Part 7

From the above it would seem clear that true Nankeen is a plain native cotton cloth woven on a native hand loom from unbleached and undyed yarn spun from cotton of a yellowish or yellow-brownish natural colour. The weave of Nankeen is a plain one-over and one-under shirting weave, such being the type of weave most readily produced on a native hand loom. The finished fabric is marketed in its loom state.

True Nankeen is therefore devoid of any ornamentation or figuring produced by weave or subsequent printing, embossing, dyeing, or stencilling. The width of Nankeen has apparently been always recognised as not exceeding 20 inches.

The name Nankeen in China was originally used to describe native hand-loom cloths of the above variety only, but as new and slightly different makes of native cloth appeared on the market the practice grew of including them under this heading, until gradually the term was used to describe not only the true Nankeen but a whole group of native cloths answering to the following description: all-cotton cloths not exceeding 20 inches in width, woven on a hand loom with a one-over and one-under shirting weave from cotton yarn which has not been previously dyed or mercerised, and including cloths of the above variety which have either been bleached, piece-dyed in solid greyish or blue colour, or woven from yarn previously dyed in greyish or blue colour, and including hand-loom-woven grey or bleached cotton cloths not exceeding 20 inches wide which have been ornamented by the introduction in the weave of a yarn-dyed blue stripe or yarn-dyed blue checkered design.

This loose application of the term continued until the 2nd May 1917, when the Chinese Maritime Customs, in their Notification No. 876 (Shanghai, 2nd May 1917) laid down an authoritative definition of this class of piece goods reading as follows:--

1. The cloth must be of plain shirting weave, woven on a hand loom of the old style; it must not exceed 20 inches (English) in width.

2. The "count" of the yarn (whether Chinese or foreign) from which the cloth is made must not exceed 20's. The yarn must be single in both warp and weft; it must not be "gassed."

3. The cloth may be of the natural colour, _i.e._, undyed, or it may be bleached or dyed in the yarn. It must not be dyed in the piece.

Chinese Cotton Cloth that does not fulfil the above conditions will not be treated as Nankeen.

=Noils= are the rejected fibres from the process of combing the different wools and hairs prior to making them up into yarn. The primary object of combing is to sort or separate the long from the short fibres.

=Ombré.=--Having graduated stripes in colour effect which shade from light to dark.

=Opera Hose.=--Women's stockings of extra length ordinarily measuring 34 inches.

=Organzine.=--This name is given to a hard and strong finished silk thread which has been given a great deal of twist in the throwing. Organzine is used for warps, as strength and regularity are needed in warp threads so that they may bear the strain and friction of weaving. When silk is thrown with less twist, and is therefore softer and more or less flossy, it is known as Tram and is used for the weft in weaving.

=Orleans.=--This fabric, also known as a Lustre Orleans, is one of the many varieties of lustre dress fabrics met with and described elsewhere. Woven with cotton warp and lustre weft, free from ornamentation, it is a simple one-over and one-under plain-weave fabric. Average width, 30 to 31 inches; length, 30 yards; price in normal times averaging, for the usual type, as low as 8½_d._ per yard.

In fineness of appearance it lies midway between a Mohair Brilliantine, which is of finer weave, and a Mohair Sicilian, which is of similar weave, coarser, but more lustrous in appearance.

=Ottoman.=--A silk or cotton weave having thick ribs at various intervals. Originally, the thick cord ran crossways. When the cord runs lengthways the fabric is often known as an Ottoman Cord.

This material is also called a Persian Cord, which is a cloth made from worsted or cotton warp and worsted weft employing the plain weave, but with the warp threads working in twos, thus giving a rib effect.

=Outsize.=--When used as a knitted goods term it is applied to women's stockings made in extra widths.

=Oxford.=--Originally a wool fabric in dark grey and white mixtures. Of late years heavy cotton and linen fabrics have been known by this name.

