the many varieties of lustre dress fabrics met with and described
elsewhere. Woven with cotton warp and lustre weft, free from
ornamentation, it is a simple one-over and one-under plain-weave
fabric. Average width, 30 to 31 inches; length, 30 yards; price in
normal times averaging, for the usual type, as low as 8½_d._ per yard.
In fineness of appearance it lies midway between a Mohair
Brilliantine, which is of finer weave, and a Mohair Sicilian, which
is of similar weave, coarser, but more lustrous in appearance.
=Ottoman.=--A silk or cotton weave having thick ribs at various
intervals. Originally, the thick cord ran crossways. When the cord
runs lengthways the fabric is often known as an Ottoman Cord.
This material is also called a Persian Cord, which is a cloth made
from worsted or cotton warp and worsted weft employing the plain
weave, but with the warp threads working in twos, thus giving a rib
effect.
=Outsize.=--When used as a knitted goods term it is applied to
women's stockings made in extra widths.
=Oxford.=--Originally a wool fabric in dark grey and white mixtures.
Of late years heavy cotton and linen fabrics have been known by this
name.
=Oxford Shirting.=--This fabric is an all-cotton fabric woven with a
plain-weave ground and ornamented by the introduction of broken twill
or fancy twill weave. It is woven with white and coloured yarns,
which go to make the pattern or design--which in the main takes the
form of stripes--of broken twill weave running lengthways of the
material. Where the design is produced by printing, the material
would not be an Oxford Shirting, but would more correctly be classed
as an "imitation" or "printed" Oxford.
Oxford Shirting has been described as "a matt weave of coloured
yarns, forming small checked effects or basket effects." As the name
shows, it is extensively used in the making of shirts and ranges in
quality from a low-grade to a high-quality fabric.
=Padded Back Linings.=--When a fabric is printed black on one side,
or backed, to prevent the printed pattern on the face of the cloth
from showing through, it is known as a Padded Back Lining. A natural
back lining is a solid-coloured lining printed on one side only. This
class of fabric is generally woven from all-cotton yarns, but may
include fabrics which contain wool, silk, or other fibres.
=Pad-dyeing.=--Fabrics are generally piece-dyed after leaving the
loom by being immersed in a bath of dye or colouring material. With
a view to quickening more than actually cheapening the process of
dyeing, "pad-dyeing" was evolved. This roughly consists in threading
the cloth to be dyed into a machine the main features of which
are dye baths and rubber rollers. The cloth is made to pass over
rollers, dip into a dye bath and pass through rollers which squeeze
out the superfluous dye, allowing same to fall back into the dye
bowl or bath. In "pad-dyeing" the cloth may pass as often as six
times through the dye liquor before it enters the first set of
squeezers, and it may be given as many as four more passes through
the liquor before the second set of squeezers are gone through; this,
according to experts, gives "thorough saturation to any and all goods
difficult to penetrate." It is generally recognised that any degree
of saturation can be attained by the process of pad-dyeing, and cloth
may be run through a machine at the rate of some 275 yards per minute
and yet be well saturated. In a description of a pad-dyeing machine
the nature of the operation performed by this machine is called
"dyeing" and not "printing." The only difference therefore between
piece-dyeing in a vat and in a pad-dyeing machine is that in the one
instance the cloth is made to circulate in a dye bath or through a
series of dye baths instead of being allowed to remain still in a dye
vat until impregnated. The object aimed at and attained, _i.e._, the
saturation of the cloth with a dye or colouring liquor, is identical.
All fabrics showing thorough saturation of ground colour (_i.e._,
where both sides of the fabric are equally dyed) are considered as
dyed whether they have been dyed by vat-dyeing or pad-dyeing.
=Panne.=--A light-weight Velvet with "laid" or flattened pile.
Applied to a range of satin-faced Velvets or silk fabrics which show
a high lustre, which is produced by pressure. The word _panne_ is
French for Plush.
=Panung.=--The nether garment of the Siamese. Made from cloth of the
Papoon style or from woven or printed Checks. Papoon is a plain-woven
cloth having warp and weft of different colours. It is also woven in
two-and-two checking.
=Panama Canvas.=--An all-cotton plain matt weave fabric, similar to
Basket Cloth, but woven from dyed yarns.
