Leno.—Where a fabric is woven with a combination of gauze weaving and a few plain picks it is said to be a Leno. It is a term now currently used to designate all classes of light fabrics into which the gauze weave (in which kind of weaving all the warp threads do not run parallel or at right angles to the weft but are more or less twisted round each other) is introduced in combination with any other kind of weave. Lenos may have either an "all-over effect" or "stripes." The introduction in Lenos of the gauze weave tends to strengthen a material which from its very nature can only be but light. Lenos may show, in addition to the "all-over effect," an extra weft figure or spot. Whilst all these would be known as Lenos, their more correct designation would be Figured Lenos, or Extra Weft Spot Figured Lenos. The term is now loosely used, and sometimes a "lace" stripe Muslin will be called a Leno. The crossing threads used in the true or "net" Lenos are often of two or three fold yarn. The common so-called lace curtains are Lenos. The common varieties of Lenos are extensively used for the purpose of mosquito nets.
Liberty.—A light-weight silk having a satin finish. A trade name applied to a satin-finish silk of light weight now generally applied to such silks, although not the original "Liberty."
Linen Yarn.—When the count of linen yarn is given, it is denoted by "leas." Each lea is a measure of 300 yards, and 10 leas = 1 hank and 20 hanks = 1 bundle. It will be seen that as the "counts" increase, the weight per bundle decreases.
Lingerie.—This comprehensive term embraces ladies' and children's undergarments, such as skirts, undershirts, etc., infant's long and short dresses, stockings, chemises, night-robes, drawers, corset covers, etc.
Lining.—A cloth usually made from cotton warp and cotton, alpaca, or Botany weft, according to the type of cloth required, generally woven with a sateen weave. Italian Cloth is a typical example of lining cloth. The name denotes a class of fabrics rather than a given fabric.
Lisle Thread.—Yarns made of long-staple cotton, somewhat tightly twisted and having a smooth surface produced by passing the yarn over gas jets.
Loading Worsted and Woollens.—When the natural weight of any fabric is artificially increased, it is subjected to a treatment called "filling," "loading," or "weighting." Wool fabrics, by reason of their great hygroscopic properties, are usually weighted by being impregnated with hygroscopic substances, such as magnesium chloride. Other agents employed for filling worsted and woollen goods are zinc chloride, dextrine, starch, and water glass (alkali silicate).
Zinc chloride is a most useful loading agent on account of it possessing great hygroscopic properties. When a wool fabric has passed through solutions containing this agent the chloride is absorbed and permanently retained in the form of moisture, and a slippery handle or feel is imparted.
Longcloth.—This name is used to designate a fine cotton fabric, either plain or twill woven, of superior quality, made from a fine grade of cotton yarn of medium twist.
The fabric is used for infants' long dresses, from which it derives its name, also for lingerie. Longcloth to some extent resembles Batiste, fine Muslin, India Linen, and Cambric. It is, however, distinguished from these fabrics by the closeness of its weave. It has, when finished, a very good white appearance, due to the closeness of the weave and the soft twist of the yarn. The surface is rendered smooth by undergoing a "gassing" process.
Long Ells (Woollen).—This name is given to an all-wool twill-weave fabric woven with a worsted warp and a woollen weft, averaging in width from 28 to 30 inches and having a length of 24 yards to the piece. Calendered, finished, and often dyed a bright vermilion. Long Ells averaged in value during the 10 years 1904-14 about 17s. per piece. They are not met with in a large range of qualities, the most usual type answering to the above description.
Long Stick.—This term is used to describe a yard of 36½ inches in length. The abbreviated manner of writing this term on documents referring to textiles is LS. It is only used in connexion with textile fabrics and in opposition to "short stick," a yard of 36 inches. One authority states that "the yard is generously reckoned at 37 inches by manufacturers in the United Kingdom." This statement, however, should be taken with reserve, although in the woollen trade it seems to be a common practice. In addition to this extra 1 inch per yard, a quarter of a yard in every 10 is generally allowed, so that a nominal 40-yard piece would actually measure 40 yards + 40 inches + 1 yard = 42 yards 4 inches. The long stick measure is only used in the woollen trade.
