Part 10

(_b._) _Waste and Spun Silk Yarns._--The fibre is obtained from "pierced" cocoons, _i.e._, cocoons through which the silk moth has forced a way at the time of emerging from same, also from "wild" cocoons. The low qualities are short-fibred and are only suitable for weft yarns, while the longer drafts produce higher quality yarns well suited for warp.

Counts of spun silk are based upon two distinct systems of numbering. In the French system the number is based on the singles, by metres per kilogramme; two and three cord yarns have one-half, one-third, etc., the length the numbers indicate thus:--

No. 100 singles has 100,000 metres per kilogramme. " 2/100 " 50,000 " " " 3/100 " 33,333 " "

The other and more general system is the English. The hank is 840 yards and the number of the hanks in 1 pound avoirdupois is the count of the yarn. It is based on the finished yarn, and singles and two and three cord yarns of the same number have all the same number of yards per pound. Thus:--

No. 50 singles has 42,000 yards per pound. " 50/2 " 42,000 " " " 50/3 " 42,000 " "

=Sliver.=--A continuous strand of cotton or other fibre in a loose, untwisted condition, ready for the further process of slubbing or roving, preparatory to being spun.

=Spanish Stripes, Cotton.=--A plain-woven all-cotton fabric, sometimes woven from dyed yarns, but oftenest met with as a piece-dyed material woven with a simple one-over and one-under weave. The selvedge is often woven with black warp threads to the width of about 1 inch. The filling weft threads are soft and full, the warp threads are much finer and hard-twisted. The surface is raised and the general appearance of the fabric is similar to Flannelette. Often met with in bright vermilion. Average width, 56 inches; length, 25 yards per piece; and value (nominal), 7_d._ per yard.

=Spanish Stripes, Woollen.=--Essentially an all-wool fabric, free from any ornamentation of weave, printing, or embossing, this class of fabric is woven with a plain one-over and one-under weave. Soft of handle, Spanish Stripes are generally dyed bright red and have as a distinguishing feature a selvedge of coarser warp threads from 1½ to 2 inches in width, some of which are dyed, prior to weaving, a different colour (generally black) to the rest of the warp threads or weft filling threads. These coloured warp threads go towards making generally three separate coloured stripes in the selvedge and have given rise to the name of this particular fabric. In width measuring up to 62 inches and with a length of 29 to 30 yards per piece, Woollen Spanish Stripes are met with in a limited range of quality and the average price of same taken over the period 1904 to 1914 was 1_s._ 8½_d._ per yard.

=Spanish Stripes, Wool and Cotton.=--This class of fabric, being a mixture and not a union fabric, answers to the description of a Woollen Spanish Stripe but differs from it in that it is woven from yarns which are composed of a mixture of wool and cotton. The "handle" is very nearly that of an all-wool fabric, the average width some 62 inches, and the length per piece 29 to 30 yards. The distinctive selvedge of this class of fabric is maintained in the wool and cotton variety.

=Split Foot.=--Refers to black or coloured hosiery having a white or unbleached sole.

=Sponge Cloth.=--A fine cotton or wool fabric having a surface resembling that of a small sponge.

=Spun Silk.=--Applied to a low grade of silk used in the cheaper lines of silk hosiery. It is made from floss, injured cocoons, husks, and waste from reeling, and bears the same relation to silk as cotton waste to cotton or shoddy to wool.

=Staples.=--Staples is a term used to designate those fabrics which are woven in the same way year after year, varying only in the colouring given to them, which may change in accordance with the demands of fashion and of the buyer.

The principal dress goods staples are Brilliantines, Sicilians, Mohairs, Imperial Serges, Storm Serges, Cheviots, Panamas, Batistes, Taffetas, Voile, Muslins, Nun's Veiling, Cashmere, and Shepherd's Checks.

=Surah.=--A light, soft, twilled silk.

=Swansdown.=--Like Cotton Flannel and Flannelette, Swansdown is a fabric made of cotton with a "raised" or "napped" surface. Being raised but on the back of the cloth, it is "single raised": heavy and closely woven Swansdown is a typical raised cotton cloth. The weave is on the satin-weave principle.

