Types of silk in Pakistani suits: names explained

Names that describe the silk itself

• Pure silk: fabric made wholly from the filament of the silkworm. It is the only name on this list that is a fibre claim, and it should be backed by the composition on the label.
• Raw silk: properly, silk that still carries its natural gum. In shops it means a crisp, slubby, softly matt cloth, real or imitation. We look at this one closely in is raw silk real silk?
• Katan: traditionally a firm, smooth, lustrous silk woven from twisted silk yarns, and the ground cloth of many classic brocades. In the market the word is also used for plain, firm silk-look fabrics that are polyester.
• Tussar: silk from wild silkworms, with a naturally uneven texture and a honey-beige tone. It appears now and then in formal collections.

Names that describe a woven pattern

These words tell you how the design got into the cloth. They say nothing certain about the fibre.

• Jamawar: dense, all-over woven patterns, usually paisleys and florals in several colours. See what jamawar is.
• Banarsi: brocade in the style of Banaras, with motifs picked out in metallic thread. See what banarsi is.
• Tissue: a fine, crisp sheer with metallic yarn woven through it, so the whole surface shimmers. See tissue vs organza.
• Jacquard: the general word for any pattern woven on a jacquard loom. Jamawar and banarsi are both jacquards; our jacquard guide explains the loom.

Names that describe the surface

• Shamoose: the local form of charmeuse, a soft satin-weave cloth that is glossy on the face and dull on the back. It is slippery and fluid, and is used for trousers, slips and linings. Nearly all shamoose in suit packs is polyester.
• Silk satin and satin silk: any smooth, shiny satin, in silk or, far more often, polyester.
• Cotton silk: a blend, or a cotton-look fabric with a soft sheen. Our cotton silk and raw silk guide covers how it wears.

Names that mean it is not silk

Art silk is short for artificial silk. It began as a name for viscose rayon and now also covers polyester made to look like silk. It can be a perfectly good fabric, and it is usually easier to wash than silk, but it is not silk. The same goes for most fabric sold as silk with no composition given: in everyday use the word often just means smooth and shiny.

How to find out what you actually have

When you send fabric for Stitching Only, tell us what the label says. Silk and polyester are pressed at different heats and handled differently, so it helps to know before cutting. Send photos and the label with your stitching quote, and we confirm the fabric is suitable before you post it. If there is no label, our guide to describing unlabelled fabric shows what to photograph.

• Read the composition. A label or product page that says silk, with a percentage, is a claim the seller can be held to. A name alone is not.
• Ask in writing. A direct question, is this pure silk or a blend, usually gets a straight answer.
• Compare the cost. Pure silk costs noticeably more than polyester in the same design. If it seems too low for silk, it probably is not silk.
• Look at the shine. Real silk has a soft, slightly uneven glow. Polyester tends to shine evenly and feel cooler and more slippery.