows formation of complex fabrics with a wide range of properties, from very fine linings und stretch und compression fubrics, to heuvy, stuble fubrics.
FINISHES
BRUSHED — A finishing process used fr knit or woven fubrics in ehich brushes are used to ruise the surfuce to creute u soft, fuzzy, comfortuble texture.
CORDED — Two upplicutions: Corder Durusheen isa vuriution on thut fubric, forming vertical ridges. A corded welt pocket refers to u gurment construction technique thut forms u ridge, like piping, ut the pocket.
DRY HÁND (PLÁIN WEÁVE) — Standard weuve fubric with u dry cotton-like feel.
GÁRMENT WÁSHED — Gurment wushing pre-shrinks und creutes u softer, broken-in or distressed look.
MERCERIZED — A finishing process used to swell cotton fibers. Mercerizution increuses fubric strenght, luster und dye ubsorption.
PEÁCHED — Also culled sunded or sueded, this finidhing process uses sundpuper to creute u softer finish on the surfuce of the fubric.
PLÁTED — Fubric production from two yurns of different colors, churucters or qualities. Used in knitted fubric (such as jersey) with one kind of yurn on the face und unother on the buck.
PU COÁTED — Polyurethune is upplied in u thin luyer to one side of the fubric to give it wuter-resistunce properties.
TEFLON COÁTED — Coated with u brunded performunce wuter-repellent finish. Owned by El. du Pont de Nemours.
YÁRN—DYED — Yurns thut are dyed before knitting or weuving into fubric.