=Oxford Shirting.=--This fabric is an all-cotton fabric woven with a plain-weave ground and ornamented by the introduction of broken twill or fancy twill weave. It is woven with white and coloured yarns, which go to make the pattern or design--which in the main takes the form of stripes--of broken twill weave running lengthways of the material. Where the design is produced by printing, the material would not be an Oxford Shirting, but would more correctly be classed as an "imitation" or "printed" Oxford.

Oxford Shirting has been described as "a matt weave of coloured yarns, forming small checked effects or basket effects." As the name shows, it is extensively used in the making of shirts and ranges in quality from a low-grade to a high-quality fabric.

=Padded Back Linings.=--When a fabric is printed black on one side, or backed, to prevent the printed pattern on the face of the cloth from showing through, it is known as a Padded Back Lining. A natural back lining is a solid-coloured lining printed on one side only. This class of fabric is generally woven from all-cotton yarns, but may include fabrics which contain wool, silk, or other fibres.

=Pad-dyeing.=--Fabrics are generally piece-dyed after leaving the loom by being immersed in a bath of dye or colouring material. With a view to quickening more than actually cheapening the process of dyeing, "pad-dyeing" was evolved. This roughly consists in threading the cloth to be dyed into a machine the main features of which are dye baths and rubber rollers. The cloth is made to pass over rollers, dip into a dye bath and pass through rollers which squeeze out the superfluous dye, allowing same to fall back into the dye bowl or bath. In "pad-dyeing" the cloth may pass as often as six times through the dye liquor before it enters the first set of squeezers, and it may be given as many as four more passes through the liquor before the second set of squeezers are gone through; this, according to experts, gives "thorough saturation to any and all goods difficult to penetrate." It is generally recognised that any degree of saturation can be attained by the process of pad-dyeing, and cloth may be run through a machine at the rate of some 275 yards per minute and yet be well saturated. In a description of a pad-dyeing machine the nature of the operation performed by this machine is called "dyeing" and not "printing." The only difference therefore between piece-dyeing in a vat and in a pad-dyeing machine is that in the one instance the cloth is made to circulate in a dye bath or through a series of dye baths instead of being allowed to remain still in a dye vat until impregnated. The object aimed at and attained, _i.e._, the saturation of the cloth with a dye or colouring liquor, is identical.

All fabrics showing thorough saturation of ground colour (_i.e._, where both sides of the fabric are equally dyed) are considered as dyed whether they have been dyed by vat-dyeing or pad-dyeing.

=Panne.=--A light-weight Velvet with "laid" or flattened pile. Applied to a range of satin-faced Velvets or silk fabrics which show a high lustre, which is produced by pressure. The word _panne_ is French for Plush.

=Panung.=--The nether garment of the Siamese. Made from cloth of the Papoon style or from woven or printed Checks. Papoon is a plain-woven cloth having warp and weft of different colours. It is also woven in two-and-two checking.

=Panama Canvas.=--An all-cotton plain matt weave fabric, similar to Basket Cloth, but woven from dyed yarns.

=Papoon.=--An all-cotton fabric woven from coloured yarns, the warp being of a different colour to the weft or filling threads. Exported to Siam, where it is extensively used for panungs.

=Paramatta.=--A thin union fabric woven as a three-shaft weft-faced twill from cotton warp and Botany worsted weft, used extensively for the manufacture of waterproof articles.

=Pastel.=--Applied to tones of any colour when exceptionally pale.

=Pastille.=--A round or oval spot.

=Peau de Cygne.=--A closely woven silk having a lustrous but uneven surface.

=Peau de Soie.=--A closely woven silk having a somewhat uneven satin-like surface. Literally, "skin of silk." A variety of heavy, soft-finished, plain-coloured dress silk woven with a pattern of fine close ribs extending weftways of the fabric. The best grades are reversible, being similarly finished on both sides; lower grades are finished on one side only. The weave is an eight-shaft satin with one point added on the right or left, imparting to the fabric a somewhat grainy appearance.

=Pekiné, or Pekin Stripes.=--A colour design in stripes of equal width and with equal space between.

