COTTON 
325 
ance of this style of goods. This is obtained by 
covering the intersections of warp and filling. 
While sateen weaves are derived from twill weaves, 
the threads are not raised as in twills. 
Standard gingham cloth is made from two colors 
of warp and two colors of filling, checked with one 
another. They are made in various colors : black 
and white, brown and white, green and white, and 
in other combinations of colors. These ginghams 
are also used as the basis for plaids or over-checks, 
so that in this kind of weaving many fancy effects 
in colors are produced, requiring more skill for 
operation, and enhancing the value of the woven 
product. Fancy effects may be made in stripes, 
checks, or figures. 
Mercerized cloth is also made of cotton, and 
both plain and fancy effects may be made. The 
silky appearance of the product is obtained by 
immersing cotton threads in a solution of caustic 
soda, and while thus immersed they are held very 
tight. These threads are two ply, that is, two 
twisted together. Before being immersed in the 
caustic soda solution they are passed through a 
gas frame (this being done very quickly, so as not 
to injure the thread) to take off the roughness so 
that the smooth texture may be obtained. In 
weaving fancy goods threads may be drawn through 
the harness shaft in any order, depending on the 
pattern to be produced. 
There are many grades of fancy cloth produced, 
depending upon the design, the quality of the 
thread, number of harnesses the machine possesses, 
and the skill of the operator. Weavers call the 
machine that makes fancy goods a "Dobby." 
A still further advance in the production of 
fancy cloth has come with the invention of the 
