descriptive information, are of little value, and care should be
taken to describe briefly any salient feature connected with the
fabric. This information may concern either the trade-mark, the
importer, the value, or the date when the sample was entered into
the collection, and brief particulars of the shipment of which it is
a sample. This kind of information is of material value where the
sample concerns a class, style, or quality of fabric not hitherto
met with. With a comparatively small amount of trouble it would be
possible to get together very valuable collections of samples. And
if the individual would but give a little time and thought to the
question of textile samples, and but a tithe of the time devoted to
any hobby he may have, he will be amply repaid by the added knowledge
he will acquire. All samples should be of uniform size (7 inches by
4 inches will be found a very useful size) and should invariably be
in duplicate--one to use in obtaining all particulars necessary
for classification and the other for the actual sample collection.
Weave structure, nature of yarns, etc., may be studied and tests for
components made and recorded.
Nothing will give a better idea of relative values of fabrics than
knowledge of components, style of weave, etc. This, of course,
does not apply to extrinsic values, _i.e._, values due to fashion,
exclusive designs, or proprietary articles. There is nothing to go by
in such cases better than market values; but in the plainer staples
knowledge of construction, finish, etc., means ability to classify
fabrics and estimate their approximate relative values.
Provisions for an index to sample collection have been made at the
end of this book, enabling the ready adoption of the system now
advocated.
=Sateens.=--This material is a light-weight cotton fabric finished
to imitate Silk Satin. In weaving Cotton Sateens the same style
of weave is adopted as in weaving Silk Satin, the object aimed at
being an even, close, smooth surface and one capable of reflecting
light to the best advantage. In a "warp sateen" weave the warp only
appears on the surface, the filling or weft threads being effectually
and completely hidden by the warp threads. In passing over the
filling the warps do not interweave at regular, but at irregular,
intervals--thus they may pass over five, eight, ten, twelve, or
sixteen, then under one and over eight more, and so on. Sateens
average 30 inches wide and from 30 to 60 yards in length per piece.
Sateens are woven on the same principle as Italians. The common
Sateen cloth is produced on a "five threads and picks" system.
Sateens are woven either as "Warp Sateen" or "Weft Sateen"; the
peculiarities of these weaves are given under those headings.
=Satin.=--A term applied to silk goods woven on the same principle as
Sateens, either Warp Sateens or Weft Sateens. In weaving most silk
fabrics the warp and weft, or filling, are made to intersect each
other every alternate time (as in plain weaving) or every third or
fourth time in regular order (as in ordinary or plain twill weaving).
In weaving Satin the same style of weave is adopted as in weaving
Cotton Sateens, the object aimed at being an even, close, smooth
surface and one capable of reflecting light to the best advantage. In
a warp-weave Satin the warp only appears on the surface, the filling
or weft threads being effectually and completely hidden. In passing
over the filling the warps do not interweave at regular intervals;
thus, they may pass over five, eight, ten, twelve, or sixteen, then
under one and over eight more, and so on. Common Satin is what is
technically known as an eight-leaf twill, the order in which the
filling thread rises being once in eight times. The filling in the
better qualities of Satin is of silk, whilst in the lower grades of
this fabric cotton is generally used for the filling. Rich Satins
may be woven on almost any number from five to twenty leaf twills.
Satin at the time of leaving the loom has a somewhat flossy and rough
surface--this is removed by passing the fabric over heated metal
cylinders, which destroy the minute fibrous ends and increase the
brilliance of the silk. Black Satins are often woven with a selvedge
which is of a different colour to the piece.
=Satin Drill.=--When a Drill is woven with a warp-faced sateen weave
it is known as a Satin Drill, to distinguish it from a Drill woven
with a twill weave, which is known as a Florentine Drill.
=Satin Weave.=--In weaving a satin design the filling thread is
made to pass under one and over eight, ten, twelve, or a greater or
lesser number of warp threads, and the order in which this is done
is irregular. The filling by this process is thus placed practically
all on the face of the cloth, and this style of weave is sometimes
called a filling-face satin weave. By reversing the process and
bringing practically all the warp to the surface or face of the cloth
a warp-face satin is produced. Cloth produced by this system of
weave has a close, smooth surface reflecting light to a high degree
and giving it the appearance of Satin Cloth, a fabric which is best
described as a cloth made of silk woven with a satin weave.
