_DESIGNING AND DRAUGHTING_
Designing is the composing, drawing, and colouring, if necessary, of
the sketches for jacquard patterns, and in some cases planning the
texture of the cloth; and draughting (or drafting) is the term usually
applied to the painting of the patterns upon design paper.
A designer should be a first-class draughtsman, and have a thorough
knowledge of the various styles of ornament; he should also be well
practised in drawing floral forms from Nature, without which there is
generally a stiffness and want of freedom in his style of work. For
coloured work, such as carpets, &c., skilful colouring is the most
essential point. No drawing will atone for bad colouring; at the same
time, good colouring should not be wasted on bad drawing.
A designer may draught his own patterns, and if he is an experienced
draughtsman with a good knowledge of weaving, perhaps this is the most
successful method of working; but if the greater portion of his time
is to be taken up with draughting, his talent as a designer will be,
to a great extent, lost, and he will probably deteriorate; besides, he
will not have the same opportunity for getting up a variety of designs
that he would have if he had nothing else to attend to. A designer for
any class of work should have a knowledge of the technicalities of the
material for which he is designing a pattern; at the same time, a very
slight knowledge is essentially requisite, provided the sketch be given
into proper hands to be worked out. It must be remembered, however,
that in this case a sketch may often have to be taken only as an idea
for a pattern, and not be handed by the manufacturer to the draughtsman
with directions to make a truthful reproduction of it on the cloth. A
draughtsman may be a skilful designer as well, or he may be a skilful
draughtsman and have very little powers of designing. When he is a
designer, the most successful method of getting a variety of patterns
would be for the manufacturer to purchase sketches for ideas and hand
them over to his designer, who will be considered to have a thorough
knowledge of the practical work, to prepare them to suit the fabrics
for which they are intended, perhaps completely altering them, making
two or three out of one, or combining two or more to make one pattern
if necessary--in fact, using them as material to work from. They may
then be handed over to the draughtsmen, or be sent to a designing
establishment for draughting and cutting. In case the manufacturer has
no designer in his place, but only a draughtsman, the sketches must be
bought prepared to suit his fabrics, or it would be better to have the
complete work done, in many cases, at a designing establishment. Of
course, in draughting, as in all classes of work, a great deal of the
less important portions may be done by junior hands, but a knowledge of
drawing is required, if only to guide the eye, by them all, except the
twillers.
Sometimes designers accustomed to selling sketches get them up in
a very deceptive manner in order to deceive manufacturers or their
agents, who may have very little knowledge of the work; but this can
easily be checked by submitting them to a practical designer before
purchasing them.
A design that may be very suitable for one class of cloth may be
equally unsuitable for another class, and in many cases fashion
regulates the suitability quite independently of its artistic merits.
For coloured work, designs should be of such forms as lend themselves
to the disposing of colours, no style being more suitable than Persian;
whereas in plain work, as damask, the flow of line or the variation of
the forms, assisted by portions of fancy shading or twilling, must give
the complete effect. Again, different degrees of fineness of cloth will
suit for different designs; of course, any pattern that can be put on a
coarse cloth can also be put on a fine one, but many patterns are very
suitable for fine work that could not be put on a very coarse fabric.
When it comes to fine coloured silks, anything that the artist can
paint can be fairly represented, as may be seen in the work from the
Coventry silk marker looms, so that any design can be put upon cloth;
but the question is, Is the cloth suitable for the design?
[Illustration: Fig. 68]
Fig. 68 shows a piece of 8 × 9 design or point paper; 8 × 9 meaning
that each of the large squares, or designs, contains 72 small checks or
squares, 8 in breadth and 9 in length, but the 9 should occupy the same
space as the 8. Ten by ten appears to have been the standard design,
as patterns are still counted by the 100 designs, each containing 100
checks, or 100 checks in length and the same in breadth: and in some
places machines are known as so-many-design machines; thus, a 400
jacquard is called a 40-design machine.
When each design contains as many checks in length as it does in
breadth, the paper is intended for work that is to have equal
quantities of warp and weft threads in it; thus 8 × 8, 10 × 10, 12 ×
12 paper would all suit for cloth with, say, 80 threads of warp and 80
picks of weft per inch, the difference being that 8 × 8 is intended for
a jacquard with 8 needles in the row, and 10 × 10 and 12 × 12 for 10
and 12 row machines respectively. It is not necessary to have different
papers to suit, as one could be used for all, and after the pattern is
painted it could be ruled in rows to suit the machine, but it is much
more convenient to get the correct size of paper.
