BRUSSELS
OF machine-made carpets, that which naturally demands the first mention
is the Brussels carpet, which was the first kind to be woven in this
country by the aid of a Jacquard, a pattern-selecting mechanism to which
allusion will be made later. Brussels is a loop-pile fabric, consisting
of a strong woven foundation, composed of linen, jute, and cotton yarns,
together with that portion of the worsted yarn which is not utilised on
the surface to form the pattern. The pattern itself is formed on the
surface by differently coloured looped threads of worsted yarns.
The character of the fabric lends itself to patterns well-defined in
design and colour. The smooth, gently-ribbed surface gives a clean and
neat, but not a luxurious effect; and the carpet is generally more
suitable for small and medium-sized rooms and simple furnishing schemes,
than for bold or ambitious effects. The number of shades available is
also limited.
The processes of manufacture are comparatively few and simple.
The yarn is received from the spinner in grease, that is, still
containing the oil that was put into the wool for the purpose of
spinning, and in skeins. Worsted spinners supply a large variety of
counts and twists of yarn for Brussels and Wilton carpets, which need
not be particularised. As a normal Brussels yarn we may take 16s, 2 × 3;
a thread sharply twisted in the doubling, and loosely in the
re-doubling, running about 100 yards to the ounce. The yarn should be
spun from wool of a moderately long staple.
In the dye-house it is first scoured, to get rid of the oil, which would
interfere with the dyeing, and then dyed. From the dye-vat the yarn is
taken to the hydro-extractor, or wince, where a large proportion of the
moisture is eliminated by centrifugal force. The skeins of dyed yarn are
then dried, either by being hung on poles and exposed to a current of
warm air, or by being passed through a mechanical dryer, which normally
consists of a large chamber of wood and iron, through which the yarn is
carried by an apron, or pair of aprons, while exposed to streams of hot
air propelled by fans.
From the drying room or drying machine, the yarn passes to the winding
room, to be wound on to bobbins. The winding frame consists of a series
of pulleys set on a shaft. Opposite each pulley or drum is a swift on
which the skein is adjusted, the end of the yarn from the skein being
led on to the body of the empty bobbin, which is held against and
rotated by the pulley, the face of the pulley being a little less than
the space between the flanges of the bobbin. This bobbin, called the
creel bobbin, because it goes into the creel frames of the loom, has a
face of 2¾ in. and a flange diameter of 3½ in.
The creel bobbins, each of which when fully wound will contain about 1/3
lb. of yarn, are then taken to the creel frames at the back of the loom.
For a best five-frame Brussels carpet, five sets of 256 or 260 bobbins
will be required. These five sets are placed in each of the five creel
frames, each bobbin being free to revolve slowly on a creel peg, and so
release its yarn as required. Each of the 1,280 or 1,300 ends of yarn is
led through to the front of the loom, being threaded first individually
through an eyelet in the harness, and then, along with the other ends of
yarn that belong with it, through a reed of the sley.
The body and back of the carpet is provided for normally by two warp
beams, the chain and the stuffer. The chain consists of twice as many
ends of cotton as there are reeds in the sley. Thus, if the pitch is
256, there will be 256 reeds, or reed spaces in the 27 in. width of the
sley (in practice the sley is made a little wider than the carpet is to
be woven); and there will be 512 ends of cotton chain in the same width,
two to each reed space. The stuffer beam consists normally of as many
ends as there are reed spaces. The stuffer warp is of jute, bump, or
cotton yarn.
The object of the chain is to form, in combination with the weft, the
woven base of the fabric; all the rest is either surface or back. The
weave is effected by the chain ends being threaded through eyelets
mounted on two heald-frames or gears, which rise alternately in such a
way as to allow the shuttle, carrying the weft, to be shot through the
shed or opening thus formed.
The purpose of the stuffer, or dead warp, is merely to give body or
weight to the fabric, and it is not essential if there is enough body
provided by the rest of the warp. The stuffer ends are also carried on
eyelets in a gear frame, but are not divided like the chain, and remain
practically in the middle of the fabric.
Both chain and stuffer beams lie between the creel frames and the main
part of the loom. Their slow unwinding is operated automatically while
the loom is running.
The harness consists of a set of 1,300 cords, carrying the mails or
eyelets through which the worsted is threaded, kept taut by a weight at
their lower ends, and connected with the Jacquard mechanism above. The
Jacquard (the invention of Joseph Marie Jacquard, of Lyons) is an
ingenious device for selecting and raising the threads required to form
the pattern. The Jacquard principle in various forms is in use
throughout the textile trades, and need not be described in detail here.
