Textile Glossary

Fa

The french word for 'figured'. It is used in relation to textiles to describe jacquard fabrics with a pattern of small scattered figures.

Fabric (Textile)

A manufactured assembly of fibres and/or yarns that has substantial surface area in relation to its thickness and sufficient mechanical strength to give the assembly inherent cohesion. , note: fabrics are most commonly woven or knitted, but the term includes assemblies produced by lace-making, tufting, felting, net-making, and the so-called non woven processes.

Fabric Length

Unless otherwise specified, the usable length of a piece between any truth marks, piece-ends, or numbering, when the fabric is measured laid flat on a table in the absence of tension.

Fabric Width

Unless otherwise specified, the distance from edge to edge of a fabric when laid flat on a table without tension. In the case of commercial dispute the measurement should be made after the fabric has been conditioned in a standard atmosphere for testing . When buying and selling fabric it is normal to specify the basis on which the width is to be assessed e.g., overall, within limits, or usable width (which implies within stenter pin marks).

Face Finish

Cloth with a raised finish on the face of the cloth. This face has usually been drawn and pressed.

Face-finished (fabric)

Descriptive of a finish, for example, to wool fabrics, in which the face side is treated selectively, as in raising.

Face-to-face carpets

Carpets manufactured as a sandwich in which the pile is attached alternately to two substrates: two cut pile carpets are made by cutting the pile yarns between the two substrates.

Facing Silk

A fine lustrous fabric of silk (usually of corded satin, twill weave, or barathea) used for facing, e.g., lapels in men's evening wear. (fabrics of other fibres are used for facing purposes but are not properly described as 'facing silk'.)

Facings

Edging of fine fur or rich cloth, these trimmings were purely for decoration. During the course of time the meaning changed towards the contemporary meaning of today, the term was extended to cover all the reveres of the body or sleeves of a garment.

Faconne

A fabric with small scattered motifs usually jacquard but sometimes burn out.

Fad

Short lived fashion are called fad's; they seldom have any lasting impact on future fashion. They are briefly and suddenly seen everywhere and just as suddenly they vanish.

Fade

(1) in fastness testing, any change in the colour of an object caused by light or contaminants in the atmosphere, e.g., burnt-gas fumes., note: the change in colour may be in hue, depth or brightness or any combination of these., (2) colloquially, a reduction in the depth of colour of an object, irrespective of cause.: fallers, (1) straight, pinned bars employed in the control of fibres between drafting rollers., (2) curved arms fixed to two shafts on a mule carriage and carrying the faller wires.

Faggoting

A openwork stripe effect with connecting threads across the open area that create a ladder effect.

Faille

A plain weave fabric characterized by a narrow, crosswise rib which is usually the result of a fine warp yarn crossed with a heavier weft yarn. Most commonly made with filament yarns but can be from a variety of fibers and weights. It usually has a soft hand and a light luster with good body and drape.

Failling Bands

Also known as rabat and hanging collars; linen or lace collars (or combined) with two distinct ends hanging down over the chest. The forerunner of the cravat in the 17th century. They were worn by both men and women.

False-Twist Direction

The direction, s or z, of twist generated by a false-twisting device.

False-twist-textured yarn

A continuous process in which a yarn is highly twisted, heat-set and untwisted. In an infrequently used alternative method, two yarns are continuously folded together, heat-set, then separated by unfolding.

False-Twisting

A twisting operation applied at an intermediate position on a yarn or other similar continuous assembly of fibres, so that no net twist can be inserted, as distinct from twisting at the end of a yarn where real twist is inserted., note: real twisting necessarily involves either rotation of a yam end, as in uptwisting or downtwisting (see ring twisting), or the repeated passage of a thread loop around an end, as two-for-one~twisting. In false-twisting, a yarn normally runs continuously over or through a false-twisting device which may act at either a constant or varying rate. When the twisting rate is constant and equilibrium has been established, the yarn passes through a zone of added twist then, on leaving the twisting device, returns to its original twist level. The added (false) twist level is equal to the ratio of the rotational and axial speeds of the yarn. Equilibrium false-twisting is utilized in one method of yarn texturing where thermal setting is carried out in the zone of temporary twist; it is also used to provide temporary cohesion and thus strength in some staple-fibre processing systems. (see also pin-twisting and friction-twisting.) The self-twist (repco) process is an example of the use of a varying false-twisting rate. Static elements such yarn guides may, in certain circumstances, generate either equilibrium or varying false-twist in running yarns.

