Chapter V.

Chapter V.Three Leaf Twill or Satin Face Woven in Conjunction with Plain Back—Position of Back Rolls in Relation to Harness Shed—Use of Four Leaf Twill—Filling Fancy Effects and Stitch Figures—Interchanging Figure and Face

Three Leaf Twill or Satin Face Woven in Conjunction with Plain Back—Position of Back Rolls in Relation to Harness Shed—Use of Four Leaf Twill—Filling Fancy Effects and Stitch Figures—Interchanging Figure and Face

Turning our attention from plain webs to combination weaves, we will take up what is popularly known as the three-leaf twill, or satin face, woven in conjunction with a plain back. This is a type of web not only used for suspenders, but employed extensively for corset garter attachments also. A web of this character when properly constructed has a smooth velvet-like face. The threads are uniformly distributed across the width without showing any of the “rowy” effect from the binder warps, which are completely hidden by the heavy pile produced by the float of the face threads. When the contraction of the web takes place, these floating face threads mass together in a velvet-like pile, not only producing a smooth handling web but materially increasing the thickness. Such webs are generally constructed with a six-thread face and a four-thread back, and have what is termed a round edge, similar to the selvage used on a plain web. This arrangement shows up the twill face by contrast and gives the fabric a much finer appearance.

Fig. 1 shows the harness and chain draft of such a web, together with the construction of a properly balanced web for standard goods of 1⅛ inches wide. It will be noticed that the face, consisting of 150 threads, is split up into two warps of 75 threads each. This arrangement is necessary in order properly to weigh them so as to get a good clearance in the shed. The warp has to be divided likewise in the harnesses and put on six harness frames, although the weave could be produced on three. It would not be practicable to crowd 50 threads on one harness frame in the narrow space available, as the harness eyes would shoulder and crowd too much when changing.

In drawing-in this web, one face warp should be arranged so that the threads are drawn on the first, third and fifth harnesses, and the other face warp should be on the second, fourth and sixth. Such an arrangement in the distribution of the warps makes it much easier on the mechanism, and minimizes the risk of breakages. It is also important to make proper divisions of the warps at the back rolls, inasmuch as some of the warps have to be weighted heavily while others are only lightly weighted, and also on account of the different take-up of the varied weaves.

The back rolls should be set in a graded position so as to prevent undue friction of one warp against another. The binder warp should be worked under the front roll on account of the extremely light weight this must carry. Fig. 2 shows the proper position of the back rolls in relation to the harness shed.

In a web of this character where the warp stock is somewhat crowded in the front reed, there is always a tendency for a fibrous yarn to prevent a perfect clearance in the shed, with a liability of producing occasional floats through the shuttle skipping these threads. Such floats will pearl up when the web contracts and make an imperfect face. This trouble may be prevented by setting the back rolls a trifle higher than the breast beam rod, so that the stock in the harness which is down will be slightly tighter than that which is in the upper harness.

The chain draft is so arranged that the face harness will operate to produce a twill which will be reverse to the twist of the yarn employed, and thus reduce the prominence of the twill weave all possible. The filling yarn should be soft, of about 15 turns per inch, and of good uniform quality, in order to produce a nice selvage and not cut the rubber. The reed dent inside the selvage rubber should be carefully twisted at an angle to conform to the nipped in position to the rubber thread, so that the outside edge of the dent will not cut the rubber when the reed beats against the goods at the weaving line.

Fig. 1.—Three Leaf Twill, or Satin Face. Woven in Conjunction With a Plain Back

Fig. 2.—Showing Position of Back Rolls in Relation to Shed

A fine looking twill may be produced with a somewhat coarser face yarn by using a five threaded face over a six-thread repeat. This is shown in the harness draft at Fig. 3.

In non-elastic fabrics there are available a variety of twill and satin weaves for the production of soft lustrous surfaces, but this is not so in elastic webs, as the contraction of the goods after weaving would produce a ragged, spongy surface. A float of three picks on the face is about the limit it is practicable to go on an elastic web, with few exceptions, and even this only in connection with fine picking.

A four leaf twill, however, can be used to great advantage when a heavy body is desired, as for example what is known as “farmer’s web.” These are usually made about two inches wide, and to further add to their weight they have what is termed a cushion back, the weave of which is 7 down and 1 up. The use of these soft weaves on both face and back, while giving the web great thickness on account of the deep velvet-like pile produced, deprives it of much of its firmness. This condition is met by the introduction of an auxiliary back warp, underneath the main back warp, weaving 3 down and 1 up, which knits the upper and lower cloth more firmly together, thus increasing the firmness of handles of the goods.

