CLOTH MANUFACTURE. 



685 



Cloh 



SI.mof.ic- 

 ture. 



TLA-I* 

 CXCIII. 

 Fig. 10. 



r.xciil. 

 Fig. II. 



this property will be more appropriately introduced in 

 that part of this article which relates to the ornamental 

 principles of texture. 



Plate CXCi II. Fig. 8, represents that kind of tweeled 

 work which produces an ornamental effect, and adds even 

 to the suength of a fabric, in so far as accumulation of 

 matter can be considered in that light. The Figure re- 

 presents a piece of velvet cut in section, and of that 

 kind which, being woven upon a tweeltd ground, is 

 known by the name of Genoa velvet ; a pretty strong pre- 

 sumption, that the origin of this manufacture at least in 

 Europe is Italian. 



That part, however, which produces the ornament, 

 cannot properly be deemed likely to add much to the 

 strength of the fabric, in so far as this is affected by any 

 attempt at divulsion ; but where the impulse is by trie 

 tion, it must contribute very materially to its preserva- 

 tion. Hence, in practical use, velvets of every kind are 

 in great estimation for three very substantial reasons. 



1st, Because, by combining a great quantity of mate- 

 rial in a small compass, they afford great warmth. 



2d, From the great resistance which they oppose to 

 external friction, they are very durable. And, 



3d, Because, from the very nature of the texture, they 

 afford the finest means of rich ornamental decoration. 



The use of velvet cloths in cold weather, is a sufficient 

 proof of the truth of the first. The manufacture of plush, 

 corduroy, and other stuffs, for the dress of those expo- 

 sed to the accidents of laborious employment, evinces the 

 second ; and the ornamented velvets and Wilton carpet- 

 ing, are demonstrative of the third of these positions. 



In the Figure, the diagonal form, which both the warp 

 and woof of cloth assume, is very apparent from the 

 emallness of the scale. Besides what this adds to the 

 strength of the cloth, the flushed part, which appears 

 interwoven at the darkly shaded intervals 1,2, &c. forms, 

 when finished, the whole covering, or upper surface. 

 The principle, in so far as regards texture, is entirely the 

 same as any other tw,eeled fabric, and the more particu- 

 lar discussion must be referred to the particular article. 



Plate CXCIII. Fig. 10, which represents corduroy, 

 or king's cord, is merely striped velvet. The principle 

 is entirely the same, and the figure itself will sufficiently 

 evince, that the one ia merely a copy of the other. The 

 remaining Figures in the Plate, represent those kinds of 

 work, which are of the most flimsy and open description 

 of texture ; those in which neither strength, warmth, 

 or durability, are much required, and of wnich openness 

 and transparency are the chief recommendations. For 

 these reasons, the nature and principle of the texture may 

 be better understood by considering them as mere super- 

 ficies, than by any section which could be exhibited. The 

 two kinds of gauze and catgut, which form the basis of all 

 the varieties, are still exhibited in section ; and the two 

 others, which may be varied almost to infinity, are shown 

 superficially. 



Plate CXCIII. Fig. 11, represents common gauze, or 

 linaw, a substance very much used for various purposes. 

 The essential difference between this description of cloth 

 and all others, consists in the warp being twined or twist- 

 ed like a rope during the operation of weaving, and hence 

 it bears a considerable analogy to the substance usually 

 known by the name of lace. The twining of gauze is 

 not continued in the same direction, but is alternately 

 from right to left, and vice versa, between every inter- 

 section of the woof. The fabric of gauze is always open, 

 flimsy, and transparent, but, from the twining' of the 

 warp, it possesses an uncommon degree of strength and 

 ttnacity, in proportion to the quantity of materials which 



it contains. This quality, together with the transparen- 

 cy of the fabric, renders it peculiarly adapted for orna- 

 mental purposes of various kinds, particularly for flower- 

 ing or figuring, either in the loom, or by the needle. In 

 the warp of gauze, there arises a much greater degree 

 of contraction during the weaving than in any other 

 species of cloth, and this is produced by the twining. 

 The geometrical ratio of this contraction must evi- 

 dently depend entirely upon the same principle which 

 regulates the contraction of the yarn in spinning, and 

 therefore it is unnecessary to add to what has been al- 

 ready stated upon that subject. By inspecting the Fi- 

 gure, it will be apparent, that the twisting between every 

 intersection of woof amounts precisely to one complete re- 

 volution of both threads ; hence the following difference 

 exists between this and every other species of weaving, 

 namely, that the same thread of warp is always above 

 the woof, and the contiguous thread is always below. 



Fig. 12, Plate CXCIII. represents a section of ano- 

 ther species of twisted cloth, which is known by the 

 name of catgut, and which differs only from the gauze, 

 by being subjected to a greater degree of twine in wea- 

 ving ; for in place of one revolution between each in- 

 tersection, a revolution and a half is always given, and 

 thus the warp is alternately above and below, as in other 

 kinds of weaving. The ratio of contraction in this, as 

 in the former, is evidently reducible to the same princi- 

 ples which regulate the spinning. 



Fig. 13, Plate CXCIII. is a superficial representation 

 of the most simple kind of ornamental net-work produ- 

 ced in the loom. It is called a whip-net by weavers, who 

 use the term whip for any substance interwoven in cloth 

 for ornamental purposes, when it is distinct from the 

 ground of the fabric. 1 n this, the difference is merely 

 in the crossing of the warp, for it is very evident that 

 the crossings at 1,2, 3, 4, and 5, are of different threads 

 from those at 6, 7, 8, and 9. The contraction in wea- 

 ving this kind of stuff, is vastly greater than any other, 

 and may very easily be ascertained with the utmost gee- 

 metrical precision, depending entirely on the well under- 

 stood principles of plaue trigonometry ; for it willhardly 

 be necessary to take into the account what contraction 

 takes place by the crossing of the threads in a fabric so 

 very open and flimsy. Thus, if the diamond is crossed 

 at 1 by a dotted line, four right angled triangles will be 

 formed, and the contraction of the warp will be in 

 the ratio, which the hypothenuse of each bears to the 

 perpendicular; the former being the longitudinal mea- 

 sure of the warp when stretched in the loom, and the 

 latter that of the cloth in its finished state. This re- 

 duces the contraction at once to the Pythagorean pro- 

 position, that the two are to each other in the ratio of 

 their respective squares. 



Fig. 1 *, Plate CXC 1 1 1. represents, superficially, what 

 is called the mail-net, and is merely a combination ol 

 common gauze and the whip net in the same fabric. 

 The gauze here being in the same direction as the 

 dotted line in the former Figure, the whole fabric it 

 evidently a continued succession of right angled tri- 

 angles, of which the woof forms the bases, the gauze 

 part the perpendiculars, and the whip part the hypo- 

 thenuses. The contraction here being very different, 

 it is necessary that the gauze and whip parts should be 

 stretched upon separate beams. 



The above may be regarded rather as hints for the 

 further investigation of the geometrical principles of the 

 cloth manufacture, than as the absolute results of a per- 

 fect and matured theory. As nothing has been publish- 

 ed upon the subject, the author of this article can only 



CXC1U. 

 F'g. 12. 



p UT x 

 CXCI If. 



F '- ls * 



V ' s ' 1< " 



