_CARPETS_
The manufacture of carpets has been in existence since the days of
the ancient Egyptians, who made rugs and carpets of various kinds and
ornamented them with animals and various devices. The manufacture
passed on to the East, and we find India, Turkey and Persia celebrated
for the richness of their carpets in early times. The Moors of Spain
introduced the Oriental floor coverings into Western Europe, and the
Belgians and French took up the manufacture and produced excellent
imitations of them. Even in the Middle Ages carpets were only used
as a luxury by the rich. Queen Elizabeth had a carpet spread upon
rushes, while Queen Mary had rushes only. These rushes were the _Acorus
Calamus_ (sweet reed of Norfolk), which were the usual floor coverings
down to about this time.
Tapestry weaving was started in this country in the beginning of the
seventeenth century, but the first we hear of carpet manufacturing in
England was at Kidderminster about 1735, the carpets then made being,
no doubt, the Kidderminster or Scotch carpet. The making of Brussels
carpet was introduced about 1750; they were first made in this country
at Wilton, near Salisbury.
The Axminster carpets take their name from being first made in the
town of Axminster about 1755. They rivalled the work of the Eastern
looms for beauty, durability, and colour; but owing to the cost of
their manufacture, and the introduction of the cheaper Brussels and
patent tapestry carpets, the demand became very small, and the work was
removed to Wilton in 1835. The patent Axminster or chenille carpet was
brought out by Messrs. Templeton, of Glasgow, in 1839.
In the early ages carpets or rugs were used for spreading on the floor
or grass to lounge upon. It is recorded that in Babylon the guests of
despotic sovereigns lounged on rich carpets, and walked over priceless
works of textile art; also how figured carpets made of the finest wool
were strewed under golden couches, and rugs richly embroidered with
figures were spread over daïs, stool, and table.
The Egyptian carpets may have been tapestries and embroidered fabrics.
They also had a method of making tufted carpets by drawing a portion
of the weft threads out of a piece of coarse linen and sewing tufts of
coloured worsted to the warp threads, enough of the weft being left in
to bind the warp threads together.
[Illustration: Fig. 175]
Persian and Indian carpets were made of wool; the latter were
occasionally made of silk, and sometimes an inferior description of
carpet was made of cotton. These, as well as Turkey carpets, are made
on a very simple loom consisting of two posts fitted at a suitable
distance apart to form a vertical frame. There is a roller at the top
and another at the bottom between which the warp threads are stretched,
much in the same manner as in tapestry weaving. The weaver sits in
front of the loom with a design before him, and is provided with a
quantity of bobbins of the colours required for the pattern; he looks
to the design for the colour, and, taking a bobbin of the colour
required, forms a loop round two of the warp threads with the weft,
cutting it off as shown in Fig. 175. After having completed a row along
the cloth forming one weft line of the design, he opens a shed and
inserts a ground shot all across the web, each ground shot going into a
shed the reverse of the preceding one, forming a plain texture ground
with a row of tufts between the ground shots. The ground shots are
beaten down with a comb. Instead of going across in even rows of tufts,
where there is a patch of colour several rows of tufts may be put in at
this place with a ground thread between the rows, leaving the ends of
these threads projecting so that they can be carried across when the
remaining portions of the rows are completed. The ends of the tufts
are cut off roughly at first, and afterwards shorn level with a pair
of shears. Persian carpets are sometimes very costly, a small-sized
carpet, when made of fine cashmere wool, costing 500_l._ or 600_l._
Axminster carpets are made on the same principle, and other art carpets
are being made similarly. There are about sixteen or twenty warp
threads per inch of strong cotton or linen thread; the weft is of fine
wool, three or four ply being put into each tuft; the ground weft is
soft hemp or flax, eight ply of yarn going to each shot. This makes
a full soft cloth. These carpets are about three-quarters of an inch
thick, and, like tapestries, there is no end to the variety of pattern
or colour that can be introduced.
_Kidderminster or Scotch Carpet._--This carpet, also called ingrain
carpet, is the oldest machine-made carpet in this country; it was
originally made at Kidderminster, but the chief centre now is Scotland.
Originally it was a two-ply cloth, the pattern being formed by passing
the two cloths, which were of different colours, through each other.
Mr. Morton, of Kilmarnock, improved on this by making it a three-ply
cloth, which enabled it to be made a thicker cloth with a richer
pattern. It is now made both two-and three-ply, and when made of
all-wool is a rich and durable article, taking a position between the
jute and felt carpets and the tapestry and Brussels; it is, however,
sometimes made with cotton warps and woollen wefts, and is in this case
an inferior article.
Both two-and three-ply carpets may be woven with only one colour of
weft, in which case the pattern is formed by the warp threads, which
must be much thicker so as to close in over the weft and hide it as
much as possible; on the other hand, there may be two warps and four
colours of weft, two of which are the same colours as the warp, and in
this case the weft is much thicker than the warp. The best of these
carpets are made with as many colours of weft as warp, as, in order to
get a pure effect, it is necessary to have wefts traversing warps of
their own colour; but a variety of effects can be produced by using
additional colours in both warp and weft.
One advantage in this style of carpet is that it is reversible; for
when one cloth rises to the face the other passes to the back, making
the pattern on both back and face alike, but of different colours. This
is the case when the carpet is two-ply cloth woven in the ordinary way,
but sometimes the back has to a certain extent to be sacrificed to
give more ornamentation to the face, at least in the ordinary method
of weaving. Whether woven two- or three-ply, the principle of working
is the same. Take a two-ply carpet. The fabric is a double or two-ply
plain cloth, figured in the usual way by passing the two cloths through
each other, there being no binding between the cloths except what is
formed by the one passing through.