Louisine.—A silk fabric having an uneven surface like that of an Armure, but finer in effect.
Lustre Dress Fabrics.—This class of union fabric, when woven with a fast black dyed cotton warp and a worsted mohair weft, is representative of union fabrics in general, and the treatment of this material when in its grey state applies to the majority of union fabrics. The warp is generally a 2/80's, i.e., a strong yarn, and the weft, say, a 1/14's. The warp being dyed prior to weaving, there only remains the weft to be dyed after the unfinished cloth leaves the loom. This is called cross-dyeing. The grey cloth, in its loom state, possesses a visible appearance of non-lustrous cotton. This appearance is changed and replaced by the lustre effect through the process of "crabbing," or drawing out the material in the direction of the cotton warp. The warp threads when drawn straight virtually throw the lustrous weft to the surface, whilst they themselves become embedded out of sight in the cloth. Orleans, Mohair Brilliantine, and Mohair Sicilian are fabrics which come under this heading.
Maco.—Applied to hosiery or underwear made from pure Egyptian undyed cotton.
Madapolams are all-cotton plain-weave bleached Shirtings or Calico cloths.
Madras.—A light-weight cotton fabric or a cotton and silk mixture sold in widths varying from 27 to 32 inches, usually made from dyed yarns. Extensively used to designate light-weight shirting materials as used for men's shirts, the term is equally applied to similar weight fabrics printed in simple designs frequently elaborated in weaving by stripes or figures woven on a dobby loom. In the distributing trade, comprising various subdivisions of the trade, the names Madras, Gingham, Madras Gingham, Zephyr, etc., are so closely allied as to be impossible of separation. The original intent of these several designations has apparently been completely lost. Madras may either be woven as a plain or twill or kindred weave fabric. Whilst this name is primarily applied to an all-cotton fabric, it is also used to designate a cotton and silk mixture, when it is sometimes described as a Silk Gingham. The salient characteristic of Madras is the plain white and fancy coloured narrow stripes running in the direction of the warp.
Madras Gingham.—This name is applied to all-cotton fabrics made in part or to a considerable extent of dyed yarns of various colours, woven into stripes or checks woven either plain or fancy or with a combination of two or more weaves, and of a weight distinctly suitable for a shirting material in countries lying in the temperate zone. In the United States the introduction of a leno or satin stripe for the purpose of elaboration or ornamentation does not change the trade designation of such Gingham. Madras Gingham may be woven either plain, diamond, gauze and leno weave, or a combination of these weaves. See Madras.
Madras Handkerchiefs.—Plain-woven coloured cloths, with large bold checks. The yarns are dyed with a loose top, and the cloth is treated with acids, which cause the colours to bleed or run and give an imitation of block printing.
Maline.—A fine silk net of gauze-like texture. Practically the same as Tulle.
Market Descriptions of Standard Cloth.—Certain standard cloths are known on the market by an expression such as "36—76, 19 x 22, 32/36". This stated at length means that the cloth is 36 inches wide, 76 yards long, and contains 19 "ends" (or warp threads) and 22 "picks" (or weft threads) per quarter inch, whilst the twist (or warp) is 32's and the weft 36's—all being actual, not nominal, particulars.
Marl.—A term applied to a particular kind of coloured two-fold or single yarn. In the former (the two-fold) one or both threads making the two-fold yarn are spun from two rovings of different colours, causing the single thread to have a twist-like appearance; or the process may be begun earlier, by the two colours being run together in the thick roving, thus producing a twist-like effect in the smaller roving immediately preceding the spinning. These single twist-looking threads are usually folded with a solid colour, frequently black. If folded with each other they are called Double Marls; a single-yarn Marl is this yarn without the folding.
Marquisette.—A sheer plain-weave fabric of silk or cotton, having a mesh more open than that of Voile.
Matelassé.—A heavy compound-weave figured cloth, having a raised pattern, as if quilted or wadded.
Matt Weave.—Similar to a plain or one-over-one weave, with this difference, that instead of lifting one thread at a time two are lifted over two. It might be described as a double plain weave. This style of weave is noticeable in some varieties of embroidery canvas.