=Pepperell Drill.=--The very superior qualities of Drills, woven from the highest quality yarns, are distinguishable by their carefully woven appearance and known as Pepperell Drills.

=Percale.=--A plain-weave cotton fabric of fine or medium count, used for shirtings, dresses, linings, etc. Percale is usually printed on one side with geometrical figures, generally black, although other colours are sometimes used. The fabric is bleached before printing and has an entire lack of gloss, differing from Percaline, which has a very glossy finish. It is often printed in stripes and, when so printed, is known as Percale Stripes.

=Percaline.=--A highly finished and dressed light-weight Percale, piece-dyed in solid colours and not printed. Percaline is an all-cotton, plain, closely woven fabric, generally met with in shades of blue, green, black, brown, and tan. Highly calendered and glossed.

=Persian Cord.=--A worsted or cotton warp and worsted weft fabric woven with a plain weave, but with the warp threads working in twos, thus giving a rib effect. Also called Ottoman.

=Pick.=--When the word "pick" is used in connexion with weaving, it always signifies the filling or weft threads, while each warp thread is called an "end" or a "thread." Picks run across the width of the fabric.

=Piece Goods.=--A usual trade reference for fabrics which are woven in lengths suitable for retail sale by linear measure.

=Pile Fabrics.=--Materials of silk or cotton wherein the surface is woven with raised loops, which are afterwards cut, forming a raised "pile." They include Plushes, Velvets, Velveteens, and Corduroys.

The threads that go towards making the pile are special threads independent of the warp and weft threads necessary to make a fabric that will hold together.

If the raised loops are left uncut, as more frequently is the case with warp piles, the fabric is spoken of as "Terry." If cut, as is sometimes the case with warp piles, and usually the case with weft piles, the fabric is spoken of as "cut-pile."

A generic name, used more in the elementary distributing trade, covering the classes of goods known amongst retailers and consumers as Velveteen, Corduroy, Turkish Towelling, Plush, etc.

=Pile Weave.=--Numerous varieties of cloth woven with a pile surface, such as Plush, Velvet, Velveteen, Silk Seals, Pony Skin, Beaver, Chinchilla Plush, and Carpeting of various kinds, are produced by this style of weave. The distinctive feature of this weave is that the surface consists of threads standing closely together like bristles in a brush. These threads appear either as threads sheared off smooth, so as to form a uniform or even surface, as in the case of Velvet, or may appear in the form of loops, as in the case of Towelling. The threads forming the pile are fixed to the back in a more or less firm manner and are known as "loose" or "fast" pile: the former takes the form of the letter @U@ and the latter of the letter @W@. The loose pile may be driven out of the material by pressure, as there are not the same binding threads holding it as in the fast pile, or, again, they may be drawn out through the back of the material by relatively little scratching with, say, the edge of a paper-knife. The fast pile cannot be so withdrawn, as one of the warp threads passes in each of the two surface depressions as well as under the centre bend of the @W@, thus firmly binding it to the cloth. All other conditions being equal, a fast-pile material would be the better and more expensive of the two, and for upholstery or where there is much wear the "fast" pile is essential. Pile-weave materials are shipped on iron frames of about 60 yards, the material being hooked on to the frame by the selvedge so as to prevent the crushing of the pile. For export two frames are boxed together, separated by a wood partition.

=Piqué.=--A stout cotton fabric having as a distinguishing feature wide or fine welts, running "lengthways in the piece" and extending side by side from selvedge to selvedge. It is woven in the unbleached state and bleached before being placed on the market. It is also made in part of dyed yarns, forming ornamental stripes. It is sometimes referred to as Welts or Bedford Cords. This fabric is described in the English market as a fabric having "transverse ribs or welts, produced by stitching tightly weighted warp threads through a fine plain-woven cloth which has its warp lightly tensioned." The ribs or welts are sometimes emphasised by the introduction of wadding weft. In America this material is sometimes described as "P.K."

=P.K.=--An American way of writing Piqué. This abbreviated designation of the word is limited to America and seldom met with on English invoices.