The warps are of different colours--as, say, scarlet and black,
green and black, &c.--and each warp should have a weft of its own
colour if pure effects in the cloth are required. Usually four sets
of warp threads are employed instead of two--that is, two colours,
end-and-end, for each warp--and each colour of warp has its own colour
of weft. Say we take red and black for the face or figuring warp,
and white and olive for the back or ground warp. Various effects can
be produced from this arrangement--viz. the effect of the figuring
cloth, formed by weaving the red and black warps and wefts together,
which in plain texture with one weft will produce a rich brown effect;
the ground cloth produced by the white and olive warps and the weft
will be of a light olive colour; then lined, or what are known as
‘shot-about’ effects can be produced by throwing in a light and a dark
shot alternately--as white and black, olive and red--and binding them
on the face by warps of the same colour. All the weft on the face of
the cloth should be bound by warp of its own colour in order to give
pure effects. When a thread of one cloth is raised, the corresponding
thread of the other cloth goes to the back (white and red and olive
and black correspond in this case), but the red weft will be bound
with black warp on the under side of the cloth, and the black weft
will be bound with red warp, and the same with the others, as in the
system of working the harness with journals to form the texture, all
the black warp is controlled by one of the journals and must all rise
with it. Therefore when the black shot is being thrown in, the black
warp must be raised to make the pattern correct on the face of the
cloth, and this will also cause it to be raised for that portion of
the cloth that goes to the back, and when the black is up the red is
down; therefore the black weft must be bound by red warp on the under
side of the cloth, and the same with the other colours. It is easy to
understand that if an end-and-end warp--black and red--be wrought plain
on two shafts or leaves of heddles, and shot pick and pick of the same
colours, when the black weft is bound with the black warp on one side
it must be bound with red (which is the other half of the warp) on the
other side, and if the red is bound with red on one side it must also
be bound with black on the reverse side. To apply this to the double
cloth or carpet weave it is only necessary to consider this piece of
cloth as passing up and down through another one of a different colour.
Had we the power of raising any portion of the black or red warps
required, we could bind a portion of the black weft with black on one
side, and any other portion of it with black on the other side; to do
this we require a full or thread harness.
[Illustration: Fig. 176]
A section through the weft of a piece of two-ply carpeting is given
in Fig. 176, showing the position of the threads when arranged to
give the different effects of face cloth up as at A, back cloth up
as at B, shot-about effect of red and olive on the face as at C, and
shot-about effect of white and black on face as at D. The warp threads
are marked W, O, R, B, the initial letters of the colours; and the
numbers 1 to 32 give the order of picking. The shot-about effect is
here produced with the opposite threads--that is, the first thread of
one warp and the second thread of the other warp--as white and black;
but it might be preferred to produce the effect the corresponding or
mate threads (white and red, or olive and black) would give. In working
with journals, two picks face and two picks back would be required to
obtain this, and the needles of the jacquards would require to be acted
upon by the cards for each shot, thus requiring double the number of
cards. With a full harness any effect desired can be produced. Extra
colours of weft may also be used (as drab) in addition to the white
and olive--to work, say, white, olive, drab, olive, &c.; and dark
green or blue in addition to the red and black, which would come in as
red, green, black, green, &c., a shot of the light and one of the dark
colours following each other in succession. Stripes of a bright colour
may be introduced into the warp or weft and kept in the back cloth,
only being brought to the face in small portions, at intervals, to
sparkle up the centres of flowers, &c.
Ingrain carpets are made 36 in. wide, and with, say, 832 or 1088
threads of warp, according to quality. The former can be woven on a 200
jacquard (say 208=416), as the machine is double; and as there are two
repeats of the pattern in the width of the cloth, 416 × 2 = 832 threads
of warp. For the latter 272 needles are required = 544 × 2 = 1088 hooks.
When woven with journals, the jacquards used for figuring these carpets
are similar to those explained under ‘Quilt Weaving’--that is, double
machines with trapboards and knot cords; and when the card is pressed
against the needles it is held in for two shots, one trapboard raising
the harness for the first shot, and the other reversing the shed for
the second shot. The journals are four sections of the cumber board,
as shown in Fig. 177; each section contains two rows of the harness
and one colour of warp. No. 1 journal controls the white warp, No. 2
the olive, No. 3 the red, and No. 4 the black; the draft is shown by
the numbers 1 to 8 alongside the harness cords. These eight cords only
represent half a row from each machine, as there are eight rows of
hooks to the machine. One row of the two machines fills two rows across
the journals, or 16 holes. A represents the trapboard of the machine
for the ground or dark warp, and B that of the machine for the figuring
or light warp.
The harness twines are furnished with large knots above the cumber
board or journals, so that when one of the journals is raised the
harness will be lifted with it. The journals may be raised by strong
cords or wires from the machine, or by a tappet or shedding motion
working either above or below them. If the machine is divided into two
parts, four hooks in succession going to each colour of warp for each
cloth, the cords from these four hooks making two rows of the journal,
there will be no crossing of the harness in a straight or Norwich tie.
[Illustration: Fig. 177]
The order of working for the section Fig. 176 would be as follows:--For
the first pick, which is white, raise the trapboard B and the first
journal; for the second pick, which is red, raise the trapboard A and
the third journal; for the third pick, raise the trapboard B and the
second journal; for the fourth pick, raise the trapboard A and the
fourth journal. This is the general order of lifting for a pattern; but
a simple lined effect across the cloth as the section could be wrought
with the journals without the machine, using them as heddle shafts.
It could also be wrought by the machine without the journals. The use
of the journals in conjunction with the machine is to pass the cloths
through each other and make a pattern. For figure work, when a card
is pressed in against the needles, all the warp for the figure on the
design paper is raised by the trapboard B, which clears this portion
of the red and black warps out of the way of the ground shed; and as
the first pick of the ground is white, the white journal is raised to
bind the white pick, leaving the olive warp down to bind it at the
back. For the next shot the same card acts, and the trapboard A is
raised, which lifts all the white and olive warp corresponding with
the portion of the red and black that was left down at the last shot,
so as to clear this portion out of the way of the face shed. As a red
pick follows white, the red journal (No. 3) is raised to bind the red
on the face, leaving the black warp down to bind it on the back. The
other picks follow similarly. This shows the defective binding common
to journal weaving, the white being bound with olive and the red with
black at the under side of the cloth. To have pure binding, instead of
all the white or red being raised by a journal as above, only as much
of either should be raised as is required to bind its own colour of
weft on the face of the cloth. The olive or black in respective cases
should be raised for the remainder of the shed, leaving the white and
red down to bind their own wefts where these colours come out on the
back or under side of the cloth, thus giving pure colours on both sides
of the cloth, and letting the mixed or impure binding be in the centre
between the two cloths. This, however, is beyond the range of journals,
and requires a harness.