Fancy Yarn

A yarn that differs from the normal construction of single and folded yarns by way of deliberately produced irregularities in its construction. These irregularities relate to an increased input of one or more of its components or to the inclusion of periodic effects such as knots, loops, curls, slubs or the like.

Fargul

A kind of jacket.

Farji

A kind of jacket. Defined by the dictionaries as simply 'a kind of garment', the farji was possibly a long over-garment without sleeves, or with very short sleeves, open in front and worn like a coat over pyjama (q.v.) Or angarakha (q.v.).

Farshi Pyjama

Wide-legged pyjama (q. V) that trails on the ground, sometimes completely covering the feet; worn often with a kurta (q.v.) Or angarakha (q.v.).

Fasciated Yarn

A staple fibre yarn that by virtue of is manufacturing technique consists of a core of essentially parallel fibres bound together by wrapper fibres. The current technique of manufacture is often referred to as jet spinning.

Fashion forecast

To predict of foretell future fashion tread for a specific period of time.

Fashion Houses

Establishments in which fashion clothes are designed and made.
 

Fashioned (weft knitting)

See shaping

Fastness

The property of resistance to an agency named (e.g., washing, light, rubbing, crocking, gas-fumes)., note: on the standard scale, five grades are usually recognized, from 5, signifying unaffected, to 1, grossly changed. For lightfastness, eight grades are used, 8 representing the highest degree of fastness.

Fatuhi

A 'jacket without sleeves'. Generally understood as a vest lightly padded with cotton wool, and quilted.

Faux Fur

A pile fabric made to simulate animal fur. May be woven or knit in a variety of fibers although acrylic and modacrylic are most common.

Faux Leather

A fabric made to imitate animal leather . Often a polyurethane laminate.

Faux Linen

A fabric made with slubbed yarns to imitate linen. Usually inexpensive, easy care fabrics.

Faux Shearling

Fabrics made to imitate shearling- the pelt of a sheep with the wool in place.

Faux Silk

A fabric of manufactured fiber, most commonly polyester , with good drape, luster and a soft hand to imitate silk.

Faux suede

See suede cloth/faux suede.

Faz-Vi

A 'jacket without sleeves'. Possibly the same kind of garment as fatuhi (q.v.).
 

Feed roller; feed roll

A roller that forwards a yarn to a subsequent processing or take-up stage.

Fellmongering

The process of pulling wool from sheep skins. (see also skin wool.): felt, a textile fabric characterized by the entangled condition of most, or all, of the fibres of which it is composed. Three classes of felt can be distinguished:, (a) fabrics with a woven or knitted structure;, (b) pressed felt, which is formed from a web or batt containing animal hair or wool consolidated by the application of heat and mechanical action that causes the constituent fibres to mat together;, (c) needlefelt.

Felt

1 a nonwoven fabric made directly from fibers bound together with heat, moisture and mechanical pressure . Usually some wool or animal hair is used.
2. A woven fabric that has been subjected to a heavy milling ( fulling) process which compresses and shrinks the fabric through heat and pressure hiding the weave and entangling the fibers.

Felting

The matting together of fibres during processing or wear (see milling (fabric finishing)).

Fiberfill

Fiber batting used as a backing in a quilted fabric or in a sandwich with other fabrics . Used in outerwear, bedspreads.

Fibre

(1) textile raw material generally., (2) a unit of matter characterized by flexibility, fineness, and high ratio of length to thickness.

Fibre (Flax)

|flax cultivated mainly for fibre production as distinct from that cultivated for linseed-oil production.

Fibre Extent

See fibre length.

Fibre Length/Fibre Length

(a) crimped length, the distance between the ends of a fibre when substantially freed from external restraint, measured with respect to its general axis of orientation., (b) fibre extent, the distance between two planes which just enclose a fibre without intercepting it, each plane being perpendicular to the direction of the yarn or other assembly of which the fibre forms a part., (c) staple length, a quantity by which a sample of fibrous raw material is characterized as regards its technically most important fibre length., note: the staple length of wool is usually taken as the length of the longer fibres in a hand prepared tuft or 'staple' in its naturally crimped and wavy condition (see crimp). With cotton, on the other hand, the staple length corresponds very closely to the modal or most frequent length of the fibres when measured in a straightened condition., (d) span length, the extent exceeded by a stated proportion of cotton fibres, e.g., 2.5% span length is the length exceeded by only 2.5% of fibres by number.

