SUBSTITUTES FOR COTTON
On account of the high price of cotton various experiments have been
made in an effort to replace it with fiber from wood pulp, grasses,
leaves, and other plants.
=Wood Pulp.= A Frenchman has discovered a process, _la soyeuse_, of
making spruce wood pulp into a substitute for cotton. Although it is
called a substitute, the samples show that it takes dye, bleaching,
and finishing more brilliantly than the cotton fiber. It resists
boiling in water or caustic potash solution for some minutes, and does
not burn more quickly than cotton. The fiber can be made of any
length, as is also the case with artificial silk. The strength of the
yarn apparently exceeds cotton, and the cost of manufacture is much
lower. Arrangements are being made in Europe for the extensive
production of this fiber.
=Ramie.= Ramie or China grass is a soft, silky, and extremely strong
fiber. It grows in southwestern Asia, is cultivated commercially in
China, Formosa, and Japan, and is a fiber of increasing importance.
Ramie is a member of the nettle family and attains a height of from
four to eight feet. After the stalks are cleaned of a gummy substance,
insoluble in water, it is known as China grass, and is used in China
for summer clothing. In Europe and America by the use of modern
machinery and chemical processes the fiber is cleaned effectively and
cheaply. After it is bleached and combed it makes a fine silky fiber,
one-half the weight of linen, and three times stronger than hemp. It
is used in Europe to make fabrics that resemble silk, and is also used
in making underwear and velvets. With other fabrics it is employed as
a filling for woolen warps. It will probably be used widely in the
United States as soon as cheaper methods of cleaning are devised.
=Pineapple and Other Fibers.= Other fibers, of which that from the
pineapple is the most important, are used for textile purposes in
China, South America, parts of Africa, Mexico, and Central America.
Their use has not been extensive on account of high cost of
production. The silk from the pineapple is very light and of excellent
quality.
=Spun Glass.= When a glass rod is heated in a flame until perfectly
soft it can be drawn out in the form of very fine threads which may be
used in the production of handsome silky fabrics. Spun glass can be
produced in colors; but on account of the low elasticity of these
products, their practical value is small, though the threads are
exceedingly uniform and have beautiful luster. Spun glass is used by
chemists for filtering strong acid solutions.
A kind of glass wool is produced by drawing out to a capillary thread
two glass rods of different degrees of hardness. On cooling they curl
up, in consequence of the different construction of the two
constituent threads.
=Metallic Threads.= Metallic threads have always been used for
decorating, particularly in rich fabrics. Fine golden threads, as well
as silver gilt threads, and silver threads and copper wire, have been
used in many of the so-called Cyprian gold thread fabrics, so renowned
for their beauty and permanence in the Middle Ages. These threads are
now produced by covering flax or hemp threads with a gilt of fine
texture.
=Slag Wool.= Slag wool is obtained by allowing molten slag (generally
from iron) to run into a pan fitted with a steam injector which blows
the slag into fibers. The fibers are cooled by running them through
water, and the finished product is used as a packing material.
=Asbestos.= Asbestos is a silicate of magnesium and lime, containing
in addition iron and aluminum. It is found in Savoy, the Pyrenees,
Northern Italy, Canada, and some parts of the United States. Asbestos
usually occurs in white or greenish glassy fibers, sometimes combined
in a compact mass, and sometimes easily separable, elastic, and
flexible. Canadian asbestos is almost pure white, and has long fibers.
Asbestos can be spun into fine thread and woven into rope or yarn, but
as it is difficult to spin these fibers alone, they are generally
mixed with a little cotton, which is afterwards disposed of by heating
the finished fabric to incandescence. Because of its incombustible
nature asbestos is used where high temperatures are necessary, as in
the packing of steam joints, steam cylinders, hot parts of machines,
and for fire curtains in theatres, hotels, etc. It is difficult to
dye.
APPENDIX
=Testing Textile Fabrics.= This is an age of adulteration, and next to
food there is probably no commodity that is adulterated as much as the
clothing we wear. Large purchasers of textile fabrics and various
administrative bodies, such as army clothing departments, railway
companies, etc., have adopted definite specifications to ensure having
good material and workmanship. Before the fabrics are accepted they
are examined carefully by certain tests to see if they meet the
requirements. Wholesale and retail merchants insist on various
conditions when purchasing fabrics in order to conform to the
increasing needs of the public. Hence every manufacturer, buyer, or
dealer in fabrics should be familiar with the tests used to determine
the quality of goods he is about to buy.
The tests used are as follows:
1. Identification of the style of weaving.
2. Testing the breaking strength and the elasticity by the dynamometer.
3. Determining the "count" of warp and filling.
4. Determining the shrinkage.
5. Testing the constituents of warp and of filling.
6. Testing the finish and dressing materials.
7. Testing the fastness of the dye.
=Directions for Determining the Style of Weave.= In examining a
fabric for the weave it is first necessary to determine the direction
of the warp and filling threads. This is a very simple matter in a
great many fabrics that have a selvedge--the warp must be parallel to
the selvedge.
In fabrics that have been fulled, raised, and cropped, as buckskin,
flannel, etc., the direction of the nap will indicate the direction of
the warp, since the nap runs in this direction.
In the case of fabrics with doubled and single threads, the doubled
threads are always found in the warp.
In fabrics composed of cotton and woolen threads running in different
directions, the cotton yarn usually forms the warp and the woolen yarn
the filling. Then again the warp threads of all fabrics are more
tightly twisted than the filling threads, and are separated at more
regular intervals.
Sometimes in stiffened or starched goods threads running in only one
direction can be seen. In this case they are the warp threads.
If one set of threads appears stiffer and straighter than the other,
the former may be regarded as warp, while the rough and crooked
threads are the filling. The yarn also gives one a hint, since the
better, longer, and higher number material constitutes the warp, while
the thicker yarn the filling.
The direction of the twist of the thread is conclusive; if one set has
a strong right twist and the other a left twist the first is the warp.
After determining the direction of the warp and filling, the next
point is to determine the interlacing of the warp and filling
threads--the weave. This may be done by inspection or by means of a
pick-glass and needle. The weave may be plotted on design paper
(plotting paper), the projecting warp threads being indicated by
filling up the corresponding square, and leaving those referring to
the filling threads blank. In this way the weaving pattern of the
sample is obtained, and serves as a guide to the weaver in making the
fabric, as well as for the preparation of the pattern cards for the
Jacquard loom.
=Testing the Strength and Elasticity of a Fabric.= The old-fashioned
plan of testing cloth by tearing it by the hand is unreliable, because
tearing frequently requires only a certain skilled knack whereby the
best material can be pulled in two. In this way an experienced man may
tell good from bad cloth, but he cannot determine slight differences
in quality, because he has exerted his strength so often that his
capacity to distinguish the actual force has disappeared.
The best means of determining the strength of a fabric is by means of
a mechanical dynamometer,[19] which expresses the tensile strength of
the fabric in terms of weight. The machine is very useful to the
manufacturer because it enables him to compare accurately his various
products with those of his competitors. The value of these tests is
sufficiently proved by the fact that all army clothing departments,
etc., require their supplies of cloth, etc., to pass a definite test
for strength.
Breaking tests also afford the most certain proof to bleachers of
cotton and linen goods as to whether the bleaching has burned or
weakened the goods. The same test will quickly determine whether a
fabric has been improperly treated in the laundry.
=Determining the Count of Warp and Filling Threads.= Every fabric must
contain a certain count of warp and filling threads--a definite number
within a certain space for each strength of yarn employed. A fabric is
not up to the standard of density when less than the requisite number
of warp or filling threads per inch is found. For example, if a buyer
was told that a fabric is 80 square, that is, eighty warp threads and
eighty filling threads to the inch, and on examination found only 72
square, he would immediately reject the goods.
The count of warp and filling is determined by means of a
pick-glass--a small mounted magnifying glass--the base of which
contains an opening of one-half inch by one quarter inch, or one
quarter inch by one quarter inch. If the pick-glass is placed on the
fabric the number of warp and filling threads may be counted, and the
result multiplied by either two or four, so as to give the number of
threads to the inch. For example, if I count twenty picks and twenty
threads on a one quarter-inch edge, there are eighty picks and eighty
threads to the inch. A more accurate result can be obtained by using a
pick-glass with a one-inch opening.
=Determination of Shrinkage.= A very important factor in the value of
a fabric is the shrinkage. The extent of this may be determined by
pouring hot water over a sample of about twelve by twenty inches, and
leaving the fabric immersed over night, then drying it at a moderate
temperature without stretching. The difference in length gives the
shrinkage, which is usually expressed in percentage.
=Determination of Weight.= Buyers and sellers of dry goods, when
traveling, are anxious to determine the weight of fabrics they
examine. This may be done by means of small pocket balances so
constructed as to give the number of ounces to the yard of a fabric.
=Testing the Constituents of the Warp and Filling.= Take a sample
piece of the cloth to be examined--the piece must be large enough to
contain specimens of all the different kinds of yarn present in the
material--and separate all the filling and warp threads. Be sure that
all double threads are untwisted.
=Combustion Test; Test for Vegetable and Animal Fibers.= Burn
separately a sample of the untwisted warp and filling threads. If one
or both burn quickly without a greasy odor, they are vegetable fibers,
cotton or linen. If one or both burn slowly and give off a greasy
odor, they are animal fibers, wool or silk. This test is not
conclusive, and further chemical examination--acid test--must be made
to ascertain whether wool is pure or mixed with cotton.
=Acid Test.= The vegetable fibers, cotton and linen, are distinguished
from those of animal origin by their behavior in the presence of
acids and alkalies. The vegetable are insoluble when boiled with a 4
per cent sodium hydrate solution, but readily clear or carbonize when
saturated with a 3 per cent sulphuric acid solution and allowed to dry
at a high temperature in a hot closet. Wool on the other hand is not
affected by the action of weak sulphuric acid.
=Cotton Distinguished from Linen.= If the fibers are vegetable, cotton
may be distinguished from linen by staining the fibers with fuchsine.
If the fibers turn red, and this coloration disappears on the addition
of ammonia, they are cotton, if the red color remains the fibers are
linen. Whenever cotton yarn is used to adulterate other fabrics, it
wears shabby and loses its brightness. When it is used to adulterate
linen, it becomes fuzzy through wear. One may detect it in linen by
rolling the goods between thumb and finger. Linen is a heavier fabric,
and wrinkles much more readily than cotton. It wears better, and has
an exquisite freshness that is not noticed in cotton fabrics.
=Silk Distinguished from Wool.= Place the fabric or threads containing
animal fibers in cold, concentrated hydrochloric acid. If silk is
present it will dissolve, while wool merely swells.
=Artificial Silk from Silk.= On account of the low value of the
artificial and the high value of genuine silk, there is a tendency to
offer the artificial instead of the pure article. Test: When
artificial silk is boiled in 4 per cent potassium hydrate solution it
produces a yellow solution, while pure silk gives a colorless
solution.
A common test is to put the artificial silk in water, where it will
pull apart as though rotten; or to take out one strand of the silk,
hold it between the finger and thumb of each hand and wet the middle
of the strand with the tongue, when it will pull apart as though
rotten.