=Swiss Embroidery.=--This process of ornamentation closely resembles lappet spots, but, unlike lappet spots, they are in reality the result of a subsequent process of weaving. The essential difference in the manner of attaching the thread which is used for the figuring to the cloth can readily be seen. In Swiss Embroidery there is an equal amount of floating thread used to form the spot on the face of the cloth and on the back, thus producing what may be termed a solid spot on both sides and therefore reversible.

=Swivel Figures.=--High-class fabrics are often ornamented with swivel spots and figures, which are easily distinguished from the lappet or extra warp figures. In this style the figure is interwoven with extra weft by small shuttles into the ground cloth structure. Each figure is produced by an independent weft thread quite distinct from the weft pick forming the ground structure or body of the fabric. The figure threads are well bound into the cloth, the bulk of the material being on the surface. Where no figure is required in the space between, the shuttles remain idle in the loom, and the single thread from each shuttle joining the swivel figures is often cut away. Often used where a silk figure or a mercerised cotton figure is required on a cotton or worsted ground.

=Tapestry.=--A yarn-dyed figured fabric composed of two sets of warp and weft threads, woven on a Jacquard loom.

=T-Cloth.=--An all-cotton plain-woven fabric, usually woven from low-quality yarns, generally sold in the grey or unbleached state. Most of the _T_-Cloth imported into China is a heavily sized cheap grey cloth, usually 30 to 32 inches wide, 24 yards per piece, with a woven coloured heading somewhat similar to the heading in Grey Shirtings. Some _T_-Cloth is imported measuring 36 inches wide by 24 or 40 yards per piece. These Grey _T_-Cloths are generally packed 50 to 75 pieces per bale. Bleached _T_-Cloths, 31 and 36 inches wide, are also imported in small quantities. These are generally packed in cases of 50 pieces. The fabric derives its name from the mark @T@ under which it was first exported. _T_-Cloth is also known as "Mexican."

=Teasels, or Teazels.=--Thistleheads with curved bracts, used in cloth raising.

=Terry Cloth.=--A weave in looped effect. A Velvet in which the loops have not been cut. Frequently applied to cotton fabrics of the order of Agaric and Sponge Cloth. _See_ Turkish Towelling.

=Tests by Burning.=--Yarns or fibres of different origin burn in different manner. Cotton, linen, ramie, rhea, china grass, etc., ignite and burn readily with a bright smokeless and odourless flame, leaving but a small amount of ash, this being the characteristic of vegetable fibres. Animal fibres, on the other hand, are slower to ignite, the appearance of the flame is lifeless, and the fibres burn more slowly than vegetable fibres. Wool, when burnt, emits a disagreeable odour, and the residue or ash takes the form of a bead or knob. Silk burns in the same way as wool when it is free of "weighting." When artificially weighted, silk may have its weight increased to almost any desired extent--from 80 to 200 per cent. increase in weight can be obtained without creating suspicion. When such weighted silk is burnt, instead of forming itself into small black beads or knobs, it burns leaving a distinct ash, which retains somewhat the shape of the original material. Artificial or cellulose silk burns readily and in burning does not give off any odour.

=Test for Artificial Silk.=--The burning test should in most cases be sufficient to distinguish artificial from true silk, but if a chemical test is necessary, by immersing the suspect sample in a caustic potash solution it will be seen that artificial silk turns yellow, whereas true silk does not change colour. Artificial silk, which is a nitro-cellulose, burns very rapidly, leaving practically no ash whatever. A simple way of recognising artificial silk is by testing the threads under moisture. Unravel a few threads of the suspected fabric and place them in the mouth and masticate them thoroughly. 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 mass of cellulose or pulp. Natural silk, no matter how thoroughly masticated, will retain its fibrous strength.