Fibre Ultimate

One of the unit botanical cells into which leaf and bast fibres can be disintegrated.
 

Fibre, Man-Made

A fibre manufactured by man as distinct from a fibre that occurs naturally.

Fibre, Regenerated

A man-made fibre produced from a naturally occurring fibre-forming polymer by a process that includes regeneration of the original polymer structure.

Fibre, Synthetic

A man-made fibre produced from a polymer built up by man from chemical elements or compounds, in contrast to fibres made by man from naturally occurring fibre-forming polymers.

Fibrid

A netted filamentary or fibrillar structure, substantially longer in one dimension than in the other two that exhibits a capacity for mechanical entanglement with other structures and much higher water-holding capacity than fibres produced by conventional spinning means. Fibrids are used as bonding elements in the production of wet-laid synthetic papers.

Fibrillae

Specks visible on the surface of silk yarns.
 

Fibrillated

A finish which causes tiny fibrils or fibrous elements to be spilt from the fibers and protrude from the surface of the fabric. Results in a frosted, hazy, laundered appearance and a soft hand. Common on lyocell fabrics.

Fibrillated Yarn

A yarn produced by the process of fibrillation.
 

Fibrillated-Film Fibre

Staple fibre produced by cutting, chopping or stretch-breaking fibrillated yarn or fibrillated film tow.

Fibrillated-Film Tow

An assembly of fibrillated textile films.
 

Fibrillated-Film Yarn

Yarn produced from fibrillating film that has been converted into a longitudinally fibrillated structure (cf. Polymer tape).

Fibrillating Film

A polymer film in which molecule orientation has been induced by stretching to such a degree that it is capable of being converted into yarn or twine by manipulation, e.g., by twisting under tension which results in the formation of a longitudinally split structure (split fibre).

Fibrillating Roller

A pinned roller used for fibrillation.

Fibrillation

The process of splitting a longitudinally oriented textile film or tape into a network interconnected fibres., note: processes for producing fibrillation may be divided into two groups:, (a) those producing random splitting to give a relatively coarse network, e.g., twisting, and, (b) those producing controlled splitting to give a relatively fine network e.g., by rapidly rotating pinned rollers.

Fibroin

The part of a silk thread remaining after the gum has been discharged.

Fichu

Large neckerchief at the end of the 18th century that was worn around the neck and shoulders together with the robe à l'anglaise.

Figue

A fibre from the leaf of the plant furcraea macrophylla.
 

Figured Velvet

A fibre from the leaf of the plant furcraea macrophylla.
 

Filament

A fibre of indefinite length.
 

Filament Blend Yarn

A filament yarn which contains separate filaments of two distinct types, the filaments being more or less randomly blended over the cross-section of the yarn.

Filament Yarn

A yam composed of one or more filaments that run essentially the whole length of the yarn. Yams of one or more filaments are usually referred to as monofilament or multifilament respectively.

Filamentation

A fibrous or hairy appearance due to broken filaments on the surface of a yarn package or fabric.
 

Filler (USA)

A synonym, used in north america, for weft yams.

Filler Fabric.

A rubber-coated cross-woven fabric which is placed around the bead section assembly of a tyre and serves to reinforce the join between apex and casing plies. (in all-metallic radial-ply tyres this filler often consists of a ply of wire cords).

Filling

(1) non-substantive and generally insoluble materials, such as china clay, gypsum, etc., added to fabrics together with starches or gums during finishing to add weight or to modify their appearance and handle., note 1: this term is usually applied only to cellulosic textiles (see also loading). Finishes in which starches or gums are used without the addition of insoluble materials are sometimes referred to as 'fillings' but are more correctly described as 'assisted finishes'., note 2..the equivalent term in north america is 'filler'., (2) a synonym, used in north america, for weft yams (see weft)., (3) see wadding thread.

