A tough fiber (animal tendon) used as a short thread or cordage for sewing leather together.

fabric made from fibers of flax plant, great fabric for hot, humid weather as it absorbs moisture.

Fiber (long staple = easy to spin) obtained from sheep and certain other animals (cashmere from goats, mohair from goats, qiviut from muskoxen, angora from rabbits). Not considered to be hair or fur

A piece of fabric worn by men to cover their genitals, not the buttocks; also known as a breechcloth. (think of Tarzan)

A piece of fabric (up to 20 ft. long) wrapped and draped around the body. Worn mostly by ancient Roman men.

Regulations that controlled what each social class could wear during the Middle Ages

the activity of buying and selling goods

Invention (by John Kay) that allowed even wider fabrics to be woven on a loom by one weaver instead of two.

An invention that increased yarn production by allowing at least yarn balls to be spun from fibers at one time.

Eli Whitney's invention (1794) that cleaned seeds from short-staple cotton and a rate of up to 50 lbs. in a day.

Samuel Crompton's invention (after the jenny) that spun various types of yarns even faster than the jenny.

Ebenezer Butter (1863), with the help of his wife, invented dress patterns on tissue paper that could be adjusted to various figures/sizes for the home sewer.

Explosive amounts of inventions transitioned hand production to mechanized production which took place between the 18th & 19th centuries; giving rise to factories.

clothing made in advance for sale to any purchaser

a factory or workshop, especially in the clothing industry, where manual workers are employed at very low wages for long hours and under poor conditions.

a set of rules, usually written and posted, specifying the required manner of dress at a school, office, club, restaurant, etc.