scribbled together. It is similar to Ceylon Flannel and differs from
it only in name. This fabric is one of many known under "trade-marks
'patented' or 'registered' names," which are sometimes sufficiently
popular to embrace many different weaves under one head.
=Voile.=--This name is used to designate a more or less transparent
light fabric made generally of cotton. Woven with a square mesh
produced by plain one-over and one-under weaving, Voile averages 55
meshes per inch, with an average width of 42 inches, and generally in
pieces of 60 yards.
Voile when dyed is piece-dyed and not woven from yarn which was dyed
previously to being woven. The yarn used in the weaving of Voiles is
a hard-twisted yarn.
Woollen Voiles are also woven, the characteristics being similar to
Cotton Voile, but in weaving Voiles with worsted yarns, if the yarn
is not very free from loose fibres, the fabric is finished by having
its face singed or sheared very close, so as to ensure a clear-faced
material.
=Wadding Pick.=--A thick weft thread of low quality inserted often
without interlacing between the two fabrics in a double cloth and
between the two warps in a warp-backed structure. This gives weight
and solidity to the fabric. The wadding pick remains out of sight,
and the appearance of the fabric is not affected thereby.
=Wale.=--This term has the same meaning as "warp welt," or "welt,"
and is used to describe a fabric having thick raised cords at close
intervals.
=Warp.=--Warp is the name given to that set of threads that runs
lengthways of a piece of cloth. When the word "end" is used in
connexion with weaving, it always signifies the warp thread, while
each filling or weft thread is called a "pick."
=Warp Pile.=--Warp pile can be recognised by simply withdrawing
from the fabric being examined a few "picks," or weft threads. If
the material is a warp-pile weave, then it will be seen that the
loose bits of "cut pile" remain entangled or looped and adhering to
some of the drawn weft threads. This can be easily seen if a common
Velvet ribbon is experimented with, when, upon drawing out the weft
threads separately from selvedge to selvedge, it will invariably be
seen that each alternate weft thread will have the loose bits of "cut
warp pile" attached. Where the material is extra closely woven it is
possible for every weft thread that is withdrawn to have the loose
bits attached in the manner described.
Warp-pile fabrics include two varieties, the "uncut pile," such as
Turkish or Terry Towels and Towelling, Brussels Carpets, Patent
Tapestry Carpets, etc., and "cut pile," like warp-pile Plushes,
Velvets, ribbons, etc.
=Warp Print.=--A fabric wherein the design, being printed on the
warps prior to weaving, appears somewhat faintly and in an indefinite
outline. _See_ Chiné.
=Warp Ribs.=--The term "warp ribs" is used to designate a
warp-surface weave in which, owing to the thickness of the weft
threads (or picks) or to the grouping together of a number of weft
picks, the warp threads are made to bend round them and, being thus
thrown to the surface of the fabric, produce a ribbed appearance
running from selvedge to selvedge in which the warp threads are on
the face of the fabric. Poplin is a typical warp-ribbed fabric.
=Warp Sateen.=--A common form of Cotton Sateen cloth is that woven
with a "warp sateen" weave on the five threads and picks system,
which results in four-fifths of the warp threads appearing on the
face of the fabric and therefore four-fifths of the weft threads
appear on the back of the fabric. The object of weaving on this
principle is to obtain a smooth cloth surface by distributing the
interlacing points and so destroying the common "twilled" effect. A
Warp Sateen will be much closer in the warp threads than in the weft
threads, and therefore stronger in that direction.
=Warp Welt.=--A fabric having thick raised cords at close intervals,
as in the case of Bedford Cords and Piqués. In cotton goods, when
the cords run lengthways of the piece, the fabric is known as a "warp
welt." Sometimes called "wale."
=Warp-faced Cloth.=--A fabric which shows on its face a greater
number of warp threads than "picks," or weft threads.
=Waste and Condenser Wefts.=--These are made from certain waste
cotton which accumulates in certain parts of the machinery during the
process of spinning yarn. This waste is treated by special machinery,
which spins it into a full, level, and soft yarn, which is used for
weft in weaving Sheetings.