Artificial silk is inferior in strength and elasticity to pure silk.
Then again it is lacking in the crackling feeling noticed in handling
the genuine article.
=Test for Shoddy.= It is no easy matter to detect shoddy in woolen
fabrics; the color of the shoddy threads is the best evidence. Many
parcels of rags are of one single color, but for the most part they
are made of various colored wools; therefore, if on examination of a
fabric with a magnifying glass a yarn of any particular color is found
to contain a number of individual fibers of glaring colors, the
presence of shoddy can be assumed with certainty.
Woolen goods containing cotton are seldom made from natural wool.
Shoddy yarns, especially in winter goods, are found in the
under-filling at the reverse side of the cloth, as thick, tightly
twisted yarns, curlier than those from the pure wool.
=Determination of the Dressing.= During the various operations of
washing, bleaching, etc., the goods lose in weight, and to make up
this deficit a moderate amount of dressing or loading is employed.
Dressing is not regarded as an adulteration, but as an embellishment.
Various dressing materials are used, such as starch, flour, mineral
matters, to give the goods stiffness and feel on one hand, and on the
other to conceal defects in the cloth, and to give a solid appearance
to goods of open texture. The mineral substances used serve chiefly
for filling and weighting, and necessitate the employment of a certain
quantity of starch, etc. In order that the latter may not render the
cloth too stiff and hard, further additions of some emollient, such as
glycerine, oils, etc., are necessary.
When a fabric filled in this manner is placed in water and rubbed
between the hands, the dressing is removed, and the quantity employed
can be easily determined.
By holding fabrics before the light dressing will be recognized, and
such goods, if rubbed between the fingers, will lose their stiffness.
Loading is revealed by the production of dust on rubbing, and by the
aid of the magnifying glass it can be easily ascertained whether the
covering or dressing is merely superficial or penetrates into the
substance of the fabric.
=The tests of permanence of dyes on fabrics are as follows:=
=Washing Fastness.= Fabrics should stand mechanical friction as well
as the action of soap liquor and the temperature of the washing
operation. In order to test the fabric for fastness a piece should be
placed in a soap solution similar to that used in the ordinary
household, and heated to 131 degrees F. The treatment should be
repeated several times. If the color fails to run it is fast to
washing.
=Fastness Under Friction.= Stockings, hosiery yarns, corset stuffs,
and all fabrics intended to be worn next to the skin must be
permanent under friction, and must not rub off, stain, or run, that
is, the dyed materials must not give off their color when worn next to
the human epidermis (skin), or in close contact with colored articles
of clothing, as in the case of underwear.
The simplest test is to rub the fabric or yarn on white unstarched
cotton fabric. In comparing the fastness of two fabrics it is
necessary to have the rubbing equal in all cases.
=Resistance to Perspiration.= With fabrics coming in contact with the
human skin it is necessary in addition to fastness under friction that
they should withstand the excretions of the body. The acids of
perspiration (acetic, formic, and butyric) often become so
concentrated that they act on the fiber of the fabric.
In order to test the fabric for resistance, place the sample in a bath
of 30 per cent dilute acetic acid (one teaspoonful to a quart of
water) warmed to the temperature of the body, 98.6 degrees F. The
sample should be dipped a number of times, and then dried without
rinsing between parchment paper.
=Fastness against Rain.= Silk and woolen materials for umbrella
making, raincoats, etc., are expected to be rainproof. These fabrics
are tested by plaiting with undyed yarns and left to stand all night
in cold water.
=Resistance to Street Mud and Dust.= Ladies' dress goods are expected
to withstand the action of mud and dust. In order to test a fabric for
this resistance the sample should be moistened with lime and water
(10 per cent solution), dried, and brushed. Or sprinkle with a 10 per
cent solution of soda, drying, brushing, and noting any changes in
color.
=Fastness to Weather, Light, and Air.= Various people have attempted
to set up standard degrees of fastness--for every shade of color is
affected by the action of sun, light, and air--and as a result fabrics
that remain without appreciable alteration for a month of exposure to
direct summer sunlight are classified as "fast," and those undergoing
slight appreciable change under the same conditions as "fairly fast."
"Moderately fast" colors are those altering considerably in fourteen
days; and those more or less completely faded in the same time
(fourteen days) are designated as "fleeting."
=Directions for testing fastness of Color in Sunlight.= Cover one end
of the sample of cloth with a piece of cardboard. Expose the fabric to
the sunlight for a number of days and examine the cloth each day in
the dark and notice whether the part exposed has changed in color when
compared with the part covered. Count the number of days it has taken
the sunlight to change the color.
Brown in woolen materials is likely to fade. Brown holds
its color in all gingham materials.
Dark blue is an excellent color for woolens and
ginghams. Light blues on the other hand usually change.
Black, gray, and black with white. These colors are very
satisfactory for woolen materials.
Black is not a color which wears very well with cotton
fabrics, as it shows the starch (sizing) and often
fades.
Red is an excellent color for all woolen materials. It
looks attractive and wears well.
Red is a very poor color for cotton. It loses its
brilliancy and frequent washing spoils it.
A deep pink is an excellent color for all ginghams for
it fades evenly and leaves a pretty shade.
Green is a poor color for both cotton and woolen
materials unless it is high priced.
Lavender fades more than any other color in textiles.
HISTORY OF TEXTILES
The three fundamental industries that have developed from necessity
are the feeding, sheltering, and clothing of the human race. These
primary wants were first gratified before such conveniences as
transportation and various lines of manufacture were even considered.
Next to furnishing our food supply, the industry of supplying clothing
is the oldest and the most widely diffused. It is in the manufacture
of textiles--including all materials used in the manufacturing of
clothing--that human ingenuity is best illustrated.
The magnitude of the textile industry in the United States is evident
when we consider that it gives employment to a round million of
people, paying them nearly five hundred million dollars annually in
wages and salaries, producing nearly one and three-quarters billion
dollars in gross value each year, and giving a livelihood to at least
three millions of our population.
Wool, cotton, flax, and silk have been used since early times. Even in
the earlier days these fibers were woven with great skill. It is not
known which fiber was the first to be used in weaving. It is probable,
however, that the possession of flocks and herds led to the spinning
and weaving of wool before cotton, flax, or silk fibers were thus
used.
=Wool.= The date at which prehistoric man discarded the pelt of skins
for the woven fabric of wool marks the origin of the textile industry.
Primitive sheep were covered with hair and the wool which now
characterizes them was then a downy under-coat. As time went on and
the art of spinning and weaving developed, the food value of sheep
decreased, while the wool value increased. The hairy flocks were bred
out, and the sheep with true wool, like the merino, survived. Sheep
were bred principally for the wool and not for the mutton. Woolen
fabrics were worn by the early inhabitants of Persia and Palestine.
The Persians were noted for the excellent fabrics they wove from wool.
Even the Hebrews of an early date were very skilful in weaving
woolens.
The early Romans were a race of shepherds and the women of the higher
classes wove the cloth in their own homes. When Caesar invaded
England, he found in the southern part of the island people acquainted
with the spinning and weaving of wool and linen. With the downfall of
Rome, the art of weaving cloth in Europe was almost lost, and people
again wore furs and skins.
By the end of the eleventh century English cloth manufacturing had
begun to revive. In the northern part of Italy certain Italians had
flocks of sheep and obtained very fine wool, and the people of
Flanders continued to develop skill in weaving during the Dark Ages.
In the twelfth century the woolen manufacturers of Flanders had grown
to be of great importance, and some of the finest goods were shipped
from there to many countries.
In England, up to the time of Edward III, in the fourteenth century,
the wool produced was exported to the Netherlands, there to be woven
into cloth. Edward III invited many of the Flemish weavers to come to
England to teach the English people how to make their own clothes.
Edward was called the "Royal Wool Merchant" and also the "Father of
English Commerce." During Elizabeth's reign in the sixteenth century
the chief article of export was woolen cloth. In 1685 the Huguenots,
who were driven from France, went to England to settle. These people
were noted for their skill in weaving.
Patient effort in care and breeding of sheep showed a steady increase
in the quantity and quality of wool until 1810, and the proportion of
sheep to the population was then greater than at the present time.
Our own climate is highly favorable for sheep breeding, and it is
certain that the American sheep has no superior in any wool growing
country, in constitutional vigor and strength of wool-fiber, and no
wools make more durable or more valuable clothing.
The obstacles to sheep husbandry in certain parts of the United
States, like New England, are mainly climatic. The natural home of the
only races of sheep which can be herded in large flocks is an elevated
tableland, like the steppes of Russia and the great plains of Asia,
Argentina, Montana, Wyoming, and others of our western states where
an open air range is possible for nearly twelve months in the year. In
these elevated lands there are grasses which are more nutritious in
winter than in summer. The climate of New England does not permit the
growth of such grasses. Every grass which will grow in New England
becomes in the cold months frozen wood fiber. Then again there is the
frigid and penetrating atmosphere which necessitates housing the sheep
in winter, and these animals cannot be closely housed without
engendering a variety of parasitic diseases.
=Cotton.= Long before history was written, cotton was used in making
fabrics in India and China. Cotton has been for thousands of years the
leading fabric of the East. The Hindoos have for centuries maintained
almost unapproachable perfection in their cotton fabrics. It was the
Arabian caravans that brought Indian calicoes and muslins into Europe.
Cotton was first cultivated in Europe by the Moors in Spain in the
ninth century. In 1430 it was imported into England in large
quantities. The section of England about Manchester became in time the
seat of the great cotton industry; this was due to the settlement of
spinners and weavers from Flanders.
During the reign of Elizabeth, the East Indies Trading Company was
established. Not only was cotton imported, but also India muslins.
This caused trouble because of the decrease in the demand for woolen
goods manufactured in England. A law was passed prohibiting the
importing of cotton goods and later the manufacturing of them, but
this law was repealed on account of the great demand for cotton
materials.
Columbus found cotton garments worn by the natives of the West Indies.
Later Cortez found that cotton was used in Mexico; hence, cotton is
indigenous to America. In 1519 Cortez made the first recorded export
of cotton from America to Europe.
In 1734 cotton was planted in Georgia. Bales of cotton were sent to
England, and the manufacturing of cloth was soon under way. While the
colonies were trying to gain independence, England imposed a fine on
anyone sending cotton machinery to America, and restrictions were put
on manufacturing and imports of any kind. After the War of
Independence many of the southern states began to raise cotton in
larger quantities.
The invention of the cotton-gin by Eli Whitney was one of the great
inventions of the age. While only two pounds of cotton could be seeded
by hand by one person in a day, the gin made it possible to do several
hundred pounds. At the time of the Civil War the greater part of the
cotton used by English manufacturers was imported from the southern
states. The closing of the southern ports during the war affected the
cotton industry throughout the world. Large mills in England were
closed, and thousands of people were out of employment. Steps were
then taken to encourage people of India, Egypt, Central and South
America to increase their production of cotton, and from that time on,
cotton from these countries has been found in the general market.
Cotton is now cultivated in nearly all countries within the limits 45°
north and 35° south of the equator.
