Part 28

=Warp=—in mill parlance “a warp” is the quantity of chain required to fully equip a loom, about 400 yards or enough for eight 50-yard pieces of a pattern, which is the least a mill usually will start to weave, altho occasionally “half a w.” will be put on. Hence, if a buyer order one piece of a certain pattern and no one else should order of that particular style, the solitary buyer would not be likely to get his goods, the alleged reason usually being that of delay.

=Warp beam=—the roller or b. in a loom on which the w. is wound.

=Warp dresser=—a machine for sizing yarns before placing them in the loom.

=Warp mill=—a machine for arranging the threads for laying the w. in a loom.

=Warp-printed=—trade term for fabrics (usually silks) wherein the pattern or design is p. on the warp threads before weaving, the filling being of plain color or neutral shades.

=Warp wing=—a proprietary term distinguishing a certain make of shirt collars, the wings or points of which are inserted the way of the w., it being claimed that w. threads are stronger than weft threads, and hence such collars are more likely to stand the wear and tear of laundering longer than collars made in the usual way.

=Warping=—the process of making warp.

=Wash cloth=—a small, square of terry or other material, for toilet purposes.

=Wash clothes=—(nautical) garments that have been washt and hung on the line to dry.

=Wash goods=—trade term for fabrics, manufactured articles of apparel, etc., designed to be washt or laundered.

=Wash suit=—trade term for garments made of washable materials, particularly for boys and children’s wear.

=Washable=—(1) that may be washt or laundered without injury to color, texture or finish; (2) goods without special Glaze or Finish.

=Washed=—see Washt.

=Washer=—one of the old names for kersey.

=Washerlady=—a person who helps others keep up a good appearance, sometimes at her own expense; as bad a bill-collector as the tailor, and an individual who knows more secrets than she gets paid for keeping.

=Washerwoman=—many prefer the title “washerlady” (qv).

=Washing=—see Scouring.

=Washing mitten=—see Bath m.

=Washington navy serge=—a fine grade, wool-dyed worsted s. of exceptional tensil strength and wearing qualities, of a permanent rich indigo color, adopted by the U. S. Government as the standard for naval officer’s uniforms. Made by the Washington mills, one of the largest plants in America, if not in the world.

=Washt=—jewelry trade term for very cheap jewelry of base metal with a light electroplating of gold. (=Washed.=)

=Washt=—term for fleece washt on the sheep before clipping by means of cold water. Compare Scoured, Tub washt and Unmerchantable. (=Washed.=)

=Watch=—(1) a pocket timepiece; (2) a means of occasional emergent restoration of finances.

=Watch Albert=—a guard, usually of leather and metal, worn attacht to the lapel buttonhole, the w. being carried in the outside breast pocket of coat.

=Watch cap=—a knitted c. of navy-blue worsted, conical in shape, worn by enlisted men in the navy on working duty.

=Watch coat=—general name for overcoats worn by sailors on w. in cold weather, at night, etc.

=Watch-guard=—a chain, cord or ribbon attacht to a w. at one end and to the person at the other.

=Watch pocket=—(1) a small p. inserted in the waistband of trousers; also called fob p.; (2) the lower left-hand p. of a waistcoat.

=Watch wristlet=—a leather w. with a small watch embedded therein, worn by chappies at pretty outdoor games and by some motormen on street cars.

=Water bag=—a b. made of linen duck for carrying drinking water while hunting, exudation and evaporation cooling the contents.

=Water stiff=—trade term for felt hats of the cheaper grades, stiffened by a w. process. See Wine s.

=Watered=—see Moire.

=Waterfall=—a sort of puff scarf, not crost in front; a once-over.

=Watermarks=—spots or discolorations on goods (as woolen cloths, etc.), happening during process of sponging.

=Waterproof=—general name for any textil fabric so treated, by rubber or chemicals or otherwise, that it repels instead of absorbing water. See Cravenette.

=Waterproofing=—the method or process of rendering fabrics impervious to water, for which there are many formulae, each “the best”. See an encyclopedia.

=Water wings=—pneumatic aids for swimming learners.

=Wattle weave=—a style of straw hat not easy to describe unless you know what wattle is.

=Waukenphast=—a sort of orthopedic shoe.

=Waulking=—a finishing process in the manufacture of Harris tweeds and other homespun woolens of British crofting localities: the cloth after weaving being laid out on long tables or boards, soap and water liberally poured on and the cloth vigorously pommeled by hand until sufficiently fulled or thickened, after which it is washt in clear, cold, running water, and is then ready for the market.

