The technical term for the raised ribs in woven fabrics such as corduroy and rep, and sometimes the term for the vertical rows in knitted fabric..
The weight and thickness of these fabrics is measured by wales, a unit that stands for the number of ribs per inch. The higher the number the thinner the fabric: the standard wale is 11 wales per inch, the widest wale cord–for elephant or Jumbo cord–has upwards of 1.5 wales per inch. Pinwale is the finest, having around 16 wales per inch.