The Samit journal
How to read one of our fabric labels
2 min read
Seven lines repeat on every fabric we sell: length, type, weight, use, pattern, properties and cut. Here is what each one is telling you.
Seven lines on every label
Every fabric we carry has the same label: piece length, fabric type, weight, use, pattern, properties and the cut it suits. Seven lines are enough to know how a thawb will fall before you have touched it.
Piece length: 3.5 m
This figure is the same on everything we sell, and it is one thawb. One piece, one kandura — no measuring, no estimating.
Fabric type: Blended
Everything we sell is a blend. A blend puts the hand of a natural fibre together with the stability of a synthetic one: it holds a press and resists creasing better than either does alone.
Weight: four grades
“Light and crisp” is the weight of most of our cloth, and it is the practical middle: it moves, and it stays tidy. “Soft with a fluid fall” drapes more, as on Al Sultan. “Quarter-structured” stands a little prouder and reads more formal, as on Al Jawhara. “Quarter to half-structured” sits between them, as on Al Shumookh.
Use: everyday and formal
One line that does not change anywhere in our range. Any of it will do for work and for the majlis alike; what separates one cloth from another is hand and fall, not occasion.
Pattern: plain, or a subtle pattern
Most of our cloth is plain. The exception is Al Sultan, in both its colourways, which carries a subtle pattern — visible close up, unnoticed across a room.
Properties: non-clinging, crease-resistant
Two properties repeat on every label. The first means the cloth stays off the skin; the second that it will not take creases you have to fight. In summer heat, this is the most important line on the label.
Best suited to
Most of our fabrics are listed for the Emirati cut. Al Jawhara suits the Kuwaiti, Emirati and Qatari cuts alike, and Al Shumookh the Kuwaiti. If you are having something cut to a different shape, ask your tailor before you buy.