Chapter XI.WEAVING THE VAN HEUSEN COLLARHeavy Loom Required—How Long-Sided Effect and Folding Line Are Obtained—Cloth Construction
WEAVING THE VAN HEUSEN COLLAR
Heavy Loom Required—How Long-Sided Effect and Folding Line Are Obtained—Cloth Construction
Until recently the soft collar was cut and carved into shape from plain piece goods. The patented Van Heusen collar has done away with much of this, for from the loom is produced a fabric properly shaped and formed for the purpose, and ready to be cut into suitable lengths. It is adapted to various styles. Clumsy joinings are done away with and a collar is produced which combines shape, comfort and appearance. Much labor in collar manufacturing is also eliminated by this method of production.
There have recently been quite a number of factories put on the production of these goods, and at least one newly organized factory is devoted exclusively to their manufacture. The main feature in the Van Heusen collar is that it is woven in such a manner that when it leaves the loom it is complete in respect of the cloth for the band and outer part, with provision made for folding, thus doing away with any joining together of the two parts as formerly.
The formation of a cloth having the novel quality of allowing for a greater woven length at the outer edge of the collar than at the band, properly graded throughout so as to meet all the requirements of a collar in comfort and fit, at the same time providing for the insertion of the scarf so that it will run easily, and also allowing for the production of a variety of styles, calls for features in manufacturing that are different in many respects from the making of a flat fabric.
The first essential is a loom of sufficient strength and firmness to withstand the heavy beat of the lay resulting from packing in the filling, where an aggregate weight of 1,000 pounds for each individual piece must be carried. The looms which are now being used have from 12 to 16 pieces, so that it will be seen that they must be very rigid indeed properly to care for the weight carried on the combined pieces, and maintain uniform picking. In order also to get the requisite shed opening, the strain on the cams and cam jacks is severe, so that provision for ample strength at these parts is essential.
The long-sided formation of the cloth is produced by the use of a cone-shaped take-up roll, as shown in the illustration, which has a slope of 1 inch in 6 inches. Above this cone-shaped roll is hung a straight roll, which swings freely to different angles, so as to take care of the slack delivered to the take-up roll. It will be noticed that one leg of the swinging roll is longer than the other, thus allowing the straight roll to set in proper position over the cone.
At first thought it would seem advisable to provide a reverse cone-shaped take-up roll, as shown in the illustration, which has a slope of 1[Transcriber’s Note: It’s possible that a line of text was missing here from the original printing, as the sentence doesn’t make complete sense]the impracticability of such an arrangement and the straight roll with a free movement as described is more desirable. It is also necessary, or at least advisable, to use a slightly tapered roll on the breast beam, over which the cloth passes.
The fabric woven is made in three widths, 4¼ inches, 4¾ inches and 5¼ inches, with the folding line in different positions in each width, so as to provide for different styles. The great amount of stock employed over these widths, and the difference in the take-up between one side of the web and the other, makes it necessary to divide the warps into sections and carry considerable weight on each, so as to obtain a perfect clearance in the shed, and pack the filling in uniformly.
The weave employed is an ordinary double cloth plain, made with face, back, binder and gut. It is necessary to have 2 back, 2 binder, 4 face and 4 gut warps. The accompanying table will show the number of threads required in each warp, together with the weights carried on each one.
WARP DETAILS FOR VAN HEUSEN COLLAR
It is essential that these warps be properly separated at the back rolls; Use the first roll for two binder, second for 4 face, third for 2 back and fourth for 4 gut. A 24 dent back reed should be used, which will allow for 4 face, 4 gut, 2 back and 2 binders in each dent, which together with the back roll separation of the different warps makes it convenient to handle the various warp sections and keep the threads straight and confined to the limitations of space available.
Take-Up Giving Long-Sided Cloth
Take-Up Giving Long-Sided Cloth
The front reed used is a 40 dent, with one cord or seven threads to each dent. In some mills, however, great advantage has been found in using a 26½ dent front reed, drawing 10 threads in one dent and 11 inthe next, splitting between face and back, which makes the stock work much easier, and relatively increases the output. Any tendency to “rowing” caused by the dents in this coarser reed are completely hidden in the bleaching process.
Harness Draft and Weave for Van Heusen Collar
Harness Draft and Weave for Van Heusen Collar
The folding line between the neck band and the outer fold of the collar is made by leaving out the binder and gut threads in four cords at the desired point, only retaining the face and back threads. The position of the folding line may be varied in each of the three standard widths to meet the requirements of the manufacturer and according to the style of the collar desired.
There are 104 picks per inch, counting at the folded line, as there are more on the short side and less on the long side. High grade 60/2 C. P. yarn is used throughout. The goods are woven in the gray and bleached afterwards.