Medium Cloth (Woollen).—This is an all-wool fabric, plain woven from a wool weft and wool warp. In width it varies from 54 to 74 inches and in length from 19 to 36 yards per piece. The average value of this fabric per yard for the period 1904 to 1914 was 4s. 3d.
This fabric approximates to, and by some is said to be identical with, Broad, Habit, and Russian Cloth.
Mélange.—The French word for "mixture." Name given to a yarn produced from printed tops. This class of yarn can be distinguished from Mixture Yarn in that many fibres have more than one colour upon them. In Mixture Yarn each fibre would only have one colour.
Melton.—Stout, smooth woollen cloth, similar to Broadcloth, but heavier. A heavily milled woollen in which the fibres have been raised, then the piece cut bare to obtain the typical Melton. Both light and heavy Meltons are made with cotton warp and woollen weft.
Mercerised Cotton.—Cotton fibre roughly resembles a tube which, being hollow and collapsed on itself, presents an uneven, twisted, tape-like appearance with a good many surface markings.
By chemical treatment (mercerising) with caustic soda, and the application of tension at the right period of the treatment, remarkable changes in the structure and appearance of the cotton fibre are produced. It is made to swell, to become more transparent, to lose its twisted tube-like appearance, and to become more lustrous, translucent, and elastic. Mercerised cotton gives an impression of silk to the naked eye, its microscopic appearance being changed, the fibre having swelled out and assumed a rounded rod-like appearance which, whilst resembling silk, still differs from silk by the absence of the characteristic swellings so distinctive to silk.
The mercerising process improves the dyeing properties of cotton. The most effective mercerisation is obtained with Egyptian cotton.
Mercerising.—The object of this very important operation in the manufacture of cotton goods, yarn, or cloth is to give them lustre, making them resemble silk, the use of which they have replaced in many instances. The process, which takes its name from the inventor (Mercer), consists of passing the yarn or cloth, preferably bleached or partially bleached, through a concentrated solution of caustic soda, which causes the straightening of the cotton fibres, and would also cause it to shrink considerably were it not for the fact that the material being treated is kept under tension, which prevents the shrinking. To this tension more than anything else is the lustre imparted due. Mercerising is only applicable to vegetable fibres. Animal fibres dissolve in caustic soda. The caustic soda solution is only allowed to react on the fibre for about two minutes, when it is washed out by abundant application of fresh water. See Mercerised Cotton.
Merino.—Applied to hosiery or underwear made of part cotton and part wool mixed together. (Note.—The word "merino" on a box label is often misleading, as it frequently happens that goods so called are composed wholly of cotton.)
Mesh Underwear.—All knit underwear cloth is mesh in varying degree, but the common application of the term means a woven or knitted fabric having a net-like appearance.
Messaline.—A light-weight satin of fine quality.
Mixture Yarn.—This class of yarn is spun from fibres which have previously, and separately, been dyed various colours. The fibres are then mixed together to produce the desired mixture tone and spun in the usual way. This class of yarn differs from Mélange Yarn, which is composed of fibres upon which more than one colour has been printed.
Mock Leno.—Mock or imitation Lenos are ordinary woven cloths, that is, the warp threads do not cross each other, the open effect being less pronounced than in the real Leno, resulting in a fabric which is not as strong as the real or true Leno.
Mock Seam.—Applied to stockings made with cut leg and fashioned foot.
Mohair is a lustrous wool obtained from the Angora goat. The hair is often pure white, fine, wavy, and of good length, being the most lustrous of the wool or hair class fibres. It is extensively used in the manufacture of Plushes and lustrous dress fabrics. The name Mohair is used to designate a lustrous fabric made from this class of material.
Mohair Beaver Plush.—This fabric is a pile-weave material having a long lustrous mohair pile and a cotton back. The mohair pile is generally a "fast" pile in the sense that it is firmly held to the back. The pile is not as lustrous as a silk pile or even a good mercerised cotton pile, but it will not crush as readily as the latter. Generally measures from 48 to 50 inches in width and 60 yards in length. To prevent crushing of the pile, this material is shipped on an iron frame, on which it is fastened by a series of hooks which hold the material by the selvedges. Generally packed two frames to the box or case. The backs of mohair pile fabrics show a certain amount of loose pile fibres which have worked through during the process of weaving. This is not found in either silk or cotton pile fabrics.
