textile Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not t ...

s, a snag is created when a sharp or rough object pulls, plucks, scratches, or drags a group of

fibre Fiber or fibre (from la, fibra, links=no) is a natural or artificial substance that is significantly longer than it is wide. Fibers are often used in the manufacture of other materials. The strongest engineering materials often incorpora ...

yarn Yarn is a long continuous length of interlocked fibres, used in sewing, crocheting, knitting, weaving, embroidery, ropemaking, and the production of textiles. Thread is a type of yarn intended for sewing by hand or machine. Modern manufac ...

, or a yarn segment from its normal pattern. Snags can be classified into three types: # Snags that have a protrusion and no distortion, # Snags that have distortion and no protrusion, # Snags that have both protrusion and distortion. Objects that often cause snags are rough fingernails or toenails, or hangnails. When a snag occurs in certain fine textiles like

pantyhose Pantyhose, called sheer tights, or tights, are close-fitting legwear covering the wearer's body from the waist to the toes. Mostly considered to be a garment for women and girls, pantyhose first appeared on store shelves in 1959 for the adver ...

, it is called a run. This is because the snag breaks at least one fibre, causing the knit to come undone in a line which runs up the grain of the

fabric Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...

. In

clothing Clothing (also known as clothes, apparel, and attire) are items worn on the human body, body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin sheets of materials ...

, snags can also occur in coarse textiles like

sweater A sweater (North American English) or pullover, also called a jumper (British English and Australian English),

s, or in certain types of

sport Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...

jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west F ...

s such as for soccer (football). These are common in synthetic fabrics like polyester, which have extremely fine fibres even when they are used to make coarser fabrics. Snags of this type (#3) may sometimes be

repair The technical meaning of maintenance involves functional checks, servicing, repairing or replacing of necessary devices, equipment, machinery, building infrastructure, and supporting utilities in industrial, business, and residential install ...

ed or minimized by firmly pressing with opposed

finger A finger is a limb of the body and a type of digit, an organ of manipulation and sensation found in the hands of most of the Tetrapods, so also with humans and other primates. Most land vertebrates have five fingers (Pentadactyly). Chambers 1 ...

and

thumb The thumb is the first digit of the hand, next to the index finger. When a person is standing in the medical anatomical position (where the palm is facing to the front), the thumb is the outermost digit. The Medical Latin English noun for thu ...

at each end of the pulled thread (to prevent it from pulling further from each side), and gently pulling apart the bunched fabric, allowing the bunched fibers at the site of the snag to be drawn back in. Holding one end this way with one hand and using two fingers of the other hand on one side of the fabric (opposing the thumb on the other side) while slowly drawing them toward the snag site may also accomplish this. Any remaining fibres still protruding can then be trimmed off to keep them from snagging again. The same characteristics which make polyester fabrics prone to snags also lead it to be used for

Halloween Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. ...

. Artificial cobwebs are produced that can be stretched over objects for wikt:spooky/spooky effect. This stays in place because it snags on objects like shrubs or pushpins. Artificial

spider Spiders (order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species d ...

s (often supplied in the same package) and other objects can in turn be snagged into the cobweb. Other things can also snag on various objects. A

fishing line A fishing line is a flexible, high-tensile cord used in angling to tether and pull in fish, in conjunction with at least one hook. Fishing lines are usually pulled by and stored in a reel, but can also be retrieved by hand, with a fixed att ...

can snag on a

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

, for example. Similarly, a dead tree is also called a snag, as it can catch boaters (or hikers) off-guard. The term is also used

colloquial Colloquialism (), also called colloquial language, everyday language or general parlance, is the linguistic style used for casual (informal) communication. It is the most common functional style of speech, the idiom normally employed in convers ...

ly to describe any unexpected circumstance which causes a delay in a project or any given situation.

See also