At the present time the United States ranks first in the production
and export of cotton. Of all the states, Texas and Georgia produce the
largest amount. About one-third of the entire crop is used in our own
mills; $250,000,000 worth of cotton is annually exported, principally
through New Orleans, New York, Savannah, and Galveston. Three-fifths
of this quantity goes to mills in England; Germany, France, and
Switzerland take a large part of the remainder.
The value of cotton is shown by the fact that about one-half the
people of the earth wear clothing made entirely of cotton, and the
other half (with the exception of some savage tribes) use it in part
of the dress.
=Linen.= Linen has always been held in great esteem. The garments of
the Egyptian, Hebrew, Greek, and Roman priests were made of the finest
linen.
During the Middle Ages, Italy, Spain, and France were celebrated for
their linen fabrics. Religious intolerance in France drove 300,000 of
her best textile workers into England, Ireland, and Scotland. Irish
linen weaving began as early as the eleventh century.
Linen has never been largely woven in America except in the coarser
forms of crash and toweling, although linen weaving was one of the
Puritan domestic industries. The reason America has not been able to
equal Europe in its production of fine linens is because the process
for separating the fiber from the stalk requires the cheapest form of
labor to make it profitable, hence most of the American-grown flax is
raised only for seed.
=Silk.= Silk was used in the East as a fabric for the nobility. It was
first used in China and later in India. It was brought into Europe
about the sixth century. Up to that time the Chinese had a monopoly of
the industry. By the tenth and eleventh centuries silk fabrics were
made in Spain and Italy. At the close of the sixteenth century silk
was being produced at Lyons, France. It was afterwards introduced into
England, and the English silk for a long time replaced the French in
the European market.
HISTORY OF THE ORGANIZATION OF TEXTILE INDUSTRIES
The development of the textile industry may be divided into four
stages or periods: first, the family system; second, the guild system;
third, the domestic system; and fourth, the factory system.
=The Family System.= Under the family system the work of spinning and
weaving was carried on by members of a household for the purpose of
supplying the family with clothing. There were no sales of the
product. Each class in society, from the peasant class to that of the
nobleman, had its own devices for making clothing. This was the system
that existed up to about the tenth century.
=The Guild System.= As communities became larger and cities sprang up,
the textile industry became more than a family concern. There was a
demand for better fabrics, and to meet this demand it became
necessary to have a large supply of different parts of looms. The
small weaver who owned and constructed his own loom was not able to
have all these parts, so he began to work for a more prosperous
weaver. The same conditions applied to spinning, and as early as 1740
spinning was carried on by a class distinct from the weavers. As a
result the small weaver was driven out by the growth of organized
capital, and a more perfect organization, called the guild system,
arose. By this system the textile industry was carried on by a small
group of men called masters, employing two, three or more men
(distinguished later as journeymen and apprentices). The masters
organized associations called guilds and dominated all the conditions
of the manufacture to a far greater extent than is possible under
present conditions.
It was the family system that existed in the American colonies at the
beginning of the settlement, and for many years after. The guild
system was not adopted in America because it was going out of
existence on the Continent.
=The Domestic Period.= By the middle of the eighteenth century the
textile industry began to break away from the guilds and spread from
cities to the rural districts. The work was still carried on in the
master's house, although he had lost the economic independence that he
had under the old guild system where he acted both as merchant and
manufacturer. He now received his raw material from the merchant and
disposed of the finished goods to a middleman, who looked after the
demands of the market.
=The Factory System.= The domestic period was in turn crowded out of
existence by the factory system. A factory is a place where goods are
produced by power for commercial use. The factory system first came
into prominence after the invention of the steam engine. No record has
been found showing its existence prior to this invention.
English weavers and spinners became very skilful and invented
different mechanical aids for the production of yarn and cloth. These
mechanical aids not only enabled one man to do twenty men's work, but
further utilization was made of water and steam power in place of
manual labor. Then began the organization of the industry on a truly
gigantic scale, combining capital and machinery and resulting in what
is known as the factory system.
Previous to the development of the factory system there was no reason
why any industry should be centered in one particular district. Upon
the utilization of steam power the textile industry became subdivided
into a number of industries, each one becoming to a great extent
localized in convenient and suitable portions of the country. Thus in
Bradford the wool of Yorkshire (England) meets the coal of Yorkshire
and makes Bradford the great woolen and worsted center of the world.
The same thing took place in Manchester, where the cotton of America
meets the coal of England under satisfactory climatic conditions, and
around Manchester is the greatest cotton manufacturing of the world.
The same is true in America. Lawrence became a large worsted center on
account of the great fall of water and the use of the river to deposit
wool washings. Lowell, Fall River, and New Bedford became large cotton
centers for similar reasons.
HISTORY OF MANUFACTURING
[Illustration: SPINNING WHORL
One of the earliest devices used for spinning]
=Spinning.= Spinning and weaving are two of the earliest arts
practised by man. Yarn for the making of cloth was spun in the
earliest times by the use of the distaff and spindle. The spindle was
a round stick of wood a foot or less in length, tapering at each end.
A ring of stone or clay was placed on the spindle to give it
steadiness and momentum when it revolved. At the top of the spindle
was a slit or notch in which the yarn was caught. The distaff was a
larger, stouter stick, around one end of which the material to be spun
was wound in a loose ball. The spinner fixed the end of the distaff
under her left arm so that the coil of material was in a convenient
position for drawing out to form the yarn. The end of the yarn, after
being prepared, was inserted in the notch, and the spindle was set in
motion by rolling it with the right hand against the leg. Then the
spinner drew from the distaff an additional amount of fiber, which
was formed by the right hand into uniform strands. After the yarn was
twisted, it was released from the notch and wound around the lower
part of the spindle.
In order to spin yarn by the primitive spinner, it was necessary for
the fiber to have sufficient length to enable it to be manipulated,
drawn over, and twisted by the fingers. It is noted that the yarns for
the gossamer-like Dacca muslins of India were so fine that one pound
of cotton was spun into a thread 253 miles long. This was accomplished
with the aid of a bamboo spindle not much bigger than a darning
needle, which was lightly weighted with a pellet of clay. Since such a
slender thread could not support even the weight of so slight a
spindle, the apparatus was rotated upon a piece of hollow shell. It
thus appears that the primitive spinners with distaff and spindle had
nothing to learn in point of fineness from even the most advanced
methods of spinning by machinery.
[Illustration: HAND SPINNING
From a Fourteenth Century MS. in the British Museum]
Certain rude forms of the spinning wheel seem to have been known from
time immemorial. The use of the wheel in Europe cannot, however, be
dated back earlier than the fifteenth century. In the primitive wheel
the spindle, having a groove worked in its whorl, was mounted
horizontally in a framework fixed to the end of a bench. A band
passed around the whorl and was carried around a large wheel fixed
farther back on the bench, and this wheel, being turned by the hand of
the spinner, gave a rapid rotation to the spindle.
[Illustration: AN ANCIENT LOOM
From an Egyptian Monument]
The fibers to be spun were first combed out by means of carding
boards--an implement of unknown antiquity, consisting of two boards
with wire teeth set in them at a uniform angle. The fiber to be carded
was thinly spread upon one of the boards, and then the other was
pushed backward and forward across it, the teeth of the two
overlapping at opposite angles, until the fibers were combed out and
laid straight in parallel lines. The fibers were then scraped off the
boards in rollers or "cardings" about twelve inches long and
three-quarters of an inch in diameter. An end of the carding was then
attached to the spindle and the wheel set in motion. The carding
itself was held in the hand of the spinner and gradually drawn out and
twisted by the rotation of the spindle. As soon as a sufficient length
had been attenuated and twisted to the required fineness, the thread
so produced was held at right angles to the spindle and allowed to
wind up on it. But for fine spinning two operations of the wheel were
generally necessary. By the first spinning the fibers were drawn out
and slightly attenuated into what was called a roving, and by the
second spinning the roving itself passed through a similar cycle of
operations to bring it to the required degree of attenuation and
twist.
Many improvements in the primitive wheel were introduced from time to
time. In its later developments two spindles were employed, the
spinner being thus enabled to manipulate two threads at once, one in
each hand. This was the latest form of the spinning-wheel, and it
survived until it was superseded in the eighteenth century by the
great series of inventions which inaugurated the industrial revolution
and led in the nineteenth century to the introduction of the factory
system.
[Illustration: EARLIER SPINNING AND WEAVING
From a Fifteenth Century MS. in the British Museum]
=Weaving.= When or where man first began to weave cloth is not known,
nor is it known whether this art sprang from one common center or was
invented by many who dwelt in different parts of the world. There is
such a sameness in the early devices for spinning and weaving that
among some men of science it is thought that the art must have come
from a common center.
Fabrics were made on the farms two or three hundred years ago in the
following manner: the men of the household raised the flocks, while
the women spun the yarn and wove the fabrics. In this way the industry
prospered, giving occupation and income to thousands of the
agricultural class. You might say that in England fabrics were a
by-product of agriculture. As time went on, farmers of certain
sections of England became more expert in the art, and the weaving
became separated from the spinning. The weavers became clustered in
certain towns on account of the higher skill required for the finer
fabrics. The rough work of farming made the hands of the weaver less
skilful. This, coupled with the fact that the looms became more
complicated with improvements, called for a more experienced man.
Great inventions brought about a more rapid development of the
factory.
Richard Arkwright, who has been called the "father of the factory
system," built the first cotton mill in the world in Nottingham in
1769. The wheels were turned by horses. In 1771 Arkwright erected at
Crawford a new mill which was turned by water power and supplied with
machinery to accomplish the whole operation of cotton spinning in one
mill, the first machine receiving the cotton as it came from the bale
and the last winding the cotton yarn upon the bobbins. Children were
employed in this mill, as they were found to be more dexterous in
tying the broken ends. As the result of this great invention,
factories sprang up everywhere in England, changing the country scene
into a collection of factories, with tall chimneys, brick buildings,
and streets.
From 1730 to the middle of the nineteenth century the development of
inventions was rapid:
1730--First cotton yarn spun in England by machinery by
Wyatt.
1733--English patent granted John Kay for the invention
of the fly shuttle.
1738--Patent granted Lewis Paul for the spinning
machinery supposed to have been invented by Wyatt.
1742--First mill for spinning cotton built at
Birmingham; moved by asses; but not successful.
1748--Patent on a cylinder card as first used by hand,
granted Lewis Paul.
1750--Fly shuttle in general use in England.
1756--Cotton velvets and quiltings first made in
England.
1760--Stock cards first used for cotton by J. Hargreave.
Drop box invented by Kay.
1762-67--Spinning-jenny invented by Hargreave.
1769--Arkwright obtains his first patent on spinning.
1774--Bill passed in England to prevent the export of
cotton machinery.
1775--Second patent of Arkwright on carding, drawing,
and spinning.
1779--Mule spinning invented by Crompton. Peele's patent
on carding, roving, and spinning.
1782--Date of Watt's patent for the steam-engine.
1783--Bounty granted in England for the export of
certain cotton goods.
1785--Power loom invented by Cartwright. Cylinder
printing invented by Bell. A warp stop-motion described
in Cartwright's patent.
1788--First cotton factory built in the United States,
at Beverly.
1789--Sea Island cotton first planted in the United
States. Samuel Slater starts cotton machinery in New
York.