The essential feature of it is the combination of perforated paper or
card with needles or pegs in such a way that the blank (or, it may be,
the perforation) in the card causes the harness carrying a certain
thread, or set of threads, to rise as required.
The operation of the Brussels loom may now be described. The ends of
worsted yarn from the creel bobbins having been drawn through the eyes
in the harness, and the chain and stuffer ends through the eyes in the
healds, all are drawn through the sley in such a way that there will be
in each reed-space five ends of worsted, two of cotton chain, and one of
stuffer warp. All ends are now made fast to the breast roller at the
front of the loom, and kept taut by weighting the warp beams, and by
hanging small hooked weights on to each thread of worsted close to the
bobbin in the creel frame.
[Illustration: FIG. 2
LONGITUDINAL SECTION THROUGH HEALDS, HARNESS, SLEY, AND FABRIC
A, Stuffer warp; B, Worsted warps; C, Chain; J, Comberboard; K, Mail; L,
Lingo; H, Healds; 1 to 6, Harness]
When the loom is running, the Jacquard lifts one worsted thread in each
reed, thus forming a shed, under which the wire is introduced from the
side. Immediately below the wire now lies the body of the fabric,
consisting of the four frames of worsted in each course, which are not
required to form the pattern, the stuffer warp, and one half of the
cotton chain. Below the body of the fabric is a lower shed formed by the
other half of the cotton chain, and through this the shuttle passes,
carrying the weft, at the same time as the wire is being inserted. Then
the lathe, which has been lying back to allow the passing of the shuttle
and the entrance of the wire, comes forward with the sley, and beats up
the wire and the last shot of weft against the breast-plate of the loom
and the last part of the woven fabric. At the same time the Jacquard
allows the harness carrying the ends selected for the last lash to drop
back on to a level with the others, and the gears carrying the cotton
chain begin to change. Next, the lathe goes back again; one half of the
chain is brought up to form a shed, under which and over the rest of the
threads the shuttle passes back, thus effectively tying in the worsted
threads which are looped over the wire. Meanwhile the last wire of the
set (of about 30) which has moved forward as the fabric is woven, is
drawn out by a hook, and carried back for insertion under the next shed
of worsted. A number of wires is used so as to avoid the risk of the
loops being pulled flat by the weight on the yarn or the strain of the
harness or sley.
Chains and stuffers are generally coloured and sized, the yarn being
slowly wound from bobbins or cheeses on a frame or stand, passing
through a trough of coloured starching material, over a steam-heated
cylinder, or a series of pipes, on to an iron flanged beam. The weft,
which is normally of linen yarn, is also generally coloured and sized,
and is used whilst still damp. The colouring certainly adds to the
appearance of the carpet, and the sizing adds stiffness and handling,
though, apart from this, and from the fact that it is expected by the
dealer, it is doubtful whether it is of any advantage, except in the
cheaper grades, where less yarn is used.
Brussels and Wilton carpets are described as being of five, four, or
three frames, according to the number of sets of creel bobbins carrying
worsted warp threads. Each frame will generally be composed of threads
all of one colour; but an enhanced colour effect is often obtained by
one or more of the frames being “planted.” This means that worsted
threads of two or more colours are arranged side by side in the same
frame in groups, in accordance with the design. If, for instance, the
design contains a rose, for the petals of which a frame of pink yarn is
to be used, then the colourist or weaver, by a judicious selection and
arrangement of bobbins, can add to the colour effect by shading the
petals from light to dark; or, again, a flower may be coloured blue in
one part of the design and gold in another. Skilfully used, this device
makes a three-frame look like a four, or a five-frame like a six, but it
must be used with discretion and with due regard to the design, or
disfiguring and tell-tale stripes will ensue.
[Illustration: FIG. 3
SECTION OF FIVE-FRAME BRUSSELS CARPET
A A, Chain; B, Pile warp; C, Stuffer warp]
Best Brussels has been taken as an example in describing the process of
manufacture, but a good many other qualities are, or at least have been,
made. Best is 256 pitch, beaten up 9 to the inch, but extra qualities
are made up to 11 per inch, which gives an excellently close and even
surface. Finer than this in pitch or beat-up it has not been found
practicable to go. Lower qualities are made in 236 and 214 pitch, and
even down to 180, with beat-ups running down to 6½ or 6 per inch, and a
framage of three or two. In the coarsest qualities, however, there is
always the tendency to “grin,” that is, for the weft and body of the
carpet to be exposed between the loops of the pile, unless the
coarseness is compensated by the employment of a thicker pile yarn or a
higher wire. This is, in fact, the case with a class of Brussels that
has been manufactured extensively by some makers in recent years, where
the yarn is spun from low wool or cow-hair, and is a good deal heavier
than the ordinary Brussels worsted counts. This fabric is almost
entirely confined to plains and stripes, though occasionally two frames
are used, and a simple pattern effect produced. It is a good wearing
carpet, and suitable for offices and modest purses.