If 80 threads of warp required to have 100 picks per inch, then to find
the size of the paper state as 80: 100:: the number of needles in one
row of the machine to the number of cards in each design, giving 8 ×
10, 10 × 12-1/2, or 12 × 15; but 10 × 12, or 12 × 14 would have to be
used for the last two, as a half could not be made, and 12 × 15 is an
unusual size. Either would do by drawing out the design a little when
enlarging it for the point paper. Square paper might also be used by
counting off the number of checks required, and drawing an elongated
pattern to cover them; but it is more desirable to have suitable paper
for work that is at all particular, and in case of such as 12 × 15
paper, 8 × 10 is the same proportion, and could be used for it, the
squares afterwards being ruled in 12’s for the card-cutter.
Each upright space on the design paper, between the lines, represents
a thread of warp or one hook of the jacquard, and each space between
the horizontal lines represents a pick, or shot, of weft, or one card
of the pattern; so that a painted pattern is a magnified view of the
texture of the cloth, in common jacquard work.
[Illustration: Fig. 69]
[Illustration: Fig. 70]
Fig. 69 is a small sketch for a border with spot filling, which is
shown on design or point paper in Fig. 70. The paper is 8 × 8; the
first four checks are used for a selvage, and the pattern is on 12-1/2
designs or 100 threads of warp, and 22 designs or 176 cards would be
required for the weft, the pattern being made about three times the
size on the design paper that it is on the sketch. The design paper
has 16 checks per inch, consequently the cloth would have about 48
threads to the inch to make the pattern appear as the sketch. If the
cloth were finer, say with 72 threads per inch, then 150 checks on the
design paper would be required for the pattern, which means that 150
hooks of the jacquard would be required for working it. Whatever width
the sketch occupies (one repeat of the pattern), multiply this by the
number of threads of warp per inch to be in the cloth required, and
the product will be the number of hooks required for the jacquard, and
the number of checks or spaces required on the design for the warp.
The number of cards is found similarly from the weft of the cloth. If,
on the other hand, a pattern is to be made for a jacquard, and it
is required to find what size of pattern will work on it, divide the
number of hooks in the jacquard by the number of threads per inch in
the cloth required, and the quotient will be the size of the pattern
warp-ways, in inches. The length or weft-way of the pattern can then be
arranged to suit the number of cards, or the pattern can be made any
length to suit the style of design. Fig. 71 is a pattern of the same
style as Fig. 69, and it might be wanted to use it instead of Fig. 69
for cloth of the same make, say 40 to 45 threads per inch. This could
not be done, as it could not be put on the design paper, but it would
suit very well if intended for cloth with 80 to 100 threads per inch,
which would admit of its being sufficiently enlarged (say four times
the size of the sketch) to be correctly represented by the checks. Fig.
69 would be better on cloth having 50 to 60 threads per inch, coarser
sets requiring larger forms.
[Illustration: Fig. 71]
In preparing a design for point paper, the sketch is usually first
made out and selected by competent judges as suitable for the fabric
required, as well as for the taste of the market in which the goods
are to be sold. When selected it has to be enlarged to suit the size
it is to cover on the point paper. Sometimes the enlargement is made
on another piece of paper, and is then transferred to the point paper;
this is perhaps one of the best methods of proceeding, but it is not so
quick as if the enlargement were made upon the point paper direct. It
is usual to rule squares on both the sketch and design paper, which
bear to each other the same proportion that the size of the sketch does
to the size of the design paper required to be covered. This guides the
draughtsman, as everything in the small squares on the sketch should
be put into the corresponding large squares on the enlarging paper or
point paper.