[Illustration: Fig. 178]
Fig. 178 gives a neat pattern on a small scale for a two-ply cloth
with, say, a red and a pale olive warp for ground and figure cloths
respectively, the shaded squares being red and the ground or white
squares olive; the weft for each cloth to be the same colour as the
warp, or sometimes a tint one or two shades lighter and brighter,
or deeper and duller, according to the colours or shades of colours
used, gives a good effect. A further effect in this can be produced by
having the 6th to 10th and 18th to 22nd threads black, brown, or dark
green, end-and-end with pale olive, for the back warp, and picking
similarly on the 5th to the 9th picks for the ground cloth. This would,
of course, make a striped effect on the under side of the cloth, as
where the additional colours do not show above they must appear below.
A still better effect can be produced by having an additional weft
lying between the two cloths which can be flushed on the face in spots
as at picks 12, 13, and 14, and of course a three-ply cloth will be a
step farther in advance; lined effects can then be produced anywhere
desirable, in portions to suit the nature of the design, to vary and
enrich it, at the same time the breadth of effect is maintained by
working the greater portion of the pattern in masses of pure colour,
whether they be large or small. For full-harness work the harness is
divided into two sections, four rows for the back cloth and four rows
for the face cloth, on an 8-row machine; no journals are used, the
machine doing all the work. The harness is tied up in the usual way,
the cord from the first hook passing through the first hole of the
cumber board, and the cord from the second hook passing through the
second hole, and so on.
The harness is nominally divided into two sections, the front four rows
being for the face cloth and the back four for the back cloth; when
drawing the warp into the harness the mails are taken in the following
order: 1, 5, 2, 6, 3, 7, 4, 8, the back or ground warp coming on 1, 2,
3, 4 mails, and the face or figure warp on 5, 6, 7, 8.
Suppose the pattern to be a dice, as Fig. 179, the warps to be white
and olive, and red and black, with the same colours of weft. Each
upright line of the design represents two threads of warp, one of which
will be drawn on the front half of the harness and the other on the
back half; and each horizontal line of the design represents two weft
shots, for which there must be two cards cut. Let the order of drawing
the warp into the harness be as Fig. 180. The white is on the odd and
the olive on the even numbers of the four back rows of the harness, and
the red is on the odd and the black on the even numbers of the four
front rows.
Now to cut the cards:--Take the first line of the design Fig. 179, cut
the odd numbers of holes (that is, the first and third) on the first
half, or first four holes, of the card, and cut the white and olive on
the second half of the card. For the second card, from the same line of
the design cut red and black on the first half of the card, and the
odd numbers of holes on the second half of the card. For the third
card, take the second line of the design and cut even numbers of holes
on the first half of the card, and white and olive on the second half
of the card. For the fourth card, from the second line of the design
cut red and black on the first half of the card, and the even numbers
of holes on the second half of the card. Of course when there is none
of a colour raised, as in the first line there is no black, no notice
is taken of it. For the pattern in Fig. 178 the cutting would be the
same, except that there are only two colours of warp to be dealt with
instead of four. No. 1 card: cut odd numbers of holes on the first half
of the card, and olive on the second half of the card. No. 2: cut red
on the first half of the card, and odd numbers of holes on the second
half of the card, &c.
[Illustration: Fig. 179]
[Illustration: Fig. 180]
[Illustration: Fig. 181]
The cutting of four cards is given is Fig. 181. The crosses indicate
the cutting of the odd and even holes in the cards, and the dots are
the figure. It will be seen that the crosses in No. 3 card would
reverse the shed formed by those in No. 1 card, thus working plain
texture on the back cloth, and the same would take place with Nos.
2 and 4 cards for the face cloth. This is simply the action of the
journals included in the harness, which it will be seen requires double
the number of needles in the machine, and double the quantity of cards;
but an ordinary machine and mounting will answer, instead of having to
get a double machine and journals.
The above cutting acts the same as journals, and is all right in both
cases when one warp with its own weft is used for each cloth; but it
has been pointed out that when each warp is end-and-end of different
colours with wefts to match, the under side of the cloth is defective
when wrought with journals, and so it would be with the full harness
if the cards were cut as above. To get each colour of weft bound with
its own colour of warp on both sides of the cloth, the following change
must be made:--Take the small piece of pattern given in Fig. 182, and
let the warps be as before--white and olive, red and black. The card
cutting for this pattern will be as follows, the warp being drawn
through the harness as before:
For the first card, cut odd numbers of red and even numbers of white on
the first half, or first four holes, of the card, and white solid on
the second half. This will form a shed for the red shot.
Second card: Cut from same line of the design red solid on the first
half of the card, and even numbers of white and odd numbers of red on
the second half of the card. This is for the white shot.
[Illustration: Fig. 182]
Third card, for black shot: Cut from the second line of the design even
numbers of black and odd numbers of olive on the first half of the
card, and olive solid on the second half of the card.
Fourth card, for olive shot: From the same line cut black solid on the
first half, and odd numbers of olive and even numbers of black on the
second half of the card.
These four cards are shown in Fig. 182, from which the cutting may be
traced. It must not be supposed, however, that cutting odd numbers of
red and even numbers of white as on the first card, means that these
colours of threads are to be raised; the colour has no reference to the
threads--only to the coloured checks on the design paper.
For the first card the white checks on the design paper are cut solid
on the second half of the card; this raises the white and olive warp
corresponding to the white portion of the design. Then, to form the
plain shed in the other warp, the even numbers of the white checks and
the odd numbers of the red checks are cut on the first half of the
card, which acts on the other warp. As the black warp is drawn on the
even numbers of harness twines it will be raised for that portion of
the design that is white, and the red will remain down to bind the red
weft; but passing along the design till the red weft is above, it will
be seen that the red warp should here be up to bind it, and the black
should therefore be down, so, as the red warp is on the odd numbers of
the harness and on the second half of the card, the odd numbers must be
cut on the card for the red portion of the design. This gives a pure
binding on both sides: and the same applies to the other colours. It
will be seen that the first halves of the 1st and 3rd cards together
work a broken plain texture, and the second halves of the 2nd and 4th
cards do the same.
In case the card-cutter cannot follow this method of cutting, and if
the design is so varied in order of weaving that a gamut or index for
cutting cannot be arranged, then it will be necessary to paint the
full texture of the pattern on the design paper in the same manner
as is done for double cloth. The first row of designs of the pattern
given in Fig. 178 is painted out in full in Fig. 183. The shaded lines
underneath represent the back warp, and the white lines the face warp.