=Wax=—general term for various waxes used in the trades, as beesw., shoemaker’s w., etc.

=Wax calf=—calfskin tanned and finisht for upper leather, on the flesh side.

=Wax cloth=—trade term for waterproof fabrics treated by a paraffin process.

=Wax-end=—in shoemaking, a stout thread or its end, made stiff and pointed with wax or waxed and twisted with a bristle.

=Wearables=—clothes; wearing apparel.

=Weather test=—see Exposure t.

=Weatherproof=—rainproof.

=Weaving=—the mechanical process of manufacturing textil fabrics from yarns or threads. Very interesting and important but too complicated for the limited scope of this concise book—consult some good encyclopedia or work on textil processes and then get permission to go thru a mill.

=Web thumb=—trade term for a flexible connecting piece between t. and forefinger of baseball gloves. See Fielder’s glove.

=Wedding outfit=—a collection of sartorial elegance that one expends much pains to acquire and later wonders why he did it.

=Wedding ring=—equivalent to the “sold” tickets placed on furniture in the shops; custom permits men to wear them as well as women—but few are brave enough.

=Wedge heels=—see Spring h.

=Weeds=—mourning.

=Weft=—the woof or filling of a fabric; the threads that cross the warp from selvage to selvage.

=Weichsel=—aromatic cherry wood, used for canes, umbrella handles, cigar holders, etc.

=Weight=—in piece goods the number of ounces a yard of material weighs. See Winter w., Spring w., Summer w., Tropical w., Fall w.

=Weighted silk=—s. that in dyeing has been so weighted or loaded with superfluous heavy chemicals, gums, etc., as to weigh considerably more than before dyeing. Compare Pure dye. See Weighting.

=Weighted silk test=—apply lighted match and if flame continues a few seconds after removal of match, silk is w.

=Weighting=—in silk dyeing the process of surcharging the yarn or fabric with gums, mineral matter, etc., for the purpose of making the goods seem stout and heavy; also called loading.

=Welfare work=—name felicitously applied to polite intermeddling in employes’ affairs by large corporations; a sort of paternalism that stimulates an artificial interest in the business and a covert study of how to break the golden rule; a variant of the living-in system of English shop assistants; also a variant of our modern slum settlement work.

=Well-brusht=—clean, neat, presentable. (=W.-brushed.=)

=Wellington boot=—a tight-fitting b. of fine leather, the tops usually of morocco, hugging the calf closely and coming to a point in front and there finisht with a small colored silk tassel; a style of the early part of the last century.

=Wellington cloak=—a military style of cape, such as is latterly worn by mounted policemen.

=Wellington frock=—the single-breasted f. coat of 1818; perhaps the first of modern coats cut with a waist seam.

=Wellington hat=—a U. S. military h. of early in the 19th century, long, narrow, high, with a small tassel or roset on the two extreme points of the turned-up brim.

=Wellington trousers=—see Pantaloon t.

=Wellingtons=—see above.

=Welt=—in tailoring (1) a strip of material seamed to a pocket opening as a finishing as well as strengthening device; (2) a raised or swelled lap seam; (3) a covered cord or ornamental strip sewed on a border or along a seam. In knitting (1) a flap knitted separately and then joined to the main fabric by looping or hand knitting, as the heel piece of a stocking; (2) a ribbed piece forming the finishing end, as of a sleeve or sock, to prevent rolling. In glove making (1) a piece fastened on the edge of a seam; (2) a sewed on hem-finish at the wrist of a glove. In shoemaking a strip of leather set into the seam between the edges of the upper and outer sole, thru which they are sewed together. See Goodyear w., McKay sewed, W. sole, etc.

=Welt cutter=—a machine for notching welts for boots and shoes to make them lie smoothly in position.

=Welt leather=—any l. fit for making shoe welts; usually the shoulder ends of hides.

=Welt machine=—a m. for cutting leather into strips to be used as shoe welts.

=Welt seam=—in tailoring a lapt s. with the top edge turned under thus raising or swelling it; a raised or swelled s.

=Welt seam=—(glove term) an inseam (qv) with a strip of leather between the join acting as a protector to the stitches, used only on working gloves of very stout leathers.