A pantagraph is sometimes useful, and proportional compasses are a
great assistance if very correct enlargements are required. When a
careful outline of the pattern is made upon the design paper, it is
then painted. Some painters dot round the outlines, and in large forms
leave them to be filled in by assistants; others paint in solid as
they go along. Vermilion and scarlet and crimson lakes are the paints
mostly used. The first is easily washed out, but the lakes are more
transparent, and admit of the checks on the paper being clearly seen
through it, which is a benefit to both twiller and card-cutter. Scarlet
lake, with from a half to a quarter its quantity of crimson lake mixed
with it, makes a very good paint. The ordinary water-colour cakes are
the best paints to use, but powdered colour is sometimes preferred on
account of its cheapness. In Fig. 70 the painting is all black, with
white twilling on the flowering.
Simple flat ornamental forms, if of sufficient size, are not difficult
to put on the design paper, but more intricate forms and shaded effects
require a considerable amount of skill, and are tedious, unless to
an experienced hand, the difficulty being to get the checks on the
design paper to express the figures in the best possible manner, and
frequently it is necessary to slightly alter the forms to make them
come nicely on the paper.
When the sketch has to be enlarged to, say, three or four times its
size, a slight inaccuracy in the painting will have but little effect,
as it will be reduced on the cloth. At the same time, advantage should
not be taken of this to employ inferior hands at the work, as, the
more correct the painting, the more correct will be the pattern on the
cloth, although it be reduced in size; and a ragged-edged painting will
never have a clear, defined appearance on the cloth. It is in coarse
coloured work, such as carpets, that the accuracy of the painting is
of the utmost importance, as the pattern on the cloth is as large as,
or may be much larger than, it is on the design paper; therefore all
inaccuracies are magnified, and no forms that do not come satisfactory
on the squares of the paper will have a good appearance on the cloth,
so that to a great extent the design must be made to suit the paper.
When the pattern is all painted on the design paper, both the ground
and pattern for ordinary full-harness work have to be dotted over
with the texture of the cloth. This is called twilling. In Fig. 70
the texture is a 5-end satin on both ground and flower. For twilling
the ground the same colour is used as the flower or figured portion
is painted with, and for the figured portion black is mostly used,
sometimes white. The twilling dots on the figure mean blanks, as if
these checks were left without any colour on them, or as the ground,
and they are passed over by the card-cutter when the cards are being
cut.
In twilling care must be taken not to run the dots up against the
edges of the flowering so as to injure the form of the figures. In
some cases, as at any flat portion, such as a horizontal or vertical
line, or any portion of one, this cannot be avoided, but the red
dots on the ground should here fall in against the black dots on the
figure. It is necessary to begin one set of dots against the other
set to carry this out as far as possible, and in some cases, when
they will not join, the dots are set out of their places to make them
come together. The two dots coming together bind the threads and keep
the last thread of the ground on one side, and of the figure on the
opposite side--according as it is the weft or warp that is forming the
line--from hanging loose or sliding out from the others. The direction
of the twill on the ground or flower may vary so as to suit the twill
used, and whether a satin or sateen effect is required. Various
kinds of twills are frequently used to give effect, but too great an
irregularity of texture should be avoided, though a plain ground, with
an 8-or 10-end satin for the flowering, may be used for handkerchiefs
with a good effect; for heavier work a 5-end satin ground and an 8-end
satin figuring may be used, but for firm, strong cloth an 8-end satin
for both ground and figure is much better, letting either warp or weft
predominate largely in the cloth.
Fig. 72 shows how a leaf or any piece of ornament may be shaded; care
should always be taken not to let the texture be too close at any part
in the shaded portion so as to make hard pieces in the cloth, as would
be the case if a plain texture were used in a firm cloth.
[Illustration: Fig. 72]
Fig. 73 shows how a flower and bud should be painted so as to give a
natural, or rather semi-natural, representation. The shading should be
made to express the form as well as possible; a variety may also be
made in the twilling on the flower, as may be seen on the front petal,
where a straight twill is used; this makes the cloth richer and the
petal come out fuller. This pattern is rather small on the design paper
to come well on the cloth; it would be better twice as large, as it may
be seen that in many cases single lines of the design paper have to be
used for divisions, and for full-harness work it is generally better to
have at least two lines, representing two threads.
[Illustration: Fig. 73]
This painting, omitting the twilling, would suit for a pressure
harness, with each line of the design paper representing two or
three threads of both warp and weft. No twilling is required on a
pressure-harness pattern, as the texture is wrought by the front
mounting; otherwise the pattern is the same, bearing in mind that as
each check represents two or three threads, it will not be reduced on
the cloth as a full-harness pattern would. The twilling of this pattern
is the 8-leaf satin, which is generally used for fine damask, giving a
much richer effect than the 5-leaf satin.