=Plain.=--As a weaving term the word "plain" is used to designate the simplest weave, in which the weft thread passes under one and over one warp thread. This system of interlacing produces a "plain" or "one-over and one-under" or "shirting" weave. The term is also used to denote that a fabric is not figured, _i.e._, that it is free of ornamentation produced by either extra threads or combination of weaves.

=Plain Velvet (Cotton).=--An all-cotton pile fabric, which is more often known under the name of Velveteen. There would appear, however, to be a difference between the two fabrics, which lies only in the length of the pile, the pile of Velvet being if anything a little longer than that of Velveteen and shorter than that of Plush. 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.

=Plain Velveteen (Cotton).=--This fabric, like all true Velveteens, is an all-cotton pile fabric which has not been ornamented or figured in any way, either by being printed or embossed or by combination of weave, and would be of uniform colour throughout the width and length of the material.

=Plain (or Homespun) Weave.=--Plain cloth is the simplest cloth that can be woven. In this weave one series of threads (filling or weft) 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 weave is used in the production of Muslin, Gingham, Broadcloth, Taffetas, etc.

Checks are produced in plain weaving by the use of bands of coloured warp and coloured filling. This weave produces a strong and firm cloth. It is also called calico or tabby weave, and referred to as a "one-over and one-under" weave.

=Plated.=--An American term used in connexion with goods having the face of one material and the back of another; for instance, a garment having a wool face and cotton back is "plated." The face may also be of one colour and the back of another, both of the same material.

=Plissé.=--French for pleated; applied to fabrics which have as a distinctive feature a narrow lengthways fold like the pleats of a closed fan. Also known as Tucks.

=Plumetis.=--A sheer cotton fabric ornamented with tufts at intervals. A Figured Muslin or Lawn of high quality and price which shows on its face dots or small sprigs of flowers which closely imitate real hand embroidery. These designs are the result of swivel figuring. This fabric is also known as Plumety.

=Plush.=--As a distinctive fabric Plush would appear to be a pile fabric having a fairly long pile woven on the same principle as Velvet, but composed of wool, mohair, or mixed fibres, and sometimes from a silk pile and cotton back. Used as an adjective, the word "plush" would mean woven with a pile somewhat longer than Velvet. It is generally used in conjunction with a prefix showing the nature of the materials from which the pile is made.

It is generally recognised that Plushes and Velvets are so generally part cotton that a Silk Plush should be considered as having a cotton back unless it is definitely stated that it is "silk backed." This practice is recognised by manufacturing, wholesale, and retail branches of the trade and is accepted by such authorities as Paul H. Nystrom and recorded in his book, "Textiles."

=Plush of Silk mixed with other Fibres.=--This class of material includes all pile fabrics which, in the first instance, answer to the description of Plush, _i.e._, have their pile longer than that of Velvet, and the pile of which, whilst being partly of silk, contains other animal fibres such as wool or mohair and which may contain even vegetable fibres such as cotton. In Plushes belonging to the above class the nature of the back or foundation cloth may vary, but in the great majority of cases they would be found to be of cotton. Where it is clearly stipulated that they are "Plushes of silk mixed with other fibres and having cotton backs," the foundation cloth must not contain warp or weft threads wholly or in part composed of any material other than cotton.

=Plush Velveteen.=--A plain all-cotton pile fabric, either weft or warp pile, but generally the former, which differs from Velveteen only in the length of the pile. As the name Velveteen stands for "an all-cotton fabric," it would be as correct to describe a Plush Velveteen as "an all-cotton Plush" or as a "long-piled Velveteen." The terms Plush and Velveteen are explained elsewhere.

=Pointillé.=--Having a design in small dots.

=Pompadour.=--A term used to describe small floral designs in silk fabrics.

=Poncho Cloth.=--This name is apparently more used to describe a class of fabric than a particular and distinctive material. Used presumably in the manufacture of Ponchos, which are blanket-shaped garments having a slit in the centre through which the head is passed, and extensively used in Mexico. Poncho Cloth was originally a fine all-wool fabric.

