Woolen fabric

“ The history of this evolution is hardly less interesting than that of the manufacture itself.
Wool is the only fiber which possesses the felting property in any considerable degree. This quality of felting imparts to woolen fabrics a firmness, an elasticity, a strength, a warmth, Fig. 2.—Magnified Fibers of (A) Silk, (B) Wool) , and (C) Cotton. and a durability altogether lacking in the products of any other fiber. There is no fiber used in textile manufacturing which has an affinity for dye equal to that of wool. ”

“ Plain cloth is the simplest cloth that can be woven. In this weave one series of threads (filling) crosses another series (warp) at right angles, passing over one and under one in regular order, thus forming a simple interlacement of the threads. This combination makes a strong and firm cloth, but does not give a close or a heavy fabric, as the threads do not lie as close and compact as they do in other weaves. In plain cloth, if not fulled or shrunk in the finish, the result is a fabric perforated with large or small openings according to the size or twist of yarn used. ”

“ This material is always plain woven and is of comparatively recent creation; it can be described as a very rough surface dress fabric, properly in part of wool, but now also made entirely of cotton. The characteristic rough surface is caused by the use of special fancy weft threads which are composed of two or more different size yarns so twisted together as to produce knob effects at intervals in the thread. A more expensive fabric is made of filling threads composed of braided yarns. ”

“ The scaly structure of wool is of great importance in regard to what is known as felting property. When woollen fabrics are worked in boiling water, especially in the presence of soap, they shrink in length and breadth, but become thicker in substance, while there is a greater amalgamation of the fibres of the fabric together to form a more compact and dense cloth ”

“ Weaving. Every woven piece of cloth is made up of two distinct systems of threads, known as the warp and filling (weft) , which are interlaced with each other to form a fabric. The warp threads run lengthways of the piece of cloth, and the filling runs across from side to side. The manner in which the warp and filling threads interlace with each other is known as the weave. When the word “end” is used in connection with weaving it always signifies the warp thread, while each filling thread is called a pick. The fineness of the cloth is always expressed as so many picks and ends to the inch. ”

“ On many of the fragments of the large pans in my collection the impressions of the cloth are perfect delineations of the fabrics used. Though differing greatly in pattern and in fineness of texture, they are all, with one single exception, made woven in the same manner—that is, by twisting two threads of warp around the single thread of the woof, precisely as the wire faces of laid moulds for forming paper are now made. The coarsest fabric that I find the impression of has warps about one and a half inch apart, with about five threads of woof to the inch. ”

“ Union Yarns, being composed of materials that are not affected by dyes in the same way, can be recognised when found in a so-called wool fabric from the fact that the wool in the yarn will have taken up the dye, whereas the cotton will not have done so to the same extent, but will have retained more or less its original colour. ”

“ In the manufacture of thread-structure felts, wools possessing the quality of felting in a high degree are naturally selected, carefully scoured so that the felting quality is not seriously damaged, spun into woollen yarn possessing the necessary fibre arrangement and twist, woven into cloth of such a character that subsequently satisfactory shrinking or felting may be effected, and finally scoured, milled in the stocks of machine of both, dyed and finished on the lines of an ordinary woven fabric. ”

“ The loose threads existing between the figures when the goods leave the loom are usually cut away, leaving a somewhat imperfect figure or spot with a bit of the figuring thread protruding at either extreme edge of the figure or spot. Lappet-figured fabrics are not Brocades.
Lastings.—A plain twill or kindred weave fabric firmly woven from hard-twisted wool or cotton yarns. Smooth in appearance but having a somewhat hard handle, Lasting is a fine, durable, generally piece-dyed, material, of which there are several varieties, such as the Printed and the Figured. ”

“ Woolen cloth coming from the loom may be so [Pg 84] treated in the finishing room as to produce fabrics entirely different in appearance. One of the chief objects of the finishing is to give to the cloth as fine an appearance as possible to attract the buyer. Much of the fine finish disappears through wear, especially with inferior goods made from poor materials. The wearing quality of the goods is primarily dependent upon the strength and quality of the fibers of which it is made, so that the yarn of the filling and the warp should be examined when selecting materials. ”

“ Of course, the material must to a certain degree influence the style of the fabric, and its selection must be according to the effect intended to be produced. [133] The fashions of the day, and the needs of the special manufacture, must greatly modify the choice of materials, which fluctuate, often disappear, and sometimes revive again.
Certain materials which have been, at one period, much admired, have been entirely lost; and indeed we may say that the only permanently employed textiles are wool, flax, cotton, and silk, which apparently never can be superseded. ”

“ The first we know of Scandinavian wool for dress, is a fragment from a Celtic barrow in Yorkshire—a woollen plaited shroud. This fabric was an advance upon the original northern savage costume—a sheep-skin fashioned and sewn with a fish-bone for a needle, sinews for thread, and a thorn for a pin. But we must imagine that some use was made, besides plaiting, of the spun wool, of which the early northern women have left us evidence, in the whorls of their spindles, from prehistoric times.
Wool has always appeared to be a natural material for dress. ”