The black squares are the figure, and the large crosses the ground,
or the white squares in Fig. 178. The dots are the rising marks for
the texture of the back cloth, as would be formed by the back warp
journals, and the small crosses are the same for the face warp.
This method of weaving is not confined to carpets, but is equally
applicable to quilts, curtains, &c., and a plain texture need not be
adhered to; a twill or any simple fancy texture may be used. With 80 to
a 100 threads per inch, one warp peacock green in satin texture for the
figure, and the other warp gold for the ground in a crêpe or mottled
texture, all shot peacock, a handsome curtain can be made.
[Illustration: Fig. 183]
_Brussels Carpets._--Brussels carpets, with their less expensive
allies, the tapestries, are the commonest of the better class of
carpets. They are a loop-pile fabric, the pile being formed by the
figuring warp, which is wool, the ground warp and weft being hemp or
flax. As the pattern is formed by raising the figuring warp threads of
the required colours, and as any thread of any colour may require to be
raised, it follows that all the threads must be on separate spools or
small warp rolls, so that any one thread can be drawn forward without
slackening any of the others. Large frames are therefore made to hold
the number of spools of each colour, and these are placed one above the
other in a slanting position, at the back of the loom, and when filled
with spools the whole set of threads are brought forward to the harness
as if from a warping creel or bank. According to the number of these
frames used the carpet is styled a 3, 4, or 5-frame carpet, the greater
the number of frames the richer the carpet both in colour (generally
speaking) and in body of warp. Sometimes 6 frames are used; but 4 or 5
are more frequent, 3 and 4 frame being the lower qualities.
The texture of a Brussels carpet is shown in Fig. 184, which is a
section through the weft. A and B are two of the ground warp threads,
a pair of these coming between the rows of pile loops, a portion of
one row being shown in the section. The weft threads are shown in
section coming under the loops of the ground warp at the top, and above
them below. Both this warp and weft are of coarse hemp, about 3’s: the
weft is steeped in glue size before being thrown into the cloth, which
makes it stiff and firm when dry. The pile warp threads are numbered,
1, 2, 3, 4, and 5; they are of soft-spun worsted, about 2/24’s, 2
and sometimes 3 threads being drawn in together as one through the
mails and reed. These five warp threads go to form one line of loops,
being raised over the wires as is required for the pattern, and lying
straight between the weft threads when not raised. By considering this
it will easily be understood that each thread must be on a separate
bobbin so as to admit of being drawn forward independently of any
of the others. In low qualities of these carpets one or two threads
of hemp warp are used to each splitful or row of pile threads; the
hemp thread lies in a straight line below the worsted threads in the
same way that No. 5 thread is shown in the section. These stuffing
threads add to the weight and thickness when the worsted is reduced in
quantity, but make a harsher and stiffer carpet. This warp, when used,
is put on a beam or warp roll, as is also the ground warp of the carpet.
[Illustration: Fig. 184]
[Illustration: Fig. 185]
Fig. 185 is the plan of drawing-in and weaving a carpet similar to
that shown in section in Fig. 184. The draft is given at A, and the
treading and cording for a hand loom at B. A 10-row jacquard should be
used for a 5-frame carpet, as twice over the 5 threads makes one row
of the cumber board. Five threads are drawn into the harness, one from
each frame, then two ground warp threads are brought through and drawn
on two leaves of heddles. In weaving, one ground thread is raised and a
shot thrown in; then all the pile warp and the same ground thread are
raised for the next shot; the third tread raises the harness and a wire
is inserted to draw up the pile; the fourth tread crosses the ground
warp threads; the fifth tread raises this thread again, as well as all
the pile warp, and the sixth tread raises the harness for the insertion
of the second wire; this completes, the order of treading. For the
second and fifth treads it will be observed that all the warp in the
harness must be raised; this was usually done by having shafts through
the harness or by raising the cumber board to act as a journal in the
manner explained for Scotch carpet weaving; but now jacquards are made
with bottom boards or gratings that can be raised or lowered to form
these sheds.
The pile wires are now commonly inserted at the time the adjoining pick
is being thrown in, a double shed being formed, and both the wire and
shuttle passed across at the same time, the former being uppermost; in
power looms the wires are both inserted and withdrawn by machinery;
about twenty-five are inserted before any are drawn out, to prevent
the loops from slipping. Jacquard machines are made specially for the
purpose of forming this double shed, the grating raising the hooks from
the bottom to the centre position, thus raising the worsted or figuring
warp above the shuttle, while the griffe carries the figuring hooks on
to the top, making a second or upper shed for the wire. The old method
was to form the lower shed by raising the cumber board, and the upper
one by the griffe. Jacquards with cords instead of hooks are frequently
used.
Brussels carpets are made 27 in. wide, with nominally 260 loops or rows
of pile in the width; but 256 rows are commonly used instead of 260 for
the better classes of goods, and a further reduction of 30 or 40 loops
is made for lower classes, the reduction going to cheapen the goods
or to the credit of the manufacturer. Although only 256 loops are on
the surface of the cloth, it must be remembered that for a 5-frame
carpet there are 5 times this number of threads, and that 1,280 cords
will be required for the harness, and an equal number of needles in
the jacquard when the pattern is single, or not repeated on the cloth;
but the design only covers 256 spaces on the point paper, each space
or check across it representing 5 threads. In Scotland a reed with 350
splits on 37 in. is used, one row of pile warp with its ground warp
going into each split. A carpet known as Axminster Brussels is made in
Scotland. It is similar in structure to the common Brussels, but has
in addition a woollen weft, which is thrown in pick-and-pick with the
usual hemp weft. The addition of the wool weft adds to the softness and
thickness of the carpet, giving more elasticity or spring to it, and
making it wear better.