=Papoon.=--An all-cotton fabric woven from coloured yarns, the warp
being of a different colour to the weft or filling threads. Exported
to Siam, where it is extensively used for panungs.
=Paramatta.=--A thin union fabric woven as a three-shaft weft-faced
twill from cotton warp and Botany worsted weft, used extensively for
the manufacture of waterproof articles.
=Pastel.=--Applied to tones of any colour when exceptionally pale.
=Pastille.=--A round or oval spot.
=Peau de Cygne.=--A closely woven silk having a lustrous but uneven
surface.
=Peau de Soie.=--A closely woven silk having a somewhat uneven
satin-like surface. Literally, "skin of silk." A variety of heavy,
soft-finished, plain-coloured dress silk woven with a pattern of fine
close ribs extending weftways of the fabric. The best grades are
reversible, being similarly finished on both sides; lower grades are
finished on one side only. The weave is an eight-shaft satin with one
point added on the right or left, imparting to the fabric a somewhat
grainy appearance.
=Pekiné, or Pekin Stripes.=--A colour design in stripes of equal
width and with equal space between.
=Pepperell Drill.=--The very superior qualities of Drills, woven from
the highest quality yarns, are distinguishable by their carefully
woven appearance and known as Pepperell Drills.
=Percale.=--A plain-weave cotton fabric of fine or medium count, used
for shirtings, dresses, linings, etc. Percale is usually printed on
one side with geometrical figures, generally black, although other
colours are sometimes used. The fabric is bleached before printing
and has an entire lack of gloss, differing from Percaline, which has
a very glossy finish. It is often printed in stripes and, when so
printed, is known as Percale Stripes.
=Percaline.=--A highly finished and dressed light-weight Percale,
piece-dyed in solid colours and not printed. Percaline is an
all-cotton, plain, closely woven fabric, generally met with in shades
of blue, green, black, brown, and tan. Highly calendered and glossed.
=Persian Cord.=--A worsted or cotton warp and worsted weft fabric
woven with a plain weave, but with the warp threads working in twos,
thus giving a rib effect. Also called Ottoman.
=Pick.=--When the word "pick" is used in connexion with weaving, it
always signifies the filling or weft threads, while each warp thread
is called an "end" or a "thread." Picks run across the width of the
fabric.
=Piece Goods.=--A usual trade reference for fabrics which are woven
in lengths suitable for retail sale by linear measure.
=Pile Fabrics.=--Materials of silk or cotton wherein the surface is
woven with raised loops, which are afterwards cut, forming a raised
"pile." They include Plushes, Velvets, Velveteens, and Corduroys.
The threads that go towards making the pile are special threads
independent of the warp and weft threads necessary to make a fabric
that will hold together.
If the raised loops are left uncut, as more frequently is the case
with warp piles, the fabric is spoken of as "Terry." If cut, as is
sometimes the case with warp piles, and usually the case with weft
piles, the fabric is spoken of as "cut-pile."
A generic name, used more in the elementary distributing trade,
covering the classes of goods known amongst retailers and consumers
as Velveteen, Corduroy, Turkish Towelling, Plush, etc.
=Pile Weave.=--Numerous varieties of cloth woven with a pile surface,
such as Plush, Velvet, Velveteen, Silk Seals, Pony Skin, Beaver,
Chinchilla Plush, and Carpeting of various kinds, are produced by
this style of weave. The distinctive feature of this weave is that
the surface consists of threads standing closely together like
bristles in a brush. These threads appear either as threads sheared
off smooth, so as to form a uniform or even surface, as in the case
of Velvet, or may appear in the form of loops, as in the case of
Towelling. The threads forming the pile are fixed to the back in a
more or less firm manner and are known as "loose" or "fast" pile: the
former takes the form of the letter @U@ and the latter of the
letter @W@. The loose pile may be driven out of the material by
pressure, as there are not the same binding threads holding it as in
the fast pile, or, again, they may be drawn out through the back of
the material by relatively little scratching with, say, the edge of
a paper-knife. The fast pile cannot be so withdrawn, as one of the
warp threads passes in each of the two surface depressions as well as
under the centre bend of the @W@, thus firmly binding it to the
cloth. All other conditions being equal, a fast-pile material would
be the better and more expensive of the two, and for upholstery or
where there is much wear the "fast" pile is essential. Pile-weave
materials are shipped on iron frames of about 60 yards, the material
being hooked on to the frame by the selvedge so as to prevent the
crushing of the pile. For export two frames are boxed together,
separated by a wood partition.
