AXMINSTER
AXMINSTER carpets, though in point of time a comparatively recent
development of the industry, may claim to be, in point of structure, the
nearest related of all machine-made fabrics to the Oriental ancestor.
The similarity lies in the fact that they are tufted; and the tuft,
though inserted in the fabric mechanically, and bound down without being
knotted, undoubtedly represents the knotted tuft of the original
hand-made carpet. The essential feature of a tufted Axminster carpet is
that the tufts are inserted row by row between the warp threads, either
before or after being cut off, and are then bound down by the weft, and
so woven into the ground of the texture. Each tuft is used on the
surface, and forms part of the design; none of the tuft material is
hidden away or wasted in the body of the fabric beyond what is needed
for attachment to the binding weft.
The Axminster loom was introduced into England from the United States
about 1878; and since that time the fabric has developed steadily, with
an increasing popularity, which has only been rivalled in recent years
by that of the Chenille Axminster. Bradbury, in commenting upon the
similarity of Axminster in structure and appearance to the original
hand-made carpet, says: “Generally speaking they are far superior to
Eastern and hand-made productions, and where price is permitted to enter
as a factor, they leave these primitive structures still further in the
rear.” This may appear to some an extravagant appreciation; but there
can be no difference of opinion as regards the general merits of the
fabric. It combines economy in the use of material, and in manufacture,
with richness of texture and almost unlimited potentialities of design
and colour effect.
As in other carpet fabrics, there are in Axminster plenty of varieties
of qualities; but there are comparatively few differences in structure,
such differences as exist being mainly matters of pitch, tuft, or method
of tufting and binding. The original Axminster quality was called the
Royal. This is about 5 per inch in the pitch, and 6 in the beat-up, with
a tuft of about 7/8 in. This held the field until 1893, when a strong
invasion of the British market by American Axminster, offered at a
considerably lower price, caused the Axminster makers of this country to
bestir themselves to meet this competition. They did so strenuously; and
the result was the production of the quality known as the Imperial
Axminster, which had an instant and a lasting success. This was made in
a pitch of 7 to the inch, and a beat-up of about 6½, and was put on the
market at a moderate price. For many years it held the position of being
the critical quality of the whole trade; the standard by which the value
of other qualities was measured, and, as has been intimated, it is only
of recent years that its position has been challenged by the Chenille
Axminster.
At the present time, it would probably be safe to estimate that
three-quarters of Axminster manufacturers’ looms are being run on this
quality.
The Imperial Axminster quality may, therefore, be taken as typical of
the fabric; and a description of how it is made will cover most of the
ground, while variations from the standard type can be indicated. The
quality itself is made in slightly different ways by different makers,
but a normal standard will have the usual double chain, preferably of
2-14 or other linen, but sometimes of cotton, a cotton stuffer, one end
to each reed, and a jute weft of about 2 fold 7½ lb. count. The pitch is
189 or 190 in the 3-4 width. Fig. 7 gives a transverse section through
the weft of the weave ordinarily employed. In this there are three warps
employed, the two chain warps being wound on one beam, and the stuffer
warp, which runs straight in the fabric, on another. There are three
double shots of weft to each row of tufts. The two halves of the chain
warp alternately bind two double shots above, the tuft binding shot and
the intermediate, and one below. The effect of this structure is to form
a flat back, and also, through the lateral pressure of the intermediate
weft upon the tuft weft, under the same warp shed, to give the tuft a
distinct inclination out of the vertical, adding thereby to the fabric a
point of similarity to the hand-tufted carpet.
[Illustration: FIG. 7
SECTION OF IMPERIAL AXMINSTER. 3-SHOT
A, Chain; B, Tufts; C, Stuffer warp; D, Double weft]
The diagram of another method of weaving this quality is given in Fig.
8.
Three warps are used here again, but as each undergoes a different rate
of consumption, they are wound upon three separate beams. The stuffer,
as before, runs straight; one chain binds the bottom and the
intermediate shots, and the other the tuft shot. In this case, the tuft,
equally supported on each side, tends to remain vertical, while the
bottom weft, projecting below the tuft weft, gives the back a ribbed
appearance.
