Hot-gas-filtering fabric of spaced uncrimped support strands and crimped lofty fill yarns

A fabric for filtering particulate matter from a stream of hot gases, e.g., from a diesel engine, has an unknotted weave of flexible, incompressible, uncrimped, spaced support yarns and flexible, lofty, fully crimped, fill yarns. During the weaving process, the fill yarns are pulled tightly against the support yarns so that they do not slip or shift. For greater assurance of good filtering, a filter employs multiple layers of the fabric, with the support yarns of each layer extending orthogonally to those of adjacent layers. For uses involving prolonged exposure to high temperature, both the support yarns and fill yarns can be continuous-filament ceramic yarns such as alumina-boria-silica yarns. For lower temperatures, the yarns can be primarily glass.