WEAVING. 



837 



ground shot on the tvveel, and when this is done 

 the boy draws the lash for the spotting shot. This 

 shot is then thrown, and the lash for the next spot- 

 ting shot of another colour is raised and thrown 

 in like manner, and so on for as many spotting shots 

 as may be used in the pattern, when the weaver 

 closes them all in with a ground shot. In this kind 

 of weaving, therefore, the spotting shots, however 

 numerous, add nothing to the length of the piece. 

 They merely increase the thickness and colouring 

 of the pattern; and hence the value of the shawl, 

 as a piece of work, depends on the number of spot- 

 ting shots between each ground one. Those spot- 

 ting shots that are used continuously over the 

 whole pattern, are called covers; but when used 

 intermittingly, or partially, they are but parts of 

 covers. As the weaver is paid so much per cover, 

 and in proportion for a part, and as the material 

 used is likewise in proportion to the number of 

 covers, the manufacturer who is a severe economist, 

 endeavours to give effect with as few covers as 

 possible. This is always more or less evident in 

 cheap shawls. 



Certain parts of the pattern may have several 

 covers, but these not being continuous, nor long 

 wrought together, are but parts of covers ; and 

 though there may be many colours, there may be 

 few covers. In some rich patterns there are as 

 many as 10 or 12 covers, and of course as many 

 shuttles besides the ground one, constantly used. 

 But work so rich is not frequently made. The 

 common stock of shawls in the shops runs from 4 

 to 6 covers. In this sort of weaving, where there 

 is much changing of shuttles, the weaver, to en- 

 able him to do so easily, uses a shifting box lathe, 

 in which there is a box for each shuttle. In these 

 fine patterns on the full harness, where there is but 

 one thread in the mail, each thread represents one 

 of the small squares on the design paper, and there 

 must therefore be a great number of simple cords, 

 and a great many lashes for the large patterns so 

 frequently met with in this style of work. This 

 renders the mounting expensive ; and the manufac- 

 turer endeavours with a less costly apparatus to imi- 

 tate the full harness. He reduces, if not objection- 

 able, the size of his pattern, and by increasing the 

 number of threads in the mail to two, he diminishes 

 both the number of simple cords and lashes. This is 

 called the split harness, and brings us to the inter, 

 mediate between the full harness and the damask, 

 of which there are a great number known by dif- 

 ferent names, and distinguishable by some peculi- 

 arity in style, or manner of weaving. The split 

 harness is woven with two shots on the lash, and 

 although, in the outline of a curve, or the leaf- 

 stalk of a flower, it will have rather a serrated un- 

 even appearance, it is sufficiently fine for the In- 

 dian style o'f work, and indeed for the most of 

 patterns which are made. The principal seats of 

 this manufacture are Norwich, celebrated for the 

 elegance of the style of its shawls, and Paisley, 

 whose weavers are unequalled fora thorough know- 

 ledge of harness weaving ; and Glasgow, on which 

 Paisley chiefly depends ; and Edinburgh, where 

 some exceedingly good shawls are made: and Coven- 

 try, chiefly famous for the manufacture of ribbonds. 

 Manchester likewise has a little of this trade, and 

 several kinds of fancy goods are made in Dublin and 

 the north of Ireland. 



In our article Paisley, we noticed a peculiar 

 kind of shawl called Cheneille manufactured at that 

 place, and which for a considerable time was very 



much sought after, though now it has fallen con- 

 siderably into disuse. For the invention of this 

 beautiful kind of manufacture, we are indebted to 

 Mr Alexander Buchanan of Paisley, the inventor 

 of several other useful improvements. 



These shawls, which have also been denomin- 

 ated Kamschatkas, derive their beauty and lustre 

 from the peculiar mode of preparing the weft, and 

 the ingenious manner in which the colours are 

 afterwards arranged : in so much, that a pattern 

 which would require a large harness as an imita- 

 tion shawl, can be woven without any other ap- 

 paratus than the ground mounting and two treadle 

 feet. The weft, which is called Cheneille, is pre- 

 pared as follows : A Turkey gauze warp, of net 

 yarn, is woven in a 1200 reed, with a twist or 

 splitful in every fifth interval, the weft being 

 either silk, cotton, or worsted, according to the 

 kind of shawls to be manufactured. When this 

 fabric comes from the loom, it is cut up by a ma- 

 chine, in the centre between the splitfuls of warp ; 

 and, after receiving a little twist, to throw the 

 ends of the cut weft into a spiral direction, it is 

 ready for the weaver. The warp of the shawl is 

 likewise a Turkey gauze, the same as that which 

 is the foundation of the weft ; so that, when a suf- 

 ficient quantity of Cheneille has been produced 

 from a warp, it is customary to make shawls of the 

 remainder. 



In weaving these shawls, one shot of the Che- 

 neille is thrown in, and three of common weft, 

 whether silk, cotton, or worsted ; and the fibres of 

 the Cheneille, projecting in all directions, gives 

 the fabric the appearance of a fine glossy shag, 

 showing the pattern, when figured, alike on both 

 sides. 



When the shawls are to be of one uniform co- 

 lour, only one kind of weft is necessary ; but when 

 they are to be figured, different colours are em- 

 ployed ; and these are woven in spaces adapted to 

 the different parts of the design. The pattern is 

 first painted on design paper, and coloured as for 

 an imitation harness. Each space of the design, 

 or that which corresponds to a ground lash with 

 its different covers, is again painted on a separate 

 slip of design paper, but two spaces are here cov- 

 ered to make them better seen by the weaver, 

 leaving a blank space on each side. These slips 

 are all numbered to prevent confusion. Suppose, 

 then, a web of trimmings were to be woven, with 

 eight repeats in the breadth of a yard ; for the first 

 shot of Cheneille we take the slip of paper, No. 1, 

 and find that, by reading it as for a simple, there are 

 2 spaces yellow, 1 white, 4 red, 2 yellow, 1 black, 

 2 white, &c. the weaver works a space of each of 

 these colours on the warp, agreeably to its respec- 

 tive size on the slip of design paper; which, when 

 finished, must be exactly the breadth of the trim- 

 ming. For a guide to the weaver, the slip of 

 paper passes through the reed, and is fastened at 

 each end to a piece of tape by a bit of rosin, the 

 one behind the mounting hanging over the warp 

 roll and kept tight by a small weight, and the 

 other fastened at the face of the cloth. The wea- 

 ver then has only to change his shuttles by shift- 

 ing the boxes of the lay at the end of each col- 

 oured space, as pointed out by the design. The 

 slip marked No. 2 is next put into the reed for the 

 second shot, and the colours woven in the same 

 manner, but in the reverse order of the first, as 

 the one is thrown in from the right band and the 

 other from the kit ; and so on till the wt ft for the 