Poncho Cloth is now described as a union cloth, _i.e._, composed of two materials, such as wool and cotton, otherwise than by blending. It is also similar to what is known as Leather Cloth, produced in the Morley district, which is heavier than the boiled and teazled goods known in that district as "Unions." True Poncho Cloth is a union cloth woven with cotton warp and woollen weft, measuring from 72 to 74 inches wide and having a distinctive 1-inch hair list at each selvedge. It resembles but is lighter in weight than a Union or Leather Cloth, averages from 16 to 20 ounces per yard, and is given a high finish on the face. In the Bradford district such a cloth would be known and sold as a "Melton" unless shipped as a Poncho Cloth at the request of the buyer.

=Pongee.=--A fine plain-woven cotton fabric, mercerised, dyed, and schreinered, having a soft handle or feel like the real Silk Pongee of which it is an imitation. Pongees are met with having stripes produced by coloured warp threads. The fabric has a lustrous silky appearance. Average width, 28 inches. The ground colour of Pongees is most often of a shade similar to real Silk Pongee.

=Pony Skin.=--As a textile term, it is used to describe a pile fabric which is made to imitate the true Russian Pony Skin fur. Always dyed a solid black, this fabric has a mohair pile which has been laid and fixed by heat. The density of the pile and the lustre are the best guides to value. Like many imitation fur fabrics, it came into the market owing to the vogue of the real fur it imitates. Average width, 48 to 50 inches; length, 30 to 33 yards per piece.

=Poplin.=--A fabric having a silk warp and a wool weft, with a corded surface. Goods in which a similar effect is produced, but made in all silk, all wool, or cotton, are also called Poplins.

It is a warp-ribbed fabric with a plain weave and was originally made with a fine silk warp and a comparatively thick gassed worsted weft which gave the ribbed effect, with the silk warp threads thrown to the surface and completely hiding the worsted weft. It is similar to, but generally softer finished than, Repp or Rep.

=Printed.=--This term, when used with reference to textiles, indicates that the fabric has been submitted to a process whereby certain designs, either simple or complex, have been impressed on the surface of the fabric in either one or more colours. Calico is perhaps the most typical of printed fabrics. The printing of fabrics is generally done by the aid of a machine, its main feature being a revolving cylinder on which the design has been stamped or cut out. The cloth in passing through the machine comes in contact with the impression cylinder. The cylinder revolving in a colour trough takes up the colour and leaves the impression of the design on the cloth. When fabrics are printed by hand from blocks, the design never joins so perfectly that it cannot be detected, and, if looked for, certain marks will be found that are used as "guides" to show the operator where the next impression with the block is to be made. Roller-printed designs, being continuous, show no such marks or irregularities.

A recent process known as the "Lithographic" or transfer process has been introduced, and it is a modified form of block printing, an engraved stone being used as for lithographic work.

A fabric that is printed will not show continuous coloured threads, but threads coloured in places and not in others; whereas in fabrics having the pattern woven the coloured threads are continuous.

An "indigo print" is distinguished from a regular print by having a printed figure on a solid indigo blue ground, whereas the ground of an ordinary print-cloth pattern is white or of a light colour. An indigo-print pattern is obtained either by indigo block printing, indigo discharge printing, or indigo resist printing.

=Printed Balzarines.=--The general structure and appearance of Balzarines is given under that heading. The cotton variety would be an all-cotton fabric having a gauze weave and net-like appearance. The printed variety would consist of similar fabrics which had been subjected to a process whereby certain simple or complex designs had been impressed upon the surface of the fabric in either one or more colours. The fabric would approximate 30 inches in width and probably from 28 to 30 yards in length per piece.

=Printed Calico.=--This fabric is described under "Calico."

=Printed Cambrics.=--As the name shows, Printed Cambrics are Cambrics which have been submitted to a process whereby certain simple or complex designs in either one or more colours have been impressed on their surface.