It will perhaps be well to make some reference as to the desirability
of using these natural forms for designs, though it would be useless to
enter into the oft-disputed point of whether it is correct or in good
taste to attempt to imitate natural forms upon cloth, or whether even
shaded or rounded forms should be treated upon a flat surface. To the
latter I would answer without hesitation, by all means do so, but make
the appearance satisfactory and keep them in good taste; and this can
be done if the subject treated is duly considered.
The former, it must be admitted, is rather pandering to the popular
taste than following the dictates of decorative art. One thing is
certain, that the ‘million’ are better satisfied with floral forms than
any other class of ornament, and the more loosely treated these are,
or the further they are from ornament, the more pleasing they are to
those uninitiated in the beauty of line, wanting which no ornamental
forms can be pleasing to those educated in art. However, these natural
forms suggest Nature, and their admirers have so little idea of
Nature’s beauties that they do not see the defects in the attempted
representations. At the same time, it must not be understood that a
pleasing design, or one in good taste, cannot be composed of natural
forms--quite the contrary; for small, simple patterns, principally for
light fabrics, they are perhaps more suitable than any other ornament,
giving lightness and gracefulness of appearance, as may frequently be
seen from the designs on the better class of dress goods, whether woven
or printed; but the natural treatment must be kept subservient to the
flow of the design. Generally, a moderately flat treatment without any
strong attempts at light and shade is most successful, the treatment
consisting of a graceful arrangement of forms drawn from nature.
Everyone knows the beauty and grace of the Japanese designs; but this
is not simply because they are natural forms: it is the arrangement
of the forms that gives the effect. Very effective patterns can be
made for dadoes of coloured curtains from natural objects, as here
they can have the upright forms suited to them; but for coloured work,
generally speaking, and for carpets in particular, natural forms,
unless treated flatly and conventionally, are rarely either pleasing or
in good taste. With them it is difficult to obtain that intermingling
of colours, be they bright or dull, that produces a neutral bloom and
a satisfactory result. Another important point in a pattern, and often
overlooked, or not understood, is that, unless the pattern, as a whole,
is satisfactory, no variety or beauty of detail can make it a good
design. The general character or lines of the pattern must first be
made satisfactory, after which the detail may be made as interesting
as possible, provided it does not injure the general effect, and
is not incongruous to the nature of the design. As to whether flat
surfaces should be treated with shaded ornament or not is a point that
will always be in dispute, but it may be asked why should a designer
be hampered with such restrictions? If he can produce a satisfactory
pattern by using either flat or shaded ornament, or both, why not let
him do so? The criterion should be whether the result is satisfactory
or not. Of course such barbarous work as representing leopards or
tigers prowling over carpets or hearthrugs, or even decorating them
with the more homely duck or drake nestling, or waddling through
water, cannot be too strongly condemned, highly though they were
once appreciated, and though they still find favour with many: even
shading forms or objects in such a manner as will produce a feeling of
weakness, insecurity, or danger, can never be upheld--that is, such a
practice as shading ribbons flowing over carpets or hearthrugs like
snares, and buttoned down at certain points; or making the surface
of the carpet appear very irregular, which has often been done, and
is often seen in coloured tile pavements. Of course these remarks
refer more or less to any fabric, but a little relief in a curtain
would not be nearly so objectionable as on a carpet, so that almost
everything turns upon whether the result produced is satisfactory or
not--of course, to those competent to judge, and who are not overcome
by biassed prejudices. Natural or semi-natural floral ornament will
rarely be injured by a little shading, whether on a white or coloured
fabric, but it should not be overdone--a moderate amount of shading
or a half-flat treatment generally giving a more pleasing effect.
Conventional floral ornament is, perhaps, best treated flatly, or with
a very little shading on some portions that require a little relief. A
richer and purer effect in colour can be got with flat than with shaded
colours.
