THE simplest form of interlacing the threads is the plain or tabby weave. In this weave the threads intersect as often as possible, and thus the greatest possible amount of firmness and strength is obtained from a given quantity of material by this weave, with the exception of leno or cross weaving, where additional firmness and strength is obtained by the warp threads being partly twisted round each other in weaving. Plain cloths may be ornamented by using threads of different colours and of different thicknesses, as, for instance, if four picks of blue and four picks of white are alternately put into a cloth, the warp of which is composed of four ends blue and four ends white alternately, a check is formed although the weave is quite plain. A check may also be formed on a plain cloth by using one or more thick threads at intervals in both warp and weft.

There is, of course, a limit to the number of threads of a certain count which can be put into a plain cloth. Assuming that the counts of warp and weft are equal, and that the number of picks per inch required is the same as the ends, the number of threads per inch which can be satisfactorily put into the cloth would not much exceed half the number which could be placed side by side in one inch. Some allowance must be made for the threads being bent out of a straight line and for compression. This branch of design will be treated of more fully in a subsequent chapter, but it will be obvious that this limit to the number of threads of a given count which can be used in a plain cloth renders the weave unsuitable for heavy fabrics. If a plain cloth is very heavy and thick, it must of necessity be coarse.

Plain cloth can be made by using two shafts, but four are usually taken with the draft, as shown at Fig. 172. This prevents overcrowding the healds. By tying the first and second together and the third and fourth together, the effect is the same as by using only two staves, only two lifts being required.

Twills.—The simplest twill is the “2 and 1” twill, which is woven with three shafts. A section through this twill is given at Fig. 173, where it will be seen the weft passes under one end and over two. The structure of the fabric is better shown on “point paper,” as at Fig. 174. The spaces between the perpendicular lines represent the warp threads or “ends,” and the spaces between the horizontal lines represent the weft threads or “picks.” By filling in the first square on the first pick, it is shown that the first end is lifted for that pick; and by filling in the second end on the second pick, it is shown that the second end is lifted on the second pick, and so on. It is not always advisable to take a filled-in square as representing a lifted end, as it is often more convenient to fill in the weft squares or those which are left down in weaving. If necessary, it can be stated along with the design whether the marks represent warp or weft up.

Twilled weaves enable a larger number of threads of a given count to be put into a fabric than in a plain cloth, and therefore these weaves are employed in the production of the heavier kinds of cloths where closeness of the threads is also desired.

With three staves the twill given at Fig. 174 is the only one which can be woven. The same twill may be woven with the warp predominating on the face, and this would be represented on paper as at Fig. 176, where two ends are shown to be lifted on each of the three picks.

In weaving this pattern three staves would be taken with the draft, as given for Fig. 174 (see Fig. 175). The first stave will be lifted for the first pick, the second stave for the second pick, and the third stave for the third pick. These three lifts being repeated over an indefinite number of times will produce small diagonal lines running at an angle of 45 degrees across the piece, if the number of warp and weft threads in a given space are equal. This twill is sometimes called a “Jean,” and is used in the production of a fabric of that name, as well as in “Jeannettes,” the latter with warp predominating on the face of the cloth. In all these fabrics a large range of qualities is made.

With four staves the following twills can be made:—

1. One up, three down;

2. Two up, two down;

3. Three up, one down.

These are shown on point paper at Figs. 177, 178, and 179 respectively. The third pattern is really the same as the first, being the reverse of that pattern. It is advisable, however, to consider them as two distinct patterns, since they give different effects when used for purposes of combination, as will be seen later.

Five-shaft Twills.—With five shafts of staves the possible twills are—

1. One up, four down;

2. Two up, three down;

3. Three up, two down;

4. Four up, one down;

5. Two up, one down, one up, one down;

6. Two down, one up, one down, one up.

These are shown on point paper at Figs. 180 to 185 inclusive. There are really only three different methods of interlacing the threads in these six patterns; but, as stated previously, different effects are produced in combination twills by all of them.

Six-shaft Twills.—With the increase in the number of shafts the number of twills increases very quickly, as with a “repeat” of six ends the following simple twill can be woven:—

1. One up, five down;

2. Two up, four down;

3. Three up, three down;

4. Four up, two down;

5. Five up, one down;

6. Three up, one down, one up, one down;

7. Three down, one up, one down, one up;

8. Two up, two down, one up, one down;

9. Two down, two up, one down, one up.

There are here five distinct methods of intersection, the remaining four patterns being reverses. The patterns are shown on point paper at Figs. 186 to 194.

Eight-shaft Twills.—With a “repeat” of eight ends and picks the number of changes which can be made in the basis of the twill is much larger, and as the size of the repeat increases the possible twills increase enormously. A selection of eight-end twills is given at Figs. 195 to 204 inclusive.

Satin Weaves.—In simple twills every pick is interlaced with the warp in the same manner, but each successive pick commences, as it were, one end further to the right or to the left, thus enabling every end to be bound into the cloth in regular order. In satins the picks are arranged differently. The object in a satin cloth is to obtain an even surface, free from the bold lines of a twill; and thus it is necessary to distribute the points of intersection of the warp and weft as evenly over the surface of the fabric as possible.