[Illustration: FIG. 8
SECTION OF AXMINSTER. 3-SHOT
A, Chain; B, Tufts; C, Stuffer warp; D, Double weft]
Each of these two weaves has its merits. The former gives better cover
with its sloping tuft, while the latter claims an increased resiliency
and immunity from the shading in made-up carpets, so noticeable with the
first-named weave.
Fig. 9 gives other but less usual structures. It may be noted that it is
possible to employ jute for the tuft binding and intermediate weft
shots, and at the same time a different yarn, preferably of woollen, for
the bottom weft, which shows on the back. This serves to make the carpet
heavier and more elastic to the tread.
Axminster may to some extent be compared with Tapestry and Chenille, in
that it is essentially a two-process fabric; and the pile yarns are
arranged so as to form the design before they are put into the loom. The
actual method of preparation of the colours is, however, quite different
from that employed in either of the other two fabrics.
[Illustration: FIG. 9.
SECTIONS OF AXMINSTER WEAVES]
The yarn is received from the dye-house in skeins, and is wound on to
large bobbins with a 6 in. face. The yarn from these bobbins has then to
be wound on to a series of wide spools, the number of which will be the
number of the rows of tufts in one complete repeat of the design to be
woven, while each spool contains as many ends of yarn as there are
squares in the width of the design. This operation is called setting, or
sometimes, reeding-in.
The 6 in. bobbins, in number equal to the pitch of the carpet, say, 189
or 190 for the 3-4 width of the typical quality mentioned above, are
arranged on a creel frame fitted with horizontal pegs in order
corresponding with the colours of the first row of the design.
Alternatively, a horizontal frame or table is employed, fitted with
vertical pegs for the bobbins. This has the advantage of being more
compact and accessible, but the colours are not so easily distinguished.
The ends of the yarn from each bobbin are led on to the wide spool,
through an open sley, which is opposite to it and equal in width. These
ends, suitably tensioned, are then wound on to the wide spool. For a
design of average length of repeat, say 1 yd., one full spool will weave
about 250 yds. When the spool is full, therefore, the yarns are cut, and
fastened down; and as many more spools are filled with the same
arrangement of colours as are needed to weave the required quantity. The
operators then re-arrange the bobbins in the creel frame in accordance
with the second row of the design paper, which is set up in some
convenient place for reference, draw them in order through the sley on
to the spool, wind a second set of spools, and so on; each spool being
numbered with its rotation as soon as filled.
When the spools for the whole of the repeat are wound, whether one or
more for each row of tufts, they are passed to women, whose task it is
to thread the ends through a series of tin tubes, the number of which
corresponds with the number of ends on each spool. The tubes are
soldered to a piece of tin, of L-shaped section, which is attached to
the tufting carriage. The spools with tubes attached are then placed in
the carriages, and are ready to be set up in order in the loom for
weaving.
[Illustration: FIG. 10
TUFTING MECHANISM
A, Wide spool; B, Pin; C, Finger; D, Tufting carriage; E, Tubes; soldered
at F; G, Guide-bar; H, Transferring arm; I, Finger; K, Spring; L, Link of
chain; M, Side view of tube; N, Angle attachment]
The tufting carriages are then placed, in the correct rotation so as to
form the pattern, upon a pair of endless chains, which are actuated by
the driving mechanism of the loom in such a way as to have an
intermittent motion so that, when each spool is in position to make its
row of tufts, the chains remain at rest long enough for the spool to be
removed from them, lowered for the tubes to enter the warp threads; for
the tufts to be cut off, and the spool to be replaced on the chains.
Each spool with its set of tubes and carriage, therefore, is so set in
the chains that it can be automatically detached at the right moment and
brought into position to form its successive line of fur. The mechanism
that effects these ingenious movements is too complicated to describe
here. It is an object lesson as to what variable and intermittent
motions can be produced by combinations of cams, bowls, levers, rods,
etc., while it gives the Axminster loom the distinction of being
probably the most ingenious of all carpet looms, subject perhaps to that
remarkable piece of mechanism, the Jacquard, not being regarded as
exclusively part of a carpet loom.