[Illustration: Fig. 74]
Fig. 74 is an example of a small floral pattern of a class much used
for dress goods, either woven or printed, and gives a very pleasing
effect. One repeat of the pattern is bounded by the lines _a b c d_, or
the whole might be taken as one repeat, and instead of having a row of
pears on a line, have a pear and some other fruit alternately, and the
same with the apples. This pattern is a semi-natural floral treatment,
and if on a larger scale a little more shading on the fruit and a few
turned-over leaves or half-open flowers would not injure it, but would
add to its richness.
Fig. 75 is a sort of floral ornamental, or flatly and symmetrically
treated floral pattern, somewhat after the Persian style, and though
some would consider it stiff in comparison with the previous one,
it has a very pleasing effect, and could be used the size indicated
for dress goods, &c., or if enlarged to two or three times the size
it would make a very good curtain pattern. Small sprigs of flowers,
grasses, grain, &c., scattered about over the surface of the cloth make
generally a favourite style of pattern.
So far the patterns given are such as would require the designer to
have a good knowledge of drawing and of ornamental and floral forms,
and many consider that a designer must be a draughtsman; but such is
not the case.
[Illustration: Fig. 75]
Large quantities of patterns are made that do not necessarily require
the designer to have any knowledge of drawing; this is called ‘small
pattern’ or ‘texture’ designing.
A designer of this class should have a thorough knowledge of weaving
and of the effect which the patterns on design paper will produce on
the cloth. He must, of course, have a taste for the arrangement of
forms, and can produce considerable variety by a judicious arrangement
of fancy threads through the cloth, particularly in worsted or woollen
goods. The following examples will show how great a variety of patterns
can be produced without any knowledge of drawing. But a knowledge of
drawing will be a great assistance, as it trains the eye to correctness
of form. Fig. 76 is a pattern for dress goods; it may be made of cotton
only, or with a cotton warp and worsted weft, and a good effect is
produced by having the warp a different colour from the weft, say a
gold cotton warp and a brown or giraffe worsted weft. Warp 60 to 80
threads per inch, and weft about the same. This is a pattern of the
bird-eye class, and a very large range can be made in this style, both
bold and effective, or fine and neat, as may be desired. The smaller
patterns may, of course, be woven with shafts, but larger ones require
a jacquard.
Fig. 77 is another pattern, of the flushed stripe class, also suited
for dress goods; this is a silk handkerchief pattern for 90 threads
and 96 picks per inch; 60/2 China silk for warp, and 60’s single China
silk for weft. If the small dots on the pattern are cut on the cards,
a finer and closer pattern will be produced than if the black squares
only are cut, but of course it would be less effective unless on a
coarser fabric.
[Illustration: Fig. 76]
[Illustration: Fig. 77]
Fig. 78 is a pattern that would suit for dress goods if woven similarly
to Fig. 76; and if woven much coarser, say 25 to 30 threads per inch,
it is suited for quiltings. Great variety can be made in this style
of quilts, particularly when floral and other forms are interspersed
through the texture, and also when the honeycomb texture is employed,
an example of which is given in Fig. 79 in combination with diaper
or bird-eye figures; only a portion of this pattern is given, but
it shows all that is required. In either pure white, or with a warp
of one colour and a weft of another colour, these patterns are very
effective when made from good twist yarn and coarsely set in the
reed; the flushing might be over twice as many threads as is shown in
the patterns, and then more threads of warp and weft be used. It is
perhaps to the woollen and worsted trades we must turn to find the
greatest variety of patterns of the description we are now dealing
with. True, the greater portion of them can be wrought on shafts, and
perhaps a greater number of shafts are used in these trades than in
any other branch of textile work, as shafts produce a firmer cloth
than a harness; but when large fancy patterns are required, recourse
must be had to the jacquard. Fig. 80 is an example of a fancy twill
stripe which could be wrought on 48 shafts if desired, but might
also be wrought on a small jacquard with greater simplicity, unless
very heavy cloth is required. Patterns of this description require
considerable skill in designing, and are in some cases more difficult
as they increase in size. It may be seen that the pattern or figure
is composed of different textures, and to make a perfect cloth the
various textures should all work together at an even tightness, or
so that there will be an equal amount of take-up of shrinkage of the
warp for each. When checks or large patterns are to be formed this is
most essential, but in smaller patterns it can in a great measure be
remedied by letting the various textures follow each other, so that
if one tightens a little another will make a corresponding slackness,
and all together will balance each other. Another important point is
to join the edges of the various textures together so that there will
be no break, or floats of warp and weft greater or less than in the
textures themselves. In some cases tight and loose textures are wrought
together to give a special effect, and figures may be formed by the
close texture pressing the looser threads together.