Finish

A term used broadly in the paint, paper, printing ink, leather, plastics and textile industries to include the added materials, the finishing processes employed, and the final result., (1) a substance or mixture of substances added to a substrate at any stage in the process to impart desired properties., (2) the type of process, physical or chemical, applied to a substrate to produce a desired effect., (3) such properties, e.g., smoothness, drape, lustre, gloss or crease resistance produced by (1) and/or (2) above., (4) the state of the substrate as it leaves a previous process., (5) the quality or appearance of a paint or printing-ink film., (6) to apply or produce a finish.

Finish

Perfection with which the garment / fabric is completed.
 

Firm

Refers to a fabric with a relatively solid, compact texture, good body and reduced drape.

Firm Pressed Melton Finish

Plain wool milled cloth smooth finish for blazers, coats and fashion.

Fishnet

A wide, coarse, relatively heavy mesh used in apparel and trimming.
 

Fixation Accelerator

A product added to a finishing formulation to speed up, or lower the temperature required for, chemical reaction.

Flame Resistant

Refers to a fabric which will burn only when the source of the flame remains lit, and will quickly self extinguish when the source is removed. Standards for flame resistance are generally set according to the end use of the fabric. Flame resistance may be the result of the nature of the fiber or of a chemical finish put on the fabric.

Flame Stitch

A zig zag design that suggests a flame.

Flanelette

A fabric made from cotton warp and soft-spun cotton weft, the fabric being subsequently raised on both sides to give an imitation of the true woollen flannel. The weave may be plain, plain with double-end warp, or twill., note 1: it may be woven grey and dyed or printed, or it may be woven from dyed yarns., note 2.. Fibres other than cotton are sometimes present in the weft yarn. If these exceed 7% they are named in the description, e.g., cotton-rayon flannelette.

Flanelette

A lightweight fabric usually of cotton with a nap on one side.

Flannel

An all-wool fabric of plain or twill weave with a soft handle. It may be slightly milled and raised.
 

Flannel

A light to medium weight woven fabric with a soft, slightly napped surface . Expensive flannels of wool and wool blends are usually napped and fulled whereas less expensive flannels of cotton and other fibers are usually just napped.

Flash Curing

See curing

Flash Spinning

A modification of the accepted dry-spinning method in which a solution of a polymer is extruded at a temperature well above the boiling point of the solvent such that on emerging from the spinneret evaporation occurs so rapidly that the individual filaments are disrupted into a highly fibrillar form.

Flash-spun Fabric

A nonwoven formed from the fine fibrillation of a film by the rapid evaporation of solvent and subsequent bonding during extrusion.

Flat Fabric

A two-dimensional woven or knitted fabric that has no pile loops.
 

Flat Knitting Machine

A weft-knitting machine having straight needle beds carrying independently operated latch needles., note 1: rib machines (v-type) have two needle beds, which are opposed to each other in inverted-v formation., note 2: purl machines have two needle beds horizontally opposed in the same plane.

Flat Metal Yarn

A yarn consisting of one or more continuous lengths of metal strip or incorporating one or more continuous length(s) as a major component., note1: a notable example is a singles metal yarn in banknotes, which may be o.50mm (0.020in.) Wide and 0.08 mm (0.003 in.) Thick. For this purpose, it must be without twist, i.e., flat throughout its length in the banknote. Analysis of the metal is proof of the authenticity of a banknote., note2: twist inserted in flat metal yarns may form irregular facets, which reflect light accordingly to give decorative effects in fabrics.

Flat Screen Printed

In screen printing a separate screen is created for each color . The open mesh part of the screen corresponds to the area to be printed in that color. The areas where color is not to pass through are blocked. Dye paste is forced through the open mesh area with a squeegee. The fabric is then moved or the screen replaced to allow printing of the next color. In flat screen printing the screens are in the form of flat panels, the width of which is the same as the repeat of the pattern. Flat screen printing allows for greater flexibility than rotary printing as the panel size can often be adjusted to various repeat sizes.

Flat Setting

The setting of fabric at open-width. The term is particularly used in the finishing of woven wool fabrics, where setting is usually effected by steaming under pressure.

Flat Yarn

(1) descriptive of full drawn continuous-filament yarns substantially without twist and untextured (see also twistless yarn.), (2) a synonym for straw.

Flax

(1) plants of the species linum usitatissimum cultivated for the production of fibre, or seed and fibre., (2) fibre extracted from flax plants.