=Satinet or Satinette.=--An imitation of the true or Silk Satin woven
from mercerised cotton or other yarns. It is similar to Sateen,
but somewhat lighter in weight. The term is used to describe the
four-shaft satin weave, which does not fulfil the conditions of the
real Satin as regards the order of intersection of warp and weft.
=Schreiner Finish.=--This, like all other special finishes, is
the result of a process through which a fabric is passed with
the view of rendering its face more lustrous, _i.e._, capable of
better reflecting light and hence having a more silky appearance. A
Schreiner finish is given to a woven cloth by means of a specially
engraved steel roller. This roller is engraved with minute lines
running parallel to each other. When this roller has been suitably
heated and set with the right amount of pressure the cloth is run
between it and a plain backing roller. The engraved roller which
comes in contact with the cloth impresses on it minute lines, which
can readily be distinguished by means of a counting-glass.
In America a Schreiner finish is often known as a "milled" finish.
=Scribbled.=--When any two or more kinds of fibres have been
thoroughly mixed together prior to being spun into a thread they are
said to be "scribbled."
=Seamless.=--Applied to hosiery knitted in one piece on a circular
machine, leaving an opening at the toe to be looped together. The
shaping of the leg, heel, and toe is done by steaming and then drying
on boards of proper form.
=Seamless Bags.=--All-cotton bags woven on looms which automatically
measure the length of what is practically a tubular cloth required
for each bag. What are virtually two cloths are "condensed" and woven
together to form the bag bottom. In forming the body of the bag the
loom weaves two fabrics, one over the other, and in weaving the
bottom these are combined into one.
=Selvedge.=--The edge of any piece of woven fabric. The term is
synonymous with "list." The warp threads which go towards the weaving
of selvedges are in some cases made of a stronger material than that
used for the bulk of the fabric. Folded yarns are often used for
this purpose, because during the process of weaving single selvedge
yarns are liable to break out oftener than any other, generally on
account of the pulling action of the weft thread in the shuttle as it
is "picked" across. This is more particularly the case with cottons.
Selvedges are that part of the fabric by which it is held out in a
stretched position in many of the stages of finishing. In the textile
trade generally it is often stated that "a good selvedge shows a good
cloth." Velvets and Velveteens that are mounted on iron frames, to
which they are attached by means of series of hooks penetrating the
selvedges, have these selvedges reinforced by stronger warp threads.
Selvedges, or lists, of a colour different but of a material similar
to that of the bulk of the fabric denote that the fabric has been
woven of dyed yarns and that it has not been piece-dyed. Obviously,
if piece-dyed, the selvedge would be of the same colour as the bulk
of the fabric. Distinctive styles of selvedges have given rise
to special names of fabrics, such as Spanish Stripes. The actual
quality of a fabric cannot be always told by the selvedge, but other
conditions being equal, it then becomes a good guide to quality. A
silk selvedge thread or threads, or the initials of the manufacturer
in silk, appearing on the selvedge of an all-wool fabric generally
denotes a superior quality of fabric. The following, from a work
dealing with cotton fabrics, shows the generally accepted value of
selvedges as an indication of quality: "Advertising has educated the
retail dealers and consumers to the fact that cotton warp goods with
a white selvedge, the ground being of colour, are more to be depended
upon not to crock than similar cloths of solid colour."
=Serge (Cotton).=--All all-cotton fabric woven with a decided twill
and having a special finish imitating wool; usually printed with
hair-line stripes to imitate woven effects.
=Shadow Cretonne.=--A fabric of comparatively recent creation having
as a distinctive feature the design printed on the warp threads. The
filling is generally white, but is sometimes yarn-dyed to a shade
approximating the general tone of the large floral decorations which
are generally used in this class of fabric. The warp threads take the
colouring matter in such a way that when woven the design or pattern
appears equally on both sides of the fabric in somewhat blurred
and softened tones. From the fact that the fabric is reversible,
_i.e._, shows a design on both sides, it has sometimes been called
a Reversible Cretonne, but the true Reversible Cretonne is the
result of printing on a woven fabric and not on the warp threads
only prior to weaving. The blurred effect, resembling that of a
fabric which might have run in the washing, is at times intensified
by the introduction here and there of yarn-dyed warp threads of
solid colour. They are not always an all-cotton fabric; flax enters
sometimes into their composition.