1790--First cotton factory built in Rhode Island by
Slater.
1792--First American loom patent granted to Kirk and
Leslie.
1794--Cotton-gin patented by Eli Whitney.
1801--Date given for invention of the Jacquard machine
in France.
1803--Dressing machine and warper invented in England by
Radcliffe, Ross, and Johnson.
1804--First cotton mill built in New Hampshire, at New
Ipswich.
1805--Power loom successfully introduced in England
after many failures.
1806--First cotton mill built in Connecticut, at
Pomfret.
1809--First cotton mill built in Maine, at Brunswick.
1812--First cotton mill built at Fall River.
1814--Cotton opener with lap attachment invented in
England by Creighton.
1815--Power loom introduced into the United States at
Waltham.
1816--First loom temple of Ira Draper patented in the
United States.
1818--Machinery for preparing sewing cotton invented in
England by Holt.
1822--First cotton factory erected at Lowell.
1823--Differential motion for roving frames patented by
Arnold. First export of raw cotton from Egypt to
England.
1824--Tube frame or speeder patented by Danforth.
1825--Self-acting mule patented in England by Roberts.
1828--Ring spinning patented by John Thorpe. Cap
spinning patented by Danforth.
1829--Revolving loom temple improvements patented by Ira
Draper.
1832--Stop-motion for drawing frames invented by
Bachelder.
1833--Ring spinning frames first built by William
Mason.
1834--Weft fork patented in England by Ramsbottom and
Hope. Shuttle-changing loom by Reid and Johnson.
1840--Automatic loom led off. Important temple
improvement.
1849--First cotton mill erected in Lawrence.
Through this great change from hand to power work, thousands were
thrown out of employment in the great textile centers, and much
suffering occurred, which led to the smashing of machinery.
=Knitting Machinery.= Like many other industries, the hosiery trade
owes its first and most important impetus to the genius of one who was
not connected with the business in a practical way. This event took
place when the Rev. William Lee invented the hand frame. He was
married early in life, and his wife was obliged, on account of the
slender family finances, to knit continuously at home. Struck with the
monotony and toil involved in knitting with the hand pins, Mr. Lee
evolved a means of knitting by machinery and brought out the hand
stocking-frame, which to-day preserves its chief features very much as
Lee invented them. When knitting by hand, one must form each loop
separately, and loop follows loop laboriously until the width of
fabric has been worked. Lee contrived to make the whole row of loops
across the width simultaneously by arranging a needle for each loop
and placing in connection with each needle a sinker and other
apparatus for completing the formation of the loop. First of all, the
yarn is laid over the needles, which are arranged horizontally, and
the sinkers come down on the yarn and cause it to form partial loops
between the needles. The old loops of the previous course are now
brought forward and the new yarn is drawn through them in the same way
as is done on the hand pins. Thus the new yarn of one course is drawn
through the loops of the preceding one, and so the whole fabric is
built up. This frame of Lee's held its own in the great centers until
some thirty years ago.
Lee's hand frame gave way to what is termed the jack and sinker rotary
frame, which was like the hand frame in its chief features, but with
the advantage that all the motions were brought about by power. The
various operations were put under the control of a set of cams[20] and
made to perform their movements in exactly the same way as in the case
of the hand frame. In the first power machine for knitting, the
machine builder used the cam mechanism, and in examining the latest
machines we find that he has persisted in this course throughout. The
cam movement is characterized by great smoothness of working and
absence of vibration, which is very necessary in a machine of the
delicate adjustment of the knitting frame. It is usual to connect some
of the parts with two of these cams, one of which controls the
up-and-down motion and the other the out-and-in movement. When these
two cams work in conjunction, we obtain all the possible degrees of
harmonic motion.
From the jack and sinker frame the next really important step was
taken when William Cotton brought out his famous Cotton's patent
frame. In his machine the frame was in a sense turned on its back, for
the parts, such as the needles, which had been horizontal, were made
vertical and _vice versa_. He also reduced the number of the moving
parts and perfected the cam arrangement. Another very important
development of the machine was when it was built in a number of
divisions so as to work a number of articles side by side at one time.
At present there are knitting frames which can make twelve full-sized
garments at one and the same time.
Another important improvement was effected when the fashioning
apparatus was supplied to the machine, by means of which the garments
could be shaped according to the human form by increasing or
decreasing the width as desired.
HISTORY OF LACE
Lace, like porcelain, stained glass, and other artistic things, has
always been an object of interest to all classes. Special patterns of
laces date from the sixteenth century. The church and court have
always encouraged its production. While the early lace work was
similar to weaving, in that the patterns were stiff and geometrical,
sometimes the patterns were cut out of linen, but with the development
of the renaissance of art, free flowing patterns and figures were
introduced and worked in.
The lace industry first took root in Flanders and Venice, where it
became an important branch of industry. Active intercourse was
maintained between the two countries, so that intense rivalry existed.
France and England were not behind Venice and Flanders in making lace.
The king of France, Henry III, encouraged lace work by appointing a
Venetian to be pattern maker for varieties of linen needlework and
lace for his court. Later, official aid and patronage were given to
this art by Louis V. Through the influence of these two men the demand
for lace was increased to such an extent that it became very popular.
Under the impulse of fashion and luxury, lace has received the stamp
of the special style of each country. Italy furnishes its Point of
Venice; Belgium its Brussels and Mechlin; France its Valenciennes,
etc.
Very little is known of the early lace manufacturers of Holland. The
laces of Holland were overshadowed by the richer products of their
Flemish neighbors. The Dutch, however, had one advantage over other
nations in their Haarlem thread, once considered the best thread in
the world for lace.
In Switzerland, the center of the lace trade, the work was carried on
to such a degree of perfection as to rival the laces of Flanders, not
alone in beauty, but also in quality.
Attempts have been made at various times, both during this century and
the last, to assist the peasantry of Ireland by instruction in
lace-making. The finest patterns of old lace were procured, and the
Irish girls showed great skill in copying them. Later a better style
of work, needlepoint, was modeled after old Venetian lace--the
exquisite productions for which Americans pay fabulous prices at the
present day.
The lace manufacturers of Europe experienced a serious set-back in
1818 when bobbinet was first made in France. Fashion, always fleeting,
adopted the new material. Manufacturers were forced to lower prices,
but happily a new channel for export was opened in the United States.
The machine-made productions of the Nottingham looms, as triumphs of
mechanical ingenuity, deserve great praise.
The first idea of the lace-making machine is attributed to a common
factory hand, Hammond Lindy, who, when examining the lace on his
wife's cap, conceived a plan by which he could copy it on his loom.
Improvements followed, and in 1810 a fairly good net was produced.
Perhaps the most delicate textile machine known, in its sensitiveness
to heat and cold, is a lace machine. A machine can be made to run in
any climate, provided it is so installed as to be protected from
either extreme of temperature.
The various substitutes for hand-made lace are legion; for what the
inventor cannot achieve in one way he can in another. There remains
however the fact that the productions of machinery can never possess
the charm of the real hand-made work. Machine-made lace is stiffer
than hand-made lace.
FOOTNOTES:
[19] The testing apparatus may be obtained from any textile
manufacturing company, such as Alfred Suter, 487 Broadway, New York.
[20] A cam is a device consisting of a special shaped wheel attached
to a machine to give a special kind of motion or movement.
EXPERIMENTS
=Experiment 1--Construction of Cloth=
Apparatus: Pick glass, dissecting pin,[21] foot-rule.
Materials: 4 square inches of burlap.
References: _Textiles._ See page 54, Weaving; page 1, Fibers.
_Directions_
1. Look at the cloth under the pick glass and describe the appearance
and structure of its interlacing threads, called weave.
2. With a pin separate the interlacing threads of the cloth which are
called _warp_ and _filling_. _Warp_ is composed of yarn running in the
direction of the length of the cloth. _Filling_ is composed of yarn
running at right angles to the warp.
_a._ What are the interlacing threads of cloth called?
_b._ Of what is warp composed and in what direction do
the warp threads extend? filling?
3. Notice the appearance of the individual threads (called _yarn_) of
the warp and filling. Test the strength of the yarn by trying to break
it.
4. Untwist one of the warp threads and one of the filling threads.
Notice whether the yarn becomes stronger or weaker as it is untwisted.
What effect has twist on the yarn?
5. After untwisting one of the threads what remains? Measure the
length of several of these ends called _fibers_. Describe the
appearance of the fiber as to curl, feel, fineness, etc.
_Questions_
1. Of what does yarn consist?
2. What causes the fibers to cling together?
3. What is the process called by which two sets of threads interlace?
4. When two sets of threads interlace or are woven what is produced?
=Experiment 2--Plain or Homespun Weave=
Apparatus: Hand loom,[22] two pencils, scissors.
Material: Yarn of two colors.
Reference: _Textiles_, page 58.
_Directions_
1. Make a warp on the hand loom with green yarn by having parallel
threads running the longest way of the loom to the notches.
2. A _harness_ is a framework on a loom used for raising certain warp
threads. Use a pencil as a harness and raise the 1st, 3d, and 5th warp
threads. A _shed_ will in this way be formed through which the shuttle
carrying the filling thread will pass. Use the red yarn for filling
and attach it at one end before passing it through the shed.
3. With a second pencil to act as a second harness raise the 2d, 4th,
and 6th warp threads. Pass the filling through the shed thus formed.
4. Repeat twice Directions 2 and 3.
5. Tie all ends, cut the woven sample away from the loom, and mount in
note-book.
_Questions_
1. What part of a loom is the harness?
2. What is meant by a shed?
3. What carries the filling thread through the shed on a loom?
4. What is the principle of plain weaving?
5. Name some fabrics produced by plain weaving? See _Textiles_, page
58.
=Experiment 3--Twill Weave=
Apparatus: Hand loom, four pencils, scissors.
Materials: White cotton warp, colored yarn filling.
Reference: _Textiles_, page 58.
_Directions_
1. On the hand loom make a warp by threading four white warp threads
to a notch until there are six sets of warp threads.
2. Using a pencil as a harness (See Exp. 2) raise the first thread of
each set of warp threads and pass the filling thread through the shed
thus formed.
3. With another pencil as a second harness raise the second thread of
each set of warp threads and pass the filling.
4. With a third pencil raise the third thread of each set of warp
threads and pass the filling.
5. With still another pencil to act as a fourth harness raise the
fourth thread of each set and again pass the filling.
6. Repeat the above directions (2 to 5) several times. Notice that the
moving of the filling thread, one warp thread to the left, each time
it is woven is causing a diagonal line or rib to form, called _twill_.
7. Cut the woven sample away from the loom and mount.
_Questions_
1. Why is this weave called a twill weave?
2. How is the diagonal line or twill formed?
3. Why would this kind of weaving be spoken of as 4-harness weave?
4. What popular dress fabric is of twill weave?
=Experiment 4--Comparison of Plain and Twill Weave=
Apparatus: Pick glass, dissecting pin, foot-rule.
Material: 4 sq. in. of burlap, 4 sq. in. of serge.
References: _Textiles_, pages 58, 59, 60.
_Directions_
1. Examine the burlap under the pick glass, noting the structure and
number of threads to the inch in the warp (called _ends_) and the
number of threads to the inch in the filling (called _picks_). Verify
with foot-rule.