=Welt sole=—(1) a name used for designating a particular method of attaching the outer s. to a shoe; that is, the s. is stitcht to a w. and the w. to the inner sole and upper; (2) a shoe made by the w. process. There are various methods of using a w.; Goodyear w. being the best known; Mock w. being an imitation of the Goodyear process; McKay w. being a process where the McKay method of attaching the outer s. is used in connection with a w. in imitation of the Goodyear process.

=Welted pocket=—a p. without a covering flap finisht with a sewed-on strip or welt and stitcht to match the edges and seams.

=Welting=—the process in modern shoe making following that of lasting—the surplus leather being trimmed off, the shank tackt in place, the bottom filled with cork (if at all) and the sole put on. See Welt sole.

=West-of-England=—trade term for extra fine dress worsteds, broadcloths, etc.; properly from woolen manufacturing towns in the west of England. (Bradford, Huddersfield, Leeds, etc.)

=West Point overcoat=—one of the many names applied to an ulster-like coat brought out during the winter of 1907–08—both single and double-breasted, buttoning to the throat, with a high Prussian collar.

=West Point uniform=—see Cadet u.

=Western Union messenger’s uniform=—see Telegraph m. u.

=Wether wool=—all clippings subsequent to the first clip from the young sheep. See Lamb’s w.

=Weybosset=—one of the oldest American woolen mills, at one time famous for its original patterns in cloths, which were in great demand and widely copied.

=Whale fin=—one of the trade names for whalebone.

=Whalebone=—a horny substance from the throat of the whale, used as stiffening in corsets, etc.

=Whangee=—any of several varieties of bamboo (Chinese and Japanese) used for walking sticks.

=What-d’ye-call-’ems=—colloquial for drawers, breeches, and the like.

=Wheel piece=—an extra p. patcht on to the plait-side of the skirt of a frock coat, necessitated by inability to cut the pattern whole from narrow width goods, the seam being concealed in the folds or plaits; once a common expedient, but now with double-width goods seldom, if ever, necessary.

=Wheeling=—a process for indenting a fancy figuring or line around the heel of a shoe or for indenting a conventional figure or line on the bottom of a shoe as one of the finishing processes. See Heel seat w.

=Wherewithal=—vernacular for the means of purchasing, etc.; money.

=Whipcord=—a worsted fabric with rounded cords or ribs extending diagonally across the surface; usually dyed in plain colors or woven in mixtures of oxford, tan with white, etc.

=Whipping the cat=—up to about 50 years ago or thereabout it was the practise of country tailors to go about from house to house and from town to town and cut and make on the premises such clothing as the household needed, usually from the homespun cloth made by the housewives. This was called “whipping the cat”.

=Whipstitch=—to sew the edge of a fabric or a seam with long, wrapping stitches; to overcast.

=Whisk=—small, short-handled clothes-broom.

=White cap=—(=army=) for officers, of white linen or white duck, conforming to the pattern of the service c., with a band of white braid, and with visor, strap, buttons as prescribed for dress c.; no badge; for enlisted men, same as for officers, omitting the white braid; (=marine corps=) for all officers, of white duck, of same pattern as undress c., trimmed with white braid, the base of the c. to a depth of one-quarter inch all around to be of dark blue cloth.

=White coat=—(=army=) for all officers, a c. of white linen duck or other material, cut and made after the same (general) pattern as the (blue) dress c. (qv), the braid trimming being also white; for enlisted men, a single-breasted sack c. of bleacht cotton duck, of regulation pattern, with collar ornaments as for dress c.

=White dress coat=—(=navy=) for chief petty officers, except bandmaster, and for officer’s stewards and officer’s cooks: of bleacht cotton drill of pattern prescribed for blue coats of the several ratings, unlined, with patch pockets without flaps; for bandsmen, the same as for enlisted men of the marine corps.

=White evening dress coat=—(=navy=) see Evening d. c.

=White gold=—an alloy of 5 parts of silver to one of gold.

=White goods=—general trade term embracing all white cotton and linen fabrics; also staple articles of apparel in white.

=White helmet=—(=marine corps=)—for all officers, non-commissioned officers, drummers, trumpeters and privates, same as standard sample in quartermaster’s office; with special full dress and full dress, the spike and spike base will be worn; with undress or field uniforms the ventilator top only. No corps device.

=White lapel=—nickname for a lieutenant in the English navy, alluding to the w. lapels formerly worn on the coat.

=White rose=—a perfume sufficiently explained by its name.