=Shantung.=--The real Shantung is a Chinese silk fabric of the Pongee
class. This fabric has now been imitated in cotton yarns suitably
finished. The yarns used in imitation Shantung are spun with thick
soft places at irregular intervals in the yarn; this irregularity is
more noticeable in the filling yarns.
=Sheeting.=--A light or medium weight plain-woven all-cotton fabric
woven from coarse or medium yarns. The name applies to both bleached
and unbleached cloth. Under the heading "Grey Sheeting" will be
found a description of the two distinct varieties of fabric known as
Sheeting. In the trade it would appear that, should a Sheeting be
dyed or printed, it is never sold as a Sheeting, but under some other
name.
=Shirtings.=--A generic term applied to any material originally and
usually employed for the making of shirts and covering such varieties
as Grey, Harvard, Oxford, Zephyr, Sateen, Grandelle, etc. The term
Shirting, if used by itself, would in most instances be used with
reference to the Grey Shirting so largely exported from England and
America. This Grey Shirting is a plain-woven cloth of low-quality and
heavily sized yarns which has not been bleached.
=Short Stick.=--This term implies a yard of precisely 36 inches, in
opposition to the term "long stick," which is by trade custom a yard
of 36½ inches in length.
=Shot.=--A weaving term having the same value as "pick." When a
fabric is described as having so many "shots" to the inch it means
that there are so many weft threads to the inch. When used to
describe a colour effect in fabrics, it applies to fabrics which are
woven with different coloured warp and weft, and which, according to
the way they are held when looked at, appear to change in colour.
=Sicilienne.=--A Mohair of heavy weight.
=Silence Cloth.=--A heavy all-cotton backed fabric, used to cover the
table under the linen cloth, to withstand heat or to prevent damage
to the finish of the table. Made in widths from 54 to 64 inches. The
fabric is a double fabric, reversible, and made from coarse yarns; it
is also known as Table Felting.
=Silesia.=--A cotton fabric woven with a twill or sateen weave,
usually printed in stripes and highly finished. The high finish
found in this class of fabric is often a "Beetle" finish imparted to
the fabric after weaving by subjecting it to a rapid succession of
elastic blows from a series of hammers whilst the fabric is wound
upon a cast-iron beam. Generally woven as a three-shaft twill from
single 30's to 40's in warp and filling so as to produce a 45-degree
right-hand twill. Silesia is essentially a tailoring fabric used for
linings. A variety of yarn-dyed striped Silesia is also on the market.
=Silk Beaver.=--Silk Beaver is a pile fabric woven so as to imitate
the prepared fur of the beaver. Like many other fabrics of this
style the pile is all silk and the foundation cloth or back is all
cotton. This fabric appears to be dyed invariably a rich brown, and
this differentiates it from such similar fabrics as Silk Seal, which
are dyed black. The quality of Silk Beaver depends upon the depth
and closeness of pile. If looked at from behind, the pile threads
will distinctly show as small shiny spots where they are bound into
the back. The closer these little silk dots are to each other the
heavier the pile and the better the quality. The value prior to
1914 ranged from 5_s._ to 12_s._ per yard but has since increased.
The pile may have a length of as much as half an inch in the best
grades. Generally framed in lengths of from 30 to 33 yards. As this
is bulky material when framed, the landed cost in the East is greatly
increased. Average width, 48 to 50 inches.
=Silk Gingham.=--This class of fabric is similar to Gingham, Madras,
Madras Gingham, Zephyr, etc., except that the fabric contains more
or less silk in the filling. It sometimes happens that through
inadvertence such material is found described simply as a Gingham,
hence the presence of silk should be looked for in goods so described.
=Silk Mull.=--Like Mull, this fabric is a plain-woven, soft-finished
material, but is made from cotton warp and silk filling and is
generally finished undyed. Silk Mull is finer in texture than Cotton
Mull. The silk filling used in this fabric is raw silk, viz., tram
silk.
=Silk Pongee.=--A light-weight fabric made of the silk produced by
wild silkworms that feed on oak leaves.