2. Repeat the above, using serge.
_Questions_
1. What is meant by a number of "ends to the inch"? a number of "picks
to the inch"?
2. How many ends to the inch in the burlap? How many picks to the
inch?
3. How many ends to the inch in the serge? How many picks?
4. Note several differences between cloth produced by plain weaving
and cloth produced by twill weaving.
=Experiment 5--Pile Weave=
Apparatus: Hand loom, two pencils, scissors.
Materials: White cotton warp, filling yarn of two colors.
Reference: _Textiles_, page 62.
_Directions_
1. Thread the loom two warp threads to a notch until there are 20 ends
(warp threads).
2. Use a pencil as a harness. Raise the 1st, 3d, 5th, 7th, and 9th
sets of warp threads.
3. Fasten securely the green filling yarn at one end and pass it
through the shed formed by carrying out Direction 2. Draw the filling
thread tight and wind once or twice around the outside warp end.
4. Use a second pencil as a harness and raise the sets of warp threads
that are now down, forming a new shed.
5. Fasten the red filling yarn at one end and pass it through the
shed. Wind once or twice about the outside warp end.
6. Raise the red filling to form a loop in each place where it (the
red filling) has passed over a warp end.
7. Form a shed by raising the first harness and pass through the green
filling thread, drawing it tight to hold the red filling above it in
place. Wind about the outside warp end.
8. Repeat Directions 2-7 several times, each time raising the red
filling to form loops and each time drawing the green filling tight to
hold the red in place.
9. Cut with scissors the loops formed by raising the red filling.
10. As well as you can with scissors, shear the pile (the soft, thick
covering on the face) to make a fairly even surface.
11. Cut the sample away from the loom and mount.
_Questions_
1. What are some varieties of cloth that are woven with a pile
surface?
2. Sometimes the loops of the pile are cut and sometimes left as
loops. What fabrics are examples of cut pile? uncut pile?
3. What is meant by the _pile_ of velvet or carpet?
=Experiment 6--Other Classes of Weave=
Apparatus: Pick glass, dissecting needle.
Materials: Samples of satin, voile, lace curtaining, double cloth,
carpeting.
Reference: _Textiles_, pages 58-64.
_Satin Weave_
1. Examine the sample of satin under the pick glass. Notice that the
warp and filling interlace in such a way that there is no trace of the
diagonal on the face of the cloth.
_a._ Is satin of a close or loose weave?
_b._ What can you say of the surface of satin?
_c._ What effect has this smooth surface on light?
_d._ This is called a satin weave. Why?
_e._ What is the most extensive use of the satin weave?
(See _Textiles_, page 1.)
NOTE.--Sometimes fabrics of other weaves will have a satin stripe.
_Gauze Weave_
2. Examine the sample of voile under the pick glass. This is a type of
what is known as gauze weave.
_a._ What is the chief characteristic of the gauze
weave?
_b._ Name several gauze fabrics.
_Lappet Weave_
3. Examine a piece of lace curtaining under the pick glass.
_a._ If the fancy figures were not present, of what
weave would this sample be?
Simple figures are stitched into plainly woven or gauze
fabrics by machinery to imitate embroidery. This style
of weave is known as lappet weave.
_b._ On fabrics of what two weaves is lappet weaving
used?
_c._ What is lappet weaving?
_Jacquard Weave_
4. Examine a piece of carpet. Notice the elaborate designs or patterns
and the number of colors used. When the figures are elaborate they
cannot be stitched in by simple lappet weaving. A special attachment
called the _Jacquard_ apparatus is placed on top of the loom. This
apparatus controls the warp threads so that a great many sheds may be
formed and elaborate figures woven into fabrics. This is called
Jacquard weaving.
_a._ What must be added to a loom for Jacquard weaving?
_b._ What is the use of the Jacquard apparatus?
_c._ When is the Jacquard weave used instead of lappet
weave?
5. Read _Textiles_, page 61.
_Double Cloth Weave_
6. Examine the sample of double cloth. Notice that there are two
single cloths. They are combined into one by here and there lacing the
warp and filling of one cloth into the warp and filling of the other.
In this way they are fastened together securely.
_a._ What color is the sample on one side? the other?
_b._ Of what is double cloth composed?
_c._ How are the single cloths combined into one?
_d._ Read _Textiles_, page 62. What are some of the uses
of double cloth?
_Classes of Weave_
7. How many classes of weave have been studied?
8. Name the classes of weave.
9. Name a fabric to illustrate each weave.
=Experiment 7--Fibers=
Apparatus: Pick glass, dissecting needle.
Materials: Samples of broadcloth, mohair, silk, cotton cloth,
linen.
References: _Textiles_, pages 1; 97, Mohair; 203, Silk; 105,
Cotton; 193, Linen; 199, Hemp; 201, Jute; 232, Ramie; 233,
Pineapple.
_Directions_
1. Read _Textiles_, page 1, paragraph 1. What are textiles?
2. Cloth is composed of yarn. Yarn in its turn is composed of many
small ends called fibers.
3. Look at the sample of broadcloth. If you did not know this to be
broadcloth you would speak of it as woolen goods. Detach from the
sample a filling thread and separate it into fibers. These are woolen
fibers.
4. Examine the sample of mohair and separate a filling thread into
fibers. This takes the name mohair from the fibers which compose it.
Mohair is obtained from the Angora goat.
5. Examine a sample of silk, also a detached filling thread. The silk
fiber consists of a thread spun by the silk worm.
6. Wool, mohair, and silk fibers are obtained from the animals, the
sheep, goat, and silk worm, hence they are called animal fibers.
7. Detach from the sample of cotton cloth a filling thread and
separate it into fibers. These are cotton fibers and are obtained from
the cotton plant.
8. Examine the sample of linen, a filling thread and its fibers. Linen
is composed of fibers obtained from the flax plant.
9. Cotton and linen fibers are obtained from plants, and are called
vegetable fibers. There are other vegetable fibers such as jute, hemp,
ramie, pineapple, etc., but cotton and linen are the most important.
10. Name the most valuable fibers for textile use.
_Questions_
1. Of what is cloth composed?
2. Of what does yarn consist?
3. How are the fibers made to join in one long thread? (See
Experiment 1.)
4. Of what fibers are woolen and worsted goods composed?
5. Of what animal is wool the covering?
6. Of what fibers is mohair composed?
7. From what animal is mohair obtained?
8. Of what does the silk fiber consist?
9. What are the animal fibers?
10. Why are they called animal fibers?
11. Of what fibers is cotton cloth composed?
12. From what plant are cotton fibers obtained?
13. From what plant is the linen fiber obtained?
14. What are the most important vegetable fibers?
15. Name four other vegetable fibers.
16. Why are these fibers called vegetable fibers?
=Experiment 8--Wool Fiber=
Apparatus: Pick glass, microscope, 2 pine cones, foot-rule.
Materials: Raw wool, woolen yarn.
Reference: _Textiles_, chapter i.
_Directions_
1. Separate a strand of woolen yarn into fibers. Examine both these
fibers and fibers pulled from the raw wool. Would you describe these
fibers as coarse or fine?
2. How do the fibers feel to touch?
3. Test the strength of the wool fibers by trying to break them.
4. Measure the length of several fibers.
5. Why was it difficult to straighten the fibers to measure them?
6. Extend the fiber to its full length, then release. How does this
prove the fiber to be elastic?
7. Examine the fibers under the microscope. Describe. Notice that the
wool fiber is cylindrical in shape. Notice that it is covered with
scales which overlap much as do the tiles of a roof or the spines of a
pine cone.
8. Hold one pine cone with the spines pointing upward. With the spines
of the other pointing downward press the second cone down on the
first. What happens? Just so the scales or points of the wool fibers
hook into one another and interlock. These scales or serrations give
to the wool fiber its chief characteristic which is the power of
interlocking known as _felting_ or _shrinking_.
9. See _Textiles_, page 2, the drawing of a magnified wool fiber. Make
a drawing of a wool fiber.
10. Examine under the microscope a hair from your head. Wool is only a
variety of hair. Notice that the scales on the hair lie close to the
stem and do not project as in the woolen fiber, hence hair fibers
cannot interlock as wool fibers do. The scales lying close to the hair
give a smooth surface to the fiber and make luster a characteristic.
11. Compare the wool fiber with hair, noting two differences.
_Questions_
1. With what is the wool fiber covered?
2. Of what advantage are these scales or points?
3. What is the chief characteristic of wool?
4. What is meant by the shrinking or felting power?
5. Name five characteristics of the wool fiber.
=Experiment 9--Mohair Fiber=
Apparatus: Microscope, foot-rule.
Materials: Wool fibers, mohair fibers, sample of mohair brilliantine.
References: _Textiles_, pages 1, 37, 97.
_Directions_
1. Pull a mohair fiber from the fleece. Hold it up to the light.
Describe the fiber as you see it.
2. Hold a mohair fiber and a wool fiber side by side to the light.
Note the differences.
3. Measure several mohair fibers.
4. Examine the mohair fiber under the microscope. The fiber is covered
with scales, but they lie close to the fiber and do not project in
points as do the scales on the wool fiber, hence mohair will not felt
to any degree.
5. The Angora goat of Asia Minor furnishes the mohair. This goat is
being raised in the western states of the United States now.
6. Detach from the sample of mohair brilliantine a warp thread; a
filling thread. Which is mohair? Which is cotton?
7. What word would describe the feel of mohair brilliantine? the
appearance?
8. What are the characteristics of the mohair fiber?
9. What are the uses of mohair? Mohair is used in the manufacture of
plushes, dress fabrics, and imitation furs.
_Questions_
1. Why will mohair not felt as wool does?
2. The scales lying close to the stem will have what effect on the
surface of the fiber?
3. What effect will a smooth surface have on light?
4. What characteristic is given to mohair from the fact that the
smooth surface reflects light?
5. From what animal is mohair obtained in greatest quantity?
6. Where is mohair being grown in the United States?
=Experiment 10--Cotton Fiber=
Apparatus: Microscope, foot-rule.
Materials: Tuft of cotton fibers, cotton ball, seeds.
Reference: _Textiles_, chapter ix, page 105.
_Directions_
1. Hold a tuft of cotton fibers tightly between the fingers and thumb
of each hand and pull apart with a jerk. What is your judgment of the
strength of the _staple_ (fiber)?
2. Loosen gently the fibers of one of the tufts you have pulled apart.
What is the feel of cotton? the appearance as you hold it to the
light?
3. Detach several fibers one by one. How does the length compare with
that of the wool and mohair? Measure and record the length of three
fibers.
4. How do cotton fibers compare in fineness with wool fibers?
5. Compare the elasticity of cotton with that of wool.
6. Examine the cotton fibers under the microscope. Observe that the
enlarged fiber looks like a twisted ribbon. When the fiber was growing
it was cylindrical in shape. When ripe the plant drew back its
life-giving fluid from the fiber and it collapsed and twisted like a
corkscrew. The twist is peculiar to the cotton, being present in no
other fiber. The twist makes the cotton fiber suitable for spinning,
helping to hold the short fibers together.
