1820 and 1825, as giving to the power-loom several perfecting touches
in the means for letting off the warp the small amount necessary at
each pick, the means for taking up the finished cloth, the means for
shedding the warp for the passage of the shuttle, and the adaptation
of the stop motions of his predecessors. These changes gave practical
life to the machine, and overthrew the barrier that obstructed the
advance of the textile industry. They were, however, only a few of the
improvements added in perfecting the power-loom, such as the automatic
temple to hold the cloth extended and prevent drawing of the weft, the
shuttle-guard to prevent accidental jumping of the shuttle from the
race, the perfect weft-stop to bring the loom to a stand on breakage or
failure of the weft, the protector mechanism to obviate a “smash” when
the shuttle failed to box, and the loose reed, all of which stand out
in bold relief as evidences of the progressive tendencies of the age,
and combined in about the year 1838, more than a half century after
Cartwright’s first conception of the idea, to complete the practical
power-loom.
The loom had not reached a stage of mechanical perfection; much yet
remained to be done, but the plain power-loom of this period was both
a practical and financial success. By its immediate predecessor, the
hand-loom, a good weaver and assistant could work from forty to fifty
picks per minute, and weave plain cloth. By the power-loom of 1840,
one weaver could “tend” two looms running from 100 to 120 picks per
minute and produce the same cloth. Without passing through the various
steps which culminated in the power-loom for plain cloth, now in use,
and tracing the causes that led to perfection of details, the amazing
advance from the ancient and 18th-century hand loom to the power-loom
of 1840 and that of to-day may well be shown by comparing the machines
themselves.
Such was the simple form of the power-loom. One half of the warps
were alternately raised and lowered for the shot of weft; but as a
woven fabric is one in which the warp and weft are united by passing
them over and under each other, the figure or pattern of the cloth
will be varied as the threads are crossed in different combinations,
and this will depend on the order of raising and lowering the warp
threads, and the introduction of different characters and colors of
weft. This brings up for review the most important parts of the loom
structure—the shedding mechanism and shuttle-box motions—through
whose agencies the most beautiful and complicated designs are produced.
[Illustration: WEAVING. THE OLD WAY.]
[Illustration: WEAVING. THE NEW WAY.]
Shedding mechanism was present of course in all looms, but in the
power-looms of the early part of this century it was confined to
tappets adjusted on a revolving shaft, and the number of heddles was
limited to six or eight. Fairly good twills and other like fabrics
could be produced within the limits of the few heddles, but with the
introduction of the “dobbie,” or that part of the loom which raises and
lowers the harness-frames, a new era in fancy weaving was inaugurated.
By this ingenious device as many as thirty-six or even forty heddles
could be used and raised at will to form figures. The creation of the
dobbie belongs to the 19th century, and it is found in practical form
about 1863 in the United States under the name of the American or
Knowles dobbie. The essentials are the two cylinder gears revolving
constantly, the vibrating gears, carried on the end of pivoted arms and
having teeth on a part of their periphery, the harness jacks connected
to the heddle frames, and the links joining the vibrating gears and
harness jacks in such manner that part revolution of the former causes
the latter to move the connected heddle frame, and consequently the
warp threads, up or down. A pattern chain determines what vibrator
gears shall engage the cylinder gears, and, once the chain is fitted
to the design to be woven, nothing remains for the loom tender but to
oversee the operation of the machine.
[Illustration: LOOM OF 1890.]
Another form of dobbie, not less popular than the Knowles, developed
into a perfect automatic device about fifty years ago in England. Here
two reciprocating knives are engaged, under the direction of a pattern
chain, by one of two hooked jacks connected to the harness levers, and
the shed is again formed without human intervention. Other forms of
dobbie structures have been evolved during the last fifty years, but
these two, with some modifications and additions of details, have come
extensively into practical use, and represent the zenith of development
at the present time. By their aid great variety is rendered possible in
the design on the resulting fabric. The figured tablecloths, damasks,
twills, satins, bordered and cross-bordered fabrics, are now possible
at a cost of a thousandth part only of that incurred when produced by
any of the old types of machines.
[Illustration: JACQUARD MACHINE.]
The subject of shedding, i. e., of opening the warp-threads to afford
a passage for the shuttle, is so inseparably connected with the name
of Jacquard, that attention is now carried to that wonderful invention
evolved in the first few years of the present century, and by the use
of which it may truly be said that anything can be woven as figure
in a fabric that can be designed by the hand of man. It is as well
adapted for the finest silks as for heavy carpets and figured velvets,
and by an operation theoretically so simple as to excite wonder that
it remained hidden until this age. Jacquard was a native of France
and exhibited his machine complete in 1804, but so bitter was the
opposition that the first machine was destroyed and burned. Its
merits were clear, however, and reconstruction and general adoption
in France followed soon after. It has since been applied not only for
shedding but for every purpose where mechanical operations could be
controlled by a pattern. In brief, this machine simply controls each
warp thread separately by a cord having a hook attached. These hooks
are arranged near the path of a reciprocating griffe or frame carrying
cross bars, and are controlled, as to engagement with the bars, by a
card perforated according to a pattern; thus any one or any number of
threads can be raised at will. The dobbie controls harness frames each
carrying a large number of warp threads; the Jacquard controls every
thread separately. The greatly increased capacity of the latter machine
is apparent. Thus a 1500-hook Jacquard will do the work of thirty
dobbies of fifty jacks each.