Designs for Brussels carpets are sketched out and coloured in the
usual way; the method of repeating the patterns is much the same as
is adopted for wall papers. Usually there is one repeat in the width
of the cloth (27 in.), and the length of the repeat may be shorter
or longer to suit the pattern, expense, &c.; 256 checks, = 3/4ths of
a yard, is a common length, and 1-1/2 yard for bolder effects. The
number of colours must be regulated to suit the frames to be employed
in the weaving, unless the frames can be made to suit the pattern. Say
five frames are to be used, this would suggest five colours; but it
does not follow that only five colours can be used. A clever designer
may work out most patterns so that six or more colours may be used on
five frames, by arranging the design so that two colours may be put to
one or more of the frames, which process is called ‘planting.’ But it
may be that an extra number of colours will not improve the design,
in which case they should not be used. The process of ‘planting’ or
striping the warp--which is on the same principle as ‘chintzing’ by
striping the weft in other makes of goods--will be best understood by
referring to Fig. 186, which is a Brussels carpet pattern on a small
scale for working with five frames. The colours are indicated by
different markings on the squares of the design-paper, as shown by the
index or gamut below the design. On the first line of the gamut there
are two varieties of markings, and as this line indicates reds, there
are two colours of red used on this frame. Following up the design
above these markings, it will be seen that one colour of red is used in
one of the sets or rows of octagonal figures, and the other colour on
the intermediate rows, and that the two colours of red are not required
in the same portions of the design, the gamut showing where each is
required. It is only necessary to arrange the spools on the frame in
the loom and draw the threads through the harness, as shown by the
gamut, to make this fall in correctly.
[Illustration: Fig. 186]
What the designer must guard against is giving the pattern a striped
appearance, which would be the case if the planted colours were
brought to the surface too frequently; but if they are judiciously
brought up at intervals, the effect of a 5-frame can be made almost
as good as that of a 6-frame pattern, and this can be carried still
further if desired; every frame may contain two colours, or one frame
may contain several colours.
Carpet patterns are sometimes painted on small-sized design paper--that
is, the ordinary paper with, say, two designs per inch; but before
working it is more satisfactory to have them put on large-sized paper,
so as to show the exact effect they will have on the cloth, the
design-paper giving the pattern full-cloth size.
When painting patterns that are as large or larger on the cloth
than they are on the design-paper, much more care and skill are
necessary than when the pattern is one that is much larger on the
design-paper than it will be on the cloth, as is usually the case;
and in consequence of the large size of the checks required for
carpet design-paper, it is evident that representations of any small
objects--unless those of a very simple nature--cannot be put on it
without being greatly enlarged. After the sketch is made the forms
should be carefully adapted to suit the paper, so as to give a
satisfactory effect on it, rather than be a rigid adherence to the
sketch. Natural floral forms should not be attempted unless to satisfy
the demands of trade, and when they must be used they should be made
on so large a scale as to be fairly represented in a semi-conventional
manner. Large wild-floral patterns are frequently to be seen on
carpets, but they are rarely, if ever, satisfactory. Persian, Indian,
and other geometric or conventional forms that lend themselves readily
to a harmonious admixture of colours so that the carpet will, when on
the floor, present a rich glow of colour instead of obtrusive masses
of floral misrepresentations, are much to be preferred. Dull colouring
is not essential to good taste--rather the reverse; but it is less
obtrusive and more easily managed, particularly in the hands of an
inferior artist. No matter how brilliant the colours are, if properly
blended and broken up into masses in proportion to their intensities
in the spectrum scale they need not be in the least offensive; but it
requires skilful hands to do this.
The pattern given in our last figure (186) is a simple repeating
pattern, so that two pieces of the carpet laid side by side will join
correctly together. Another method of arranging patterns so that they
will repeat is shown in Fig. 187. In this figure it will be seen that
the two sides will not join as an ordinary repeat, but if two pieces
are taken the right-hand side of one will, if turned round, join
against the left-hand side of the other, and two pieces thus joined
will form a repeat. This is objectionable in the case of cut pile,
which usually has a slope in one direction; and when two pieces are
joined, one running one way and the other the reverse, the effect will
be that of shaded stripes, somewhat similar to that of a grass field
when rolled. Another method of forming repeating patterns is by making
what is known as a ‘drop repeat,’ which is shown in Fig. 188; though
the two sides will not join in against each other, as in an ordinary
repeat, if two pieces of the carpet be laid side by side, and one of
them drawn a little down, the point A in the figure of one piece will
fall in against B and B^1 of the other piece, and repeat.
[Illustration: Fig. 187]
These show the usual principles on which repeats are based, and of
course it is for the ingenuity of the designer to form the best
arrangements of pattern he can to suit them, or any other method he may
think of.
When cutting cards for carpet patterns the usual method of picking
out the various colours for each cutting must be adopted by the
card-cutter. Refer to Fig. 186 for the pattern, and to Fig. 185 for the
draft. The order of drawing is green, blue, black, yellow, reds, which
gives five rows of holes on the card, and this twice over makes the ten
rows; therefore, green would be cut on the first and sixth rows; blue
on the second and seventh; black on the third and eighth; yellow on the
fourth and ninth; and reds on the fifth and tenth rows. These may be
all cut when passing the card once along the cutting machine, giving
more than one tramp, if necessary, to each shift of the card index; or
the cutter, if not accustomed to this, may pass the card along once for
each colour, working two of the punches at each passage of the card,
and of course remembering to select the punches which correspond to the
colour being read.
[Illustration: Fig. 188]
It must be remembered that two checks on the design-paper correspond
with a row of ten holes on the cards, as each check may have any of
five colours on it in the case of a 5-frame carpet pattern, and there
must be a space for a hole in the card for any of these colours;
therefore the designs or large squares on the design-paper would
consist of two checks each. Suppose one of these checks--the first
one--to be green, the first hole in the card would be cut for it; if
the second check is also green, the sixth hole on the card would be
cut; but if it is black, the eighth hole in the card would be cut, not
the third hole, as it, being the second check, comes on the second half
of the card. The first check stands against the first five rows of
holes in the card, and the second check against the second five rows,
each check on the design-paper representing five threads, five mails
and five needles, or five spaces on the card; but only one hole is cut
on the card for it, and that must suit the colour the check is painted.
[Illustration: Fig. 189]
_Wilton Carpets._--These carpets are made much in the same manner as
Brussels, but the pile is cut, and they are of a better quality of wool
with a longer pile, and altogether a superior article. As the pile is
cut, the method of binding it into the ground is somewhat different
from that adopted for Brussels, in order to secure a firmer binding. A
section of the cloth through the weft is given in Fig. 189, showing two
pile loops cut and one uncut, and also the method of binding the pile
warp threads Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, with the ground warp A and B, and
the weft is shown in section, or end view.