=Piqué.=--A stout cotton fabric having as a distinguishing feature
wide or fine welts, running "lengthways in the piece" and extending
side by side from selvedge to selvedge. It is woven in the unbleached
state and bleached before being placed on the market. It is also made
in part of dyed yarns, forming ornamental stripes. It is sometimes
referred to as Welts or Bedford Cords. This fabric is described in
the English market as a fabric having "transverse ribs or welts,
produced by stitching tightly weighted warp threads through a fine
plain-woven cloth which has its warp lightly tensioned." The ribs or
welts are sometimes emphasised by the introduction of wadding weft.
In America this material is sometimes described as "P.K."
=P.K.=--An American way of writing Piqué. This abbreviated
designation of the word is limited to America and seldom met with on
English invoices.
=Plain.=--As a weaving term the word "plain" is used to designate
the simplest weave, in which the weft thread passes under one and
over one warp thread. This system of interlacing produces a "plain"
or "one-over and one-under" or "shirting" weave. The term is also
used to denote that a fabric is not figured, _i.e._, that it is free
of ornamentation produced by either extra threads or combination of
weaves.
=Plain Velvet (Cotton).=--An all-cotton pile fabric, which is more
often known under the name of Velveteen. There would appear, however,
to be a difference between the two fabrics, which lies only in the
length of the pile, the pile of Velvet being if anything a little
longer than that of Velveteen and shorter than that of Plush. This
fabric may, like Velveteen, be either of a weft or warp pile weave,
which is more fully described under "Velveteen." Being plain, it
is free from any ornamentation produced by printing, embossing, or
combination of weave, and of uniform colour throughout the width and
length of the material.
=Plain Velveteen (Cotton).=--This fabric, like all true Velveteens,
is an all-cotton pile fabric which has not been ornamented or figured
in any way, either by being printed or embossed or by combination of
weave, and would be of uniform colour throughout the width and length
of the material.
=Plain (or Homespun) Weave.=--Plain cloth is the simplest cloth that
can be woven. In this weave one series of threads (filling or weft)
crosses another series (warp) at right angles, passing over one and
under one in regular order, thus forming a simple interlacement of
the threads. This weave is used in the production of Muslin, Gingham,
Broadcloth, Taffetas, etc.
Checks are produced in plain weaving by the use of bands of coloured
warp and coloured filling. This weave produces a strong and firm
cloth. It is also called calico or tabby weave, and referred to as a
"one-over and one-under" weave.
=Plated.=--An American term used in connexion with goods having the
face of one material and the back of another; for instance, a garment
having a wool face and cotton back is "plated." The face may also be
of one colour and the back of another, both of the same material.
=Plissé.=--French for pleated; applied to fabrics which have as a
distinctive feature a narrow lengthways fold like the pleats of a
closed fan. Also known as Tucks.
=Plumetis.=--A sheer cotton fabric ornamented with tufts at
intervals. A Figured Muslin or Lawn of high quality and price which
shows on its face dots or small sprigs of flowers which closely
imitate real hand embroidery. These designs are the result of swivel
figuring. This fabric is also known as Plumety.
=Plush.=--As a distinctive fabric Plush would appear to be a pile
fabric having a fairly long pile woven on the same principle as
Velvet, but composed of wool, mohair, or mixed fibres, and sometimes
from a silk pile and cotton back. Used as an adjective, the word
"plush" would mean woven with a pile somewhat longer than Velvet. It
is generally used in conjunction with a prefix showing the nature of
the materials from which the pile is made.
It is generally recognised that Plushes and Velvets are so generally
part cotton that a Silk Plush should be considered as having a
cotton back unless it is definitely stated that it is "silk backed."
This practice is recognised by manufacturing, wholesale, and retail
branches of the trade and is accepted by such authorities as Paul H.
Nystrom and recorded in his book, "Textiles."