=Waste and Flocks.=--Cotton mill waste is the by-product derived from
the cotton in its various processes through the mill. Each pound
of cotton before it becomes cloth loses on an average 15 per cent.
visible and invisible waste. The visible waste is of two kinds, hard
and soft; hard waste, which has been made on spinning and subsequent
machines, and which bears a slight twist; soft waste, which includes
that part of the fibre rejected by all machines up to the spinning
frame. The invisible waste is equal to the amount of evaporation of
moisture in the cotton during the process of manufacture. Flocks are
short fibres removed from cloth during the process of napping.
=Waste Cloths.=--Cotton fabrics woven from waste yarns, generally
plain woven and of low grade. The weft thread is coarse and is spun
from waste or short-fibre cotton.
=Watering.=--As a textile term, it is used to designate the process
whereby certain distinctive effects are produced on the face of
plain-woven fabrics--especially silks. The process of giving a wavy
or wave-like appearance in fabrics by either passing them through
suitably engraved metal rollers which, bearing unequally upon
the fabric, render the surface unequal, making it reflect light
differently. The same result is obtained by pressing two plain-woven
fabrics together, when the coarser weft threads of the fabric produce
the wave-like indentations on the face of the fabric it is pressed
against. A fabric is said to be "watered" when ornamented by either
of the above processes. The principle of this operation is that two
fabrics of precisely similar build, when pressed together, naturally
"water" each other, owing to the coincidence or non-coincidence of
the threads or picks causing flatness or ribbedness of a sufficiently
marked character under conditions of heat and pressure. "To tabby" is
another expression for "to water," and the adjective "tabby," usually
referring to a brindled cat, signifies streaked with wavy lines.
=Weaving.=--Every woven piece of cloth is made up of two distinct
systems of threads, known as the warp and the filling (this latter
is also known as weft), which are interlaced with each other to form
a fabric. The warp threads run lengthways of the piece of cloth,
and the filling, or weft, threads run across from side to side.
The manner in which the warp and filling interlace with each other
constitutes the weave. The term "end" in weaving is used to designate
the warp thread, while each weft or filling thread is called a
"pick." The fineness of a cloth is expressed by saying that it has
so many "ends" and "picks" to the inch. The character of the weave
offers the best basis for classification of woven goods, and nearly
all varieties of cloth may be classified under the following weaves:--
Plain weave.
Twill weave.
Satin weave.
Figure weave.
Double-cloth weave.
Pile weave.
Gauze weave.
Lappet weave.
=Web.=--Web is the name given to a piece of cloth at the moment it
is taken from the loom and previous to its having been treated to
produce the special feature of the class of cloth the web belongs to.
=Weft.=--When the word "weft" is used in connexion with weaving or
woven fabrics, it always signifies the filling threads, each of which
is also called a "pick." Weft threads run across the width of the
fabric.
=Weft Pile.=--Weft pile can be recognised by withdrawing from the
fabric under examination a few "picks," or weft threads. If the
material is a weft-pile weave, then it will be seen that the loose
bits of "cut pile" are not entangled or looped round or adhering
to the weft thread that has been drawn out, but that they remain
entangled among the warp threads.
If, however, a few warp threads are withdrawn separately, it will
be found that every alternate warp thread, as a rule, will have the
loose bits of "cut weft pile" attached or looped round.
=Weft Ribs.=--The only difference between these and warp ribs is
that the weft bends and the warp lies straight. The term "weft
rib" is used to designate a weft surface weave in which, owing to
the thickness of the warp threads or to the grouping together of
a number of warp threads, the weft threads are made to bend round
them and, being thus thrown to the surface of the fabric, produce a
ribbed appearance with the ribs running lengthways, in which the weft
threads are on the face of the fabric.
=Weft Sateen.=--A Weft Sateen is woven on the five threads and picks
system, which results in four-fifths of the weft threads appearing
on the surface of the fabric, and therefore four-fifths of the warp
threads appear on the back of the fabric. The object of weaving
on this principle is similar to that aimed at when weaving a Warp
Sateen, that is to say, it is done to obtain a smooth cloth surface
by distributing the interlacing points and so destroying the common
"twilled" effect. A Weft Sateen will be closer in the weft threads
(or picks) than in the warp threads, and therefore stronger in that
direction.
=Weft-faced Cloth.=--A fabric which shows on its face a greater
number of "picks," or weft threads, than warp threads.
=Weight and Thickness of Woollen Cloths.=--The accepted standard of
weight and thickness of woollen cloth is--
_For Ladies' Wear_:--
4 ounces per yard represents a "very thin" cloth.
