Fiber and Material Abbreviation Glossary

Two and three-letter fiber and material abbreviations are common on textile mill tags—especially European mills. Some are easy to remember, but some are totally obscure. Here is the personal reference list I have collected over the years. You can click through to make a copy for yourself. There is additional information in the LINKED SPEADSHEET, including the raw materials that are used to source the fibers.

A note on rayon: In the US, we use the terms rayon and viscose interchangeably. In Italy, the term viscose is generally used for spun yarns (where the extruded fiber is cut and then spun into soft, medium-luster yerns), while rayon is used for filament yarns (where the filaments are kept intact and spun into thin, shiny, silk-like yarns).

We are seeing a ton of new and interesting fibers come to market these days—everything from seaweed to milk to pineapple and orange fibers. So far I have not seen those called out with abbreviations. Please leave a comment if you have any additions! I’m planning to keep the linked spreadsheet updated.

An array of European mill tags showing fiber abbreviations.