Flax Fibre Bundle

One of the aggregates of ultimate fibre that run from the base of the stem up to the top of the branches of flax straw. They are each composed of large numbers of ultimate fibres overlapping each other.

Flax Fibre Strands

Flax fibres after removal from the plant, consisting in the cross-section of more than one ultimate fibre.

Flax Green (obsolescent)

Flax Tow

Short flax fibres that are removed during the scutching or hackling processes:, (a) rug tow: short flax fibre removed during scutching and containing extraneous woody material;, (b) re-scutched tow: short fibre which has been cleaned in a tow-scutching apparatus, (c) machine tow: short fibre which has been removed from scutched long flax during the hackling process.

Flax Yarn Bundle

The standard length by which wet-spun flax yarns are bought and sold. The 'bundle' traditionally contained 60000 yards (about 55000 m) of yarn.

Flax Yarn Bundle

The standard length by which wet-spun flax yarns are bought and sold. The 'bundle' traditionally contained 60000 yards (about 55000 m) of yarn.

Flax-Spun

A term applied to staple yam that has been prepared and spun on machinery originally designed for spinning yarns from flax.

Flax, Green (obsolescent)

Scutched flax produced from deseeded straw without any intermediate treatment such as retting.
 

Flax, Line (obsolescent)

Hackled flax
 

Fleece

A fabric with a thick, soft nap or pile resembling sheep's wool. Commonly a knit which has been brushed and sheared but may be woven.

Fleece

The woolly covering of a sheep or similar animal.
 

Fleece Wool

Any wool as shorn from a living sheep. The term is in use to distinguish this wool from other forms such as skin wool.

Fleecy

Resembling a wool fleece in appearance and handle, or descriptive of fabrics having a fine, soft, open, and raised structure.
 

Fleecy Fabric (weft-knitted)

A weft-knitted fabric composed of three separate yarns; a ground yarn of normal count, a finer binding yarn, and a thicker fleecy yarn which is held into the fabric at close intervals by the binding yarn. The fleecy yarn appears on the back of plain-knitted fabric and presents an ideal surface for brushing or raising.

Flock

A material obtained by reducing textile fibres to fragments as by cutting, tearing, or grinding. There are two main usages:, (a) stuffing flock: fibres in entangled small masses or beads, usually of irregular broken fibres, obtained as a by-product, as, for example, in the milling, cropping, or raising of wool fabric, and mainly used for stuffing, padding, or upholstery., (b) coating flock: cut or ground fibres used for application to yarn, fabric, paper, wood, metal, or wall surfaces prepared with an adhesive (see also electrostatic flocking).

Flock Printed

A method of printing resulting in short fibers, rather than color, being applied in a design to the surface of the fabric . The fabric may be printed with an adhesive and the fiber dusted onto it, or the fibers may be contained in the adhesive, or the fibers may be applied electrostatically to hold them erect.

Flocked

A method of applying short fibers rather than color to the entire surface of the fabric . The fabric may be printed with an adhesive and the fiber dusted, onto it ,or the fibers may be contained in the adhesive or the fibers may be applied electrostatically to hold them erect.
 

Flocked Carpets

Carpets manufactured by applying short chopped lengths of fibre (flock) to an adhesive-coated backing fabric. The application is usually carried out electrostatically.

Flocks (Wool)

Waste fibres obtained from wool during the different finishing processes.
 

Floral

Refers to design motifs dominated by flowers.

Flounce

A band of cloth or lace fluting around a garment to which it is attached only by its upper edge.

Fluff

Lint or fluff that has accumulated on a knitting machine and become incorporated in the fabric.

Fluff Ball

See lint ball

Fluidity

A measure of the ease with which a fluid flows; numerically the reciprocal of viscosity. The unit of fluidity is the reciprocal pascal second (pa-1 s-1)., note: the fluidity of dilute solutions of polymers is inversely related to the polymer molecular weight and, for certain fibre-solvent systems, may be used as an indicator of polymer degradation.
 

Fluorescent Brightener

See optical brightener
 

Fluorescent Whitening Agent

See optical brightener

Fluorofibre (fibre)

A term used to describe fibres composed of linear macromolecules made from fluorocarbon aliphatic monomers.

Fly

Fibres that fly out into the atmosphere during processing.
 