=Tests for Linen.=--Linen, like cotton, burns when a light is applied, leaving a white ash. Linen yarns are more irregular in their thickness longitudinally than cotton thread taken from similar woven fabrics. This difference makes the detection of linen in a woven cloth comparatively easy. The fibres are straighter, longer, and stronger when separated in the thread than cotton. The threads often snap sharp and clear when breaking them in the fingers. The oil test for linen is based upon the property which linen has of more readily absorbing oil than cotton does. When a linen and cotton mixture fabric which has been freed from dressing by washing and boiling is dipped in oil and then held up to the light it will be seen that the linen fibres look transparent, whereas the cotton remains more nearly opaque. This is due to the linen having absorbed the oil more readily than the cotton. All the cotton contained in a linen and cotton fabric can be readily dissolved by dipping the fabric in a concentrated sulphuric acid bath for one or two minutes. The sample is first freed of dressing. After washing and drying a sample so tested the linen fibre only will remain.

=Test for Mercerised Cotton.=--Prepare a solution made by dissolving 1¼ ounces of iodide of potassium in 5 ounces of water, then add to this solution ½ ounce of iodine, and mix with another solution made by dissolving 7½ ounces of zinc chloride in 3 ounces of water. The test is applied as follows: take the suspect sample and free it from any dressing or sizing by soaking it in water; then, after freeing the sample from any superfluous water, place it in some of the prepared solution for three minutes, and then rinse the sample in water. Should the cotton tested have been mercerised it will appear of a deep blue colour. On washing with water the blue colour fades very slowly and needs long washing, whereas ordinary cotton rapidly becomes white on washing. Even dyed piece goods will show the deep blue reaction, which is the result of the testing solution acting upon the caustic soda used in the process of mercerisation. When making this test it is best to treat a "known" unmercerised cotton at the same time as the suspect sample so as to have a basis for comparison.

=Tests for Silk.=--If a silk and wool mixture or union fabric is boiled in strong hydrochloric acid for 15 minutes, it will be found that the wool merely swells, whilst the silk acted upon by the acid completely dissolves. By careful weighing before and after the test it becomes a matter of simple calculation to arrive at the percentage of silk present in the fabric.

=Test for Wool.=--If a fabric suspected of containing wool and cotton or other vegetable fibre is boiled for 15 minutes in a solution made by dissolving either 1 ounce of caustic soda or caustic potash in a pint of water it will be found that all the wool will be destroyed and only the vegetable fibres remain. This test, which is based upon the well-known fact that caustic soda dissolves wool, may be used to ascertain the percentage of wool in a cloth if the sample tested is thoroughly washed, dried, and weighed before the test is applied. After testing and drying, the loss in weight represents the amount of wool which was present and destroyed during the test. This test may be reversed and the cotton destroyed by treating the sample with an 80 per cent. sulphuric acid solution. This, however, is a longer test, necessitating the sample being kept in the sulphuric acid solution for about 10 or 12 hours. Prior to drying and weighing the sample should be well washed in alcohol.

=Textile Fibres.=--The principal fibres which enter into the construction of textiles can be divided into the following six classes:--

_Vegetable._--Cotton, flax, ramie, rhea, china grass, jute, hemp, kapok, and marine fibre.

_Modification of Vegetable._--Mercerised cotton, artificial silk, animalised cotton, artificial wool, paper yarn.

_Animal._--Sheep's wool, mohair, cashmere, camel hair, alpaca, vicuna, llama, guanaco, rabbit hair, horsehair, cow and calf hair.

_Animal Secretions._--Silk and wild silk.

_Mineral._--Asbestos.

_Metallic._--Gold, silver, and other wires, metal-coated fibres.

=Thickset.=--One of the many varieties of Fustian, which comprise Corduroys, Velveteens, Moleskins, Thickset, etc.

=Thread.=--In general, a twisted strand of cotton, flax, wool, silk, etc., spun out to considerable length is called thread. In a specific sense, thread is a compound cord consisting of two or more yarns firmly united together by twisting. Thread made of silk is technically known as sewing thread; that made of flax is known as linen thread; while cotton thread intended for sewing is commonly called spool cotton. These distinctions are generally observed by the trade.

=Three-quarter Hose.=--A variety of ribbed-top stockings made for children and reaching nearly to the knees.

