Weft

“ The term "weft rib" is used to designate a weft surface weave in which, owing to the thickness of the warp threads or to the grouping together of a number of warp threads, the weft threads are made to bend round them and, being thus thrown to the surface of the fabric, produce a ribbed appearance with the ribs running lengthways, in which the weft threads are on the face of the fabric. ”

“ Their mode of weaving, which is chiefly performed by women, is by suspending the warp; the weft being held in the hand, as a ball, is passed between the threads of the warp alternately, and pressed more or less close according to the purpose for which the mat is intended. ”

“ Weft.—When the word "weft" is used in connexion with weaving or woven fabrics, it always signifies the filling threads, each of which is also called a "pick." Weft threads run across the width of the fabric.
Weft Pile.—Weft pile can be recognised by withdrawing from the fabric under examination a few "picks," or weft threads. If the material is a weft-pile weave, then it will be seen that the loose bits of "cut pile" are not entangled or looped round or adhering to the weft thread that has been drawn out, but that they remain entangled among the warp threads. ”

“ As a rule, a single thread of weft crosses only once between two rows of knots, or in a few pieces two144 threads of weft pass side by side as though one. In this particular they resemble Hamadans; but the alignment of their knots at the back is more regular, their weft is inserted with some slack, their warp is of wool, and their weft is almost always of wool. They are generally runners, with long nap of soft, lustrous wool, with rich colours, and with border of three stripes. ”

“ The weft ought to be very fine and well spread, and in the centre part especially the rows need not be anything 215like close together. Indeed, rather than leave an unseemly opening, I have found it necessary at times to fill up the middle portion with short, fine hair, which, being concealed by the longer hair is no defect whatever. By such an arrangement, lightness is maintained, while the rows of weft are continuous and regular. The weft being measured, and a calculation made as to the space to be covered, the worker must then act accordingly. ”

“ It is possible to arrange the warp threads diagonally from beam to beam, but with continuous weft (that is in weaving so as to get selvedges) the weft has the tendency to slip up on one side and down on the other, hence the weaving is made laborious. With a separate weft for each pick, i.e., for every once the shed is opened, there is naturally not this tendency, but this alleged diagonally woven cloth frays just as easily as any other piece of cloth without selvedge, so in either case there is not only no advantage but distinct disadvantage taking the diagonal “beaming” into consideration. ”

“ The weft is double, and is passed under and over each yarn, and the upper one is always passed between the ends of the under weft before it is drawn tight. The mat is therefore nothing more than a number of parallel strings laid side by side, and connected, at intervals of an inch or so, by others that pass across them. More care is taken of the edges, which are turned over, and the yarns are so interwoven as to make a thick and strong border. ”

“ The worker must be particular in keeping the rows of weft straight and flat, which he can easily do with attention and the proper use of his thumb and finger. I say “finger,” because curled hair should never be held in the hand, for the warmth of the hand is likely to cramp or weaken the curl. Comb out, press, and dress as before described. Another way, so as to hide the weft altogether, excepting the top row, can be done when required. Take a similar lot of hair, and weave it. ”

“ Rib.—The name given to any kind of cord effect or to a weave in which either, owing to the interlacing or to the yarns used, warp or weft is the stronger and remains comparatively straight while the weaker does all the bending. Thus, in warp ribs the weft is the stronger and causes the warp to bend and form a warp surface rib running from selvedge to selvedge, while in weft ribs the warp is the stronger and develops a weft surface rib running lengthways of the piece. ”

“ Fig. 182 shows the comb in action, and also the [Pg 344] bobbins hanging. The weft must be left a little slack along the line for this purpose, and some experience is required in order to leave just the right slackness. The turn at the edge is arranged first, and then the thread eased evenly along its length in readiness for being pressed down; it must have the appearance not of running straight across the warp-strings, but of lying loosely round them. For packing down a long line, much more play of weft is required than for a short one. ”

“ Shot.—A weaving term having the same value as "pick." When a fabric is described as having so many "shots" to the inch it means that there are so many weft threads to the inch. When used to describe a colour effect in fabrics, it applies to fabrics which are woven with different coloured warp and weft, and which, according to the way they are held when looked at, appear to change in colour. ”

“ It is generally used for weft, which, as it bears little strain in weaving, need not be as strong as the warp, but should be soft and bulky, so that when beaten in successive threads will lie close together and fill up the interstices of the web. ”

“ As it is constantly twisted in one direction, it is evident that, after a while, a counter-twist must form which would render the passage of the weft between the cords difficult, if the cords could not be untwisted again. ”

“ In a chequered cloth the warp was made of two-coloured threads stretched in successive bands, and the cross stripes of the weft were woven in by the two shuttles. To form a more complicated pattern the weft must not cross the warp alternately: the design is formed by either the warp or the weft predominating on the surface in certain places. In all cases each thread of the weft must be driven home to its place after each stroke of the shuttle. ”

“ Sometimes the weft is sewn up close, and that is more particularly the case when space is taken into consideration. If the work has to cover a rather large surface, it is best to sew it up in diamond shapes, but if it is to be condensed, then the wefts should be fine, close, and made up in as compact a manner as possible. ”

“ When it is desired to use two different weft threads, the needle has an open eye, or hook near its end, instead of the ordinary eye, and the two wefts in turn are presented to this eye by a rocking eyeletted weft-carrier, so that the needle picks up the weft just before it enters the shed. ”

“ Crop, or Wig Weft, should be very finely made, taking about six or eight hairs at a time to make a weft, depending of course on the quality of the hair used. Each weft should be tolerably wide apart, and firmly woven, if durability in a wig be required. When it is remembered that twenty or thirty yards are wanted in the manufacture of a gentleman’s wig, my reason for saying that the wefts should be fine and well-set must be apparent, for were it otherwise, the article would be heavy and uncomfortable to the wearer. ”

