Habutai Habutai Habutai or habotai (from the Japanese , literally "feather-two-layer") is one of the most basic plain weaves of silk fabric. While it was traditionally woven in Japan, most habutai is today woven in China. It is normally a lining silk but can also be used for T-shirts, lampshades, summer blouses or very light lingerie. It is quite easy to dye and can be found in many stores. Like other kinds of silks, habutai comes in a variety of weights/ thicknesses which is measured in mommes (abbreviated "mm"). A lightweight and sheer habutai silk might be 8 mommes ("8mm"); a
Knitted fabric below it. Because there is no single straight line of yarn anywhere in the pattern, a knitted piece of fabric can stretch in all directions. This elasticity is all but unavailable in woven fabrics which only stretch along the bias. Many modern stretchy garments, even as they rely on elastic synthetic materials for some stretch, also achieve at least some of their stretch through knitted patterns. The basic knitted fabric (as in the diagram, and usually called a "stocking" or "stockinette" pattern) has a definite "right side" and "wrong side". On the right side, the visible portions of the loops