=White service coat=—(=navy=) for officers, similar in cut and fit to the blue s. c., of white linen duck, bleacht cotton twill, or other suitable material, without braid trimming, and buttoning thru with 5 large, gilt navy buttons (except for chaplains, which are white), and having on each breast a buttoned patch pocket; appropriate shoulder marks per rank.

=White service dress=—(=navy=) a uniform to be worn at all times not otherwise provided for, and instead of other uniform in hot weather, on occasions of ceremony, when offense would not thereby be given, if prescribed by the senior officer present. Consists of, for all commissioned officers and midshipmen, w. s. coat, w. trousers, w. cap (or helmet), shoulder marks; for warrant officers, mates and clerks, the same without shoulder marks.

=White trousers=—(=army=) for officers, of same material as coat, without stripe, welt or cord; for enlisted men: of bleacht cotton duck without stripes.

=White undress coat=—(=marine corps=) see Undress c.

=White uniform=—(=army=) worn by all officers, dismounted, when authorized by the commanding officer, but not on occasions of duty with troops; consists of w. coat, w. trousers, w. cap, w. canvas or black leather shoes; for enlisted men, dismounted, worn when prescribed by commanding officer for off-duty wear, but not on dress occasions: w. coat, w. trousers, w. cap, w. canvas or black leather shoes.

=White wax=—bleacht beeswax.

=White working dress=—(=navy=) see Working d.

=Whitecaps=—a sort of vigilance committee, robed in white with white caps on their nocturnal morality raids.

=Whitewings=—a piccadilly shirt collar. See Wing collar.

=Whitewings=—a name given to the white uniformed street cleaners organized in New York by Col. Waring and now copied by many large cities.

=Whiting=—British for bleaching.

=Whitney=—(1) a heavy, coarse, sturdy woolen stuff of 18th century, used for coats, breeches, etc.; (2) a soft bodied overcoat cloth, resembling chinchilla but with the face tufted in transverse ridges.

=Whitney long=—same as Whitney (2) but with the face tufting running longitudinally instead of transversely.

=Whole back=—tailoring term indicating (1) a coat made with a b. in one piece, without seams, (2) the backpart of a frock coat cut in one piece (without a center seam and not stubbed or cut across), the skirts of which may be open or closed. Compare Frock b., Stubbed b., Step b., False b. Skirt.

=Whole falls=—see Broad f.

=Whole-sole=—to put entire new (lower) soles to a worn shoe, boot, etc.

=Whole vamp=—see Long v.

=Wholesale=—selling in quantity, to retailers; jobbing.

=Whytlaw=—general trade term for fine shirting ginghams, madrasses, etc., manufactured by R. A. Whytlaw, Son & Co., Glasgow, Scotland.

=Wide-awake=—a soft, broad-brimmed, felt hat.

=Wide wale=—general name for flat-twilled close finisht worsted suitings with warpwise or diagonal wales or flat ribs, often quite wide. Compare Narrow w.

=Widower’s weeds=—equivocal manifestations of uxorial grief.

=Wig=—an arrangement of false hair for concealing baldness or for the supposed adornment of the head; origin lost in antiquity. From the time of Louis XIII until nearly the close of the 18th century gentlemen could not or would not appear without one. In those days wigs were of innumerable sizes and shapes and bore descriptiv names, those of England and colonial America being often whimsical and, to us now, grotesque, as: Adonis, allonge, beau peruke, bob, brigadier, campaign, club, cut-w., corded wolf’s paw, Count Saxe’s mode, giddy feathertop, Gregorian, grave full-bottom, Grecian fly, Jansenist, lavant, lawyer’s long tail, fox-tail, full-bottom, feathertop, macaroni toupee, major, minor, neck lock, scratch, spinach seed, she-dragon, snail back, Ramillies, tie, twist, royal bird, tuck, wild boar’s back, vallancy, dalmahoy, rhinoceros, Tyburn, cauliflower, curley roys, minister’s bob, airy levants, etc. Wigs are still worn on the English bench and by the speaker of the House of Commons.

=Wigan=—a very stiff, open, canvas interlining material used by tailors for stiffening and giving shape to flies, cuffs, vest-fronts, collars, etc. Also spelt wiggin, wigging, etc.

=Willeying=—a mechanical process for untangling and cleaning wool fleece. (Fr. name of the inventor.)

=Willie=—too good to live.