8 " " " "thin" cloth.
_For Men's Wear_:--
12 ounces per yard represents a "thin, or "tropical," cloth.
16 " " " "thin medium" cloth.
20 " " " "medium" cloth.
30 " " " "thick" cloth.
40 " " " "very thick" cloth.
Naturally, also, the relation of weight to thickness varies with the
composition of the cloth and the style of make, some "woolly" makes
of 20 ounces being very thick.
=Weighting.=--The process of adding to the natural weight of a fabric
by making it take up certain chemical or other substances.
Cotton fabrics are generally weighted by subjecting them to a process
which causes them to absorb either zinc chloride, magnesium sulphate,
magnesium chloride, glue, gelatine, starch, or alkali silicate.
Woollens and worsteds are generally weighted with zinc chloride. Silk
is generally weighted with muriate of tin, and few of the silks on
the market are free from weighting. Modern methods make it possible
to increase the weight of pure boiled silk to five or six times its
original weight. Hooper, in his book on "Silk," states: "It was early
found that silk would absorb about one-third its own weight of water
without feeling wet to the touch. The dyer found that it would absorb
other things besides water, muriate of tin amongst them. As a matter
of fact, it may be, and indeed it is, made by the dyer to take up,
with the dye, so much of that metal that 12 ounces of boiled silk can
be increased in weight to 80 ounces, and yet look like very bright
silk."
The term "weighting" has the same value as "filling" or "loading."
=Welt.=--The double thick portion or wide hem at top of plain hose.
=Whip Thread.=--The crossing thread in a gauze fabric.
=Whipcord.=--This name is given to hard-twisted worsted twills in
either solid or mixed colours. The twill or diagonal in this class of
fabric is well marked and slightly raised, somewhat resembling the
hard-twisted fibre lash of a whip.
=White.=--As a textile term, this word is applied to fabrics which
are not in their loom state, _i.e._, in the grey, but which have been
bleached and rendered white.
=White Brocades.=--Under this name would be classed bleached fabrics
of different weaves or combinations of weave in which the design
appearing on the surface of the fabric is of a fancy, figured,
or floral effect, usually of elaborate design. Soft spun wefts
are generally used in the weaving of Brocades and other figured
cloths, as they fill and throw up better the figure produced than a
hard-twist yarn would do. White Brocades are all-cotton goods unless
otherwise stated. Lappet and swivel figured fabrics would not come
under the heading "Brocades"; such style of figuring is not brocaded.
=White Cambric.=--Cambric is a plain-weave fine linen fabric of light
weight and soft finish. Cotton Cambric, in which the yarn used is
of fine cotton, is mostly met with. It is woven without a selvedge
and generally leaves the loom in pieces of 120 yards, which are cut
to shorter lengths. In plain white, a Cambric is finer than a Lawn.
Cambric of French origin is generally finer in texture than the
Manchester Cambric. Cambric varies in width from 32 to 46 inches and
in length from 12 to 40 yards per piece. The finer qualities are
made from hard-twisted cotton. The warp yarn is often of a different
thickness to that used for the filling, and it is generally finished
with a smooth glazed surface. The term Cambric is also commonly
applied to Muslins. White Cambric is a bleached material.
=White Drills, or Drilling.=--White Drills are, when not otherwise
specified, all-cotton medium and heavy weight single cloths woven
as a three-shaft twill (two warp and one weft), which have been
bleached but not dyed or printed. The better qualities of warp-faced
sateen-weave Drills are known as Satin Drill, and these are
extensively exported to the Far East; their distinctive features lie
in the closeness of weave, smoothness of surface, and finish.
=White Goods.=--A generic term covering a great variety of bleached
fabrics, plain or fancy, covering various weaves or combination of
weaves.
=White Irishes.=--The term Irishes originally was applied to linen
fabrics which were mainly produced in and around Belfast. It is now
used to describe certain cotton fabrics of plain weave similar to
white cotton Calico. Generally in pieces 36 inches wide and 42 yards
long, finished with a heavy starch finish.