=Plush of Silk mixed with other Fibres.=--This class of material
includes all pile fabrics which, in the first instance, answer to the
description of Plush, _i.e._, have their pile longer than that of
Velvet, and the pile of which, whilst being partly of silk, contains
other animal fibres such as wool or mohair and which may contain
even vegetable fibres such as cotton. In Plushes belonging to the
above class the nature of the back or foundation cloth may vary, but
in the great majority of cases they would be found to be of cotton.
Where it is clearly stipulated that they are "Plushes of silk mixed
with other fibres and having cotton backs," the foundation cloth must
not contain warp or weft threads wholly or in part composed of any
material other than cotton.
=Plush Velveteen.=--A plain all-cotton pile fabric, either weft or
warp pile, but generally the former, which differs from Velveteen
only in the length of the pile. As the name Velveteen stands for
"an all-cotton fabric," it would be as correct to describe a Plush
Velveteen as "an all-cotton Plush" or as a "long-piled Velveteen."
The terms Plush and Velveteen are explained elsewhere.
=Pointillé.=--Having a design in small dots.
=Pompadour.=--A term used to describe small floral designs in silk
fabrics.
=Poncho Cloth.=--This name is apparently more used to describe a
class of fabric than a particular and distinctive material. Used
presumably in the manufacture of Ponchos, which are blanket-shaped
garments having a slit in the centre through which the head is
passed, and extensively used in Mexico. Poncho Cloth was originally a
fine all-wool fabric.
Poncho Cloth is now described as a union cloth, _i.e._, composed of
two materials, such as wool and cotton, otherwise than by blending.
It is also similar to what is known as Leather Cloth, produced in
the Morley district, which is heavier than the boiled and teazled
goods known in that district as "Unions." True Poncho Cloth is a
union cloth woven with cotton warp and woollen weft, measuring from
72 to 74 inches wide and having a distinctive 1-inch hair list at
each selvedge. It resembles but is lighter in weight than a Union or
Leather Cloth, averages from 16 to 20 ounces per yard, and is given a
high finish on the face. In the Bradford district such a cloth would
be known and sold as a "Melton" unless shipped as a Poncho Cloth at
the request of the buyer.
=Pongee.=--A fine plain-woven cotton fabric, mercerised, dyed, and
schreinered, having a soft handle or feel like the real Silk Pongee
of which it is an imitation. Pongees are met with having stripes
produced by coloured warp threads. The fabric has a lustrous silky
appearance. Average width, 28 inches. The ground colour of Pongees is
most often of a shade similar to real Silk Pongee.
=Pony Skin.=--As a textile term, it is used to describe a pile fabric
which is made to imitate the true Russian Pony Skin fur. Always dyed
a solid black, this fabric has a mohair pile which has been laid and
fixed by heat. The density of the pile and the lustre are the best
guides to value. Like many imitation fur fabrics, it came into the
market owing to the vogue of the real fur it imitates. Average width,
48 to 50 inches; length, 30 to 33 yards per piece.
=Poplin.=--A fabric having a silk warp and a wool weft, with a corded
surface. Goods in which a similar effect is produced, but made in all
silk, all wool, or cotton, are also called Poplins.
It is a warp-ribbed fabric with a plain weave and was originally made
with a fine silk warp and a comparatively thick gassed worsted weft
which gave the ribbed effect, with the silk warp threads thrown to
the surface and completely hiding the worsted weft. It is similar to,
but generally softer finished than, Repp or Rep.
=Printed.=--This term, when used with reference to textiles,
indicates that the fabric has been submitted to a process whereby
certain designs, either simple or complex, have been impressed on
the surface of the fabric in either one or more colours. Calico is
perhaps the most typical of printed fabrics. The printing of fabrics
is generally done by the aid of a machine, its main feature being
a revolving cylinder on which the design has been stamped or cut
out. The cloth in passing through the machine comes in contact with
the impression cylinder. The cylinder revolving in a colour trough
takes up the colour and leaves the impression of the design on the
cloth. When fabrics are printed by hand from blocks, the design never
joins so perfectly that it cannot be detected, and, if looked for,
certain marks will be found that are used as "guides" to show the
operator where the next impression with the block is to be made.
Roller-printed designs, being continuous, show no such marks or
irregularities.