[Illustration: Fig. 78]
[Illustration: Fig. 79]
Another class of pattern by which a very good effect can be obtained
by very simple means, is the hair line or tricot style. Fig. 81 is a
dice pattern on this principle. The texture is plain cloth throughout,
and the effect of pattern is obtained by using two colours of warp and
weft, say black and white, and by arranging the draught and treading so
that the black weft will pass over the black warp and the white weft
over the white warp on one dice, and the reverse of this for the next
one, a horizontal and vertical lined effect will be produced, giving
a subdued pattern. The dark checks on the design paper are the tricot
or horizontal line effect; the grey checks the vertical lines or hair
line effect. It will be seen at the edge of each dice how the colours
are changed in both warp and weft by the two dots coming together. The
crosses along the bottom and to the left side of the design show the
dark threads and dark picks coming alternately with the white ones.
Fig. 82 is a small figure pattern arranged in this manner, the
reversing of the colours being done by the jacquard, as may be seen
from the dots on the design. Almost any figure may be treated in this
manner, but simple patterns, not too irregular or broken in outline,
will perhaps be found most successful.
[Illustration: Fig. 80]
These fabrics may be made in either woollen, worsted, or cotton for
dress goods. About 36 threads of warp per inch of 2/30’s worsted, and
32 threads of weft per inch, is a good setting for them; and in any
mild contrasts of yarns, such as two shades of grey, they are very
pleasing.
[Illustration: Fig. 81]
[Illustration: Fig. 82]
Coming now a step further towards the damask or figure patterns, we
have still great scope for variety, without much, if any, knowledge of
drawing being required from the designer. This consists of spotting
small geometrical figures over the cloth, the body or ground of which
may be plain, twill, or any texture desired. Fig. 83 is a pattern of
this description with a plain ground. The figures are arranged in
satinette or 4-end satin order. Of course, the ground might be a twill
if desired, and the figures may be of any form that ingenuity can
suggest. They may be solid, and a twilled texture used to bind them
if the flushes of warp or weft are too great, and part of the figure
might be warp flush and part weft flush; in fact any variety that the
designer can arrange to produce a good effect on the cloth, which, if
the warp and weft are of different colours, may be made very effective.
Any arrangement for the figures may be used if suited to the size of
the figure and the space they have to occupy to suit the repeat of the
pattern. The 4-end satin gives two figures on one diagonal, and two
on the other diagonal alternately; one figure on each diagonal may be
used, and also three figures on each with equally good effect, subject,
of course, to some extent to the size and form of the figures. Five
and eight-thread satin arrangements are two of the best that can be
used if a greater number of figures are required in each repeat of
the pattern. To arrange a pattern in satin order, the usual way is to
rule the repeat into as many squares in length and breadth as there
are threads in the satin to be used. Thus, for a 5-thread satin, rule
the repeat into five squares in length and the same in breadth, or
twenty-five squares in all, then place one of the figures into each of
five of these squares, the order being that of the 5-end satin twill. A
draughtsman would either sketch these figures on the design paper, or
sketch one of them on a piece of plain paper, trace it, and transfer
it to the different positions it would occupy on the design paper,
and then paint each of them independently. But a designer, without a
knowledge of drawing, would mark out the spaces on the design paper for
each figure, and, having made one of the figures the required shape on
the checks or small squares, would copy the others from this. In Fig.
83 let 2A be the first figure formed, it being started in the second
square upwards and first row. Now, the second figure can be similarly
begun in 4-thread satin order, which would bring it to square No. 2,
and it is begun in the same position in this square that the first
one was begun in square No. 2A. The third figure falls to the third
square from 3A and 3, but as this figure is turned round for variety,
the point for beginning it at figures 1 and 2 must be marked, and an
imaginary square run round it, and it must be kept in its position in
the square, or the centre of the figure may be found by counting the
checks in either of the first or second figures and this figure wrought
from the centre; or, again, as the figure is six checks greater in
length than in breadth, it must be set three checks to one side, and
the top point should rise three checks higher up above the large square
of the design paper on which it should be started; but with a plain
ground it is sometimes necessary to move the figures one check out of
position to allow the plain to fall in regularly all round them. This
figure is set one check down. Fig. 4 is copied from Fig. 3, and is in
the same position. With a twilled ground or irregular figures, it will
not matter if the ground does not fall in quite regularly round them.