[Illustration: Fig. 190]
The warp or pile threads are cut similarly to velvet by drawing the
wires out of the loops and having each wire furnished at its end with a
cutting edge. Fig. 190 shows the draft and treading of a Wilton carpet
arranged for a hand loom. The back is the harness, and Nos. 1, 2, and
3 the shafts. No 2 shaft is only required when an extra or silent warp
is used for the purpose of giving weight and thickening the fabric.
This warp, if used, lies straight between the weft, and must be on a
separate beam from the ground warp.
_Tapestry Carpets._--These carpets, though they do not require a
jacquard to weave them, are so closely allied to Brussels, and patterns
so similar can be produced on them, that it is thought desirable to
give a short description of them. Though figured weaving, they are
not so in the strict sense of the term, as the pattern is printed on
the warp instead of being formed by various coloured warps; they are
simply an imitation of figured weaving in colours. Any pattern that can
be put on a Brussels carpet can also be put on a tapestry, and with
further variation if desired. The effect is not so sharp and rich on
the tapestry, as the colours, being printed on the warp, run into each
other more or less, and produce a slight blurring round the edges of
the pattern; whereas the pattern on the Brussels is so sharp and clear
round the edges as to make it harsh if two very contrasting colours
come together, so that in some cases the tapestry patterns are softer
and more pleasing.
[Illustration: Fig. 191]
Fig. 191 shows the texture of a tapestry carpet. A and B are the ground
warp threads which bind the weft, the same as in Brussels; these
threads go on one warp roll. 1, 2, and 3 are the lying or filling warp
threads of linen, hemp, or jute, used for giving weight and thickness
to the cloth; these threads go on a second roll. P is the pile, which,
it will be observed, is of various colours and looped all along the
cloth, or passes over every wire that is inserted, and the pattern is
formed entirely by the colours that these threads are printed. The pile
goes on a third warp roll. All the pile can go on the one roll, as
every thread is looped alike by each wire inserted. A pair of shafts
for the ground warp--one for the lying warp and one for the pile--is
all that is required for weaving the cloth. The pile consists of two or
three ends of two-fold worsted yarn, according to the quality of the
carpet. As the fabric is made up to a great extent with the three lying
ends of stiffened hemp or flax to each row of pile loops, the carpet
is of a harder and less pliable nature, with less spring in it than a
Brussels (which has the five pile worsted threads in it), and it is
also less durable. The number of pile loops in the width of the cloth
is the same as for a low-class Brussels carpet, say 216 to 225, and the
width of the cloth is the same--about 27 in. Five threads go to each
split of the reed--viz. one pile, two ground warp, and the three lying
or filling ends.
In these carpets, as well as in Brussels, it will be seen from the
sections that one weft thread is above a lower one, with a straight
tightly-stretched warp between them. A method of weaving has been
adopted on the Continent in which both sheds are formed and both
wefts picked at the same time. One shed is raised above the centre
warp, and one is sunk below it, and both shuttles are driven through
simultaneously; then a pile shed is raised and a wire inserted; and
this repeated, reversing the ground sheds, makes the order of weaving
for tapestry carpets. Another method is to have double mails, one
mail above the other on the same harness cord or heald; the wool warp
goes to the upper mail, and the lying warp to the lower one. When the
mails are raised a double shed is formed, and a pile wire and a pick
can be inserted at the same time. The ground or binding warp is in
two additional leaves of healds. To apply the former method to Wilton
carpets, two picks are put in below to balance with the two above,
instead of one pick below, as shown in Fig. 189.
For tapestry carpets the pattern is prepared in the same way as for
Brussels. The repeat of the pattern may be of any length, but 27, 36,
or 54 in. are usual lengths. The pattern, though prepared as if for the
jacquard, is only a guide for the printer when printing the colours on
the warp.
The pattern is printed on the warp in an elongated form, the amount of
elongation coinciding exactly with the reduction the pile loops make in
the length of the warp when it is woven.
The pattern was originally printed on the woven cloth by means of
blocks; next it was printed on the warp in an elongated form in the
same manner; now it is printed by means of small rollers. The yarn for
each thread of the warp, or of a number of warps, is wound separately
on a large reel or drum, of such a size as will hold a suitable
quantity of yarn (about 18-3/4 feet in circumference). Six or eight
threads are wound on together, so as to lie closely together side by
side and not overlap each other, till the drum is full, or the required
length is wound on it. This has now to be printed with the pattern in
an elongated form.
The right-hand edge of the drum is divided into as many divisions as a
length of yarn equal to the circumference of the drum will make loops
on the cloth. This is called the index, and 648 is a common number
of divisions for it to have, or 864 for a larger size. Of course the
number of loops any length of yarn will make depends upon the size of
them, and the reduction in length from the yarn to the cloth depends
upon the height of the pile and the number of loops in a given space.
The number of loops per inch varies with the quality of the cloth; 7
or 8 is usual for loop pile, and 9 or 10 for cut or velvet pile. The
design must contain such a number of checks in length as will divide
evenly into the index number, such as 108, 162, 216, 324. When painted
the design is cut into strips in the direction of its length, one line
or row of checks in each strip. When the yarn is wound on the drum,
and the printer is ready to begin work, he takes one of these strips
and pins it up before him to guide him in the colours he is to print.
The printing is done by means of a trough of colour with a roller in
it, set on a carriage beneath the drum, so that when passed across
the roller will press firmly on the yarn. The printer finds the first
colour on the design, and setting the drum to the first tooth of the
rack or index, he passes a trough of the proper colour across the drum
and back again; if the second check on the design is the same colour,
he turns the drum round a tooth of the index and passes the same
colour across; if the third check is a different colour, this requires
a second colour trough, and passing another tooth on the index this
colour is passed, and so on with the remainder; or, all one colour is
printed first, then the drum revolved again with the second colour,
and so on. When this is all printed the yarn is taken off the drum and
marked No. 1 thread, and the beginning and end of the thread should
be marked in some way as a guide for the setters. A fresh lot of yarn
is wound on for the second thread, which is printed according to the
second strip of the design. This must be continued for all the threads
in the warp. After being printed, the colours are fixed by a steaming
process, and afterwards wound on bobbins and marked to their numbers.
The design may be cut into strips of two checks each, instead of one
check, which will be less liable to get torn. One side of the strip can
then be printed first, and the other after.