Mohair Brilliantine.—A typical lustre dress fabric, plain woven, free from ornamentation, cotton warp and mohair weft; width, 30 to 31 inches; length, 30 to 35 yards per piece. Finer in weave appearance than Lustre Orleans, with a fairly extensive range of qualities. Like most lustre fabrics, it is cross-dyed.
Mohair Coney Seal.—A long mohair-pile fabric, dyed black, in widths of from 48 to 50 inches. The pile of this fabric is mohair, the foundation cloth all cotton. Harsher to the touch than a silk-pile fabric, Mohair Coney Seal has, as a distinctive feature, a fuzzy appearance at the back due to the fact that certain of the pile fibres appear to have worked through. If a similar fabric were dyed brown instead of black, it would be known as a Mohair Beaver Plush. If a similar fabric were dyed black and the surface chemically bleached till the dye was all out, producing a pile dyed two-thirds black and the surface third white, it would be known as a Silver Seal or Chinchilla Plush.
Mohair Sicilian.—Similar in construction of weave and components to a Mohair Brilliantine and differing from this only by the relative coarseness of threads. Sicilian is three times as coarse as Brilliantine, presenting a surface in which the warp and weft intersections are clearly shown, whereas the Brilliantine, being so much finer woven, does not show these so clearly, presenting as it does a smoother surface. The weft threads in Sicilian are comparatively much coarser than the warp, whereas in Brilliantine this difference is not so apparent. In width Sicilian measures up to 54 inches and in length from 30 to 35 yards per piece.
Moiré.—A watered design applied to silks by pressure between engraved rollers, or by the more common process of pressing two fabrics together. See Watering.
Moleskin.—An all-cotton Fustian, made extra strong by crowding the number of picks to the inch, napped before dyeing and put to the same uses as a strong Corduroy.
Mottles.—A variety of Velveteen or Velveteen Cord woven with a pile surface showing a distinct combination of yarn-dyed pile threads. Generally found with a pile combining black and white weft-pile threads; Mottles are yarn-dyed fabrics.
Mousseline de Soie.—A sheer soft fabric of silk, similar to Chiffon, but of more open weave.
Mule-twist Yarn.—Mule-twist yarn can be spun up to the finest counts; it is softer and more elastic than ring-twist yarn; it will take up more "size" than ring-twist and, generally speaking, is more regular in construction.
Mull.—A thin plain fabric usually bleached or dyed, characterised by a soft finish, used for dress wear. Various prefixes, such as Swiss, India, and Silk, are used in conjunction with Mull. Silk Mull is made of cotton warp and silk filling, and generally of higher count, finished either dyed or printed. The Swiss and India Mulls are fine, soft, bleached cotton fabrics; Silk Mull is in point of texture twice as fine as some grades of Cotton Mull. Cotton Mull is a plain fabric free from any ornamental features or fancy weaves, depending for its beauty or attractiveness entirely on the finish. When coarse-grade Mull, intended not for dress wear but for decorative purposes, is made, it is woven coarser than the dress fabric, stiffened in the finishing, and commonly known as Starched Mull. It is 30 inches wide, and has 36 picks and 40 ends per inch. Cotton Mull is generally woven from bleached yarns and not bleached in the piece.
Mungo and Shoddy are wool products or wool fibres which have previously passed through the process of manufacture.
Before either Mungo or Shoddy is produced, the rags, tailors' clippings, pattern-room clippings, or samples from which they are made have to be dusted, sorted, and ground. The last process tears thread from thread and fibre from fibre, leaving the Mungo or Shoddy ready to be once more made up into a yarn. The name is applied to textiles made up wholly or in great part from Mungo or Shoddy.
There actually exists a technical difference between Mungo and Shoddy, due to the class of fabric from which they are made. Mungo is the product of all types of cloths which have been subjected to the milling process. Shoddy is the product of unmilled fabrics, such as flannels, stockings, wraps, etc. Mungo is usually shorter and finer in fibre than Shoddy, because, in the first place, milled cloths are nearly always made from the shorter kinds of wool; secondly, because the fibres of a milled cloth are very difficult to separate from one another and break in the process of pulling.