=Ticks, or Ticking.=--Ticking is a single cloth of either medium or heavy weight woven from cotton yarns of from 14's to 22's in warp and filling or from yarns which would give the same weight material, such as 18's warp and 20's filling. Usually woven with two-over-one or three-over-one twill weave. Ticking belongs to the class of stiff, hard-faced cotton fabrics. This feature is due to the warp-faced twill weave. These goods are made usually in two coloured warp patterns, dark blue and white and red and white. One feature which is worthy of mention in regard to Ticking and other similar lines is that they are to-day being stock-dyed in increasing quantities. This method consists of dyeing the cotton or bleaching it, as the case may be, in the raw state and then carding, drawing, and spinning just as if a grey fabric were to be made. Stock-dyeing results in the dye affecting the fibres which form the very centre of a yarn, and for this reason is a better process than dyeing the finished yarn. Brushed, sheared, sized, and calendered Ticking is either packed lapped or rolled into bolts.

=Tire Cloth.=--A fabric made from strong slackly folded yarns of good-quality cotton used in the lining of tires. The warp threads are very closely set, so as best to withstand strain. The weft threads are very openly set, so as to prevent undue pressure on the warp threads, which should lie straight and so avoid friction or cutting which might arise from the action of the inflated inner tube and the tire whilst in use. The yarn used in this type of cloth is usually made from 30's to 34's count, doubled 11 or 12 fold, necessitating great care in the subsequent twisting to ensure evenness of strength and elasticity, which in this class of cloth is essential. Tire fabrics, as used in the manufacture of automobile and bicycle tires, are made from long-staple Sea Island cotton, the yarn being combed and of a comparatively coarse number, usually 8's to 40's, and from single yarn to 12-ply. A wide range of weights is found in these fabrics, varying from 3 to 20 ounces per square yard. This fabric forms the base of the finished rubber tire.

=Tram.=--A thrown silk thread taking its name from the French _trame_, meaning weft, softer and more flossy and having less twist than organzine. 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.

Tram and organzine are, with the exception of spun waste silk, the only kinds of silk thread used for weaving--varying, however, in quality of silk, amount of twist, and in size.

=Trunk Length.=--Applied to women's hosiery midway between ordinary and opera length, usually widened gradually above the knee.

=Tubular Cloth.=--The most commonly met with examples of Tubular Cloths are the ordinary pillow slip, tubular lampwick, tapes, etc., which are in common use.

=Tulle.=--A plain, fine silk net. Practically the same as Maline.

=Turkish Towelling.=--Essentially Terry Cloth woven as an all-cotton fabric having as a salient feature an uncut loop-pile surface. Sold by the linear yard for the making of bath robes, etc. Woven unbleached or with some coloured yarns for bordering effect and subsequently bleached, the coloured yarns used resisting bleaching. Otherwise woven in sizes suitable for cutting into lengths, which are then sold as Turkish Towels.

=Tussore, or Tussah.=--The wild silk from which Shantung and Pongee are made. Applied to these fabrics when heavily and coarsely woven.

=Tweed.=--Rough, unfinished fabric of soft, open, and flexible texture, woven on a plain weave from wool or cotton and wool, usually of yarn of two or more shades. Originally the product of the weavers on the banks of the River Tweed. The face of the cloth presents an unfinished appearance rather than a sharp and clearly defined pattern.

=Twill Weave.=--A twill weave is a weave that produces diagonal lines across the cloth. In this class of weave the filling threads pass over one and under two, or over one and under three, four, five, or six, or over two or three and under one, two, three, or four, or over four and under four, three, six, etc. Where there are the same number of warp and filling threads to the inch, twill lines will form an angle of 45 degrees; if the warp threads are closer together than the filling threads, the twilled lines produced will approach more the horizontal. Twill weaving permits the introduction of more material into the cloth than a plain weave and produces, therefore, a closer and heavier fabric. A twill effect in a material is also called a diagonal, from the direction it has in relation to the length of the cloth. This diagonal effect is continually produced by the warp and weft intersections traversing one thread and one pick further from their respective positions each time a pick of weft is inserted. Twill weaves may be divided into four common classes: (1) regular, (2) broken, (3) fancy, (4) figured.