“ The formation of a cloth having the novel quality of allowing for a greater woven length at the outer edge of the collar than at the band, properly graded throughout so as to meet all the requirements of a collar in comfort and fit, at the same time providing for the insertion of the scarf so that it will run easily, and also allowing for the production of a variety of styles, calls for features in manufacturing that are different in many respects from the making of a flat fabric. ”

“ Worsted Diagonals are characterized by prominent weave effects running diagonally across the cloth. The goods are usually of a solid color, and are given a finish [Pg 104] which brings the weave into prominence. Diagonals are used for suitings.
Unfinished worsted is a fabric woven with yarn with very little twist in it, and finished so as to make it appear covered with loose fibers, concealing the twill effect. After leaving the loom the cloth is placed in a fulling machine which condenses the fibers, thus increasing the density. It is then passed over hot presses after a slight shearing. ”

“ 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. ”

“ The Firmness of Cloth.—The number of ends and picks per inch which can advantageously be put into a fabric depends upon the number of intersections per inch in the pattern or weave, and on the counts or diameters of the yarns used. In a plain cloth woven with 32’s twist and 32’s weft, the number of threads per inch which could be put into the cloth without undue compression would be a little more than one-half the number which could be laid side by side touching each other. ”

“ Woolens.—There are two classes of woolen textiles, woolens and worsteds, depending upon the character of the fiber used, and the treatment to which it is subjected. The shorter varieties of wool are used in woolens, while the long fibers are combed out and used for the worsteds. In making woolen yarns the wool is simply carded and very loosely spun, but in making worsted thread the wool is combed out and hard twisted. Owing to the nap of the woolen goods the weaving is scarcely visible, but in the manufacture of worsteds the weave is evident and a great variety of designs is possible. ”

“ 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. ”

“ The size may be applied to the yarn either hot or cold. When applied hot it penetrates into the interior, filling up every space between the fibers, binding all together, and forming a hard coating on the surface of the thread. A thorough washing or steaming serves to remove all the size from the woven fabric. ”

“ The long fiber wool is commonly carded, combed and spun into worsted yarn. The short fiber is usually carded and spun into woolen yarn. The short fiber obtained in combing long staple wool is called "noil." ”

“ ALMOST every fabric that is good of its kind is suitable for a ground for needlework, and any thread of silk, linen, cotton, or wool, is suitable for laying on a web, with the purpose of decorating it. Yet these materials should not be wedded indiscriminately, every surface requiring its peculiar treatment; a loose woollen fabric, for example, being best covered with wool-work rather than with silk. Not that it is necessary to work in linen thread on linen ground, in silk on silk ground, and so forth; silk upon linen, silk on canvas, wool on linen, are legitimate, because suitable combinations ”

“ If the face [Pg 263] weft covers better than the warp, it is the better way to bind by passing the back pick over a face end, whereas if the face warp covers better than the weft, a back end lifted over a face pick is preferable.
Three-, and more ply Cloths.—Any number of cloths may be woven separately, one above the other, or several may be bound together to form a very thick fabric. Fig. 341 is a design for weaving four plain cloths, one above the other, and if the picks are woven in the order given in the design it will weave a cloth four times the width of the loom when opened out. ”

“ It was woven solid and tipped with bright bits of silk, cassimere, merino, or other fine woolen scraps, which, cut in small pieces, were woven in the meshes of thread.
Cloth was woven with two, three, four, and five treadles. An ingenious way the weaver had of tramping the treadles would throw up on the right or upper side of the cloth whatever design was placed in front of the weaver’s eye. Some beautiful car [97] pets of wool, dyed a variety of bright colors, were woven on our common house-loom; and large woolen coverlets as well as woolen and cotton flannels were made in the same manner. ”

“ Outer wear fabrics made predominantly of cross stripe are not popular because of the reasons already shown, but they are often used for trimming garments, for borders of coats, cuffs and collars, and for fancy shirts they are often quite effective. One point must be borne in mind in selecting fancy colours in fine materials such as silk, etc.; the size of the fancy yarn chosen has to be approximately equal to that of the ground texture, or the 111fancy threads will cause a space more or less open to appear in the fabric so as to spoil its amenity. ”

“ Formerly such fabrics were woven with the cotton and silk yarns dyed separately, care being taken to match them as closely as possible. The weaving of dyed yarns of different fibers is open to the objection that when the fabric comes to be finished there is a wide difference in the color, no matter how closely they may have matched in the beginning. ”

“ The wide gauzy mass is pulled together as it is drawn through a hole at the front of the carder and is delivered or wound up in the can, just as we learned the cotton was delivered. This wool roving is then wound on spools and is ready for spinning. Do you remember the story of how cotton is drawn out and twisted and wound on spools? Wool too must be spun and made into yarn, before yarn can be woven into cloth. The manufacturer makes woolen yarn and also worsted yarn. Do you know the difference? We shall study in our next lesson about them.
EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS
1. ”

“ The ground material is of the finest woven wool, of a deep violet or purple colour, enriched with application of another fine woollen fabric of a most brilliant green, worked down, outlined and embroidered in white, black, and gold-coloured wool, apparently in stem stitches. ”

“ In a fabric in which there are only a few plain ends in the pattern, the other ends being loosely interwoven, it does not follow that the take-up will be as much as in a plain cloth, as the plain ends will compress the weft more at the point of intersection than could occur if all the ends were weaving plain. ”