Both Mungo and Shoddy are rather more comprehensive terms than names for any special type of material; both classes have a number of special divisions with different names.
Nainsook.—Nainsook is a light cotton fabric of plain weave which has a very soft finish. It may be distinguished from fine Lawns, fine Batiste, and fine Cambric from the fact that it has not as firm a construction nor as much body, and for that reason is not capable of retaining as much finishing material, the result being that when finished it has a very soft feel when handled. In width it ranges from 28 to 32 inches and in length from 20 to 60 yards per piece.
Nankeen.—The original Nankeen fabric was produced in China and was a plain-weave cotton fabric woven on a hand loom from a cotton yarn which had a natural yellow-coloured tinge. The name is now given to a cotton cloth produced in Lancashire, woven as a three-shaft twill and dyed a yellowish drab and other colours, often used for corset-making.
There is a mass of evidence to show that true Nankeen is a class of cloth having as a salient characteristic an inherent peculiar colour which is natural and due to its being woven from cotton of a yellow-brownish tint. The following extracts bear on this point.
"The statement that this stuff was made from a cotton of brownish yellow tint was for a long time discredited, but it is now certain that the yellow preserves the colour of the cotton composing it rather than acquires it by any process of dyeing" (S. William Beck: "Textile Fabrics: Their History and Applications").
Sir George Staunton, who travelled with Lord Macartney's Embassy through the province of Kiangnan, to which province the Nankeen cotton is peculiar, distinctly states that the cotton is naturally "of the same yellow tinge which it preserves when spun and woven into cloth" ("Embassy to China," by Sir George Staunton).
Sir George Thomas Staunton (son of the above) has translated an extract from a Chinese herbal on the character, culture, and uses of the annual herbaceous cotton plant, in which the plant producing "dusky yellow cotton" of a very fine quality is mentioned as one of the varieties ("Narratives of the Chinese Embassy to the Khan of the Tartars").
Van Braam, who travelled in China with a Dutch Embassy and who had been commissioned by European merchants to request that the Nankeens for their markets might be dyed a deeper colour than those last received, says: "La toile de Nanking, qu'on fabrique fort loin du lieu du même nom, est faite d'un coton roussâtre: la couleur de la toile de Nanking est donc naturelle, et point sujette à pâlir" ("Voyage de l'Ambassade de la Compagnie des Indes Orientales Hollandaises vers l'Empereur de la Chine").
"Each family (at Woosung) appears to cultivate a small portion of ground with cotton, which I here saw of a light yellow colour. The Nankeen cloth made from that requires no dye" ("Voyage of the Ship Amherst to the North-east Coast of China, 1832," published by order of the House of Commons).
Other authors refer to a Nankeen-coloured cotton grown in India and state that the original Nankeen fabric was produced in Nanking, in China, and was woven from a natural-coloured yellow cotton. As produced in Lancashire the cloth is a closely woven three-shaft twill, dyed yellowish drab and other colours and used for stay and corset making and for pocketing.
An American Government publication (House of Representatives Document No. 643: Report of the Tariff Board on Schedule 1 of the Tariff Law) gives the general description of Nankeens as known in the distributing trade as: "Distinguished by their peculiar yellowish brown colour, natural to the colour of the cotton of which made."
From the above it would seem clear that true Nankeen is a plain native cotton cloth woven on a native hand loom from unbleached and undyed yarn spun from cotton of a yellowish or yellow-brownish natural colour. The weave of Nankeen is a plain one-over and one-under shirting weave, such being the type of weave most readily produced on a native hand loom. The finished fabric is marketed in its loom state.
True Nankeen is therefore devoid of any ornamentation or figuring produced by weave or subsequent printing, embossing, dyeing, or stencilling. The width of Nankeen has apparently been always recognised as not exceeding 20 inches.
The name Nankeen in China was originally used to describe native hand-loom cloths of the above variety only, but as new and slightly different makes of native cloth appeared on the market the practice grew of including them under this heading, until gradually the term was used to describe not only the true Nankeen but a whole group of native cloths answering to the following description: all-cotton cloths not exceeding 20 inches in width, woven on a hand loom with a one-over and one-under shirting weave from cotton yarn which has not been previously dyed or mercerised, and including cloths of the above variety which have either been bleached, piece-dyed in solid greyish or blue colour, or woven from yarn previously dyed in greyish or blue colour, and including hand-loom-woven grey or bleached cotton cloths not exceeding 20 inches wide which have been ornamented by the introduction in the weave of a yarn-dyed blue stripe or yarn-dyed blue checkered design.
