CLOTH MANUFACTURE. 



Ckdi plead itt obvioui importance, a* the motive which ha* 

 r * led him to communicate what hat occurred to him, as 



>n "_ likely to promote a more ample and scientific enquiry. 



\Vt- now proceed to ttate what occur* up.m the orna- 

 CXCIII mental piincipkrs of texture, referring the reader to Plate 

 PSp.lJ.16. CXC1II.. Fig. 15, 16, and, 17. 



In order to pr, duce ornamental figures upon cloths, 

 it is necessary that the apparatus or mounting of the 

 loom should bo properly arranged for the purpose intend 

 ed, previously to the commencement of the subsequent 

 operations. The rules for tliM are pretty similar in all 

 the different kind* of ornamental work, and the plans 

 being previously drawn upon design paper, the first 

 operation is to adapt the loom to the design. The de- 

 Mgnt, or patterns, are included between a certain num- 

 ber of parallel straight lines drawn upon the paper, and 

 intersected by others drawn at right angles to the first. 

 The lines which are drawn from the top to the bottom 

 of the paper may be supposed to represent the warp, and 

 those drawn across, the woof of the web ; any number 

 of threads being supposed to be included between every 

 two lines. The paper thus forms a double scale, by 

 which, in the first instance, the size and form of the 

 pattern maybe determined with great precision; and the 

 whole subsequent operations of the weaver, both in 

 mounting and working his loom, regulated with certain- 

 ty and accuracy. To enable the projector of a new pat- 

 tern to judge properly of its effects, when transferred from 

 the paper to the cloth, it will be essentially necessary 

 that he should bear constantly in his view the compara- 

 tive scale of magnitude which the design will bear in 

 each, regulating his ideas always by square or superficial 

 _. measurement. Thus, in the large design, Fig. 16, Plate 



CXCIII. representing a bird perched upon the branch 

 of a tree, it will be proper, in thejirst place, to count 

 the number of spaces from the point of the bill to the 

 extremity of the tail ; and to render this the more easy, 

 it is to be observed that every tenth line is drawn con- 

 siderably bolder than the others. This number in the 

 design is 135 spaces. Counting again from the stem of 

 the branch, to the upper part of the bird's head, he will 

 find 76 spaces. Between these spaces, therefore, the 

 whole superficial measure of the pattern is contained. 

 By the measure of the paper, this may be easily tried 

 with a pair of compasses, and will be found to be nearly 

 6j% inches in length, by 3 T s ff inches in breadth. Now, 

 if this is to be woven in a reed containing 800 intervals 

 in 37 inches, and if every interval contains five threads, 

 supposed to be contained between every two parallel 

 lines, the length will be 6.24 inches, and the breadth 

 3.52 inches nearly, so that the figure upon the cloth 

 would be very nearly of the same dimensions as that upon 

 the paper ; but if a 1200 reed were used instead of an 

 800, the dimensions would be proportionally contract- 

 ed. 



A correct idea being formed of the design, the weaver 

 may proceed to mount his loom according to the pattern, 

 and this is done by two persons, one of whom takes from 

 the design the instructions necessary for the other to 

 follow in tying hii cords. Previously to entering upon 

 this, however, we shall shortly notice Figures 15, 16, and 

 17, of Plate CXCIII. 



Fif. 15. Fig. 15, Plate CXCIII, is a representation of the 



most simple species of table linen, which is merely an imi- 

 tation of checker work of various sizes, and is known in 

 Scotland, where the manufacture is chiefly practised, by 

 the ntme of Dornock. When a pattern is formed upon 

 twccled cloth, by reversing the flushing as formerly ex- 

 plained, the two tides of the fabric being dissimilar, one 



may be supposed to be represented by the black marks, ClotU 

 and the other by the purt of the plate which is left Mnufc- 

 uncoloured. For such a pattern as this, it is perfect- 

 ly unnecessary to have recourse to the draw loom, for f ~ 

 two sets of common tweel heddles moved in the ordi- c\i<Hl. 

 nary way, by a double succession of heddlrs, arc quite Kig. 15. 

 sufficient. The other part of Fig. 15, Plate CXCIII. 

 is a design of that intermediate kind of ornamental work 

 which is called diaper, and which part . ikes partly of the na- 

 ture of thedornock, and partly of that of th? damask and 

 tapestry. The principle upon which all th-sc specie* 

 of goods are woven is entirely the same, and the only 

 difference is in the extent of the design, and the nv.-an* 

 by whic'i it is executed, which shall be explained in 

 the subsequent part of this article, which treats of the 

 construction of looms of various kinds. The last, Fig. 

 17, Plate CXCHI. is a design for a border of a hand- Fig. IT. 

 kerchief or napkin, which may be executed either in 

 the manner of damask, or as the spotting is practised 

 in the lighter fabrics. 



Construction of Looms. 



The framing of looms is very differently constructed, c onstr-c . 

 and it is hardly possible to fix upon any precise or defi- ti on O f 

 nite rule for practical adoption. The reciprocating mo. loomv. 

 tions which are necessary, and the constant recurrence 

 of the percussion necessary to strike home the woof, re- 

 quire great firmness of resistance in the framing, as it is 

 obviously the natural tendency of the reaction produced, 

 to break the threads of warp. Strength, therefore, is 

 not only a desirable, but an indispensible requisite in 

 every machine for weaving cloth. There has been very 

 little attention paid to ascertain, geometrically, the ratio 

 of impulse produced by the operations of weaving, and 

 nearly as little to calculate how the resistance may be 

 most efficaciously and economically presented.' In the 

 construction of looms, like every thing else, the ideas of 

 mass and ttretigth have been confounded, and the loom- 

 wright seems most frequently to have supposed, that the 

 usefulness of the utensil, when completed, was to be es- 

 timated by the quantity of wood which it contained. 

 Some little attention, to avoid this useless and cumbrous 

 expence, has been lately paid in the manufactories, where 

 the business is conducted upon a large scale ; but al- 

 though these have been found equally efficacious, and 

 much more economical than the former modet, they do 

 not appear to have engaged proper attention, nor to 

 have been scientifically calculated. In the way in which 

 the manufacture of most kinds of cloth is con:Ui< d, 

 the loom is very seldom the property of the manuf'.-tu- 

 rer whose goods are woven in it. In gemT-il, a '< um 

 either belongs to the person who weaves with it, *-r to 

 some other operative weaver, who lets it at a wM-kly 

 rent. It is therefore not surprising, that the saving of 

 a few shillings upon a loom, which, if well u.> -J, .nay 

 last for perhaps fifty years or more, will be COMM ' red 

 as a matter of very inferior importance to any individu- 

 al j but were the aggregate of looms employed in 

 the manufacture of cloth in Great Britain and Ireland 

 estimated, the saving which might be effected by proper 

 attention to the principles of their construction, without 

 the smallest prejudice to their utility, would apprai an 

 object of great magnitude, even to the national econo- 

 mist. 



Of the looms in use, we shall give a very brief ac- PLAT 

 count, referring to Pates CXCIV. and CXCV. 



The common weaving loom for plain fabrics is repre- 

 sented in Plate CXCIV. Figs. 3. and 4. It consists of 