=White Italian.=--The name White Italian is not generally applied
to a white cotton fabric woven and finished as an Italian. Such a
fabric is a White Mercerised Sateen; however, occasionally an invoice
covering Coloured Italians will be found to include so-called White
Italians. In such cases the colour assortment list (which generally
accompanies, if it does not form part of, the invoice) will show the
number of white pieces included in the shipment. The ordinary Italian
is essentially a coloured or piece-dyed material, and, as white is
not, in the piece goods trade, considered to be a colour, a White
Italian cannot be considered as coming under the classification of
Dyed Plain Cottons.
=White Jean.=--A White Jean is an all-cotton fabric woven as a
three-end twill, similar in weave to a Grey Jean, but which has been
subjected to a process of bleaching to turn it into what is known as
a "market white" fabric. The process of bleaching proper is always
preceded by a series of operations that have for their object the
improving of the surface of the cloth by removing loose fibres,
motes, and ends of yarn, and by cleaning and singeing the surface so
as to free it from all "nap." The distinctive weave of this fabric is
given under "Grey Jeans," which is the class of Jean most often met
with.
=White Lawn.=--Lawn is a plain-weave light-weight cotton fabric of
soft finish made from yarns varying from 1/40's to 1/100's. Lawn
has a soft, smooth feel, which is due to the absence of sizing or
starching and to the process of brushing and calendering, _i.e._,
passing the fabric through heavily weighted steam-heated rollers.
Lawns vary in quality and weight similarly to other fabrics, their
weight varying between 1¼ and 2¼ ounces per yard; in width they vary
from 27 to 46 inches and in length from 12 to 42 yards per piece.
Lawn in plain white is coarser than a Cambric. The yarn used in the
weaving of Lawn is generally of fine Egyptian cotton. White Lawns are
also made of linen yarn, and when so made would be called Linen Lawn.
India Lawn is a calendered fabric, about 12 yards to the pound and 28
to 36 inches wide in book-fold or 40 inches in long-fold. Victoria
Lawn has a very stiff finish. Bishop's Lawn is slightly heavier in
weight than "Linon" or "India Linon," bleached and finished to a
bluish tint, and derives its name from the style of finish. The same
fabric finished differently would be known under other names. White
Lawn is a bleached material.
=White Muslin.=--Muslin is a light-weight, open, plain-weave cotton
fabric made generally of low-count yarns, that is to say, of fairly
coarse yarn. Muslins, Lawns, and Cambrics are all materials which
are similar in construction but vary by their quality, Muslin being
the lowest grade of the three. A very common kind of Muslin is known
as Butter Muslin or Cheese Cloth. Muslins vary in width from 32 to
46 inches and in length from 12 to 40 yards per piece. Foundation
Muslin, Book Muslin, and Butcher's Muslin are varieties of Muslin
so dissimilar to the true Muslin that they should not be considered
as coming under the classification of true Muslin, which, whilst it
varies considerably, should always answer to the description of "a
fine, soft, thin, open, plain-woven cotton fabric." White Muslin is a
bleached material.
=White Sheetings.=--A bleached light or medium weight plain-woven
all-cotton fabric. Under the heading "Grey Sheeting" will be found
a description of the two distinct varieties of fabric known as
Sheeting. Where such Grey Sheetings have been rendered white by being
bleached and are no longer in their loom state, they are known as
White Sheetings.
=White Shirtings.=--Essentially a bleached all-cotton fabric woven
with a plain one-under and one-over weave, having the warp and weft
threads approximately equal in number of threads and counts. It
differs from Grey Shirtings only in finish, White Shirting having
been subjected to a bleaching process after leaving the loom,
whereas Grey Shirting remains in its loom state, _i.e._, in the same
condition as when it was taken off the loom. The same remarks as to
the similarity between a Grey Shirting and a Grey Sheeting applies
to White Shirtings and White Sheetings. Similarly, a White Shirting
may be termed a White Calico, which is a term used to designate
practically any cotton cloth coarser than Muslin. Varying in width
and weight, they are generally put up in pieces of from 36 to 40
yards. The length marked on the outside of the piece may not always
correspond to the number of yards in the piece if the yard is taken
as one of 36 inches.
=White Spotted Shirtings.=--Like White Striped Shirtings, the
ornamentation in this class of fabric would be produced by
combination of weave and would not be the result of printing or be
due to the presence of coloured yarns. The essentials of this class
of fabric are similar to those of White Striped Shirtings, _i.e._,
the fabric is all cotton and the ornamentation due to weave and weave
only.