The warp is made up by ‘setters,’ who arrange the threads together
in proper order in a frame for the purpose, and set them so that the
colours of each thread come together at the proper place to form on the
warp a correct elongated copy of the pattern; when correct it is wound
on the beam for the loom.
In printing and steaming, the colours are liable to run into each
other; some colours are worse in this respect than others, but it
is reduced to a minimum by the use of an absorbent in steaming; and
sometimes the designer makes a little allowance on the design-paper for
such colours as he knows will be liable to run and injure the pattern.
The pile of tapestry carpets is usually left uncut; but sometimes it is
cut, forming a velvet pile. In this case the carpet is made of a better
quality, and the pile is longer.
The present method of preparing tapestry warps was invented by Richard
Whytock, of Edinburgh, in 1832, and perfected by Messrs. Crossley, of
Halifax.
_Axminster Carpets._--Real Axminster carpets, as already said, are
made by hand much in the same manner as Turkish or Persian carpets,
and attempts have also been made to produce them by machinery, several
patents having been taken out for the protection of the inventions.
These carpets, with other art carpets now being made, may be classed
with tapestry as works of art.
The Axminster carpets of commerce are the Royal Axminster or Moquette
carpets, and the patent Axminster or chenille carpets.
Royal Axminster carpets are made by a peculiar process of weaving and
tufting on a loom made specially for the purpose. A number of little
funnels carrying from spools threads of the different colours of yarn
required for the pattern are fixed on the loom above the reed, and
these threads, by suitable mechanism, are brought down and bound into
the backing cloth by the weft. These threads, which form the pile, are
cut off, and afterwards the surface of the carpet is shorn level.
[Illustration: Fig. 192]
The texture of Moquette carpets is shown in section in Fig. 192, two
varieties of texture being given, one at A, the other at B. In both
these textures the pattern shows through on the back of the cloth.
Another variety is given in Fig. 193. A is the section through the
weft, B the texture, C D E F shows the interlacing of each of the
four warp threads in the pattern with the weft, and G shows the pile.
Similar numbers in these figures represent the same threads in the
cloth.
[Illustration: Fig. 193]
_Patent Axminster Carpets._--These were invented by Mr. Jas. Templeton,
of Glasgow, about 1839, and are a description of chenille weaving. They
do not require to be wrought by a jacquard any more than the other
Axminster carpets, but as the figures formed on them are so similar to
those produced by the jacquard, and as the method of designing the
patterns is the same for both them and other classes of chenille as it
is for jacquard work, it may not be considered out of place to give a
full description of chenille here.
_Chenille_ is made by a double process of weaving. First the weft or
chenille thread is woven, if for a figured pattern in various colours,
which corresponds to the printing of the warp in tapestry carpet
weaving, which gives a warp figure, whereas chenille gives a weft
figure. When the weft is woven in a piece it is cut up into strips
and twisted, if for curtains or any fabric on which the chenille weft
is to show on both sides; but for carpets, where all the pile is
raised to one side, the weft is doubled up, bringing all the pile in
one direction. Twisting machines are now in use for making the weft
for plain chenille fabrics, but for figured ones it is still woven.
If twisted for figured work it would afterwards have to be printed
somewhat similar to tapestry carpet warps, but without elongating the
pattern, and the uneven surface is a difficulty in the way.
The method of weaving chenille weft is as follows:--A loom fixed for
working gauze is supplied with a thinly laid warp, which, according to
the class of chenille required, is drawn through the heddles either as
plain gauze, two threads working plain with one crossing them, or this
doubled, as is shown in Fig. 194. The two, three, or six threads of the
draft are drawn into one split of the reed, which is finer or coarser
to suit the fabric required. For shawls or curtains there would be six
to eight full splits of the reed per inch; say in a reed of thirty to
forty splits per inch, four splits empty to one full. For carpets there
would be two or three full splits per inch; say in a reed of ten to
fifteen splits per inch, four empty and one full, coarser or finer to
suit the length of pile required.
For plain work this is tied up and woven as gauze, the warp being
cotton of a dark colour, and the weft woollen, noil silk, or other
fibre if desired; but it should consist of several ends and be of such
a nature as will divide easily to form a rich pile. If for figured
work, the pattern must be woven in stripes across the piece, which will
be explained after the designing.
[Illustration: Fig. 194]
When the piece is woven it will be as shown at A, B, or C (Fig. 194)
and must next be cut into strips midway between the ribs. Sometimes
this is done in the loom as the cloth is being woven, by having cutting
knives arranged to divide it as it passes over the breast beam; but it
is usually taken off in the piece and cut afterwards in a machine for
the purpose. The piece is fed through rollers in the cutting machine
over a grooved roller, shown at B (Fig. 195), the grooves being at such
a distance apart that the ribs of the piece will fall into them. Above
this roller is a set of cutting blades fixed in a spiral form round a
roller; one of these blades is shown at A (Fig. 195), with a section
of the roller. The blades are set at such a distance apart that when
revolving they fall into the cuts in the roller B, and running at a
high speed they sever the piece into strips as it passes through the
machine.
So far the process is alike for all classes of chenille work. The weft
is now in strips similar to that shown at A (Fig. 196) if for carpets,
and much smaller if for curtains or shawls. For ordinary chenille the
weft is next twisted so as to make the projecting fibres stand out
round the rib or core, and when finished it has the appearance shown
at B (Fig. 196). If for carpets, the fibres are turned up so that all
will project in one direction, as shown at C and in the cross-section
at _d_. This is done by running the strips over a grooved roller, as
C (Fig. 195), which is heated with steam, and as the projecting ends
are doubled up by the grooves in the roller the heat sets them in this
position. The weft is now prepared, and is wound on bobbins and woven
in large shuttles.
The texture for chenille is the same as for plain cloth. A fine black
warp of cotton is used, with twenty to twenty-five threads per inch
(more or less, to suit the fabric required), and twelve to sixteen
shots per inch of the chenille weft are used, which must also be varied
to suit circumstances and the thickness of the weft used. The fibres
or points of the thread of weft project through the warp, and a pile
fabric is produced which should entirely conceal the warp on both sides
of the cloth. For carpets the pile is, as a rule, only allowed to
project on one side, though some rugs are made with a twisted chenille
weft, and the colours on it are shown partly through the backing as
the fibres of the thread get mixed up with the ground or backing in
weaving, but usually all the pile projects through to the face.