Pongee is a soft, unbleached, washable silk, shipped from China
to Europe in large quantities, where it is bleached, dyed, and
ornamented in various styles of designs. The name is also applied
to a variety of dress goods made in Europe woven with a wild-silk
warp and a fine worsted weft. This material is of comparatively
recent make and is made mostly with narrow stripes, produced by the
insertion of certain yarn-dyed threads.
=Silk Seal (Cotton Back).=--This is an imitation fur fabric made in a
range of quality, length, and closeness of pile. In this fabric the
pile only is of silk, the foundation cloth being all cotton.
Silk Seal might be mistaken for Silk Beaver if not judged from the
point of view of colour. Silk Seal is black, Silk Beaver is brown.
There is a variety of this fabric known as a Fancy Silk Seal, similar
in construction and components but having stamped in outline by means
of rollers a design resembling the irregular scales on a crocodile's
skin. Along the lines demarcating these scales the pile has been
crushed and fixed down by heat. This fabric is not a true Silk Seal.
Quality in this, as in other pile fabrics, depends on the closeness
and depth of the pile. There is a possibility of mistaking Silk Seal
with cotton back for a Silk Plush with cotton back, but generally the
pile of Plush is shorter than that of Silk Seal. Average width, 48 to
50 inches.
=Silk Yarns.=--There are two distinct classes of silk yarns, _i.e._,
(_a._) pure, or net, silk and (_b._) spun silk.
(_a._) _Net Silk Yarns._--These are constructed from fibres
reeled straight from the cocoon, and in the case of organzine (or
warp) yarns three to eight fibres are lightly twisted together;
subsequently, two or more of these compound threads ("singles" as
they are termed) are folded together to form the silk yarn employed
as warp. Weft yarns, known as tram silk, are made from two or more
strands, each made from three to twelve cocoon fibres, which have
not undergone any preliminary twisting, so that tram silk is much
straighter, softer, and more lustrous than organzine.
(_b._) _Waste and Spun Silk Yarns._--The fibre is obtained from
"pierced" cocoons, _i.e._, cocoons through which the silk moth has
forced a way at the time of emerging from same, also from "wild"
cocoons. The low qualities are short-fibred and are only suitable for
weft yarns, while the longer drafts produce higher quality yarns well
suited for warp.
Counts of spun silk are based upon two distinct systems of numbering.
In the French system the number is based on the singles, by metres
per kilogramme; two and three cord yarns have one-half, one-third,
etc., the length the numbers indicate thus:--
No. 100 singles has 100,000 metres per kilogramme.
" 2/100 " 50,000 " "
" 3/100 " 33,333 " "
The other and more general system is the English. The hank is 840
yards and the number of the hanks in 1 pound avoirdupois is the count
of the yarn. It is based on the finished yarn, and singles and two
and three cord yarns of the same number have all the same number of
yards per pound. Thus:--
No. 50 singles has 42,000 yards per pound.
" 50/2 " 42,000 " "
" 50/3 " 42,000 " "
=Sliver.=--A continuous strand of cotton or other fibre in a loose,
untwisted condition, ready for the further process of slubbing or
roving, preparatory to being spun.
=Spanish Stripes, Cotton.=--A plain-woven all-cotton fabric,
sometimes woven from dyed yarns, but oftenest met with as a
piece-dyed material woven with a simple one-over and one-under weave.
The selvedge is often woven with black warp threads to the width of
about 1 inch. The filling weft threads are soft and full, the warp
threads are much finer and hard-twisted. The surface is raised and
the general appearance of the fabric is similar to Flannelette. Often
met with in bright vermilion. Average width, 56 inches; length, 25
yards per piece; and value (nominal), 7_d._ per yard.
=Spanish Stripes, Woollen.=--Essentially an all-wool fabric, free
from any ornamentation of weave, printing, or embossing, this class
of fabric is woven with a plain one-over and one-under weave. Soft
of handle, Spanish Stripes are generally dyed bright red and have as
a distinguishing feature a selvedge of coarser warp threads from 1½
to 2 inches in width, some of which are dyed, prior to weaving, a
different colour (generally black) to the rest of the warp threads or
weft filling threads. These coloured warp threads go towards making
generally three separate coloured stripes in the selvedge and have
given rise to the name of this particular fabric. In width measuring
up to 62 inches and with a length of 29 to 30 yards per piece,
Woollen Spanish Stripes are met with in a limited range of quality
and the average price of same taken over the period 1904 to 1914 was
1_s._ 8½_d._ per yard.