_Regular Twills._--A regular twill is referred to as a twill of so many "ends" or "shafts"; by this is meant a twill which contains a number of warp and weft threads which, added together, equal the number of "ends." Thus a five-end twill can either have (_a_) four warps and one weft, (_b_) three warps and two wefts, or (_c_) two warps and three wefts--this form of twill will be seen to be a reverse weave to (_b_).

_Broken Twills._--A twill effect produces a twill line which, when the number of warp and weft threads are equal, is at an angle of 45 degrees. In a broken twill effect this line, which may be compared to the left-hand stroke of a letter @V@, is combined with another twill line running in an opposite direction and which is simply a turning or "reversing" of the threads in the regular twill weave. Broken twill effect enters largely into the weave design of Harvard Shirting.

_Fancy Twills._--As the term indicates, fancy twills is a style of weave which, whilst always retaining the main features and essentials of a "regular" twill, has been made fancy by alternating the arrangements of the thread and thus producing "elongated twills," "corkscrew twills," or "combination twills." The description of fancy twills could only be attempted by the use of illustrations and pages of explanations.

_Figured Twills._--Figured twills are regular twills with a small figure introduced between the diagonal lines. The designs introduced are generally small figures produced by plain weave or a small diamond-shaped spot made by either the warp or the weft threads being brought to the surface and made to form the design. The designs are never very elaborate.

=Twin Needle.=--A double row of interlocked machine stitching used for covering raw edges and seams of knit underwear.

=Unclassed Native Cotton Cloth (China).=--All Native Cotton Cloths, whether woven on a hand or power loom, which are not--

(_a._) Nankeen as defined in Customs Notification No. 876 (_see_ Nankeen);

(_b._) Specially enumerated in the General Tariff of 1858 for the Trade of China; or

(_c._) the produce of a Privileged Factory and at the same time enumerated in either the General Tariff of 1858 or the Revised Import Tariff--

are grouped under the heading "Unclassed Native Cotton Cloth." This group comprises:--

1º. All cotton fabrics woven with a plain, satin, or twill weave or a combination of these weaves, in part or whole, from yarns, whether single or folded, which have been either mercerised, gassed, dyed and mercerised, or dyed and gassed prior to weaving, whether woven in a cloth having a solid colour effect or whether woven so as to produce a striped or woven figured effect.

2º. All fabrics woven with a plain, satin, or twill weave or a combination of these weaves from grey, white, or dyed yarns which subsequent to weaving have been mercerised or dyed in the piece.

3º. Generally all cotton fabrics woven so as to imitate foreign yarn-dyed fabrics, whether same are devoid of a raised finish or have been raised on either back or face of the cloth, irrespective of whether the yarn has or has not been mercerised prior to weaving and irrespective of whether the cloth has or has not been mercerised after leaving the loom.

The term "=Native Cotton Cloth=" (China) is applied to hand-loom fabrics other than Nankeen, unclassed native cotton cloths or fabrics that are specifically enumerated in the General Tariff of 1858 for the Trade of China. The name is given to a group of cloths which answer to the following description:--

1º. All hand-loom plain-weave fabrics which do not exceed 20 inches in width woven from ordinary grey or white single cotton yarn which have been piece-dyed after leaving the loom, but which have not been either mercerised or gassed.

2º. All hand-loom plain-weave fabrics which do not exceed 20 inches in width woven from ordinary grey or white single cotton yarn which have been either resist, discharge, or direct printed but which have not been either mercerised or gassed after leaving the loom.

=Union Broadcloth.=--This fabric, also known under the name of Poncho Cloth, is a plain-woven cotton warp and woollen weft fabric, woven in the unusual width of 74 inches and averaging in length of piece from 36 to 38 yards. The selvedge of this class of fabric is distinctive, showing a long unshorn hairy surface. The face of the cloth does not show the weave or yarn intersection points, as it has a typical Broadcloth finish, but these are distinctly to be seen on the back of the fabric. A Union Broadcloth of the above description, typical of that generally exported to China, averaged in value during the years 1904 to 1914 about 1_s._ 6_d._ per yard.