A recent process known as the "Lithographic" or transfer process has
been introduced, and it is a modified form of block printing, an
engraved stone being used as for lithographic work.
A fabric that is printed will not show continuous coloured threads,
but threads coloured in places and not in others; whereas in fabrics
having the pattern woven the coloured threads are continuous.
An "indigo print" is distinguished from a regular print by having a
printed figure on a solid indigo blue ground, whereas the ground of
an ordinary print-cloth pattern is white or of a light colour. An
indigo-print pattern is obtained either by indigo block printing,
indigo discharge printing, or indigo resist printing.
=Printed Balzarines.=--The general structure and appearance of
Balzarines is given under that heading. The cotton variety would be
an all-cotton fabric having a gauze weave and net-like appearance.
The printed variety would consist of similar fabrics which had been
subjected to a process whereby certain simple or complex designs had
been impressed upon the surface of the fabric in either one or more
colours. The fabric would approximate 30 inches in width and probably
from 28 to 30 yards in length per piece.
=Printed Calico.=--This fabric is described under "Calico."
=Printed Cambrics.=--As the name shows, Printed Cambrics are Cambrics
which have been submitted to a process whereby certain simple or
complex designs in either one or more colours have been impressed on
their surface.
Cambric being a light-weight, soft-finish, plain-weave fabric of
linen or cotton, the term Printed Cambric is therefore applicable
to either a linen or cotton fabric. The more correct designation
would be either Printed Linen Cambric or Printed Cotton Cambric.
The majority of Cambrics met with are Cotton Cambrics, and, unless
specially designated, a Printed Cambric would be a cotton fabric.
Whereas in the plain white a Cambric is finer than a Lawn, Printed
Cambrics, on the other hand, are coarser than Lawns.
=Printed Chintzes.=--This fabric is essentially a multicoloured
printed cotton fabric. It is the style of printing and the large
bright and gay coloured patterns of flowers and other subjects used
for ornamentation of the fabric that are the distinctive features
of this material, which is mainly used for curtains and furniture
coverings. Chintz is but a plain-woven fabric elaborately ornamented
with designs by means of the printing machine. After printing, the
fabric is passed through a calender press, the rolls of which are
well heated and tightly set, which gives the glazed finish which the
fabric in most cases possesses.
=Printed Cotton Drill.=--A strong all-cotton warp-faced or warp
sateen faced fabric which, after leaving the loom, has been suitably
prepared for and subjected to a process whereby certain ornamentation
in the form of simple or complex designs in either one or more
colours has been impressed on its surface. For particulars of weave,
_see_ Drills; Florentine Drills; Satin Drill.
=Printed Cotton Italians.=--This name is given to an all-cotton
fabric woven generally with a weft-faced satin weave having an even,
close, smooth surface, upon which--for the purpose of ornamentation
and to enhance the value of the fabric--certain simple or complex
designs in either one or more colours have been impressed. Whilst the
name of this fabric does not indicate whether it is a grey, white, or
dyed one, nevertheless, as an Italian Cloth itself is a dyed cotton
fabric, so a Printed Cotton Italian is a dyed and printed cotton
fabric.
=Printed Cotton Lastings.=--This fabric is essentially a plain
all-cotton twill or kindred weave fabric firmly woven from
hard-twisted yarns, piece-dyed after leaving the loom, and
subsequently subjected to a printing process whereby certain designs,
whether simple or complex, are impressed upon the surface of the
cloth in either one or more colours.
=Printed Crapes.=--Any all-cotton Crape Cloth, which has been
ornamented by having certain designs or patterns impressed upon
its surface in one or more colours, is termed a Printed Crape. The
crinkled appearance--which is the distinctive feature of Crape
Cloth--remains unchanged in the Printed Crape. The various methods of
obtaining this crinkled effect is given under "Crape Cloth, Plain."
=Printed Crimp Cloth.=--Any all-cotton Crimp Cloth which has been
ornamented by having certain designs or patterns impressed upon
its surface in one or more colours is known as a Printed Crimp.
The "cockled" stripes--which are the distinctive feature of Crimp
Cloth--remain unchanged in the Printed Crimps. The method of
obtaining these "cockled" stripes is given under "Crimp Cloth, Plain."