When the spool reaches the lowest point in the path of the double chain
which carries it, a few inches above the fell of the cloth, it is nipped
by an arm from each side, and conveyed downwards in such a way that the
tubes with the ends of the tuft yarns projecting are made to enter the
spaces between the upper shed of the chain warp with a slight sweeping
movement from the front to the back. This has the result of trailing the
ends of the yarn close to the fell of the cloth and the last row of
tufts, and leaving a space below the upper shed of the chain, so that
the weft-carrying needle is able to insert a double shot above the
middle of the exposed lengths of tuft yarn.
The tufting tubes are now lifted out of the shed, and somewhat forward
towards the fell of the carpet, so as to double the tuft round the
binding shot. At the same time the sley comes forward, presses against
the tuft yarns and the weft enclosed by them, and carries them up to the
breast comb and the fell of the carpet. With the tuft yarns and the
spool in position, another shot of weft is inserted, either with or
without a change of the warp shed, as the case may be, to assist in
holding fast the row of tufts in the carpet. The tufting carriage and
tubes are then lifted high enough to draw off a sufficient length of
yarn to form the next row of tufts in the following repeat. The tufts
are then cut by the meeting of two broad knives, which come together at
the level of the surface of the carpet with a scissor-cutting motion.
The spool and carriage are then replaced in the chains, moved one step
forward; and the succeeding spool is brought into position.
It may be desirable to mention a different method of inserting the tuft
yarn. In this case the spool is detached from the chain and made to
descend almost straight, turning about 60° out of the vertical towards
the back of the loom just as the tubes enter the warp shed. This has the
effect of turning the free ends of the tufts somewhat upwards. The spool
is then turned again so that the tubes are vertical, and are brought
close against the fell of the cloth. The binding weft is then inserted,
and the sley comes forward to carry the tufts up against the breast. At
this stage, a toothed comb, made in two parts, one working over the
other, comes up from below the breast to turn upwards the loose ends of
the pile through the warp, one part of the double comb, called the dummy
comb, slipping over the other so as to clear any tufts which might be
pulled down on to the back. Then the second binding weft is put in,
behind the tufts; and at the same time the tufts are cut. There is
another beat-up of the sley, and the bottom weft is inserted. This
completes the cycle; the warp chains change; and the process is
repeated.
An alternative fashion of cutting to the double scissor or guillotine
knives is sometimes employed, a circular knife in front engaging against
a fixed straight knife at the back. This system has the advantage that
the knives have not to be kept sharp, though they must be very
accurately adjusted.
The weft motion is another ingenious piece of mechanism. The weft is
inserted in the warp shed by a needle about 5/8 in. in diameter,
entering from the right-hand side of the loom. The jute weft is conveyed
from a ball, tensioned by suitable springs, and threaded through the eye
of the needle. It is obvious that the weft shot must be double, and also
that it would not stay in the shed after the withdrawal of the needle,
unless it were caught in some way at the left hand of the loom. This is
effected by a small shuttle carrying the edge-thread. This shuttle is
similar to a sewing machine shuttle, but larger, being about 3 in. long
and 1 in. in diameter. It runs backwards and forwards in a semicircular
shuttle-race, and is so adjusted that it passes under a notch near the
end of the needle, and over a loop of the weft, carrying the edge-thread
through the loop, and holding it taut while the needle is receding in
such a way as to prevent the weft slipping back, and to make a good
selvedge to the carpet. When it is desired to use two different weft
threads, the needle has an open eye, or hook near its end, instead of
the ordinary eye, and the two wefts in turn are presented to this eye by
a rocking eyeletted weft-carrier, so that the needle picks up the weft
just before it enters the shed.
There have been other developments of the Axminster principle of
inserting tufts into the weave of the fabric, and variations from the
method of the wide spool and tubes. Of these, the most successful has
been based upon the idea of conveying the cut tufts by means of nippers
or grippers into the fell of the cloth. This has been worked in
combination with the wide spools, but more satisfactorily in combination
with yarn carriers operated by a Jacquard with a differential lift
mechanism for selecting the colours.
In this loom, which has been brought to perfection for various
qualities, pitches, and widths, in recent years, the pile yarns are
wound on to creel bobbins, which are arranged, in much the same way as
in Brussels and Wilton, in creel frames behind the loom. A frame of
bobbins is a set of bobbins of the same shade, equal in number to the
pitch of the loom. The number of frames is limited in practice to about
16, which, however, aided by “planting,” admit of design and colour
effects comparable with those obtainable in Royal Axminster.
