1. Classify according to the processing method used. There are 3 main types of processing methods that are used in garment manufacturing.

a) Woven Fabrics – Woven fabric is a fabric made on a loom by interweaving the yarn horizontally and vertically. Examples include denim, brocade and linen.

b) Knitted fabrics – this is a fabric made by looping yarn, and can be divided into two types, weft knitting and warp knitting. Weft knitting is made by feeding the yarn into the needle of the knitting machine so that it is twisted into circles and threaded into each other. Warp knitting is made by a group of parallel yarns being fed into the needles of the knitting machine at the same time and are simultaneously formed into loops.

c) Non-Woven Fabrics: these are made by loose fibers being bonded or stitched together. Currently the two common methods for non-woven fabrics are bonding and puncturing. These processing methods greatly simplify the process, reducing the cost and increasing the labor productivity, and they have a broad development prospect.

2. Classify according to the type of materials that make up the fabric. 

a) Pure Textiles – these are textiles whose raw materials used to make the fabric are all the same fiber. For example, 100% cotton, wool, silk or polyester.

b) Blended Fabrics – Blended fabrics are woven or knitted from yarns which have been made by blending two or more fibers together before they are spun into yarn. Examples include polyester/viscose, polyester/nitrile, polyester/cotton and other blended fabrics. Blended yarns contain fibers of different composition in fixed proportions.

c) Combination Fabrics - Combination fabrics are those which contain two or more different types of fibers; the warp or filling yarns may be a blended fiber and the yarn in the other direction may be a single fiber.  Examples include antique satin interwoven with silk and rayon, nylon and rayon interwoven nefon and so on.

3. Classify according to whether the fabrics are dyed or not.

a) Undyed fabric is made when the raw material is not bleached and no dye is processed into the fabric. In silk weaving this is called raw fabric.

b) Coloured fabrics are made when the raw materials and threads are bleached and dyed and then processed into fabric. In silk fabric this is also known as finished goods fabric.

4. Classify as a novel fabric. Some fabrics are classified into a category all of their own as they have unique characteristics.

a) Adhesive fabric: This material formed by gluing two pieces of cloth back to back. Woven fabrics, knitted fabrics, non-woven fabrics, vinyl film, etc., can also be combined in different combinations.

b) Flocking fabric: This type of fabric is covered with short and dense fiber fluff, with a velvet style, which can be used a used for clothing and trimmings.

c) Styrofoam laminated fabric: This is woven or knitted fabrics in which the foam is attached to a bottom fabric, used mostly as a cold-resistant material.

d) Coated fabric: These fabrics are coated with polyvinyl chloride (PVC), neoprene rubber, etc., on the bottom of woven or knitted fabrics and has superior waterproof function.