This loose application of the term continued until the 2nd May 1917, when the Chinese Maritime Customs, in their Notification No. 876 (Shanghai, 2nd May 1917) laid down an authoritative definition of this class of piece goods reading as follows:—
1. The cloth must be of plain shirting weave, woven on a hand loom of the old style; it must not exceed 20 inches (English) in width.
2. The "count" of the yarn (whether Chinese or foreign) from which the cloth is made must not exceed 20's. The yarn must be single in both warp and weft; it must not be "gassed."
3. The cloth may be of the natural colour, i.e., undyed, or it may be bleached or dyed in the yarn. It must not be dyed in the piece.
Chinese Cotton Cloth that does not fulfil the above conditions will not be treated as Nankeen.
Noils are the rejected fibres from the process of combing the different wools and hairs prior to making them up into yarn. The primary object of combing is to sort or separate the long from the short fibres.
Ombré.—Having graduated stripes in colour effect which shade from light to dark.
Opera Hose.—Women's stockings of extra length ordinarily measuring 34 inches.
Organzine.—This name is given to a hard and strong finished silk thread which has been given a great deal of twist in the throwing. Organzine is used for warps, as strength and regularity are needed in warp threads so that they may bear the strain and friction of weaving. When silk is thrown with less twist, and is therefore softer and more or less flossy, it is known as Tram and is used for the weft in weaving.
Orleans.—This fabric, also known as a Lustre Orleans, is one of the many varieties of lustre dress fabrics met with and described elsewhere. Woven with cotton warp and lustre weft, free from ornamentation, it is a simple one-over and one-under plain-weave fabric. Average width, 30 to 31 inches; length, 30 yards; price in normal times averaging, for the usual type, as low as 8½d. per yard.
In fineness of appearance it lies midway between a Mohair Brilliantine, which is of finer weave, and a Mohair Sicilian, which is of similar weave, coarser, but more lustrous in appearance.
Ottoman.—A silk or cotton weave having thick ribs at various intervals. Originally, the thick cord ran crossways. When the cord runs lengthways the fabric is often known as an Ottoman Cord.
This material is also called a Persian Cord, which is a cloth made from worsted or cotton warp and worsted weft employing the plain weave, but with the warp threads working in twos, thus giving a rib effect.
Outsize.—When used as a knitted goods term it is applied to women's stockings made in extra widths.
Oxford.—Originally a wool fabric in dark grey and white mixtures. Of late years heavy cotton and linen fabrics have been known by this name.
Oxford Shirting.—This fabric is an all-cotton fabric woven with a plain-weave ground and ornamented by the introduction of broken twill or fancy twill weave. It is woven with white and coloured yarns, which go to make the pattern or design—which in the main takes the form of stripes—of broken twill weave running lengthways of the material. Where the design is produced by printing, the material would not be an Oxford Shirting, but would more correctly be classed as an "imitation" or "printed" Oxford.
Oxford Shirting has been described as "a matt weave of coloured yarns, forming small checked effects or basket effects." As the name shows, it is extensively used in the making of shirts and ranges in quality from a low-grade to a high-quality fabric.
Padded Back Linings.—When a fabric is printed black on one side, or backed, to prevent the printed pattern on the face of the cloth from showing through, it is known as a Padded Back Lining. A natural back lining is a solid-coloured lining printed on one side only. This class of fabric is generally woven from all-cotton yarns, but may include fabrics which contain wool, silk, or other fibres.