[Illustration: FIG. 4
SECTION OF THREE-FRAME BRUSSELS CARPET
A, Chain; B, Pile warp; C, Stutter warp; E, Weft]
The fact is, however, that the demand for all qualities of Brussels
carpeting has fallen off steadily during the past few years; and the
reasons for this are strong and would seem likely to be permanent.
Brussels has suffered from the competition of Axminster on the one hand,
and Tapestry on the other. Brussels is, unfortunately, an uneconomic
fabric in its manufacture, inasmuch as, in a five-frame for instance,
for every length of worsted that appears on the surface, four times as
much is hidden in the body of the fabric, and, except in so far as it
acts as filling, is wasted. A Tapestry carpet, as will be explained
later, avoids this waste, and can therefore be produced with an equally
good surface as Brussels, and at a lower cost. We ignore for the moment
the characteristic defect of Tapestry carpets.
The cheaper Axminster, again, and to some extent the cheaper Chenille
Axminster as well, have largely superseded Brussels, owing to the fact
that they can be sold at almost the same price, while offering a more
luxurious effect with their cut pile surface and their larger range of
colours.
There are some dealers, moreover, who aver that the manufacturers of the
cheaper qualities of Brussels have themselves to blame for the decreased
demand, because these qualities were not satisfactory in wear, and in
particular were liable to “sprout.” Sprouting is the tendency of the
loops in the pile of a Brussels carpet to be pulled out through such
external agencies as a chair leg, a boot nail, a rubber heel, or the
claw of a dog or cat; though, indeed, complaints seem often to have been
framed as if on the assumption that sprouting was a natural property of
the carpet similar to that of its vegetable namesake. Still, the maker
has had to admit that cheaper qualities are more liable to the disease
than better ones, and perhaps his best retort has been that he was long
borne down in price and pressed to make cheaper qualities, and that
those who demand them must not complain too much if they do not get all
they expect.
Still, when all is said, with all its limitations, a good Brussels is an
excellent carpet. It has a clean surface which does not harbour dust,
and if the same can also be said of the Ingrain carpet, Brussels has the
extra resiliency afforded by the looped pile. If its colours are few,
they are enough to give thousands of effective variations, suitable for
almost any kind of design; and the comparative closeness of its pitch
makes its patterns neat and adaptable. A well-made Brussels carpet will
wear many years.
Reverting to the processes of manufacture, the roll of carpet goes from
the loom to the measuring table, where it is measured by hand or machine
before passing to the finishing or “picking” room. Here it is first
dried by passing over a steam-heated cylinder, or, in some places, by
being looped over a series of rails in a warm chamber. Then the back of
the carpet is picked; that is, the superfluous material, if any, is
removed and defects remedied. The roll is then passed through a shearing
machine, provided with a rapidly revolving shaft set with spiral blades,
where the surface is brushed and very lightly shorn, to remove loose and
projecting fibres. The surface of the carpet then is inspected by the
pickers, who mend any faults left from the weaving. Their work is
supervised and checked by the passers. At this stage, some manufacturers
pass their Brussels carpets, particularly the cheaper qualities, through
a pressing machine, in which heavy pressure on the looped pile is
exerted by rollers, the object being to obtain better cover, and to
prevent grinning. It is questionable, however, whether the process is of
any real benefit to the carpet, as it tends to impair the handle of the
fabric and the resiliency of the pile. The final stage in the finishing
department is the rolling and measuring, which is done mechanically,
after which the roll is ticketed, papered, and corded, and passes on its
journey to the packing room, carpet room, or warehouse, as the case may
be.
A digression seems necessary here on the subject of breadth carpets,
Cairo or Chlidema squares. Originally, carpeting was only made in body
or filling 27 in. wide, and border 22½ or 18 in. wide, and in rolls or
pieces of about 50 yards; and if a bordered carpet was required, 15 ft.
by 12 ft., the dealer would cut it up from the pieces, using, say, four
breadths of filling each 12 ft. long, and enough border, ½ yd. wide, to
go all round, with mitred joints at the corners. There were several
objections to this method, which is, of course, still necessarily
employed in bordered carpets of unusual sizes. It involves a thick and
awkward seam at the mitres, where the border has to be cut and turned
under; it is wasteful, as odd-shaped bits of border are bound to be left
over; and it is inartistic, inasmuch as the figures in the border never
match perfectly at the mitre. Lastly, in Wiltons and in some Axminsters,
it causes false shading, because, the pile naturally leaning a little in
one direction, and not being perfectly vertical, the border will only
tone perfectly with the body on one side of the carpet. On the three
other sides the light will strike the pile at a different angle from
that at which it strikes the pile of the body, and give a different
effect.