The hand-shuttle box mechanism of Kay’s time has developed into the
machine operated as a sliding or revolving shuttle-box controlled by
pattern devices, which, being added to a dobbie or Jacquard equipped
loom within the last twenty-five years, presents the highest point
of perfection attained in the textile art. In such looms the warp
threads, arranged in any colors, may be raised at will collectively or
individually, any one of ten or twelve different colored wefts may be
introduced as desired, and combinations may thus be formed to produce
designs of the most complicated nature.
Pile fabrics, cut, uncut, and tufted, represent a type quite distinct
from those produced on the ordinary fancy loom just described, and, in
the form of velvets, imitation animal skins, and Brussels carpet, were
almost unknown prior to the invention of Samuel Bigelow of Boston, in
1837. Fabrics of this character, if made at all, were the products of
tedious hand methods, and on account of the consequent high price were
the exclusive property of the very wealthy. Carpets with pile surface
had been made by the Persians and Turks ages ago, by tying pieces
of woolen yarn around longitudinal or warp threads, and binding the
whole together by a weft at intervals; and such tufts, being carefully
selected as to color, were made to present rich designs, but, like all
other hand-produced fabrics, these were the property of the few.
The pile fabric loom of Bigelow opened the way for an advance
in the carpet industry which continues to the present time; its
ultimate effect being to place carpets within the reach of the
humble cottager; and floors which were strewn with brush, or at best
concealed by the home-made rag carpet, now became covered by a soft
and beautifully figured fabric. This loom was a practical machine,
and at once commended itself to the manufacturer. It consisted of the
old power-loom provided with a Jacquard, already well understood, to
which was added an attachment to introduce wires at intervals as false
weft, and bind the warp around them by the usual weft threads. The
wires being withdrawn after a few shots had been woven, left the warp
loops standing, and these loops being formed under the dictates of the
Jacquard, any character of beautiful design could be produced. Velvets,
brocades, even the fine imitation of sealskin, are the simple products
of this form of power-loom when the pile loops are cut. Greater
cheapness in weaving cut pile fabrics has been secured by a slight
modification in the Bigelow loom, so that two fabrics could be woven
at one time. This idea was introduced about 1850, and it contemplated
weaving the two fabrics face to face, keeping them separated by the
usual pile wires of Bigelow, and passing the pile threads from one
fabric to the other. Upon cutting the two cloths apart through the
threads uniting them, two cut pile or velvet fabrics resulted. This
loom required the service of two shuttles and double the number of
warp-beams, but it worked well, and is to-day largely in use and well
adapted to its purpose.
[Illustration: SMITH AND SKINNER LOOM FOR MOQUETTE CARPETS.]
The demand for tufted pile fabrics, meaning those in which the pile is
formed from tufts or yarns, individually tied to the foundation fabric,
and of which the rich Turkish and Persian rugs are examples, had not
been met by the Bigelow loom; in fact it was only about forty years
ago that the mechanical production of such fabrics became possible.
Smith and Skinner were the pioneers to enter this field, and the
first, by the aid of machinery, to compete with the cheap hand-labor
of the orientals. The invention of a machine that will select any
desired color from a large number of yarns, carry it between the
warp-threads at the exact spot necessary to form the figure, tie it
around these threads, cut it off to the length necessary to form an
even and smooth surface, return the unused portion to place, and do
all quickly, accurately, and with little cost, is an achievement that
may rightly claim the admiration of the industrial world. Yet this
is what the machine inaugurated by Smith and Skinner does to-day. The
general movements and complicated parts of the power-loom are present
as for weaving a plain fabric, and on beams or large spools carried by
a chain, under the control of a pattern, are arranged the tuft yarns,
in the order in which they should appear in the figure. Through the
pattern devices the proper spool or beam is brought into position to be
seized by a pair of fingers which rise, take the spool from the chain,
lower it to the warp, pass the ends of the tuft yarn through and around
the proper warp thread, hold them till the insertion of a binding weft,
then, when they have been properly cut to length, return the spool into
its place in the chain. This creation of mechanical genius takes rank
with the wonders of the spinning mule and, like that machine, passes
through its entire operation with the _precision of an automaton_. By
its aid close imitations of the oriental hand-made rugs are placed
before the world at one quarter the former price, and, as a result, the
fine moquette and axminster carpets lend their beauty to nearly every
home in the land.
