Textiles Part 20

=Crepe.= A thin, gauzy fabric, woven in loose even threads of silk, heavily sized or gummed, crimped or creped in the dyeing. Crepe was first used in black only as a badge of mourning. It is now an accepted dress fabric, made in colors and white and of many materials. The name signifies to crimp or crepe with a hot iron.

=Crepe de Chine.= A soft, l.u.s.trous silk crepe, the surface of which is smoother than that of the ordinary varieties. It is woven as a plain weave with part of the warp threads right twisted and the rest left twisted. It is dyed almost any color and figured or printed.

=Eolienne.= Sheer cloth of silk, silk and wool, or silk and cotton, woven in fine card effect. The name comes from the Greek aeolus, G.o.d of the winds.

=Foulard.= Plain silk cloth, sold as dress goods; originally made for handkerchiefs only. The name is French for silk handkerchief.

=Glace.= Plain, l.u.s.trous silk, yarn dyed, with warp of one color, and weft of another. The name is applied to all fabrics having two tones.

Glace is French for icy, having an icy appearance.

=India Silk.= A name applied to the plain woven silks manufactured in India on the primitive hand looms. The warp and weft are woven evenly and produce a beautiful natural l.u.s.ter. It is similar to China and j.a.panese silk. In fact most of these fabrics come from China and j.a.pan, India silk being almost unknown in this country as so little of it is exported. The durability of these silks is about the same, and there is little difference in the prices.

=j.a.panese Silk.= A term applied to the plain woven silk manufactured in j.a.pan. The warp and filling of this fabric are identical in size and color, and being woven evenly produce a beautiful natural l.u.s.ter.

The weave is smooth and soft in quality. It is dyed in plain colors.

The figured goods are printed in much the same way as calico. It is used for waists, gowns, and fancy underwear.

=Jersey Cloth.= Silk jersey cloth is popular at present. It is a knitted silk fabric, not woven, and is generally dyed in plain colors.

It is expensive and is used for women's dresses, wraps, and silk gloves.

=Meteor.= Crepe de meteor was originally a trade name for crepe de chine, but now applied to a fabric which is distinguishable from crepe de chine.

=Moire.= Moire is a waved or watered effect produced upon the surface of various kinds of textile fabrics, especially on grosgrain silk and woolen moreen. This watered effect is produced by the use of engraved rollers and high pressure on carded material. The object of developing upon woven textiles the effect known as moire is the production of a peculiar l.u.s.ter resulting from the divergent reflection of the light rays on the material, a divergence brought about by compressing and flattening the warp and filling threads in places, and so producing a surface the different parts of which reflect the light differently.

The moire effect may be obtained on silk, worsted, or cotton fabrics, though it is impossible to develop it on other than a grained or fine corded weave. The pressure applied to the material being uneven, the grained surface is flattened in the parts desired. In the Middle Ages moire was held in high esteem, and continues to enjoy that distinction down to the present day. It is used for women's dresses, capes, and for facings, tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs, etc.

=Mozambique.= Grenadines, with large colored flower designs in relief.

=Organzine.= Silk fabric, made with warp and filling of the same size.

Organzine is the name given the twisted silk thread in Italy, where it is made.

=Panne.= This name is applied to a range of satin-faced velvet or silk fabrics which show a high l.u.s.ter produced by pressure. The word _panne_ is the French for plush.

=Peau de Soie.= Literally, skin of silk. A variety of heavy, soft-finished, plain-colored dress silk, woven with a pattern of fine close ribs extending weftwise of the fabric. An eight-shaft satin with one point added to the original spots on the right or left, imparting to the fabric a somewhat grainy appearance. The best grades of peau de soie present the same appearance on both sides, being reversible. The lower grades are finished on one side only.

=Plush.= Long piled fabric of the velvet order. _Peluche_, the origin of the name, is French for s.h.a.ggy.

=Pongee.= Said to be a corruption of Chinese _punchi_, signifying home made or home woven. Another suggestion is that the word is a corruption of _pun-s.h.i.+h_, a native or wild silk. A soft, unbleached, washable silk, woven from the coc.o.o.ns of the wild silkworm, which feeds on the leaves of the scrub oak. Immense quant.i.ties in a raw state are annually s.h.i.+pped from China to this country and Europe, where they are bleached, dyed, and ornamented with various styles of designs. The name is also applied to a variety of dress goods woven with a wild silk warp and a fine worsted weft.