7. Read of the cotton plant from _Textiles_, chapter ix.
8. The four chief cotton producing countries are the United States,
Egypt, India, Brazil.
9. There are several classifications of cotton. The most common are
Sea Island (in the lead); Egyptian (a close second); Uplands (that of
the United States, southern part); and Peruvian.
10. Uplands is the most common cotton of our South.
_Questions_
1. What characteristic causes the cotton fiber to be easily recognized
under the microscope?
2. Why does the twist render the cotton fiber suitable for spinning?
3. What are the characteristics of the cotton fiber?
4. Why is cotton known as a vegetable fiber?
5. Name the chief cotton producing countries.
6. What are the most common classifications of cotton?
7. What is the finest growth of cotton? (Sea Island commands at the
present time $1.00 a lb., while Middling Uplands brings 15 cents.)
8. Where is cotton known as Upland Cotton grown?
=Experiment 11--Silk Fiber=
Apparatus: Tripod, alcohol lamp, small pan of water, lead pencil.
Material: Silk cocoon.
Reference: _Textiles_, chapter xvii, page 203.
_Directions_
1. Place the cocoon in a small pan of water. Apply heat to the pan
until the water boils. The cocoon is placed in hot water to soften the
glue which holds the fibers together.
2. Remove the outside loose fibers which cannot be reeled. This
tangled silk on the outside of the cocoon is called _floss_.
3. Brush the finger over the cocoon to find the loose ends. Unwind
carefully until you find a continuous end. Wind or _reel_ the silk
fiber over a lead pencil.
4. The silk fiber is the most beautiful and perfect of all fibers.
5. Hold the cocoon to the light as you reel. How does the silk fiber
compare in fineness with the wool and cotton fibers?
6. The silk fiber is from 1000 to 4000 feet long. Unlike the other
fibers the silk fiber is already a thread.
7. How does light effect the silk fiber? When the gum is thoroughly
washed off the silk takes on its luster which is its chief
characteristic.
8. Break the fiber after you have reeled a small quantity. Notice how
the fiber springs back. Extend and release again. What characteristic
does this illustrate?
9. Examine the silk fiber under the microscope. Notice that it is
round and smooth and resembles a glass rod. It shows what appear to be
two fibers united by the gum secreted at the same time that the fiber
was formed. Describe the silk fiber as it appears under the
microscope.
10. Silk is taken from the reel and twisted into a skein of raw silk
and thus exported.
11. The manufacture in the United States begins with raw silk. It is
handled here first by the _throwster_ who winds it from the skein and
makes different varieties of thread.
_Questions_
1. Why is the silk cocoon first placed in hot water?
2. What is known as floss?
3. What is meant by silk reeling?
4. What can you say of the length of the silk fiber?
5. In what way does the silk fiber differ from the other fibers?
6. What is the chief characteristic of the silk fiber?
7. What are other characteristics of the silk fiber?
8. In what form is silk exported?
9. In what countries is most of the raw silk produced? (See
_Textiles_, page 206.)
10. With what does the silk manufacture in the United States begin?
11. Who is the _throwster_ and what is his work?
=Experiment 12--Linen Fiber=
Apparatus: Microscope.
Material: Flax fibers.
Reference: _Textiles_, chapter xv, page 193.
_Directions_
1. The linen fiber is obtained from the flax plant. Certain fibers,
such as flax, jute, and ramie, are obtained from the stem of the
plant, hence are known as _bast_ fibers, and flax is the most
important bast fiber.
2. It is difficult to separate the flax or linen fiber from the woody
part of the stem. The process is called _retting_, which is really
rotting by soaking the stem in water.
3. Before the fibers are entirely free from the woody part of the
plant they undergo the processes of beating, breaking, scutching,
hackling, etc.
4. Read the account of each process. See _Textiles_, pages 194, 195.
5. Measure and record the length of two linen fibers.
6. Test the strength by trying to break the fiber.
7. Test for elasticity.
8. What is the appearance of the linen fiber when held to the light?
9. What is the color of the fiber? What is the process called by which
linen is whitened? (Bleaching.)
10. Examine the flax fibers under the microscope. Observe that the
fibers look like long cylindrical tubes. Describe the appearance of
linen fibers under the microscope.
11. The best flax is grown in Belgium and Ireland.
_Questions_
1. From what part of the plant are bast fibers obtained?
2. Name some bast fibers.
3. What is the most important bast fiber?
4. What is retting?
5. For what purpose is linen subjected to retting?
6. Through what five processes does the flax fiber pass before it is
free?
7. Where is the best flax grown?
=Experiment 13--Carding=
Apparatus: A pair of hand cards.
Material: Small quantity of scoured wool.
References: _Textiles_, pages 39 and 50.
_Directions_
1. Examine the hand cards. Notice that there is a foundation of
several layers of leather. Notice that this foundation is covered with
staples of steel wire. Notice that the staples are shaped like the
letter U with the points turned one way. The covering of the hand
cards is called _card clothing_.
2. Hold one hand card in the left hand, face up, wires pointing to the
left. Spread the wool over the pointed wires of this card.
3. Hold the other card in the right hand, face down, with the wires
pointing to the right. Bring the pointed wires of this card down on
the wool and drag it lightly through the wires of the other card.
Repeat several times.
4. You have been _carding_ wool. The sharp points have been tearing
the wool apart or disentangling the fibers. Carding brushes the fibers
out smooth and makes them somewhat parallel. It forms them into a thin
sheet.
5. The wool must be carded many times before it is sufficiently
disentangled for drawing and spinning. In order to card again the hand
card must be _stripped_ of the wool so that it may be dragged again
through the staples.
6. Hold the hand card, which is in your right hand, erect. Notice that
the wires point downward. Move the other hand downward over the
wires. Notice that the surface is smooth. The points do not prick as
they will if you try to brush the hand upwards over the wires.
7. Hold the card in the left hand in a similar position. Raise and
bring the sharp wires of this card down on the smooth surface of the
other card and strip it of its wool.
8. Card again, then strip again. Repeat several times until the fibers
are thoroughly disentangled.
9. This carding and stripping, once done by hand, is now done in the
mill by a power machine called the _card_. (See picture, _Textiles_,
page 38.) Notice that instead of cards this machine consists of
rollers or cylinders. Some are carding cylinders and some are
stripping cylinders. The principle is the same as that of the hand
cards. The wool is carded and stripped again and again and is finally
delivered in a soft, fluffy rope called a _sliver_ ready for drawing
and spinning.
_Questions_
1. What is the covering of the hand card called?
2. Describe card clothing.
3. What does carding do to the wool?
4. When the sharp wires of one cylinder meet the sharp pointed wires
of another cylinder what is the action on the wool?
5. If the sharp points of one cylinder meet the smooth surface of
another cylinder what happens to the wool on that cylinder?
6. In what form does the wool finally leave the machine? What name is
given to this fluffy rope?
7. How was carding done in the early days? How is it done now?
8. In what way is the principle of the hand cards the same as that of
the card of the mill?
=Experiment 14--Drawing and Spinning=
Apparatus: Foot-rule, elastic band.
Material: Small quantity of scoured wool.
References: _Textiles_, pages 4, 44, 134; Sections: Spinning: Mule
Spinning.
_Directions_
1. Observe the mass of wool fibers. The wool was clipped from the
sheep, _washed_, and _oiled_ to make it smooth and pliable.
2. With the fingers gently open up or loosen the mass of wool fibers.
In the mill this is done by a machine called the _card_. (See picture,
_Textiles_, page 38.) And the process itself is called _carding_.
3. Gently _draw_ out the mass of fibers until you have drawn it into
one long strand.
4. Draw it again and again until to draw it would cause it to break.
5. This process in the mill is known as _drawing_. The wool passes
through machine after machine, which gradually reduces the thickness
of the strand.
6. You have now a strand called _roving_, but not a thread with which
you could weave. What is called the strand? Why could you not weave
with it as it is? If you pulled the roving apart it would separate
into a number of small ends. What name is given to these ends?
7. It is necessary to hold these fibers together in a thread. Hold the
roving in the left hand and with the right hand draw the fibers out
several inches. As you draw, twist the roving between the fingers and
thumb. The _twisting_ is called _spinning_.
8. When you have twisted sufficient yarn to attach to the end of a
foot-rule, do so. Give a whirl to the ruler, which is taking the place
of the old-time _spindle_, and let it drop. Continue to whirl the
ruler and notice that as it revolves the yarn is twisting. When well
twisted, wind the yarn on the ruler. There was a hook on the old-time
spindle. Instead of the hook, hold the wound yarn in place by an
elastic band. Draw out several inches again and repeat.
9. With the spindle a _distaff_ was used. It held the roving which you
now hold in your left hand. (See picture of distaff and spindle.)
10. Define spinning; see _Textiles_, page 4, footnote. The early use
of the spindle was the same as its use of to-day. In what two ways is
the spindle of use?
11. The improvement on the distaff and spindle was the spinning wheel.
Now the spinning frame in the mill has replaced both.
_Questions_
1. After shearing, through what two processes does wool pass?
2. Why is it necessary to oil wool?
3. What is the work of the _card_?
4. Explain the process called _drawing_. Why is it necessary to repeat
the operation several times?
5. What followed the distaff and spindle in the development of
spinning?
6. On what is the spinning done now in the mill? See _Textiles_,
picture, pages 135, 137.
=Experiment 15--Gilling and Combing=
Apparatus: Coarse comb, fine comb.
Material: Small quantity of scoured wool.
Reference: _Textiles_, pages 39-44.
_Directions_
1. Open up the wool a little with the fingers. Do this in place of
carding, as you need but a small quantity.
2. You comb your hair to make the hairs lie parallel, side by side, in
place. Combs are used on wool for just the same purpose, but the first
process of combing is not known as such. It is called _gilling_, and
the combs themselves are called _fallers_. The machines are known as
_gill boxes_. See _Textiles_, page 43.
3. Hold the carded wool in the left hand in the middle of the strand.
With the coarse comb in the right hand, comb and thus straighten the
fibers first at one end then at the other. This is _gilling_. The
principle of gilling is to comb the fibers more and more nearly
parallel and to draw them out into more even strands.
4. The coarse comb causes the hairs to lie parallel. A fine comb will
further straighten the hairs, but it will also remove the snarled,
tangled, short hairs. Again wool is to be treated like hair. Hold the
strand in the middle as before. Comb each end with the fine comb.
Notice that the fine comb is removing the short fibers and leaving the
long fibers between the fingers. This is the second process of
combing, and is called _combing_.
5. The long fibers are called _tops_ and the short fibers are known
as _noils_.[23] Combing is the process which separates the long fibers
known as _tops_ from the short fibers known as _noils_.
6. The combing machine in the mill is a very complicated one. See
picture, _Textiles_, page 41.
7. Gill and comb several strands of wool.
8. Top is too delicate, as it comes from the comb, to be handled. The
next process is to combine several strands into one. Combine the
several strands you have gilled and combed. Comb this one end with the
coarse comb again to be sure that the fibers are perfectly parallel.
9. You gilled, combed, and gilled again. So it is in the mill. After
combing, the wool is gilled again by machines known as _finisher gill
boxes_, and wound into a ball called _a top_.