Pad-dyeing.—Fabrics are generally piece-dyed after leaving the loom by being immersed in a bath of dye or colouring material. With a view to quickening more than actually cheapening the process of dyeing, "pad-dyeing" was evolved. This roughly consists in threading the cloth to be dyed into a machine the main features of which are dye baths and rubber rollers. The cloth is made to pass over rollers, dip into a dye bath and pass through rollers which squeeze out the superfluous dye, allowing same to fall back into the dye bowl or bath. In "pad-dyeing" the cloth may pass as often as six times through the dye liquor before it enters the first set of squeezers, and it may be given as many as four more passes through the liquor before the second set of squeezers are gone through; this, according to experts, gives "thorough saturation to any and all goods difficult to penetrate." It is generally recognised that any degree of saturation can be attained by the process of pad-dyeing, and cloth may be run through a machine at the rate of some 275 yards per minute and yet be well saturated. In a description of a pad-dyeing machine the nature of the operation performed by this machine is called "dyeing" and not "printing." The only difference therefore between piece-dyeing in a vat and in a pad-dyeing machine is that in the one instance the cloth is made to circulate in a dye bath or through a series of dye baths instead of being allowed to remain still in a dye vat until impregnated. The object aimed at and attained, i.e., the saturation of the cloth with a dye or colouring liquor, is identical.
All fabrics showing thorough saturation of ground colour (i.e., where both sides of the fabric are equally dyed) are considered as dyed whether they have been dyed by vat-dyeing or pad-dyeing.
Panne.—A light-weight Velvet with "laid" or flattened pile. Applied to a range of satin-faced Velvets or silk fabrics which show a high lustre, which is produced by pressure. The word panne is French for Plush.
Panung.—The nether garment of the Siamese. Made from cloth of the Papoon style or from woven or printed Checks. Papoon is a plain-woven cloth having warp and weft of different colours. It is also woven in two-and-two checking.
Panama Canvas.—An all-cotton plain matt weave fabric, similar to Basket Cloth, but woven from dyed yarns.
Papoon.—An all-cotton fabric woven from coloured yarns, the warp being of a different colour to the weft or filling threads. Exported to Siam, where it is extensively used for panungs.
Paramatta.—A thin union fabric woven as a three-shaft weft-faced twill from cotton warp and Botany worsted weft, used extensively for the manufacture of waterproof articles.
Pastel.—Applied to tones of any colour when exceptionally pale.
Pastille.—A round or oval spot.
Peau de Cygne.—A closely woven silk having a lustrous but uneven surface.
Peau de Soie.—A closely woven silk having a somewhat uneven satin-like surface. Literally, "skin of silk." A variety of heavy, soft-finished, plain-coloured dress silk woven with a pattern of fine close ribs extending weftways of the fabric. The best grades are reversible, being similarly finished on both sides; lower grades are finished on one side only. The weave is an eight-shaft satin with one point added on the right or left, imparting to the fabric a somewhat grainy appearance.
Pekiné, or Pekin Stripes.—A colour design in stripes of equal width and with equal space between.
Pepperell Drill.—The very superior qualities of Drills, woven from the highest quality yarns, are distinguishable by their carefully woven appearance and known as Pepperell Drills.
Percale.—A plain-weave cotton fabric of fine or medium count, used for shirtings, dresses, linings, etc. Percale is usually printed on one side with geometrical figures, generally black, although other colours are sometimes used. The fabric is bleached before printing and has an entire lack of gloss, differing from Percaline, which has a very glossy finish. It is often printed in stripes and, when so printed, is known as Percale Stripes.
Percaline.—A highly finished and dressed light-weight Percale, piece-dyed in solid colours and not printed. Percaline is an all-cotton, plain, closely woven fabric, generally met with in shades of blue, green, black, brown, and tan. Highly calendered and glossed.
Persian Cord.—A worsted or cotton warp and worsted weft fabric woven with a plain weave, but with the warp threads working in twos, thus giving a rib effect. Also called Ottoman.
Pick.—When the word "pick" is used in connexion with weaving, it always signifies the filling or weft threads, while each warp thread is called an "end" or a "thread." Picks run across the width of the fabric.
Piece Goods.—A usual trade reference for fabrics which are woven in lengths suitable for retail sale by linear measure.
Pile Fabrics.—Materials of silk or cotton wherein the surface is woven with raised loops, which are afterwards cut, forming a raised "pile." They include Plushes, Velvets, Velveteens, and Corduroys.
The threads that go towards making the pile are special threads independent of the warp and weft threads necessary to make a fabric that will hold together.