Flyer Spinning

A spinning system in which yarn passes through a revolving flyer leg guide on to the package. The yarn is wound-on by making the flyer and spinning package rotate at slightly different speeds.
 

Flyshot Loom

A multi-piece loom for weaving narrow fabrics in which each shuttle is knocked through the open shed by means of a peg fixed in a slide. The term is also sometimes applied to single-head narrow-fabric looms.

Foam Bonding

A method of making nonwoven fabrics in which a fibre web or batt is treated by the application of a liquid in the form of a foam.
 

Foam Laminated

A layer of foam usually polyurethane, pvc or latex is bonded to the fabric with adhesive or fused to the fabric with heat. Generally results in a "breathable" fabric. Used for footwear , outerwear and carpet backings.

Foambacked Fabric

A combined fabric usually having two layers, one of which is of cellular plastics material.
 

Fold

See folded yarn

Folded Yarn

A yarn in which two or more single yarns are twisted together (fold) in one operation, e.g., two-fold yarn, three-fold yarn, etc., note: in some sections of the textile industry, e.g., the marketing of hand-knitting yams, these yarns are referred to as two-ply, three-ply, etc.

Folk Weave

A term applied to any construction which, when used in loosely woven fabrics made from coarse yams, gives a rough and irregular surface effect. Coloured yarns are commonly used to produce weftway and/or warpway stripes.

Fontange

A bow on a ladies' headdress worn in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, named after the duchesse de fontanges.

Foot Guards

The infantry Regiments of the Household Division of the British Army, Coldstream Guards, Welsh Guard,s Scottish Guards, Grenadier Guards and the Irish Guards .

Forehead Cloth or Cross Cloth

Forehead cloth or cross clothThe term is often incorrectly applied to the whole headdress.16th and 17th century term for a band covering the front of a woman's head. It was often triangular.

Forte of a Garment

Means the strong point of the garment.

Foulard

See padding mangle

Foulard

1. A lightweight, lustrous, soft 2x2 twill fabric usually found printed . Used in neckties scarves dresses. 2. Small all over geometric print design usually on a plain solid ground typical of those found on neckties.
 

Foulard

1. A lightweight, lustrous, soft 2x2 twill fabric usually found printed . Used in neckties scarves dresses. 2. Small all over geometric print design usually on a plain solid ground typical of those found on neckties.
 

French Clean

See dry clean

French Terry

A knit jersey with loops on one side. Sometimes napped to make fleece.

Frey

Threads which come out from the fabric during handling.
 

Friction Calendering

See calendaring
 

Friction Spinning

A method of open-end spinning which uses the external surface of two rotating rollers to collect and twist individual fibres into a yarn. At least one of the rollers is perforated so that air can be drawn through its surface to facilitate fibre collection. The twisting occurs near the nip of the rollers and, because of the relatively large difference between the yam and roller diameters, high yarn rotational speeds are achieved by the friction between the roller surface and the yarns.

Friction- Twisting

The generation of false-twist ( see false-twisting) by a device in which the yarn lies in contact with one or more surfaces of high friction driven in a direction at substantial angle to the yarn axis. In practice, friction disks, belts or bushes are commonly used.

Frieze

A pile fabric with the loops left uncut . Usually the loops are sheared to various heights to form a pattern. Used widely for upholstery and slipcovers.

Frisons

The first waste obtained in the process of reeling silk cocoons. It is composed of the tangled beginning of the silk filament that is removed by the reeler up to the point when the filament begins to reel properly.

Fugitive Tint

A colorant for application to textile materials for their identification during handling. The colorant must be removed easily during normal textile scouring or dyeing procedures.

Fuji

A lightweight, plain weave fabric originally of silk but now usually of polyester bi-component yarn which gives the appearance of a subtle texture on the surface . Used in blouses, dresses.

Fujiette

A medium weight fabric with a filament yarn warp and a spun yarn weft . Usually it has a fine crosswise rib. Commonly found in rayon and blends of acetate and rayon . Used in blouses, dresses.

Full-Fashioned; Fully-Fashioned

Terms applied to knitted fabrics and garments that are shaped wholly or in part by widening and/or narrowing by loop transference to increase or decrease the number of wales.

Fulled

See milled/fulled.

Fusibles

Refers to a fabric, usually a nonwoven, that can be bonded to another fabric with heat and pressure . Used as interlinings to give body and shape to a fabric.