[Illustration: Fig. 195]
[Illustration: Fig. 196]
[Illustration: Fig. 197]
The texture for patent Axminster carpets is shown at A (Fig. 197),
and sections of the cloth through the weft are shown at B and C in the
same figure, B is a section of the texture A with two picks between the
pile or chenille picks, and C is for a coarser description of work with
four ground picks between the pile picks. In A only the ground texture
is given complete; the pile weft P lies over the picks _f f_, and is
bound down by a fine black stitching thread C, which passes over it and
under the picks _g g_. The different thicknesses of the threads are
represented in the drawing: C are cotton, and the others hemp, flax, or
jute. There are about ten thick and ten fine warp threads per inch, and
five binding threads, and about seven chenille picks per inch, with two
ground picks between these. When there are four ground picks between
the pile picks the pile is coarse, and only about four picks per inch
are used. The chenille weft is wound on large wooden needles like huge
netting needles, about 4 ft. long, so that it may come off without any
twist in it, and the weaver pushes these through the shed, laying the
weft nicely in and combing it forward so as to get it straight and even
and have all the pile standing upright; he then knocks in two ground
picks and puts in another pile thread, as before.
This is all hand-loom work, but power looms are sometimes used for the
purpose. The ground of the fabric can be woven with heddles, as before,
but the binding warp threads are through needles, somewhat like gauze
dents inverted, and not through the heddles; and the beam or spools
containing them is above the loom in front. The chenille weft is wound
on a reel, and is through a guide or carrier. When the chenille weft
is to be laid in, the needles carrying the binders are raised and the
guide passed along, laying in the weft. The loom stands stationary
for a short time to give the weaver time to comb up the pile, and
then moves on and throws in the ground picks. Everything is done
automatically but the combing up of the pile.
The foregoing is a description of chenille weaving provided no pattern
has to be attended to; we must now consider the pattern.
The design paper used is the same as for ordinary work, with a greater
number of warp than weft threads, but it is ruled on a large scale so
that the pattern will be exactly cloth size. Fig. 198 is a sample of
this design-paper for seven picks per inch. The small checks, or what
in ordinary weaving would represent the warp threads, have here no
reference to them, nor do the warp threads require any consideration
when preparing the pattern. The narrow way of the checks is a guide to
the weaving of the weft threads. This paper might have been square,
seven by seven, and would thus suit for such a pattern as is shown
in Fig. 199--supposing seven shots of chenille weft per inch to be
correct; but there is an advantage in many cases to have it as it is,
or even more off the square, say seven by twenty, which is one of the
papers used. This will be most readily understood by following the
working out of the pattern.
The pattern given (Fig. 199) is necessarily very simple for want of
space. The different markings on the squares are to indicate different
colours. Here nine are used, but there may be any number--say from
eight to twenty--the only restriction on the number of colours employed
is that so many shades of yarn are required to match them, and that the
weaver has a greater number of shuttles to pass over when weaving the
weft. When the pattern is painted it is cut cross-ways into strips, as
A, B, two rows of checks in each strip; one row of checks may be in
each strip if desired; but this is unnecessary, and besides, they are
more easily torn. These strips are a guide to the weaving of the weft,
just in the same way as the pattern in tapestry carpet work is a guide
to the printer.
[Illustration: Fig. 198]
[Illustration: Fig. 199]
The weaver takes a strip of the pattern and puts it through a widened
split in the reed and pins one end of it to the cloth; to the other end
he attaches a cord and light weight, which he hangs over the back rail
of the loom so that the strip of design will be held steady and move
forward as the cloth is drawn up. The strip must be pinned to the cloth
so that the first check of the design projects over the fell of the
cloth. Suppose the strip to be A, Fig. 199: C is the first check; the
weaver sees that this is black, and proceeds to weave the gauze with
black weft for the length of this check (one-seventh of an inch). The
next check, moving along the strip in the loom, or from left to right
on the design, is a different colour, say scarlet; the weaver changes
his shuttle and weaves as many checks as there are of this colour,
which in this case is only one. Another change of shuttle is made,
and so on till the end of the strip is reached; it is then turned, the
other end of it being brought to the fell of the cloth, and the checks
on the second line of the design are woven in order as before, only
they must run from right to left on the design instead of from left
to right, as the first line did, which will be caused by the turning
of the strip of paper; for it must be borne in mind that if the first
shot of chenille weft is put into the carpet from left to right, the
next one will be put in from the reverse side or from right to left, so
that all the odd numbers of lines on the design-paper should be begun
by the weft weaver at the left-hand side, and all the even numbers at
the right-hand side, provided the weaver works in this way; in any
case one must be the reverse of the other. When all the strips of the
pattern are woven, each rib of the piece of weft will be long enough to
weave as many shots as are in one repeat of the pattern, and if there
be 40 ribs in the piece, it would, when cut up, furnish weft for 40
repeats of the pattern. For weaving this weft large needles are used,
somewhat similar to netting needles, which are about 4 ft. long for
wide looms; the chenille is wound on these, free from twist, and must
be put on so that it will come off correctly to suit the pattern. The
strips of chenille are marked to show which end is to be put on the
needle first. These needles are pushed through the shed by the weaver
when weaving the carpet--put in at one side and drawn out at the other.
He lays in the weft as correctly as possible, combing it up to the fell
of the cloth, and makes the colours fall in nicely together, drawing
it tighter or leaving it slacker as is necessary. Now the advantage of
using the special design-paper will be more readily understood. It is
plain that if 14 by 7 design-paper be used, instead of 7 by 7, any of
the colours may be changed in 1/14 in. on the design; and also in the
chenille weaving, when it is desirable to do so, instead of in each
1/7 in. when 7 by 7 paper is used. And if 20 by 7 paper were used, the
changes might be still more frequent; besides, in flowing patterns the
advantage also comes in to assist in getting the forms more correct,
in the same way as paper over square in either warp or weft assists
in getting the form of the figure in damask designing over that where
only the coarser way of the paper square is used; though the effect is
not by any means so satisfactory as if the paper were finer both ways,
and square. Yet when one way is fixed by circumstances it is in many
cases preferable to alter it in the other way than to leave both alike
coarse; but not always so, as, for example, the pattern given in Fig.
199. When these carpets are woven they are passed through a shearing
machine, which makes the surface of the pile quite level. They are rich
handsome carpets, as well as very durable.