=Willow pattern=—an effect in straw hat braids, so woven as to resemble a willow basket in texture, tho much finer, of course.

=Willowing=—see Willeying.

=Willowing machine=—a machine for cleaning and opening textil fibers and wools preparatory to the spinning processes. Also called opening m. and devil.

=Wilsonia magnetic hat=—a h. that had a tremendous vogue during the third quarter (?) of the last century because supposed to be infallible as a cure for headache, neuralgia, etc., owing to small strips of magnetised steel sewed to a cloth band which was attacht to the h. inside the leather sweat-lining. (Name from that of the manufacturer?)

=Wincey=—a cloth, plain or twilled, usually with a cotton warp and wool filling.

=Wind muff=—see W. shield.

=Wind shield=—a silk or light rubber part sewed to the lining of a coat sleeve near the cuff, with an elastic or drawing cord to make it fit snugly to the wrist for the purpose of excluding wind while automobiling, etc.

=Window garments=—generally speaking, g. that are much better than the g. actually delivered to the customer; a favorit device of the “cheap tailor” for attracting trade, being made almost invariably by highly paid journeymen tailors, and representing in the case of coats a cost from $8 to $15 for making alone, against say $2.50 to $5 that it would cost the tailor himself to produce in his own shops; naturally such coats are not for sale, except at the end of the season, and then for as much as they will bring; the readymade clothier also occasionally indulges in this practice—the really fashionable tailor almost never, as he seldom has show windows and as seldom advertises; besides his everyday g. are as good in workmanship and usually superior in style.

=Window of the sole=—proprietary term for a paper label attacht by its edges to the center of a shoe s., on the outside, the space beneath not being stained, while the rest of the s. is both stained and polisht; removal of the “window” covering exposing and attesting the quality of the leather; a trade mark of the Regal Shoe Co.

=Window trimmer=—a man who generally understands the psychology of attracting attention.

=Windsor cap=—a fur c. with a high, full, round crown and a wide, rolling band, high at rear and sloping to a short, rolled peak in front.

=Windsor leather=—a straight-grained, stampt l. used for hand luggage.

=Windsor tie=—affected by would-be bohemians and forced upon helpless children such as would-be little Lords Fauntleroy.

=Wine stiff=—trade term for felt hats stiffened by a preparation of alcohol. See Water s.

=Wing collar=—a standing shirt c. with triangular, turned back points or wings; also known as Piccadilly and “white wings”.

=Wing tip=—an ornamental tip on a shoe, which instead of being cut off at right angles or in a straight line as ordinary tips, is carried back along the sides.

=Wining=—in hat making the act or process of putting a solution of shellac upon the edge of a brim to re-enforce or harden same.

=Winter mink=—m. caught in the cold winter months; the finest quality. Compare Spring m.

=Winter tan=—any extra stout t. leather used for heavy footwear, particularly storm boots.

=Winter weight=—in the woolens trades suitings of 16 to 20 ounces and overcoatings of 24 to 30 ounces to the yard are so known. Compare Spring w., Fall w., Summer w., Tropical w.

=Wipe=—a handkerchief.

=Wiping in=—the process of shaping the toe or other parts of a shoe by means of iron wipers or grippers.

=Witch=—the shed motion of a loom. See Dobbie.

=Witney=—a heavy cloth. See Whitney.

=Woad=—(1) an herb of the mustard family (esatis tinctoria), used by the ancient Britons for staining their bodies and later by dyers as a dye and as a ferment; (2) the blue dye obtained from the leaves of the plant but now almost entirely superseded by indigo, with which, however, it is occasionally mixt to promote fermentation.

=Woaded=—dyed or tattooed with woad.

=Wombat=—an Australian animal, somewhat like a small bear.

=Wood silk=—a textil fiber produced by chemical treatment of wood pulp, making yarns of good strength and great brilliancy and softness, permanent except against the action of water. See Artificial s.

=Wood yarn=—cellulose fiber converted into flat strips of requisit thickness and width and then spun into textil y., sometimes alone and sometimes, for greater strength, around a minute cotton thread, forming the material known as Xylolin (qv). This y. can be woven into almost any fabric or form, such as dress and clothing fabrics, bathing suits, underwear, imitation Panama hats, carpets, bagging, draperies, etc. It is washable and cleanable, and is not especially combustible.

=Woof=—(1) the threads that cross the warp in weaving; the weft or filling; (2) a term sometimes used to indicate finisht cloth or textures.