Fig. 3.—Five Thread Face Over 6 Dent Repeat

Another web among the plain loom products calling for passing mention is that specially made for the police and fireman’s brace. While this has a 7 down and 1 up cushion back similar to the farmer’s web, it differs in having a smooth plain face in place of a twill. This arrangement of combining a plain face with a cushion back necessitates selection of the sizes of yarn used for the various warps so as to maintain a proper balance of the different weaves employed in the face and back. Otherwise the goods would curl up and it would be impracticable to cut them up for manufacture. Consideration must also be given to the effect of padding the size upon such goods in the finishing process, of which we will say more later.

All the webs so far described have been such as could be produced on cam looms of various capacities. We will now turn our attention to what are generally understood as fancy effects. It might be well to treat these under two distinct headings. Those made with the shuttle, or what are called filling patterns, and those made from the warp, or what are called stitch patterns.

The figures or fancy effects produced by floating the filling over sections of the warp show up the filling with increased luster in contrast to the warp. They are confined to no particular character of design, and may range from the simplest effect produced on the fancy harness loom or dobby to the more elaborate jacquard design. The ground or body may be either plain or twill, or any other acceptable weave suitable as a base for figuring, while the filling may be of a contrasting color, either of silk or cotton as desired. The figure or design may be made from the same shuttle used for the ground or it may be made by an auxiliary shuttle, either used as an overshot or rise and fall, according to the character of web desired.

Where the figure is made from the ground shuttle it is produced as a sunken effect. It is made by burying sections of the face warp at intervals so that in place of the face warp the filling is seen at these points. No additional figure warps are required for this class of goods, and elaborate designs are obtainable, although there is not the scope for cross coloring that there is in the warp figure method.

When the design is made from the warp, the figure threads are made to float on the face of the goods so that upon contraction of the web after weaving, these floats pearl up in prominence above the level of the face, and make what is termed a stitch figure.

Fig. 4.—Point Draw Stitch Figure

Fig. 4A.—Harness and Chain Draft for Fig. 4

It is not our purpose here to particularize in design, which is practically unlimited, but only to refer to those features which govern the construction and illustrate as necessary. In order to maintain a proper balance where figures are introduced on single cloth weaves, it is necessary to distribute the figure warp uniformly over both the face and back of the goods so as to maintain a proper balance between the two. In the double cloth webs the figure warp, when not appearing on the face of the goods, is allowed to run straight between the upper and lower cloths, going in the same cavity or pocket as the rubber threads, and it works at these times as a gut. This, of course, in a measure interferes with the contraction of the goods and has to be taken into consideration in the construction. Here again we must note the effect of the contraction in piling up the floating-figure threads, and the necessity of limiting the floats in making the design so as to avoid any ragged appearance.

Fig. 5.—Interchanging Figure and Face

Fig. 5A.—Harness and Chain Draft for Fig. 5

Fig. 4 shows a design of this character, with the harness and chain draft at Fig. 4A. In this particular web there are six harnesses used for the main body and ten for the figure, which is a point draw. While the figure is evenly distributed on the web, wherever it is not seen it is running between the upper and lower cloths, as already described, and acting as a gut.

In order to get a proper balance of the web it is necessary to put gut threads into the two outer cords where no figure appears, which must be equivalent in size to the figure threads employed in each of the 21 center cords. If this is not done the web will contract unduly at the edges and make it “belly.” The method here used of burying the figure between the upper and lower cloths when not needed in carrying out the design, affords opportunity for introducing additional warp threads of different colors, so as to be able to bring up either one color or another as desired in a design.

As most of the fancy head looms have not more than 18 harnesses, it will be seen that the scope of design in this class of loom is somewhat limited, therefore much ingenuity is required to get elaborate designs from such limited capacity. But careful study opens up a variety of methods by which a big range of designs is possible.

Fig. 5 shows another type of design known as the “interchanging” fancy in which the figure warp does not pile up above the surface as it does in the stitch figure, but remains flat with the face of the web. The harness and chain drafts are shown at Fig. 5A. In this character of design a given number of face threads are duplicated by a like number of figure threads, the same size of yarn being used for both. These face and figure threads are drawn in duplicate harnesses and operated just reverse to each other, so that when the figure is up at any particular part, the interchanging face threads are down, and vice versa. The figure weaves only three picks up on the chain draft, which is one face pick seen on the face cloth, and this produces a perfectly flat web.

Another form of elaboration is shown in this web, known as the “picot” edge. It is generally made of a well cabled thread of silk and is woven in the selvage, being bound in for several picks and then allowed to float outside, so that upon the contraction of the web it will pearl out in small loops, adding much to the elaboration of the web.

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