10. _A top_ differs from _top_. _Top_ is the strand of long fibers
which comes from the comb. _A top_ is the ball of combed wool as it
comes from the finisher gill boxes. It weighs from 7 to 12 lbs. and
contains 200 to 250 yds.
11. The wool is now ready for the next processes--those of drawing and
spinning.
_Questions_
1. Why is the hair combed? Why is wool combed?
2. What is the first process of combing called? What name is given to
the combs used in gilling? What are the machines called?
3. What is the principle of gilling?
4. How does a fine comb act on the hair?
5. When you combed the wool with the fine comb what happened?
6. What are the long fibers called? the short? Of which are there
more?
7. What is the second process of combing called?
8. Why is it necessary to combine several strands of top into one end?
9. Why is it necessary to gill again after combing?
10. In what form does the wool finally leave the finisher gill boxes?
11. What is a top?
12. What two processes follow carding?
13. For what two processes is wool now ready?
=Experiment 16--Raw Wool to Yarn=
Apparatus: Hand cards, coarse and fine combs, pencil.
Material: Scoured wool.
Reference: The preceding experiments.
_Directions_
1. This wool has already been subjected to the three operations of
shearing, scouring, and oiling.
2. Card the wool. What does carding do to the wool?
3. Strip the cards. Rub the sheet of fibers between the palms of the
hands into the form of a strand. It is in this form that it leaves the
card of the mill, and it is known as a _sliver_ of wool.
4. Pull about three inches of wool from the sliver and perform upon it
the operation of gilling by combing it with the coarse comb.
5. Follow the gilling by the operation of _combing_, which you will do
by combing again, this time with a fine comb.
6. Pull about three inches again from the sliver. Continue to gill and
comb by section until the entire sliver has been gilled and combed.
7. Combine several strands into one and subject the one strand to a
second process of gilling to make sure that all fibers are side by
side.
8. Gently draw out this strand of combed long fibers known as top. As
you draw, spin. As you spin, wind on a lead pencil. The fineness of
the yarn depends on the amount of drawing and twisting.
9. What is the source of wool? You began with wool, covering of the
sheep's body, and after subjecting it to a series of operations you
have converted it into yarn which is ready for weaving.
10. Name the operations in order, through which raw wool passes before
it finally becomes yarn.
_Questions_
1. What are the first three processes through which wool passes? What
is shearing? scouring?
2. Why is wool oiled?
3. What is meant by a sliver of wool?
4. What does gilling do to the wool?
5. What does combing do to the wool?
6. Why is there another operation of gilling after combing?
7. What is meant by _drawing_? _spinning_?
8. What name is given to the wool wound on the pencil?
9. On what does the fineness of the yarn depend?
=Experiment 17--Difference between Woolen and Worsted Yarn=
Apparatus: Pick glass.
Materials: Sample of woolen cloth and worsted cloth.
References: _Textiles_, pages 50 and 51.
_Directions_
Take a piece of worsted fabric and separate a piece of yarn from
either the warp or filling. Do the same with a piece of woolen fabric.
Notice the appearance of each piece of yarn. Which is smoother? What
effect would friction have on the worsted yarn? the woolen yarn? Which
sample of yarn would shine and reflect the light?
=Experiment 18--Burling and Mending=
Apparatus: Chalk, scissors, dissecting pin, needle, pick glass.
Material: 4 square inches of cloth from the loom.
Reference: _Textiles_, page 71.
_Directions_
1. Cloth from the loom is far from being a finished product. It must
pass through several processes before it is finished. These processes
are known as _finishing_.
2. What is the feel of this cloth?
3. Hold the cloth to the light and look through it. Note the
imperfections and chalk them. What defects did you notice?
4. Place the cloth on the desk, face down. Rub the fingers over the
back of the cloth. When the fingers locate a knot, raise it with the
dissecting needle to be cut off later.
5. Reverse the cloth. Rub the fingers over the face. When a knot is
found, force it through to the back with the dissecting needle. All
the knots are on one side now. Clip them off with the scissors. This
is called _burling_ and is the first process of finishing.
6. Hold the cloth to the light. Notice where an entire filling thread
is missing. This is known as a _full miss pick_. When part of a
filling thread is missing it is spoken of as a _half miss pick_. In
general what does a miss pick mean?
7. Unravel a filling thread from the lower edge of the cloth. With it
thread a needle and replace the missing pick. Follow the weave
closely, using a pick glass as an aid. You are performing the second
process of finishing, that of mending.
8. If a warp end is missing replace it.
_Questions_
1. What is meant by _finishing_?
2. What is the first process of finishing? What is burling?
3. What is a full miss pick? a half miss pick?
4. What is the second process of finishing? What is mending? Of what
must the mender be careful?
=Experiment 19--Removal of Stains=
Material: Stained fabrics.
Textiles are easily stained, therefore it is necessary to know
something about the character of stains and the methods of removal.
Stains may be roughly divided into the following classes:
_a._ Stains from foods, such as grease and fruit acids.
_b._ Stains from machinery, as wheel grease and oils.
_c._ Blood stains.
_d._ Inks.
_e._ Chemicals, such as acids, alkalies.
Food stains are usually due either to grease contained in soup, meat,
milk, etc., or to sugar contained in candies or preserves, or to fruit
acids contained in fresh fruits or sauces.
Wheel grease and lubricant stains are obtained from various parts of
machines, like elevators, street cars, etc. After the cloth leaves the
loom it often contains spots of grease, oil, or dirt stains due to
drippings from the loom or overhead machinery. These are removed by
means of liquids called solvents that dissolve the stain. Ether is the
principal solvent used in the mill to remove small stains.
Very few people realize that vapors of cooked food and fat, unless
carried out of a house, will condense and settle on fabrics in the
form of a film which collects a great deal of dust. (A bad grease spot
usually has a neglected grease spot for a foundation.) In order to
break up this film it is necessary to separate the entangled dust.
This is performed by some mechanical means, such as shaking and
brushing.
The most effective method of removing a stain is to place a circle of
absorbent material[24] around the spot to take up the excess of
liquid. A white cloth should be placed under the fabric to absorb the
solvent and show when the goods are clean. Then apply the solvent with
a cloth of the same color and texture (satin is excellent as it does
not grow linty) and rub from outside the spot to the center to prevent
spreading. It is necessary to rub very carefully as excessive rubbing
will remove the nap and change the color. One of the great dangers in
removing a stain is that you may spoil the fabric. Therefore great
care must be exercised.
The principal solvents are ether, chloroform, alcohol, turpentine,
benzene, and naphtha. Each solvent may be used to best advantage on
certain fabrics.
The commercial grades of the solvents often contain impurities that
leave a brown ring after evaporation. This brown ring is very
objectionable. Turpentine is used only in removing stains from coarse
fabrics. Chloroform, benzene, and naphtha are used on ordinary silks
and linens. Ether and chloroform are used to best advantage in
removing stains from delicate silk, as they seldom affect colors and
evaporate very quickly. Of course it must be borne in mind that when a
stain is removed from a fabric that portion that contained the stain
loses some coloring matter and feels rougher than the other part.
_Grease Spots on Heavy Goods that cannot be Laundered_
It is usually desirable to use the following method in removing grease
from a heavy fabric, such as carpets or colored fabrics. In case the
grease is fresh, place over the stain a piece of clean blotting paper
or a piece of butcher's brown wrapping paper and underneath absorbent
paper or oil cloth, and then press the spot with a warm iron. As heat
often affects the shades of certain colors such as blues, greens, and
reds, it is best to hold a hot iron over the fabric and see if the
grease is melted.
Remove a stain from a piece of carpet.
_Removal of Grease and Blood_
_Ordinary Fabrics (wash goods)._ Wash the fabric containing grease or
blood stain with tepid water and soap.
_Delicate Fabrics._ As strong soap will spoil some colors and textures
it is necessary to apply a solvent when a delicate fabric is stained.
Remove stains from a washable fabric and a delicate fabric.
_Removal of Wheel Grease and Lubricants on Fine Fabrics_
Wheel grease is a mixture of oils and graphite. Apply benzene to the
wheel grease spot. This will dissolve the oil, leaving the coloring
matter (graphite) on the cloth, and this may be collected on the white
cloth on the other side.
Remove a wheel grease stain from a dress fabric.
_Removal of Acids_
Fruit acids and all others, except nitric acid may be removed by
putting ammonia on the spot. This will neutralize the acid, forming a
salt which may be either brushed or washed off. In the case of nitric
acid the fibers of the cloth are actually destroyed and no amount of
ammonia will restore the original condition of the fabric.
Remove a stain of orange juice from a dress or shirt waist.
_Removal of Blood_
Blood stains may be removed from a fabric by washing with cold or
tepid water. Never use hot water, as hot water coagulates the albumen
of the blood. After removing the blood soap and warm water may be
used. In case the fabric is a thick cloth, the blood may be removed by
applications of moist starch.
Take different samples of fabrics and soil them with fruit acids,
soup, wheel grease, ink, and blood and remove them. Exercise great
care so as not to leave a mark or remove the coloring.
Remove blood from a fabric.
_Questions_
1. What is a solvent? an absorbent?
2. What is the best solvent to be used in removing stains from silks,
coarse goods, and linens? from delicate silks?
3. Why is a brown ring often left after removing a stain?
4. How may grease and blood stain be removed from wash goods?
5. What is wheel grease? How may it be removed?
6. How will ammonia remove acid stains?
7. Does it remove all? Why not?
8. Explain the method of removing blood stain from cloth.
=Experiment 20--Dyeing Wool=
Apparatus: Large porcelain dish or casserole, filter.
Materials: Undyed piece of woolen and worsted fabric, undyed yarn,
and undyed raw cloth.
Reference: _Textiles_, page 65.
_Directions_
1. Prepare a solution of coloring matter by dissolving a half ounce of
diamond dye (green or red) in a quart of water. Filter the solution.
Place a piece of white woolen cloth in the liquid and boil ten
minutes. Then wash the dyed fabric and notice whether the dyestuff
washes off or not.
2. Repeat the experiment, using the same weight of undyed woolen yarn.
Repeat with worsted yarn.
3. Repeat the experiment using the same weight of wool sliver.
4. Notice which has the deeper color. The degree of color depends on
the amount of twist in yarn. Which sample has absorbed the greatest
amount of dyestuff from the liquid?
_a._ Why is a yarn-dyed fabric faster than a piece-dyed?
_b._ Why is a raw stock dyed fabric better than piece or
yarn dyed?
=Experiment 21--Dyeing Cotton=
Apparatus: Porcelain dish, filter stand, etc.
Material: Piece of cotton cloth.
Reference: _Textiles_, page 67.
_Directions_
1. Prepare a solution of coloring matter by dissolving a half ounce of
logwood in a quart of water. Filter the solution. Place a piece of
cotton cloth in the liquid and boil ten minutes. Then wash the dyed
fabric and notice whether the dyestuff washes off or not.
2. Repeat the same experiment and use a piece of cotton cloth that has
been previously washed in common alum.[25] Note the effect. Which has
the greater attraction for dyestuffs, cotton or wool? Why is alum
used?
3. Repeat the same experiment, using first the same weight of cotton
yarn and then the same weight of cotton sliver. Notice the results.