The credit for improving the power-loom so as to adapt it for weaving
fancy cassimeres and suitings, belongs to William Crompton, a native of
England, who came to the United States in 1836, and shortly thereafter,
in the Middlesex Mills at Lowell, Mass., constructed and operated
the first fancy cassimere power-loom, not only in this country, but
in the world. Prior to this the harness for all woolen and worsted
power-looms was worked by cams, and the cloth was woven plain; but
Crompton’s loom of 1840 started a new era in the woolen industry,
rendering it possible to produce any fancy weave by an arrangement of
pattern chain and large number of harnesses in connection with the
change shuttle-boxes. Improvements followed, by the substitution of the
reverse shuttle-box motion in 1854, the perfection of the general loom
structure in 1857, the addition of the upright lever harness motion in
1864, and the centre-stop in 1879, so that at the present time this
machine is adapted to run at high speeds and weave at moderate cost the
most complicated designs in woolen and worsted—such as shawls, checks,
suitings, and all forms of fancy cassimeres.
The general industrial activity in all matters pertaining to textile
manufacture between the years 1835 and 1860, brought forth many forms
of looms of special adaptation to meet the increasing demands of
society. The narrow-ware loom appeared in the third decade of this
century, and the addition of the dobbie, or Jacquard, later, equipped
this loom for the simultaneous production of several ribbons, or
narrow fabrics, side by side, having plain or figured effect. The lay
was divided into several reed spaces, and a corresponding number of
shuttles, operated by rack and pinion, carried the weft-threads through
the adjacent warp.
About the middle of this century, and until the adoption of the more
rich and delicate fabrics, hair-cloth was the accepted covering for
furniture, and power-looms for its production quickly answered the
demand. They reached such a degree of perfection and efficiency in this
country that almost the entire industry was centred here. This fabric
was made from the hair of horses’ tails as weft, and a strong cotton
warp; and as the weft could not be wound upon bobbins, as usual, each
separate hair was inserted by an ingenious device made to reciprocate
through the shed, and select one out of a bundle of hairs cut to the
same length. The conception of a power device capable of the delicate
operation necessary to weave hair-cloth, could never have been realized
except in a highly intelligent manufacturing community; but in 1870,
Rhode Island alone produced on such machines over 600,000 yards,
consuming thereby the hair of about eight hundred thousand horse-tails.
[Illustration: CIRCULAR LOOM.]
The evolution of the lappet loom started between 1840 and 1850 in
England and Germany. It sought to enhance the pleasing effect of plain
fabrics, by placing an embroidered or raised figure over the surface
during the weaving process. Near the lower edge of ladies’ skirts,
on the ends of neckties and like articles, an embroidered effect was
desirable; and this has been secured by the lappet attachment to
the present power-loom. In this a needle is mounted in appropriate
location, usually back of the lay, and through an eye in the end
thereof the lappet thread is led from a suitable supply. This needle
is normally either above or below the warp. When a spot or figure is
wanted, it is caused to move into the plane of the opposite warps
of the shed, under the direction of suitable controlling pattern
mechanisms. The shuttle being then shot, the lappet thread appears
upon the surface, and it may be made to thus appear as often as
desired; its position being shifted as necessary under the guidance of
a pattern-chain to form, in embroidery effect, any character of small
design.
Closely allied to the lappet loom in the effect produced is the
swivel-shuttle loom, which has come extensively into use during the
last thirty years to supply demands for spotted or embroidered figures.
The loom is of the plain type, having small swivel-shuttles movable
in carrier blocks, which are secured to the supporting bar near the
top of the lay-reed, in convenient location to permit the shuttles
to be depressed into the shed. Each swivel-shuttle is provided with
a rack engaging a suitable operating pinion to move the shuttles
simultaneously from one carrier to the next. Normally these shuttles
are held above the warp plane, and the loom in this condition weaves
tabby or twill. At the desired moment, the supporting-bar is lowered by
a cam or Jacquard to bring the shuttles in the shed; the shuttles are
moved from one carrier to the next adjacent, and then all are raised to
their normal position above the warp. The ground weft is laid and the
beat-up takes place. Repetition develops a spot or figure at intervals
across the entire fabric, and with the use of different colored
swivel-threads the greatest diversity of embroidered effect is secured
over the entire ground. Some of the most beautiful spotted silks for
ladies’ dresses and fancy scarfs, never before contemplated, are now
woven on this loom at prices that are very moderate for such a class of
goods.