In 1863, a carpet was manufactured at Kidderminster for presentation to
the late King Edward VII, then Prince of Wales, on the occasion of his
marriage. In view of the natural desire to produce an article worthy of
the event and of the industry, it was recognised that no trouble and
expense should be spared; and a carpet was designed and woven in such a
way as to obviate the defects enumerated above. The carpet was exhibited
publicly and aroused much admiration.
It is curious, however, to note that it was not until about twenty years
later that the new principle began to be generally adopted by carpet
manufacturers. The delay in utilising the idea was no doubt due to
recognition of the heavy expense involved in additional designing and
card stamping, and of the loss of production, and also to the absence of
any severe competition from Oriental and other seamless carpets.
The device consisted simply in designing and stamping not two but five
parts of the whole carpet: the filling, the border at each side
including the corner piece, and the border at top and bottom. When, as
is almost invariably the case, the width of the border is less than 27
in., the difference between the width and 27 in. is stamped in body, so
that, for example, an outside breadth containing 18 in. of border and 9
in. of body is woven in a 27 in. loom. This breadth, of course, also
contains at each end the corner piece, and 9 in. of the end border. The
inner breadths of the carpet will have 18 in. of border at each end, and
filling in between, woven so as to match on to the filling and border of
the breadths on each side. If will be readily seen that in this manner
the different breadths of a carpet can be woven consecutively on the
same loom, and that a harmonious effect as regards both design and
surface can be ensured. (See Figs. 5 and 5A.)
[Illustration: FIG. 5 & 5A CHLIDEMA SQUARE]
The system has one or two minor limitations. The width of the carpet
must be some multiple of 2 ft. 3 in., and the matching of the side
borders with the corner pieces can only be perfect at certain lengths.
Again, the line of the seam is not concealed by coinciding with the
inner edge of the border; and, finally, these breadth squares are more
troublesome and expensive to make and handle at every stage than piece
goods. Indeed, manufacturers would be justified in charging a larger
difference of price between squares and pieces of the same quality than
many of them do.
In spite of the expense and loss of production involved, the device
proved on the whole a real boon both to the maker and consumer of
carpets, and was sooner or later adopted by practically all
manufacturers employing 3-4 wide looms. It placed those who utilised it
in a better position to compete with Eastern carpets, and it has thereby
contributed in no small degree to the artistic development of the carpet
trade. Indeed, it may almost be said to have saved the life of the
narrow loom, in view of the remarkable evolution and consequent
competition of the wide loom, to which further reference will be made
later.
In recent years it has been turned to a notable development in the art
of carpet making; the production of medallion breadth squares. This
involves the exercise of the greatest ingenuity and skill on the part of
the designer, heavy expense in respect of card-cutting, and the greatest
care in weaving and finishing. When completed, a medallion square is a
triumph of technique. The number of sizes available is obviously
limited; but a carpet of each size is absolutely perfect in design,
matching everywhere, as well as if made laboriously by hand, instead of
being the product of machinery and brains.
Coming back once more to the final stages of finishing, though the roll
of carpeting, body, border, or stair, is complete and ready for the
market when it is rolled and papered, this is not the case with the
breadth square, which has so far been treated in the same way. The
square, or series of squares, which are still in a continuous roll, are
cut up into their proper lengths, matched, and sorted. They are then
passed to the sewing room, to be made up into complete carpets. Hand
sewing has been superseded in most factories by mechanical sewing, by
hand or electric power, for which Messrs. Singer supply a very efficient
machine. In the larger power machine made by this house, the breadths to
be sewn together are clipped face to face with flush edges, and
stretched in the frame of the machine in such a way that the moving part
of the mechanism runs along over the two edges and sews them together.
The ends of the carpet, top and bottom, are then turned over and hemmed
by hand or machine. The carpet is then fastened to the floor, face
downwards, and the seams are damped and then pressed with a heavy heated
iron. If these operations have been properly performed, and if the edges
of the breadths are good, the seams of the carpet will be barely
visible. The carpet is then finished, though some manufacturers prefer
to stretch their carpets by attaching them tightly to a frame, and
leaving them for some hours.
From the sewing room the carpets pass to the stock room or the packing
room.