MATERIALS
CARPET manufacture is a complicated matter, and involves the use both of
various ingenious machines and of a diversity of materials, such as
wool, cotton, jute, twine, oil, paper, wire, colours, size, etc. We need
only concern ourselves, however, with the more important of these
materials, which are yarns made of wool, in the form of worsted or
woollen, which are almost invariably used for the surface of a carpet;
and yarns made of other fibres, which are used for warp and weft.
The wool used for carpet yarns is different from that required for
either cloth or hosiery. It need not be so fine and soft, but it should
be strong, and in the case of worsted yarn, of fairly long staple, while
natural lustre adds to the value.
A recent estimate of the sources of wool consumed by the carpet trade
allotted 9 per cent. to the British Empire, as much as 40 per cent. to
Russia, and the remainder to other countries. Strong British wools, and
the coarser stapled fibres from Australia and New Zealand, form the bulk
of the first category, while Egyptian and East Indian wools, which are
in especial demand for woollen yarns, are responsible for a large
proportion of the last.
Of other materials that can be and are used for the surface of carpets,
mention should first be made of silk. Hand-tufted carpets are sometimes
made of silk both in Asia and in Europe, and beautiful effects are
obtained; but the cost on the one hand, and the nature of the yarn on
the other militate against its being a very suitable material for a
floor covering. Carpets made with a silk pile possess a wonderful sheen,
especially if hand-woven, so that the tufts lie over at a considerable
angle; but the pile possesses no resilience and suffers more from
soiling in wear than a wool-pile carpet of a corresponding quality.
Mohair is used occasionally for hand-tufted carpets with excellent
effect, and it is often employed to great advantage in self-coloured
hearth rugs, for which there is a regular demand. The extreme stiffness
of the fibre and its disinclination to felt, however, cause the yarn to
be a rather intractable material for carpet manufacture. It possesses,
moreover, the special characteristic of considerable density. In other
words, it is heavy for its volume, so that a yarn of a given thickness
will weigh much more than a similar yarn of another fibre, with the
result that all mohair fabrics are expensive compared with those made of
wool or other yarns.
Jute is employed for the surface as well as for the rest of the carpet
at Dundee; and horse-hair Brussels carpets are made, which are extremely
durable, but somewhat harsh, and not very decorative. Yarn spun from
cow-hair is utilised sometimes for the surface of carpets of the
Brussels or Dutch type, but perhaps more often for filling warps; while
cotton has been tried for the former purpose also, but without very
satisfactory results, owing to the lack of resilience in its fibre.
If to the cobbler there is nothing like leather, so to the carpet
manufacturer there is nothing like wool. Yarn made of wool seems to be
the ideal material for the surface of a carpet. Wool is capable of being
spun easily into yarn of any required count or thickness; and such yarn
can be dyed to any shade, and woven into any fabric. When woven, it will
retain its appearance and stand reasonably hard wear better than most
similar textile materials. Its liability to the attacks of moths may be
urged; but, after all, carpets are made as much for use as for ornament,
and it is well known that the clothes moth only works when he is
undisturbed.
Of subsidiary yarns, perhaps cotton is the most important. This is used
for a large proportion of the chain warps of all kinds of carpeting. It
is also occasionally used for weft, and in its lowest qualities for
stuffers.
Flax yarn, more generally known in the trade as linen, is used in
considerable quantities, especially as chains for Axminster, and as weft
for Wilton and Brussels carpets. Its combined strength and pliancy,
coupled with a certain degree of stiffness, make it a most useful fibre.
Jute and hemp, having regard to the total production of all kinds of
carpet, are probably used in greater quantities than any other yarn.
Jute is cheap and strong, and is invaluable as a filling to give weight
and handle to a fabric. It has the disadvantage of being liable to decay
if it becomes wet, and in this state, if used in too large a proportion,
of causing the disintegration of a carpet.
Of other materials that are sometimes used for the backing of carpets,
mention must be made of ramie, which has been tried as a substitute for
linen yarn, which it resembles a good deal in character, being strong
and pliant, but inelastic. The cost, however, has proved to be
prohibitive. Various mixtures of jute and wool, or of cotton and wool,
have been tried, and have their values as combining weight with
resilience.
Paper yarn, though seldom as a matter of fact under its own name, has
been tried as a substitute for linen, cotton, and jute, as weft, chain,
and stuffer. It can be spun or twisted into a presentable yarn in a
variety of counts; and a yarn that will weave and weave well. During the
war, owing to their shortage of other fibres, the Germans used
considerable quantities of paper yarn for weaving cloths, webbing,
harness, equipment, and even carpets, which no doubt served their
purposes tolerably well. It was, however, a development pursued rather
from necessity than from choice. They had plenty of wood, which we have
not; and they lacked the wool, cotton, and jute. Paper yarn cannot
seriously compete in price with jute, nor in value with cotton, for use
in carpets. It is, moreover, particularly liable to deterioration from
dampness.