[Illustration: Fig. 83]
[Illustration: Fig. 84]
If it was required to make a pattern similar to Fig. 83, but with five
figures instead of four, and preserve the same density of ground
structure round them, it could be calculated as follows:--Fig. 83 is on
44 checks broad and 44 long. Now 44 × 44 = 1936, and on this there are
four figures, then 1936 ÷ 4 = 484. As five figures are required 484 × 5
= 2420 checks for design. If there are to be as many checks across the
design as up it, find the square root of 2420 for the number of checks,
as [sqrt]2420 = 50 nearly. If the pattern is not to be square, the
proportion may be found for each side by making two calculations, one
for the greater number of checks squared, and the other for the lesser
number of checks squared, and extracting the square roots for the two
sides of the required pattern; or, suppose the warp to be to the weft
in the proportion of 10 to 12, then state, as 12 is to 10, so is 50 to
42, the number of checks across the bottom of the pattern; and as 10:
12:: 50 to 60, the number of checks in the length of the pattern, and
42 x 60 = 2520, which is nearly the same as 50 squared = 2500 for a
square pattern. But if this is for adding extra weft to the cloth, the
size of the pattern would be reduced, which might bring the figures
too close together and would alter the shape of them; in this case the
addition should be made to the number of checks in length, making the
pattern 50 broad and 60 long, or to contain 3000 checks, and the length
of the figures should be increased in proportion. Of course this will
produce a finer cloth. Fig. 84 is a pattern arranged with five figures
on it.
A great variety of patterns may also be formed by arranging dice or
squares in various ways, some of which, as may be seen on the Indian
fabrics, make very pretty patterns. It will thus be seen that there
is plenty of scope for the ingenuity of a textile designer without
his being of necessity a draughtsman; but a knowledge of drawing will
generally be of assistance to him. For the more elaborate patterns, the
designer does not require to have the same knowledge of manufacturing
that is required for these small patterns.
[Illustration: Fig. 85]
_Twilling._--It has already been shown how the patterns are bound
or twilled to form the texture of the cloth for ordinary repeating
patterns on a straight over-tie; but when a turn-over or gathered tie
is used, the twilling of one half of the gathered portion will, on the
cloth, be the reverse, or run in the reverse direction to that of the
other portion, and this is often a disadvantage to this description
of tie, as one half of the border or pattern, whatever it may be, will
look coarser than the other. It frequently happens that to avoid the
stiffness of a clean turn-over pattern, which must always have a clear
cutting line through the centre of it, so that, if cut up, one half
would, if turned over, be exactly the same as the other, a portion of
single, or a turning portion, is placed in between the two turned-over
portions, which in many cases adds very considerably to the effect of
the pattern, though it is often almost useless. Fig. 85 is a pattern of
the turn-over type, and, but for the interlacing of the bands in the
centre, might be wrought with a simple gathered tie. For this pattern
the portion marked B would require to be single, and A turned over to
C. Perhaps it is in floral patterns that this form of tie is of most
service. When a single tie takes up too much machinery, and a double
over or gathered tie would make the pattern too stiff, a small portion
of single introduced, as at B, is of great service to the designer in
making a pleasing pattern.
[Illustration: Fig. 86]
When twilling a pattern of this description, the portion marked A would
be twilled straight across, and this twilling would be continued to
the centre of B, as shown in Fig. 86, which gives the idea, the spots
in the centre being taken as the single portion. The portion marked C
is repeated from the first part A by the harness, and does not require
to be put on the painting; in the figure it is shown (in different
type) as it would fall on the cloth. It may be seen that the twilling
dots on the last line of A and the first line of C are alike, and that
every pair of lines corresponds, moving from these to the edges of the
pattern. Now a turn must be made in the twill in the single portion so
as to make it join correctly with C, and this should be done in such a
manner as to prevent it from showing plainly on the cloth, or having
too long floats on some of the threads while others are too closely
bound. This must be done by setting the dots out of their places on
a few lines in the centre, so as to make the join produce as even a
texture as possible. Advantage should always be taken of any portions
of the pattern that come on this part, such as the spots in Fig. 86,
to turn the twill round the edges of them. By following the dots on
the design paper, it will be seen how they are brought in at the join.