If the raised loops are left uncut, as more frequently is the case with warp piles, the fabric is spoken of as "Terry." If cut, as is sometimes the case with warp piles, and usually the case with weft piles, the fabric is spoken of as "cut-pile."
A generic name, used more in the elementary distributing trade, covering the classes of goods known amongst retailers and consumers as Velveteen, Corduroy, Turkish Towelling, Plush, etc.
Pile Weave.—Numerous varieties of cloth woven with a pile surface, such as Plush, Velvet, Velveteen, Silk Seals, Pony Skin, Beaver, Chinchilla Plush, and Carpeting of various kinds, are produced by this style of weave. The distinctive feature of this weave is that the surface consists of threads standing closely together like bristles in a brush. These threads appear either as threads sheared off smooth, so as to form a uniform or even surface, as in the case of Velvet, or may appear in the form of loops, as in the case of Towelling. The threads forming the pile are fixed to the back in a more or less firm manner and are known as "loose" or "fast" pile: the former takes the form of the letter U and the latter of the letter W. The loose pile may be driven out of the material by pressure, as there are not the same binding threads holding it as in the fast pile, or, again, they may be drawn out through the back of the material by relatively little scratching with, say, the edge of a paper-knife. The fast pile cannot be so withdrawn, as one of the warp threads passes in each of the two surface depressions as well as under the centre bend of the W, thus firmly binding it to the cloth. All other conditions being equal, a fast-pile material would be the better and more expensive of the two, and for upholstery or where there is much wear the "fast" pile is essential. Pile-weave materials are shipped on iron frames of about 60 yards, the material being hooked on to the frame by the selvedge so as to prevent the crushing of the pile. For export two frames are boxed together, separated by a wood partition.
Piqué.—A stout cotton fabric having as a distinguishing feature wide or fine welts, running "lengthways in the piece" and extending side by side from selvedge to selvedge. It is woven in the unbleached state and bleached before being placed on the market. It is also made in part of dyed yarns, forming ornamental stripes. It is sometimes referred to as Welts or Bedford Cords. This fabric is described in the English market as a fabric having "transverse ribs or welts, produced by stitching tightly weighted warp threads through a fine plain-woven cloth which has its warp lightly tensioned." The ribs or welts are sometimes emphasised by the introduction of wadding weft. In America this material is sometimes described as "P.K."
P.K.—An American way of writing Piqué. This abbreviated designation of the word is limited to America and seldom met with on English invoices.
Plain.—As a weaving term the word "plain" is used to designate the simplest weave, in which the weft thread passes under one and over one warp thread. This system of interlacing produces a "plain" or "one-over and one-under" or "shirting" weave. The term is also used to denote that a fabric is not figured, i.e., that it is free of ornamentation produced by either extra threads or combination of weaves.
Plain Velvet (Cotton).—An all-cotton pile fabric, which is more often known under the name of Velveteen. There would appear, however, to be a difference between the two fabrics, which lies only in the length of the pile, the pile of Velvet being if anything a little longer than that of Velveteen and shorter than that of Plush. This fabric may, like Velveteen, be either of a weft or warp pile weave, which is more fully described under "Velveteen." Being plain, it is free from any ornamentation produced by printing, embossing, or combination of weave, and of uniform colour throughout the width and length of the material.
Plain Velveteen (Cotton).—This fabric, like all true Velveteens, is an all-cotton pile fabric which has not been ornamented or figured in any way, either by being printed or embossed or by combination of weave, and would be of uniform colour throughout the width and length of the material.
Plain (or Homespun) Weave.—Plain cloth is the simplest cloth that can be woven. In this weave one series of threads (filling or weft) crosses another series (warp) at right angles, passing over one and under one in regular order, thus forming a simple interlacement of the threads. This weave is used in the production of Muslin, Gingham, Broadcloth, Taffetas, etc.
Checks are produced in plain weaving by the use of bands of coloured warp and coloured filling. This weave produces a strong and firm cloth. It is also called calico or tabby weave, and referred to as a "one-over and one-under" weave.
Plated.—An American term used in connexion with goods having the face of one material and the back of another; for instance, a garment having a wool face and cotton back is "plated." The face may also be of one colour and the back of another, both of the same material.