“ Uneven cloth is generally attributable to the unevenness of the weft, although anything tending to unequal release of the warp from the beam, such as weights touching the floor, damp ropes, or loose pivots, may cause it. ”

“ Figuring with two warps and one weft is a common method of working, and gives three colours on the face of the cloth. An extra warp of fine yarn may be used for binding the wefts, admitting of the coloured weft being more used for figuring. Extra warps cannot be used to so great an extent as extra wefts, as they crowd up the reed and prevent proper shedding, particularly when soft or hairy yarns are used; but when properly suited to the reed they make a firmer and more regular cloth than a weft cloth, and on account of less picking the weaver gets over the work much faster. ”

“ This fabric may, like Velveteen, be either of a weft or warp pile weave, which is more fully described under "Velveteen." Being plain, it is free from any ornamentation produced by printing, embossing, or combination of weave, and of uniform colour throughout the width and length of the material. ”

“ Roughly, the amount of contraction to allow in the warp can be obtained by taking into account the counts of weft and the number of intersections which the warp makes with the weft. The thicker the counts of weft the more the warp will be bent out of a straight line, also with an increase in the number of picks the amount of take-up or contraction will increase. ”

“ Warp-piled Fabrics have at least two series of warp threads to one of weft, and are more varied in structure than weft-piled fabrics, because they may be either plain or figured, and have their surfaces cut, looped or both. ”

“ First the weft or chenille thread is woven, if for a figured pattern in various colours, which corresponds to the printing of the warp in tapestry carpet weaving, which gives a warp figure, whereas chenille gives a weft figure. When the weft is woven in a piece it is cut up into strips and twisted, if for curtains or any fabric on which the chenille weft is to show on both sides; but for carpets, where all the pile is raised to one side, the weft is doubled up, bringing all the pile in one direction. ”

“ There are from 50 to 60 threads of weft per inch of each colour. The gold weft forms the ground of the pattern, and the warp the figure, which is bound with an 8-end satin binding. The cotton weft goes to the back when the silk weft is on the face, forming the ground of the pattern, the warp lying between them; but when the warp is on the face for figuring, the gold weft goes to the back and the cotton weft lies under the warp face, binding it and giving an embossed effect to the figure. The gold weft is bound up by sinking a portion of the warp. ”

“ Italian cloth is usually a weft-faced fabric. Like all fabrics woven with a weft-faced satin weave, the weft or filling threads are practically all on the surface of the cloth, producing an even, close, smooth surface capable of reflecting light to the best advantage. Italian cloth is generally cross-dyed, that is to say, woven from a black warp and grey weft, afterwards dyed in the piece. It may be woven either as an all-cotton, a cotton and worsted, a cotton and wool, or a cotton and mohair fabric. ”

“ In technic the blanket is related to the last one described for it is a twine weaving, but a twilled twine as the two strand weft encloses two warps at a move and with each succeeding line of weft advances one warp giving the surface a twilled effect. ”

“ There are three movements attending every thread of weft which the weaver throws across the warp. In the first place he presses down one of the two treadles, by which one of the two heddles is depressed, thereby forming a kind of opening called the shed. Into this shed, at the second movement, he throws the shuttle, containing the [209] weft-thread, with sufficient force to drive it across the whole web. ”

“ If a single warp is employed, two or more wefts form the figure, and the warp seldom floats upon the surface. Where warps do assist to form figure it rarely happens that more than three can be used without overcrowding the reed. Fig. 17 gives the design, and a transverse section of a reversible tapestry in four colours, two of which are warps and two wefts. If either warp or weft is on the surface, corresponding threads are beneath. The bent lines represent weft and the circles warp. Figured repps differ
Fig. ”

“ Warp-backed fabrics, whether uniformly coloured or striped, do not materially reduce the output of a loom, for every weft thread adds to the cloth length. Reversible fabrics may have either two series of differently coloured wefts or warps to one of the other series, in which event they may be similarly figured on both sides by causing the threads of the double series to change places, as in the design and transverse section, fig. 14; or, by allowing one series to remain constantly above the other, as in backed cloths, both sides may be similar or dissimilar
Fig. ”

“ Lustre Dress Fabrics.—This class of union fabric, when woven with a fast black dyed cotton warp and a worsted mohair weft, is representative of union fabrics in general, and the treatment of this material when in its grey state applies to the majority of union fabrics. The warp is generally a 2/80's, i.e., a strong yarn, and the weft, say, a 1/14's. The warp being dyed prior to weaving, there only remains the weft to be dyed after the unfinished cloth leaves the loom. ”

“ Owing to the difference in length between the two side edges of specimen 4-4056, the weaver started making adjustments before she had woven half the length of her cloth. In order to restore a working edge at right angles to her warps, she introduced incomplete or fill-in wefts; that is, weft yarns entered on the long side and carried a distance across the web and then turned back in the next shed (pl. 8,a) . The largest number of fill-in wefts occurs roughly at a point about a third up from the end. ”

“ This movement makes the passage or shed through which she passes the weft with the left hand. After beating the weft thread close to the cloth either with the fingers or with a sword-like stick, she lowers the heddle with its fifty threads, the other fifty still remain fixed and unmoved. Another shed is formed and the weft is passed through again. Thus with the raising and lowering of the heddle the weft is passed backward and forward and the weav [115] ing goes on quite rapidly. If you care to do so you can make a Pueblo loom and can weave a belt on it. ”