Any twill may be broken similarly, but a different number of threads in
the single will alter the arranging of the dots to join the two twills
together; however, when the principle is understood, it can easily be
worked out.
LETTERS, MOTTOES, ETC.
[Illustration]
A turned-over mounting or gathered tie will reverse any ornament, but
while for borders it makes the ornament come correctly, it prevents
letters or words from falling in as they should be read. Thus, if the
word CLUB were woven at one side of a cloth, as at A, and the harness
mounted as a gathered repeat so as to turn over a similar border to the
other side, the letters would fall as at B, making them read correctly
to the under side of the cloth instead of to the upper side. Instead
of making a gathered tie, it would be better to make a plain repeating
tie for the second border, making the word CLUB on both borders as
either A or B, according as they are to read correctly on the under
or upper side of the cloth; but if it is desired to make the letters
read correctly from both sides or edges of the cloth, as at C, it is
plain that there must be hooks in the jacquard to work each border
independently, as one is not a repeat of the other. Of course letters
on damask will only read correctly on either the face or back of the
cloth, not on both. The same principle holds good when putting names
across the cloth, or for coats of arms and mottoes in the centre, as
is frequently done in quilts, tablecloths, &c., but in this case it
would be the cards that would do the work. Suppose the word HOTEL to
be put across a cloth at one end, and it was required to have the same
at the opposite end to read similarly from that end of the cloth, it
would require to be painted thus, [Illustration: Inverted and reversed
HOTEL], or the cards might be cut from the painting of the former,
turned upside down. Provided it was required to make these words read
correctly on the under side of the cloth in the loom instead of on
the upper side, then the first border would be painted and cut as
[Illustration: Mirrored HOTEL] and the second border as [Illustration:
Inverted HOTEL] This will be best understood by printing the letters on
tracing paper and turning it round into the position required. In case
of a motto or coat of arms wanted for a large cloth with two centres
in it, one centre to be correct from one end of the cloth, and the
other from the opposite end, as shown by the girdles at A and B, Fig.
87, the painting would be as in this figure if the upper side of the
cloth is to be the right side, but if the under side is to be the right
side, the first centre would require to be painted as shown in Fig. 88,
and the second one would be as this turned round, the top where the
bottom is, not turned over. It might be thought that the same painting
would do for both; either that cutting the cards from top to bottom,
or backwards, or lacing them backwards, or working them backwards on
the loom, would do for the second centre; but it would not unless the
cards were turned over as well--that is, to have the outsides of the
cards turned inwards, and the right-hand end to the left. This would
suit if it could be done, but could only be done when the jacquards are
made with an equal number of needles to each side of the machine, as
25 rows, or 200 needles, to each half of the card for a 400 machine,
instead of 26 rows to one side and 25 to the other, making 408 needles,
as is usually the case.
[Illustration: Fig. 87]
In hand-loom districts, where old makes of machines are used, it is
common to have 400, 500, or 600 needles to the machine, and the cards
can be turned on the cylinders if required, and are also wrought
backwards or forwards to suit. By cutting the cards from the painting
in the reverse order--that is, beginning at the end of the painting
and reading and fingering backwards--cards from a painting of a first
centre could be cut to suit for a second centre, as it has exactly
the same effect as turning over the card; but all the rows of needles
must be used except any left at the first, and these and any selvage
must be brought to the end of the painting when cutting the second set
of cards, so as to get them to the first end of the card. The cutting
begins, as is usual, at the numbered end of the card. Repainting the
centre to suit is the safest way to avoid mistakes.
[Illustration: Fig. 88]
When a name is running up the side of the cloth, lacing or working the
cards backwards will reverse the reading of the letters from one side
to the other, but not when they are running across the cloth. If the
loom is mounted with the cards hanging to the front instead of to the
back, the letters would also be turned from one side of the cloth to
the other, and to be correct they would have to be painted or cut the
reverse, unless the machine or mounting was built to suit.