| Damask | A figured woven fabric in which the design is created by the use of satin and sateen weaves. |
| Decitex | "A unit of the tex system. A measure of linear density; the weight in grams of 10,000 metres of yarn." |
| Decitex per filament (dpf) | The average decitex of each filament in a multifilament yarn. |
| Decortication (flax) | The process of removing woody outer layers from the stem of the flax plant to yield flax fibres. |
| Délavé | A fabric with a washed effect. |
| Delocalisation | "The geographical move of a production unit to a low cost country. (Note that the term is increasingly being used to describe all forms of shifts in production, including foreign sourcing and subcontracting.)" |
| Denier | "A measure of linear density; the weight in grams of 9,000 metres of yarn." |
| Denim | "A 3/1 warp-faced twill fabric made from a yarn-dyed warp and an undyed weft yarn. Traditionally, the warp yarn was indigo-dyed. Dent" |
| Devoré | The production of a pattern on a fabric by printing it with a substance that destroys one or more of the fibre types present. |
| Diolen | A high tenacity polyester filament yarn produced by Acordis. |
| Dip dyeing | A process in which a garment is dipped into a dye bath to achieve dye take-up only in those areas immersed. |
| Dip-dyed yarns | Yarns produced by dip dyeing. |
| Distribution layer | "A layer in a nonwoven hygiene product (such as a diaper) which distributes fluid to a superabsorbent and/or fluff pulp material, where it is absorbed." |
| District check | Distinctive woollen checks originally made in different districts of Scotland. |
| DMT | Dimethyl terephthalate-a chemical intermediate used in the manufacture of polyester. |
| Dobby machine | A device fitted to a weaving machine which is capable of being programmed to make dobby weaves by selectively raising some warp threads and selectively depressing others. |
| Dobby weave | "A fabric, often of a complex construction, woven on a dobby machine by selectively raising some warp threads and selectively depressing others." |
| Doeskin | Generally applied to a type of fabric finish in which a low nap is brushed in one direction to create a soft suede-like hand on the fabric surface. End-uses include billiard table surfaces and men's' sportswear. |
| Dogstooth or houndstooth check | A small colour and weave effect using a 2/2 twill. |
| Donegal | A tweed yarn or fabric with different colour neps. |
| Dope | see spinning solution. |
| Dope-dyeing | see mass coloration. |
| Dotted Swiss | "A lightweight, sheer cotton or cotton blend fabric with a small dot flock-like pattern either printed on the surface of the fabric, or woven into the fabric. End-uses for this fabric include blouses, dresses, baby clothes, and curtains." |
| Doupion | "A fabric made of irregular, raw, rough silk reeled from double cocoons, or a man-made fibre substitute designed to imitate the silk equivalent." |
| Double Cloth | "A fabric construction, in which two fabrics are woven on the loom at the same time, one on top of the other. In the weaving process, the two layers of woven fabric are held together using binder threads. The woven patterns in each layer of fabric can |
| Double Knit | "A weft knit fabric in which two layers of loops are formed that cannot be separated. A double knit machine, which has two complete sets of needles, is required for this construction." |
| Double Weave | A woven fabric construction made by interlacing two or more sets of warp yarns with two or more sets of filling yarns. The most common double weave fabrics are made using a total of either four or five sets of yarns. |
| Dowtherm | The brand name for a special liquid with a high boiling point. Godets and heaters heated by Dowtherm vapour can be maintained at constant temperatures. |
| Dpf | see decitex per filament. |
| Drafting | A process which reduces the linear density of an assembly of fibres. Drafting typically occurs in the early stages of producing yarns from staple fibres. |
| Drainage (geotextiles) | "The ability of a geotextile to collect and transport fluids. Liquids or gases are transmitted within the plane of the geotextile and this involves flow across the geotextile. For example, geotextiles are used to capture and transmit gases (eg methane |
| Draw spinning | A process for spinning partially or highly oriented filaments in which the orientation is introduced after melt spinning but prior to the first forwarding or collecting device. |
| Draw texturing | A process in which the drawing stage of synthetic yarn manufacture is combined with the texturing process. |
| Draw twist | A process of orienting a filament yarn by drawing it and then twisting it in integrated sequential stages. |
| Drill | "A twill fabric, usually piece-dyed, similar in construction to a denim." |
| Dry spinning | "In the dry spinning process, polymer is dissolved in a solvent before being spun into warm air where the solvent evaporates. This leaves the fibrous polymer ready for drawing." |
| Dry spun | A fibre or filament produced by the dry spinning process. |
| Dry-laid | "Part of a production route for making nonwovens, in which a web of fibres is produced either by carding or by blowing the fibres on to an endless belt." |
| Drylaying | A process for forming a web or batt of staple fibres by carding and/or airlaying. |
| Duck | "A tightly woven, heavy, plain-weave, bottom-weight fabric with a hard, durable finish. The fabric is usually made of cotton, and is widely used in men's and women's slacks, and children's playclothes." |
| Dumping | "The offer for sale of large quantities of goods in a foreign market at low prices, usually in order to gain market share, while maintaining higher prices in the home market. Dumping may be deemed to have taken place when a product is sold in a foreig |
| Durability | The ability of a fabric to resist wear through continual use. |
| Durable press | "A treatment applied to the fabric in the finishing process in which it maintains a smooth attractive appearance, resists wrinkling, and retains creases or pleats during laundering." |
| DWR (fabrics) | "durable water repellent. DWR fabrics retain their ability to repel water after washing, dry cleaning or heavy wear." |