Fashion Terms — the Apparel Search fashion terminology directory
The hand of fabric is the “feel” of the fabric — the way the fabric feels when it is touched. It does not mean that a garment has hands. Terms such as softness, crispness, dryness and silkiness all describe hand, and textile hand covers everything that can be told about a fabric by touching it: texture, drapability, stretch and wrinkle resistance. Hand is also occasionally referenced as the drape of the material — a soft hand is a soft, fluid drape, like a piece of silk charmeuse or a fine worsted wool.
What does fabric hand mean in the textile and apparel industry?
Do you know what people mean when they say something like, “that t-shirt fabric has a wonderful hand?” They are most definitely not implying that the t-shirt has hands.
The hand of fabric is the “feel” of the fabric. The way the fabric feels when it is touched. Terms like softness, crispness, dryness, silkiness are all terms that come to mind when describing the hand of the fabric. The textile hand is everything you can tell about a fabric by touching it with your hands: texture, drapability, stretch, wrinkle resistance, etc.
Hand of the fabric is also occasionally referenced as the "drape" of the material. A soft hand is a soft drape and is fluid, like a piece of silk charmeuse or a fine worsted woolen.
What is fabric with a soft hand?
Generally members of the apparel industry will refer to fabric as having a soft hand if it is smooth to the touch and something that they would imagine to be a comfortable cloth to wear. Smooth or fine to the touch: a soft fabric. This can also be reference as a fine hand.
What is a hard hand fabric?
The exact opposite of “soft”. This fabric is rough to the touch and typically less comfortable for the wearer. Coarse, harsh, not smooth, unpleasantly stern.
It is a consumer’s instinct to use the sense of touch when choosing a garment. Depending on what sort of garment you are wearing, will determine the importance of the hand. For example, if you are purchasing underwear, you will most likely want a soft hand. If you are purchasing outwear, you can probably get away with utilizing fabric with a harder hand feel.
The cost and quality of fabric varies greatly. The fabric hand is only one aspect of importance to the fashion industry and consumers. It is important to keep in mind that a fine hand does not necessarily mean that the garment is going to cost more money. For example, some wool sweaters are very itchy, but more be more costly then a softer cotton sweater.
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You may also have interest in learning about different fabric classifications in our textile industry education section.
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Reaching for a garment and feeling the cloth is a consumer instinct, and the apparel industry formalizes that instinct as hand. Buyers, fabric developers and quality inspectors all assess hand because touch predicts how a garment will wear: a fabric that feels harsh against the fingers will feel harsher against the skin over a full day, while a smooth, fluid hand signals comfort in next-to-skin garments. That is why the importance of hand depends on the garment — underwear is judged almost entirely by it, while outerwear can trade some softness for structure and weather resistance.
Hand is sometimes referenced as drape because the two are judged together: a soft hand usually drapes fluidly, and a hard hand usually stands away from the body. Hand is only one aspect of fabric quality — cost and quality vary greatly between fabrics — but it is the aspect a shopper can assess in seconds, with no label or specification sheet, which is why it carries so much weight in both fabric selection and retail selling.
The feel of a fabric when it is touched. Softness, crispness, dryness and silkiness are hand terms, and hand also covers texture, drapability, stretch and wrinkle resistance judged by touch.
A fabric that is smooth or fine to the touch — the kind of cloth a person would imagine to be comfortable to wear. A soft hand can also be called a fine hand, and it goes with a soft, fluid drape.
The exact opposite of soft: a fabric that is rough to the touch and typically less comfortable for the wearer — coarse, harsh, not smooth. A harder hand can still suit outerwear, while garments such as underwear call for a soft hand.