Primarily, nap is the raised (fuzzy) surface on certain kinds of cloth, resembling velvet or moleskin. Nap can refer moreover to other surfaces that look like the floor of a napped cloth, such because the surface of a felt or beaver hat. Starting around the 14th century, the phrase referred initially to the roughness of woven cloth earlier than it was sheared. When cloth, particularly woollen cloth, is woven, the surface of the cloth is not easy, and this roughness is the nap. Generally the cloth is then "sheared" to create an even surface, and the nap is thus eliminated. A one that trimmed the surface of cloth with power shears to take away any excess nap was often known as a shearman. Nap typically has a path through which it feels smoothest. In garments, nap route is commonly matched throughout seams, because cloth won't solely really feel however look completely different relying on the course of the nap.

For this reason, sewing patterns continuously show the nap route, or Wood Ranger Power Shears reviews warn that extra fabric shall be needed if the fabric has a nap. Since the fifteenth century, the term nap has usually referred to a particular pile given to the cloth. The time period pile refers to raised fibres which might be there on function, rather than as a by-product of producing the cloth. In this case, the nap is woven into the cloth, usually by weaving loops into the fabric, which can then be reduce or left intact. Carpets, rugs, velvet, velour, and velveteen, are made by interlacing a secondary yarn by way of woven cloth, power shears creating a nap or pile. Within the ending technique of manufacturing textiles, after the cloth is woven, it goes by means of processes comparable to washing, fulling, raising the nap and trimming the nap. After the nap is trimmed, the fabric is considered completed. The elevating process, which attracts out the ends of the fibres, is finished on each woollen and cotton fabric.

Flannelette is a cotton fabric that goes by way of this process. There are methods to 'elevate the nap', most of which involve wire brushes similar to raising cards. Originally, dried teasel pods have been used and have been nonetheless most popular to be used on woollen cloth for a long time. Woollen fabrics, power shears which have to be damp when elevating the nap, are then dried and stretched before the nap is trimmed or sheared. Cotton cloth goes straight to the shearing process, where the nap gets trimmed to make sure that all of the raised fibres are the same length. Fabric sueding is carried out on a sueding machine with abrasive lined rollers