TERRY looms are extensively used in the cotton trade, chiefly for weaving towels, but often for striped dress and similar fabrics where terry or loop pile is combined with other weaves. The loops can be formed either on one side or both sides of the fabric, but the loop formed in these looms is not to be compared with real loop pile woven over wires, as the loops cannot be formed with the same regularity. There are numerous terry motions, as they are called, most loom makers having their own speciality. Fig. 150 is the design for a good terry cloth. It will be noticed that the second and fourth ends are the reverse of each other: one is up for four picks and down for one, and the other is down for four picks and up for one, whilst the other two ends are nearly plain. The first and third ends form the ground, and the second and fourth ends the pile or loops. There are five picks to the round.

The ground warp is on a separate beam to the pile warp, the latter having a special tension to let off the required quantity to form the pile. At the second pick in the pattern, just where the pile warp is bound, the reed is made to beat further up than on the two preceding picks, thus forming a pile by sending one half the pile ends to the face and the other half to the back. The reed beats up to the front for the second, third, and fourth picks in the pattern, as given at Fig. 150, following which the reed is held back for two picks. Fig. 151 is a good motion for making the reed occupy the two positions when beating up. P represents the slay, and a lever, A, centred at D, is so constructed that when A is pulled down the reed is pushed forward. The rod R is connected to a lever, M, on a shaft, N, placed under the loom. A rocking motion is given to this shaft by a box cam, P, five to the round (Fig. 152), so shaped as to lift and depress the lever QS for the required number of picks. This cam is driven from the picking shaft. By pulling the rod R downwards the reed is moved forwards, and the rod will have to be kept down for three picks and moved up for two picks, so as to keep the reed in its front position for three picks and a little way back for two. The effect required is really to lengthen the crank-arm at will, and the principle of the knuckle joint may be used in its simplest form—that is, by having the crank-arm jointed in the middle and fixed a little out of a straight line, and by straightening the arm when the front position of the slay is required.

The real loop pile is woven over wires. The wires can be inserted and pulled out automatically by a power-loom, but the richest kind of pile is woven on the hand-loom. The structure of the fabric is shown at Fig. 153. The pile end is brought up over a wire every two picks, and when the wire is pulled out the loops form a springy pile, which can be made to give beautiful effects in dress goods. The principle is also used in Brussels carpets, and similar goods. Where figured fabrics are required on this principle, it is necessary to have each pile end on a separate bobbin and weighted separately at the back of the loom, as the take-up of each end would vary so much in the figure.

With cut pile the wires are either grooved, as at Fig. 154, or each wire has a knife at the end, as at Fig. 155, and when the wire is pulled out it cuts the pile. The best pile is formed by the grooved wires, as the cutting wires are apt to drag the pile. When cut pile is being made, about four or five wires are constantly in the cloth, for, if the wire were pulled out immediately, the pile ends would fall away from the cloth.

Looms are made to weave two pieces of plush (which is a long cut pile, rather longer than velvet pile) in one loom simultaneously, one piece above the other, after the manner shown at Fig. 156. The principle is not used in cotton manufactures, although it has been tried. It is chiefly used for silk plush.