The yarns are led between guide bars and through perforated plates into
the carriers, which are vertical strips of steel or brass grooved back
and front and drilled with a series of slots, through which the ends of
the yarn pass, being held in position by small springs. The frames of
yarn are threaded through the holes in the carriers in order, so that
the yarns of the top frame pass through the highest hole in the carrier,
the second frame through the second hole, and so on. Viewed from in
front, the ends of each frame of yarn will be seen in horizontal lines
one above the other in the front grooves of the carriers.
These carriers are connected by cords or wires with a differential lift
mechanism, which is actuated by the Jacquard, in such a way that the
blank or perforation on the Jacquard card, corresponding with a certain
colour, causes the carrier to be lifted until that colour is at the
required height.
It can readily be understood that cards perforated in different ways,
and presented to the Jacquard at once, can cause the carriers all across
the loom to be lifted varying heights in such a way as to show at the
required level a horizontal row of thread ends, corresponding to a row
across the width of the paper design. The sequence of these rows, of
course, forms the pattern.
It remains to cut off the tufts, to lay them in their place at the fell
of the cloth, and weave them into the carpet.
There is a set of grippers, in shape very similar to the neck and beak
of a bird, mounted on three shafts, and arranged so as to revolve in
about a semicircle between the carriers and the fell of the carpet. The
Jacquard, having operated so as to present the ends of the required
colour in the carriers in a horizontal line, the grippers come up in
front of them with open beaks, which are inserted just into the carrier
grooves, and then close, nipping the ends of the yarn. The whole of the
frame in which the carriers are mounted is then withdrawn away from the
points of the grippers a sufficient distance to give the required length
of tuft. A flat-toothed comb of hardened steel, of the same pitch as the
grippers, carriers, and carpet, drops down with its points between the
threads so as to hold them steady, while a travelling knife or set of
knives, passing along the face of the comb, severs the tufts. The
grippers then descend into the warp threads, laying the tufts against
the fell of the carpet; the needle or shuttle passes over them and
through the shed, carrying the binding weft, which is beaten up by the
open sley, at the same time as the grippers open to release the end of
the tuft, and double it upwards. Two other shots are inserted, while the
grippers move in their semicircular path upwards to seize the next row
of tufts, and again downwards to lay them in place.
The advantages claimed for this very ingenious method of Axminster
weaving are: that the preparatory processes are considerably simpler
than with the Royal and Crompton patents; that the quantity of any
pattern to be woven can be better controlled; and that it involves less
waste. There is no disadvantage in the weaving of a small quantity, if
required, as 1 yard or 500 can be woven equally well; and the yarn left
over at the end of an order can be cut off at the back of the carriers
with a minimum of waste, and stored conveniently on creel bobbins. The
cutting mechanism is also so good, that the surface waste is reduced to
a negligible quantity, and a minimum of shearing and finishing is
required.
However this may be, it is noteworthy that the principle has been
applied with complete success to looms for weaving wide seamless
carpets, where the gripper mechanism, though necessarily heavy, has
probably a distinct advantage over the wide spool and tubes.
Axminster, like other carpet fabrics, has tended to develop in the
direction of wide seamless goods; and this is a tendency that will be
worth watching, leading as it does towards the evolution of the ideal
carpet—a machine-made knotted fabric. Ideal, that is to say, in the
sense that the knotting of a tuft on to a groundwork of warp and weft is
the best way of putting a carpet together, and having regard for the
facts that we live in a mechanical age; that we cannot afford time or
money to make our own carpets by hand; and that we ought not to buy
foreign hand-made carpets. Experiments in mechanically knotted carpets
have continually been made, and definite progress has been won in recent
years; but the technical difficulties are considerable, and it will be
interesting to see whether a carpet of so exceptional a weave can be put
on the market, except at a price comparable only with that of a
hand-tufted fabric. Meanwhile, the seamless tufted Axminster, as it is
now made in two or three forms, with tufts as securely fastened for all
practical purposes into the body of the fabric as if they were knotted,
holds the field as the nearest approach to the ideal, and is deserving
of a far larger measure of support from the British consumer that it has
enjoyed hitherto.