=Spanish Stripes, Wool and Cotton.=--This class of fabric, being
a mixture and not a union fabric, answers to the description of
a Woollen Spanish Stripe but differs from it in that it is woven
from yarns which are composed of a mixture of wool and cotton. The
"handle" is very nearly that of an all-wool fabric, the average
width some 62 inches, and the length per piece 29 to 30 yards. The
distinctive selvedge of this class of fabric is maintained in the
wool and cotton variety.
=Split Foot.=--Refers to black or coloured hosiery having a white or
unbleached sole.
=Sponge Cloth.=--A fine cotton or wool fabric having a surface
resembling that of a small sponge.
=Spun Silk.=--Applied to a low grade of silk used in the cheaper
lines of silk hosiery. It is made from floss, injured cocoons, husks,
and waste from reeling, and bears the same relation to silk as cotton
waste to cotton or shoddy to wool.
=Staples.=--Staples is a term used to designate those fabrics which
are woven in the same way year after year, varying only in the
colouring given to them, which may change in accordance with the
demands of fashion and of the buyer.
The principal dress goods staples are Brilliantines, Sicilians,
Mohairs, Imperial Serges, Storm Serges, Cheviots, Panamas, Batistes,
Taffetas, Voile, Muslins, Nun's Veiling, Cashmere, and Shepherd's
Checks.
=Surah.=--A light, soft, twilled silk.
=Swansdown.=--Like Cotton Flannel and Flannelette, Swansdown is a
fabric made of cotton with a "raised" or "napped" surface. Being
raised but on the back of the cloth, it is "single raised": heavy and
closely woven Swansdown is a typical raised cotton cloth. The weave
is on the satin-weave principle.
=Swiss Embroidery.=--This process of ornamentation closely resembles
lappet spots, but, unlike lappet spots, they are in reality the
result of a subsequent process of weaving. The essential difference
in the manner of attaching the thread which is used for the figuring
to the cloth can readily be seen. In Swiss Embroidery there is an
equal amount of floating thread used to form the spot on the face of
the cloth and on the back, thus producing what may be termed a solid
spot on both sides and therefore reversible.
=Swivel Figures.=--High-class fabrics are often ornamented with
swivel spots and figures, which are easily distinguished from the
lappet or extra warp figures. In this style the figure is interwoven
with extra weft by small shuttles into the ground cloth structure.
Each figure is produced by an independent weft thread quite distinct
from the weft pick forming the ground structure or body of the
fabric. The figure threads are well bound into the cloth, the bulk of
the material being on the surface. Where no figure is required in the
space between, the shuttles remain idle in the loom, and the single
thread from each shuttle joining the swivel figures is often cut
away. Often used where a silk figure or a mercerised cotton figure is
required on a cotton or worsted ground.
=Tapestry.=--A yarn-dyed figured fabric composed of two sets of warp
and weft threads, woven on a Jacquard loom.
=T-Cloth.=--An all-cotton plain-woven fabric, usually woven from
low-quality yarns, generally sold in the grey or unbleached state.
Most of the _T_-Cloth imported into China is a heavily sized cheap
grey cloth, usually 30 to 32 inches wide, 24 yards per piece, with
a woven coloured heading somewhat similar to the heading in Grey
Shirtings. Some _T_-Cloth is imported measuring 36 inches wide by 24
or 40 yards per piece. These Grey _T_-Cloths are generally packed 50
to 75 pieces per bale. Bleached _T_-Cloths, 31 and 36 inches wide,
are also imported in small quantities. These are generally packed
in cases of 50 pieces. The fabric derives its name from the mark
@T@ under which it was first exported. _T_-Cloth is also known
as "Mexican."
=Teasels, or Teazels.=--Thistleheads with curved bracts, used in
cloth raising.
=Terry Cloth.=--A weave in looped effect. A Velvet in which the loops
have not been cut. Frequently applied to cotton fabrics of the order
of Agaric and Sponge Cloth. _See_ Turkish Towelling.