=White Striped Shirtings.=--The fabric which would properly come
under this classification would be essentially all-cotton fabrics
containing stripes, produced by a combination of weave and not the
result of printing or due to the presence of coloured yarns. A
plain-weave ground may be combined with a sateen-weave stripe. Such
a fabric would not be called a Fancy Shirting, which in the trade is
generally understood to be "either printed on the woven, bleached
fabric, or of fast colours, dyed upon the warp, or combination of
each." White Striped Shirtings are mostly made on a Jacquard loom,
and in the white condition the woven pattern constitutes the only
effect or ornamentation in the finished cloth.
=White T-Cloth.=--A bleached all-cotton fabric, plain woven from
low-quality yarns. An ordinary _T_-Cloth which has been bleached.
Generally sold in lengths of 24 yards and varying in width from 32 to
36 inches. The name is said to be derived from the mark @T@ of
the original exporters.
=White Venetians.=--What has been said of White Italians holds good
_mutatis mutandis_ of White Venetians. Such fabrics are in reality
White Warp-faced Sateens, and, white not being considered a colour,
they do not come under the classification of Dyed Plain Cottons.
=Widow's Lawn.=--A better quality of Lawn made from linen, well
woven, very clear and even in texture.
=Width.=--The practice has grown up in the trade to refer to the
width of a fabric either as "actual" or "nominal." The former term
explains itself and means that the width as given is actually that
of the piece referred to, and that it is not less than stated.
"Nominal," on the other hand, is understood to mean that the fabric
referred to may vary by as much as half an inch below the width
specified on the contract.
=Window Holland.=--A plain-woven all-cotton cloth, stiffened after
weaving with about one-fifth of its weight in starch or other sizing
material. It is used as window shades.
=Wolsey.=--A proprietary name applied to certain all-wool materials,
especially underwear.
=Wool.=--Wool is the soft, curly covering which forms the fleecy coat
of the sheep and other similar animals, such as the goat, alpaca,
llama, vicuña, and camel.
The chief characteristic of wool is its felting or shrinking power.
This felting property, from which wool derives its chief value and
which is its special distinction from hair, depends in part upon the
kinks in the fibre but mainly upon the scales with which the fibre
is covered. The process of felting consists in the fibres becoming
entangled with each other, and the little projecting scales hooking
into each other and holding the fibres closely interlocked.
The wool of commerce is divided into three great classes:--
1. Short wool, or clothing wool (also called carding wool),
seldom exceeds a length of 2 to 4 inches.
2. Long wool, or combing wool, varying from 4 to 10 inches.
3. Carpet and knitting wools, which are long, strong, and very
coarse.
Combing wools take their name from the process of "combing" which
they undergo when being prepared for spinning into yarn. Combing
wools are longer than carding wools; they are also harder or more
wiry and less inclined to be spiral or kinky.
Carding wools--made to cross and interlace and interlock with one
another--are shorter than combing, and, in addition, they possess the
power of felting (that is to say, of matting together in a close,
compact mass) to a much greater degree.
The first and finest clip of wool is called lamb's wool; it is taken
from the young sheep at the age of eight to twelve months and, never
having been clipped before, it is naturally pointed at the end. All
subsequent cut fleeces are known as wether wool and are less valuable
than the first clip. The ends of such wool are thick and blunted on
account of having been previously cut.
Wool, unlike cotton, is not capable of being worked into a yarn
without first being thoroughly cleansed of its impurities.
=Wool-dyed.=--A term applied to fabrics dyed in the loose or top
form--as distinct from yarn-dyed or piece-dyed.
=Woollen.=--This term is used in contradistinction to worsted, and
implies difference of material and method of manufacture. Wastes,
shoddy, and blends of material other than wool are referred to as
"woollen," in opposition to "all wool."
=Woollen and Cotton Flannel.=--A fabric answering to the description
of true Flannel, usually woven with either a plain or twill weave,
soft finished, but which is made from carded union yarn, _i.e._, yarn
composed of wool and cotton in varying proportions according to the
quality of the material it is intended to produce. If a Woollen and
Cotton Flannel were described as a Union Flannel it would be composed
of distinct yarns, some of which were all cotton and some all wool.
In its broad acceptance the term is applicable to any fabric woven
partly of wool and partly of cotton to resemble true All-wool Flannel.