A radical departure from the paths traveled by prior inventors was
inaugurated about 1859, in adapting the power-loom for weaving tubular
fabrics, resulting twenty years later in perfecting a machine in which
the warp threads were arranged in circular series and the weft laid in
the circular shed by a continuously moving shuttle. Fire-hose and like
tubular cloths resulted. Rapid development continued from the middle
of the present century, so that nearly every conceivable form of loom,
from the light running plain fabric and gingham looms to the heavy
structures for weaving canvas and wire cloth, claimed the attention
of the inventor; and in this last decade of the century looms are
constructed to weave anything that can be woven. Wire, slats, cane,
straw, and glass, as well as the light fibres of cotton, wool, or silk,
are now easily manipulated on the power-loom and woven into cloths,
mattings, baskets, cane-seats for furniture, bottle-covers, and ever so
many irregular forms that, in the dormant condition of this industry
prior to the nineteenth century, were quite beyond consideration of the
most active enthusiast of the art.
Wonderful as these achievements have been, the restless ambition of
inventive genius remains unsatisfied. Improvements continue—especially
in the United States, under the fostering care of a liberal patent
system—and attempts are now being made, and with success, to form
the power-loom into a thoroughly automatic machine incapable of
producing any but the best quality of cloth. Upon the breakage or
undue slackening of a warp thread, the loom would continue to weave
and produce imperfect fabric until the attendant had pieced the broken
end or adjusted the slack thread. Means were devised some years ago
to remedy this defect, but with only partial success until near the
close of this century. Breakage or failure more often occurred in the
weft, however, and though the weft stop-motion successfully detected
the fault and stopped the loom, yet much valuable time was lost, and
constant attention was needed to supply new filling. Progressive
tendencies of the closing years of this decade have sought to meet this
difficulty. As a result, means are now provided whereby, on failure or
breakage of the weft, the loom discharges its imperfect filling from
the shuttle, supplies itself with a new weft from the hopper, places
it in the shuttle, and continues to weave. Such a loom provided with a
warp stop-motion is almost incapable of producing imperfect cloth, and
so long as the warps remain intact and the hopper is kept supplied with
weft-bobbins, it will continue to weave. In fact, in many mills of the
New England States these looms are now left to run during the dinner
hour without an attendant, and no imperfect cloth is produced.
Such machines are almost independent of human attention, yet they are
the evolution of the old-time hand loom. Just one hundred years ago
the hand loom, running at 40 or 50 picks to the minute, required the
watchful care of an expert weaver; in 1840, the same weaver could
“tend” from two to four power-looms running 100 to 120 picks; to-day he
oversees from 10 to 16 looms running from 150 to 200 picks.
[Illustration: THE FIRST KNITTING MACHINE. LEE.]
The homespun, with its old familiar butternut dye, has disappeared. The
spinning-wheel and loom no longer occupy a part of every home. In their
stead, the farmer, as he looks beyond the thriving cornfields, beholds
the reeking chimneys of a thousand mills as they proclaim the majesty
of the power machines. The fabrics produced are beautiful and varied in
design, and their cost so low as to excite wonder that such progress
could have been the result of one hundred years of industrial activity.
The emancipation of knitting, as a domestic occupation, dates from the
romantic experiences of William Lee, a subject of Queen Elizabeth,
of whom it is related that while watching the deft fingers of his
lady-love guide the knitting needle from loop to loop, conceived the
idea of performing the operation by mechanical means. It is a singular
coincidence also that the invention of this the first machine for
knitting purposes, like that of the power-loom for weaving, should have
emanated from the hands of a student and clergyman, unfamiliar with the
art.
Lee’s device was naturally crude. It contained only twelve needles,
arranged in a row with about seven or eight to the inch, but it
successfully formed a knitted web. Further progress in the art was
slow, on account of the strong opposition to all machines which seemed
likely to deprive the hand artisan of occupation. The Queen refused
to grant a patent to Lee for this reason, and knitting remained the
exclusive prerogative of women for many years. Like the spinning-wheel,
however, the hand knitting-needle beheld a rival, which in the
diversity of human wants was destined to create one of the great
industrial pursuits of the age.
Stockings, like all other garments, were first made by sewing together
pieces of linen, silk, cotton, or woolen cloth, resulting in a poorly
fitting article, prolific of uncomfortable seams. Knitting the entire
hose in a single piece by hand needles overcame these defects to an
extent, and the Lee machine opened the way for the production of such
articles on a scale that now furnishes the civilized world.
Lee’s machine produced a straight web which required to be cut and sewn
to shape; then to it was added the ribbing device and the narrowing and
widening attachment, to shape the web to fit the body without cutting;
but still a seam existed in the stocking where the edges united. In
1816, however, M. I. Brunel built a circular machine having an endless
row of needles, and in 1831, Timothy Bailey, of New York, applied power
to the knitting frame; the result being that at this time a tubular
seamless fabric could be produced on a power machine.