=Popeline.= A French name. The French fabric is said to have been first introduced during the early part of the sixteenth century at Avignon, then a papal diocese, and to have been so called in compliment to the reigning pope. A fabric constructed with a silk warp and a filling of wool heavier than the silk which gives it a corded surface. Poplin manufacture was introduced into Ireland in 1693 by a colony of fugitive French Huguenots. The industry concentrated at Dublin, where it has since remained. The Irish product has been celebrated for its uniformly fine quality. It is always woven on hand looms, which accounts for the high price it commands in English and American markets. The wool used is a fine grade of Cape or Australian, which is the most suitable in texture and length of fiber. The silk is unweighted Chinese organzine. The result is a rich, handsome fabric resembling whole silk goods in appearance, but inferior to them in durability and produced at a much less cost. It is used for ladies'

waists, wraps, and gowns.

=Figured Poplin.= A stout variety, ornamented in the loom with figures. The ground is composed of clear, sharp cords extending across the web. It is sometimes woven entirely of silk, but oftener of silk and wool. Used for high-cla.s.s upholstery purposes, and for curtains and hangings.

=Terry Poplin.= A silk and wool dress fabric in the construction of which the alternate warps are thrown upon the surface in the form of minute loops.

=Sa.r.s.enet.= A thin, soft-finished silk fabric of a veiling kind, now used as millinery lining. The name comes from the Arab Saracens, who wore it in their head-dress.

=Satin.= When satin first appeared in trade in Southern Europe it was called _aceytuin_. The term slipped through early Italian lips into _zetain_, and coming westward the _i_ was dropped, and smoothed itself into satin. There is evidence that the material was known as early as the fourteenth century in England, and probably in France and Spain previous to that time, though under other names.

In the weaving of most silk fabrics the warp and filling intersect each other every alternate time (as in plain weaving), or every third or fourth time (as in ordinary twill weaving) in regular order; but in weaving satin the fine silk warp only appears upon the surface, the filling being effectually covered up and hidden. Instead of making the warp pa.s.s under and over the filling every alternate time, or over two or three filling threads in regular order, it is made to pa.s.s over eight, ten, twelve or more filling threads; then under one and over eight more, and so on. In pa.s.sing over the filling, however, the warps do not interweave at regular intervals, which would produce a twill, but at irregular intervals, thus producing an even, close, smooth surface, and one capable of reflecting the light to the best advantage. The filling of low grade satin is generally cotton, while in the better goods it is silk. Common satin is what is technically known as an eight-leaf twill, the order in which the filling thread rises being once in eight times. Rich satins may consist of sixteen-leaf to twenty-leaf twills. The cheap qualities of cotton-back satin, particularly those that sell at wholesale for fifty cents and under, are not made to any extent in this country, our manufacturers being unable to compete with foreign mills in these lines.

Satins are woven with the face downward, because in weaving, say a sixteen-leaf satin, it would be necessary, were the surface upward, to keep fifteen heddles raised and one down, whereas with the face of the cloth under, only one heddle has to be raised at a time. When first taken from the loom the face of satin is somewhat flossy and rough, and hence requires to be dressed. This operation consists of pa.s.sing the pieces over heated metal cylinders which remove the minute fibrous ends, and also increase the natural brilliance of the silk.

Cotton-back satins are used by coffin manufacturers, fancy box makers, fan makers, and by the cutting-up trade. Rich satins are used in making ladies' gowns and waists.

=Soleil.= Satin-faced cloth, woven with a fine line, a stripe running lengthwise of the piece. It is usually made in solid colors and piece dyed. _Soleil_ is French for sun, and applies to the brightness of the finished cloth.

=Taffeta.= Derived from Persian _taftah_. Taffeta is one of the oldest weaves known, silk under this name having been in constant use since the fourteenth century. During this long period the term has been applied at different times to different materials. It is a thin, glossy silk of plain texture or woven in lines so fine as to appear plain woven. The weave is capable of many effects in the way of shot and changeable arrangements, which are produced by threads of different colors rather than by any special disposition of warp and filling. Taffeta has the same appearance on both sides. It is piece dyed in numberless plain colors, and also produced in a great variety of ornamental patterns, such as fancy plaids, cords, and stripes (both printed and woven). The following considerations contribute chiefly to the perfection of taffetas, viz.: the silk, the water, and the fire. The silk must not only be of the finest kind, but it must be worked a long time before it is used. The watering, which is given lightly by any acidulous fluid, is intended to produce the fine l.u.s.ter, and lastly, the fire and pressure which have a particular manner of application. Its wearing qualities are not of the best. The cloth cracks or breaks, especially if plaited. It is used for gowns, s.h.i.+rtwaists, linings, petticoats, etc.