Which piece of cotton holds the dye best, that which was dipped in
alum or the one that was simply boiled in the solution?
=Experiment 22--Weighting Silk.--Affinity of Metallic Salts for Silk=
Apparatus: Porcelain dishes.
Material: Silk yarn.
Reference: _Textiles_, pages 212-214.
_Directions_
1. Weigh separately two skeins of dry silk and distinguish skein No. 1
by looping some cotton thread into it. Prepare a tepid bath containing
10 gm. strong sumach extract in 400 cc. water. Enter the skeins of
silk and work for 15 to 20 minutes, meanwhile slowly raising the
temperature to about 150° F. Remove, squeeze, rinse with water,
squeeze, and dry skein No. 1 for weighing.
2. Meanwhile prepare another bath containing 4 gm. of copperas
(ferrous sulphate) in 400 cc. cold water. Work skein No. 2 in bath for
10 minutes cold. Remove, and rinse well; save the iron bath. Repeat
the treatment in the sumach and iron baths several times more, finally
wash the sumach iron skein in 1 per cent hot soap solution; rinse,
squeeze, and dry. Weigh each dried and cooled skein and note the
increase in weight of each. Save sample for Experiment 23 and note the
effect of weighting on the yarn.
=Experiment 23--Dyeing Silk=
Apparatus: Porcelain dish, filter stand, etc.
Material: Piece of silk yarn.
Reference: _Textiles_, page 210.
_Directions_
1. Prepare a solution of coloring matter by dissolving a half ounce of
logwood in a quart of water. Filter the solution. Place a piece of
silk skein, from Experiment 22, in the liquid and boil ten minutes.
Then wash the dyed silk and notice whether the dyestuff washes off or
not.
2. Repeat the same experiment using the same weight of silk yarn
without weighing it. Compare the results.
=Experiment 24--Test to Distinguish Piece-Dyed from Yarn-Dyed Fabric=
Apparatus: Pen knife.
Materials: Woolen and cotton fabrics.
Reference: _Textiles_, pages 66-68.
_Directions_
Unravel threads of the suspected sample, and with a blade of pen knife
note whether the dyestuff has penetrated through the yarn as noted by
the depth of color in the interior of the yarn. In case there is the
same depth of color in the interior as on the surface, the fabric is
yarn-dyed. If on the other hand, the interior of the yarn is not so
highly colored as the exterior, it is piece-dyed.
_Questions_
1. What is meant by yarn-dyed fabric?
2. What is meant by piece-dyed fabric?
3. How may the two be distinguished?
=Experiment 25--Test to Distinguish Dyed from Printed Fabrics=
Apparatus: Knife-blade.
Materials: Cotton fabrics.
Reference: _Textiles_, page 65.
Printed fabrics may be distinguished from dyed by observing the back
side of the cloth, and noting whether or not the pattern on the face
of the cloth penetrates through to the back, or only the outline
shows. In case the figure or pattern is on both sides of the fabric,
it may be distinguished from the dyed by taking one thread of the
suspected sample, and by the means of a knife-blade attempting to
scrape off the coloring on the surface of the thread. If the dyestuff
has penetrated into the interior of the thread, it is _not_ printed.
Generally speaking, printed fabrics are known from dyed fabrics by the
fact that the former have the design printed on the face of the cloth.
This is called _direct printing_. The best dyed fabrics are obtained
by dyeing in what is called a _jig_, and the whole fabric is saturated
with color. Most, if not all the cloths which you see in the retail
dry goods stores which are in plain colors are dyed in the jig. Some
of the cheaper qualities of dyed fabrics are padded in a mangle, but
there has been a very small quantity of these goods on the market for
many years.
Printed fabrics may be made as fast as dyed fabrics; it all depends
upon the process by which the goods are converted. Within the past few
years great headway has been made in dyeing with what are termed _vat_
colors. Indanthrene is a vat color and a great many mills have used
this class of dye successfully in dyeing plain shades. This is what
would be termed a _fast_ color in every sense of the word. There are a
number of dyestuff makers in Europe who put vat colors on the market,
but they all call them by different names. Vat colors have been used
with success in printing during the past year or two, especially on
shirting fabrics, and these colors are fast to both light and washing.
Most direct colors used for printing or dyeing are equally fast to
light and washing, but of course they will not stand the test as well
as the vat colors mentioned above.
The essential qualities of a good printed fabric are its ability to
withstand exposure to light and washing. In printing, of course, a
greater variety of desirable styles can be obtained than by dyeing, in
fact there are certain popular lines of goods now on the market the
effect of the designs of which cannot be obtained in any other way
than by printing. At the same time, although the field in designing
for dyed fabrics is limited, some very handsome effects can be
obtained.
It will not be many years before a large proportion of the printed and
dyed fabrics put on the market, both foreign and domestic, will be in
the vat colors which, as stated above, are very fast. Even at the
present time there are many mills that are using this class of colors
entirely, especially the mills which manufacture woven fabrics.
_Questions_
1. In printed fabrics is the pattern clearly discernible on the back
of the cloth?
2. If the fabric is printed on both sides, how may this fact be
proved?
3. What is the difference between printed and dyed fabrics?
=Experiment 26--Bleaching by Sulphur Dioxide=
Apparatus: A quart bottle.
Material: Sulphur, worsted or silk fabric.
Bleaching powder cannot be used in bleaching animal fibers such as
woolen and silk fabrics. It injures the fibers and at the same time
leaves them yellow.
Animal fibers are best bleached by immersing in an aqueous solution of
sulphurous acid or exposing them to fumes of burning sulphur.
Wet a piece of dyed worsted or silk fabric and hang it in a quart
bottle containing fumes of burning sulphur.[26] The fumes of burning
sulphur have an affinity for coloring matter--dyestuff. The fumes
(called sulphur dioxide) do not in most cases destroy the coloring
matter as chlorine does, but simply combine with it to form colorless
compounds which can be destroyed. The color can be restored by
exposing the bleached fabric to dilute sulphuric acid.
_Questions_
1. Why is it necessary that the fabric be moist in order to be
bleached by sulphur dioxide fumes?
2. What becomes of the coloring matter?
=Experiment 27--Bleaching by Bleaching Powder=
Apparatus: Porcelain dish.
Material: Piece of calico.
Reference: _Textiles_, page 148.
_Directions_
Place a quarter of an ounce of bleaching powder in a quart bottle
containing a pint of water.[27] Then place a piece of calico in the
water containing the bleaching powder. What is the effect on the
calico? Then remove cloth to another bottle filled with dilute
hydrochloric or dilute sulphuric acid. What is the effect on the
color? Then wash the whitened cloth thoroughly in water.
Why is it necessary in practice to pass cotton fabrics through two
baths in bleaching? What is contained in the first bath? in the second
bath?
=Experiment 30--Determining Style of Weave=
Apparatus: Pick glass.
Materials: Different fabrics.
References: _Textiles_, pages 56-58, etc.
Examine different samples of cloth and classify them according to the
seven standards given on pages 56-58, etc.
=Experiment 31--Determining the Size of Yarn=
Apparatus: Yard stick.
Materials: Sample of cotton, woolen, and worsted yarns.
References: _Textiles_, pages 49, 51, 52.
As yarns used in the manufacture of fabrics are of all degrees of
thickness, it became necessary to adopt some method of measuring this
thickness. For this purpose yarns are numbered, so that when the
number is known an idea of the size of the yarn may be gained. It
would seem advisable to number yarns of all kinds according to one
fixed standard, yet unfortunately this is not done. The methods of
counting yarns are many and varied. The usual method is to estimate
the yarn number by taking the number of hands of a definite length
which make up some given weight. Thus in the worsted yarn, No. 1 is a
yarn that has 560 yards to a pound. No. 2 worsted yarn has two times
560 yards to a pound. How many yards in No. 12 worsted yarn? How many
yards in No. 20 cotton yarn?
=Experiment 32--Test for Twist in Yarn=
Apparatus: Test dial.
Material: Piece of yarn.
References: _Textiles_, pages 131-132.
As the amount of twist in yarn determines its strength, it is
necessary to know the amount of twist per inch in given yarn. The
strength increases up to a certain limit. When this limit is reached,
increased twist does not make the thread any stronger. We may also
have twist and strength at the expense of bulk. The test consists in
finding out the number of turns per inch, and this is done by an
arrangement where a certain length of yarn is stretched between two
points on a twisting machine and the twist taken out. The number of
turns required to take the twist completely out are registered on a
dial at the side of the apparatus.
Poor cotton that goes into coarse goods cannot be spun as fine as the
finer cotton. The shorter the cotton the more twist is required to
spin it, and the more twist that is put into the yarn, the less will
be the yardage. Whereas on the finer and longer cotton there will be
less twist put into it, and the yarn will be much stronger. Find the
twist in different kinds of yarn.
=Experiment 33--Determining the Direction of Warp and Filling=
Apparatus: Microscope.
Materials: Silk, cotton, and woolen fabrics.
Reference: _Textiles_, page 238.
When one examines a fabric the first thing to do is to determine the
direction of the warp and direction of the filling.
Fabrics with Selvedge.--Examine any fabric with a selvedge and notice
that the warp threads run in the same direction as the length (longest
side) of the selvedge. What direction will the filling threads bear to
the selvedge?
Fabrics with a Nap.--Examine a piece of flannel and notice the
direction of the nap. Why will the direction of the nap be the same as
the direction of the warp? Remember the way in which the fabric enters
the napping machine.
Fabrics Containing Double Threads.--Examine a fabric containing double
and single threads and notice that the warp contains the double
threads. Why?
Fabrics Containing Cotton and Woolen Yarn.--Examine a fabric
containing cotton and woolen threads running in different directions
and notice that the cotton threads form the warp. Why?
Another way to tell the warp threads in a fabric is to examine warp
and filling threads very closely and notice which set contains the
greater twist? Why? See if they are separated at more regular
intervals. Why?
Stiffened or Starched Fabrics.--Examine stiffened or starched goods
very closely and notice the threads. If only one set can be seen they
are the warp threads. The stiffer and straighter threads are found in
the warp. Why? The rough and crooked threads are seen in the filling.
=Experiment 34--Determining the Density of a Fabric=
Apparatus: Pick glass.
Materials: Samples of cloth.
Reference: _Textiles_, page 238.
_Directions_
1. Examine different samples of cloth and determine the number of
filling threads and warp threads by means of a pick glass.
2. Then examine different priced fabrics of the same kind and see
whether the low or high priced fabric has the greater density.
=Experiment 35--Determining Weight=
Apparatus: Balances, die.
Materials: 4 square inches of cloth.
Reference: _Textiles_, page 239.
_Directions_
1. Fabrics are bought and sold by the yard. In order to express the
amount of wool or cotton in a fabric the weight in ounces per yard is
usually given.
2. In order to find the number of ounces per yard a piece of cloth of
definite size, usually about 4 sq. in., is stamped out by means of a
die, or cut by means of a tin plate exactly 4 sq. in. (2 in. on the
side). This is then weighed on very accurate balances and expressed in
grains. Find the weight per yard. Remember 7000 grains equal 1 lb.; 16
oz. equal 1 lb.