Based on many years of study of a huge range of fabrics produced by hand or by strictly limited mechanization, this book's essential strength is its universality: For the first time, whether the purpose of study is an aspect of design, history, or cultural significance, and regardless of its scope chronologically or geographically, a definition of the actual structural makeup of fabrics and their component parts is clear and accessible to all.

Unlike process, social context, or symbolic function, structure is - with negligible exceptions - always determinable; it can be objectively observed; and it is varied enough for significant grouping and sub-grouping. In this monumental work, moreover, the structures, and the descriptive terms applied to them, are clearly presented according to their logical relationships to each other, generally moving from the simplest to the most complex.

Illustrated with specially constructed and photographed examples made from cotton string and with extant fabrics from different cultures, the book is divided into three parts: the raw materials of fabric structures (fibres, filaments, and fabric elements); then, in the major section of the book, the fabric structures themselves, whether felted - derived directly from fibres - or made from interworked yarns; and, lastly, structures - such as stitches or applique - that are accessory to fabrics.