=Tulle.= Openwork silk net; made on the pillow as lace by young women of Tulle, France.

=Velour.= French for velvet. A trade term of somewhat loose application, being used indiscriminately to describe a great variety of textures so constructed or finished as to present a velvet-like surface. It is usually a velvety fabric made of coa.r.s.e wool yarn and silk. Velour is woven with a coa.r.s.e stiff pile after the manner of plush; while at present it is made of jute, cotton, and worsted, it was originally constructed of linen. It is produced in numberless forms, both plain and in fancy effects.

=Velvet.= From the Italian _velluto_, feeling woolly to the touch, as a woolly pelt or hide. Fine velvet is made wholly of silk.

=Velveteen.= An imitation velvet, made of cotton, usually with plain back, not twilled, as silk velvet.

=Tabby Velvet.= The lowest grade of cotton velvet, used for covering cheap coffin lining cases, sold by the inch in widths which range from sixteen to thirty-two inches. Originally made in Bagdad for wall covering, its name being derived from a section of that city.

=Voile.= From the French _voile_, meaning a veil, a light fabric usually more or less transparent, intended to conceal the features in whole or in part or to serve as a screen against sunlight, dust, insects, etc., or to emphasize or preserve the beauty. The custom of wearing veils had its origin in the early ages in the desire of semi-savage man to hide away the woman of his choice, and is a survival of the ancient custom of hiding women that is found even down to the present day in Eastern countries. Voile is a transparent, wiry material with a square mesh.

CHAPTER XIX

ARTIFICIAL SILK

=Silk Cotton.= On account of the high price of silk various attempts have been made to find satisfactory subst.i.tutes for it. There are certain seed coverings of plants that contain very fine hair-like fibers with a l.u.s.ter almost equal to silk, but the staples are short, and the texture weak. The Kapok plant furnishes most of the commercial silk cotton on the market. The fibers of Kapok are thin and transparent. They are extremely light, and the length is less than half an inch. Silk cotton has a smooth surface and therefore cannot be spun like true cotton which has corded edges.

=Artificial Silk.= Since seed hairs are composed, like all vegetable fibers, of cellulose, attempts have been made to prepare an artificial silk product from waste paper--that is, by treating waste paper or wood or cotton fibers with various chemicals in order to obtain pure cellulose. This artificial silk is perhaps the most interesting of artificial fibers, but its manufacture is dangerous, owing to the ease with which it catches fire and explodes. Cellulose, chemically treated, can be transformed into a fluid solution known as collodion.

The collodion is placed in steel cylinders and expelled by pressure through capillary tubes. After drying, denitration, and was.h.i.+ng, it may be spun and dyed like natural silk. Colored threads may be produced by the addition of certain dyes.

Artificial silk bears a deceptive resemblance to the natural article, and has nearly the same l.u.s.ter. It lacks the tensile strength and elasticity, and is of higher specific gravity than true silk.

=Tests.= A simple way of recognizing artificial silk is by testing the threads under moisture, as follows: First, unravel a few threads of the suspected fabric, place them in the mouth and masticate them vigorously. Artificial silk readily softens under this operation and breaks up into minute particles, and when pulled between the fingers shows no thread, but merely a ma.s.s of cellulose or pulp. Natural silk, no matter how thoroughly masticated, will retain its fibrous strength.

The artificial silk offers no resistance to the teeth, which readily go through it; whereas natural silk resists the action of the teeth.

CHAPTER XX

SUBSt.i.tUTES 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, gra.s.ses, leaves, and other plants.

=Wood Pulp.= A Frenchman has discovered a process, _la soyeuse_, of making spruce wood pulp into a subst.i.tute for cotton. Although it is called a subst.i.tute, the samples show that it takes dye, bleaching, and finis.h.i.+ng 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.