The commonest form of satin is the five shaft, and this can be woven with five shafts with a straight draft lifted in the order 1, 3, 5, 2, 4. The relation between this satin and a five-end twill is shown at Fig. 180, where it will be seen that on the second pick of the satin the third end is lifted, on the third pick the fifth end is lifted, then the second is lifted, and lastly the fourth. This distribution of the points of intersection produces a satin. A slight twill effect is given by most of these weaves, but it is nothing like so decided as where the adjacent ends are lifted on successive picks, as in twilled cloths.

The direction of the twill in the satin at Fig. 205 is from right to left.

This five-shaft satin weave is used with weft preponderating over warp, and also the reverse. Immense quantities of cloth are made on both principles, and in all qualities. A regular make with weft predominating is made with about 72 ends per inch of 32’s twist, and picks ranging from 100 to 200 per inch of 40’s weft. A finer make is used in large quantities for printing upon. This cloth counts about 26 ends × 45 picks per quarter-inch, and the yarns used are 60’s twist, 70’s weft. These are two of the standard makes of satins, but for special purposes all qualities are made in cotton.

With the warp predominating a cheaper fabric is produced, as less time is required to weave a given length. “Drills” are woven on this principle, the proportion of warp to weft being about two to one.

Satins may be produced on any number of shafts from five upwards. Fig. 206 is commonly called a four-shaft satin, but this is better classed as a broken twill. The principle of its structure is essentially different to that of a true satin.

A simple method of making a satin weave on any number of ends is to find the first number which is not a measure of the number of staves used, and take this as the basis of constructing the satin, as follows: The first number which is not a measure of five is 2. Then, taking this as the basis of the satin, assuming that the first stave is lifted for the first pick, the third stave must be lifted for the second pick. This gives the number of ends to be “skipped” over, and thus we can obtain the satin by skipping over one each time, viz. 1, 3, 5, 2, 4.

It is advisable to put the numbers in a line or in a circle, and re-arrange them underneath.

The order of lifting the staves for an eight-end satin can be obtained as follows:—The first number which is not a measure of eight is 3. Then, taking this as the basis, we lift the first stave for the first pick and the fourth stave for the second pick, and “skipping” over two each time we get the order, 1, 4, 7, 2, 5, 8, 3, 6. This is shown on point paper at Fig. 207.

A six-stave satin is irregular. It is impossible to form a satin with six staves by “skipping” over a regular number of staves each pick, but the points of intersection can be separated and a satisfactory satin formed by lifting the staves in the order, 1, 3, 5, 2, 6, 4, or 1, 4, 2, 6, 3, 5. These are shown on point paper at Figs. 208 and 209.

A six-end satin weave is extremely useful, as it takes rather more material than a five, and its irregular appearance is an advantage for some purposes.

Fig. 210 is a seven-end satin.

Fig. 211 is a ten-end satin. Three is the first number which is not a measure of ten, therefore three is taken as a basis in constructing the satin, and the fourth stave is lifted for the second pick, and the others in regular order.

Fig. 212 is a twelve-end satin. The basis in this case is five, as five is the first number which is not a measure of twelve.

Combined Twills.—A useful class of pattern is obtained by combining pick and pick two simple twills. If two eight-end twills are combined in this manner, a pattern repeating on eight ends and sixteen picks is produced. At Fig. 213 a “three and five plain” twill is combined with a “three, two, one, two,” twill, and different effects may be obtained by combining the same twills in all the possible positions.

Figs. 214 to 220 show the effect produced by all the changes in the relative position of the two twills. An immense number of patterns can be made on this principle, as all the simple twills may be combined in every position, and in each case a different pattern results.

On six ends we have seen that nine simple twills can be made, and as each may be combined with the others in six different positions, the number of patterns which can be obtained from this system of combination is as follows:—Fig. 186 combined with each of the others in one position each gives eight patterns, and as there are six positions in which they can be combined, this gives forty-eight patterns. Fig. 187 combined with Figs. 188 to 194 gives seven patterns, and these in six positions give forty-two patterns. Fig. 188 combined with Figs. 189 to 194 gives six patterns, and in the six positions give thirty-six patterns. By going through all the changes in this manner we get successively 48, 42, 36, 30, 24, 18, 12, and 6, or a total of 216 patterns. In addition to these, each twill may be combined pick and pick with itself in four different positions without giving double picks.

Drafting.—The arrangement of the draft is a very important matter in connection with dobby or tappet weaving. In the case of simple twills, satins, and other regular weaves, as each end, or warp thread, in the design is required to be lifted differently, a separate stave is required for each end in the design, but in some patterns this is not the case.

Fig. 221 is a stripe design composed of twenty ends of five-shaft satin and sixteen ends plain. The least number of shafts on which this could be woven is seven, five for the satin and two for the plain. The number of picks to the round, or the number of picks on which the pattern repeats is ten, ten being the least common multiple of two and five. The draft may be shown either by ruling lines to represent the staves as at Fig. 222, or on point paper as at Fig. 223. The latter is the readier way, and is the way usually practised. The order of lifting the staves is shown in the “pegging plan” (Fig. 224). The term “pegging” refers, of course, to the dobby loom; if the design is woven on a tappet loom, “tappet plan” would be a more correct term to use.

When two weaves which consist of different arrangements of the same ends are combined in stripe form, the same shafts will do for both weaves. Fig. 225 illustrates this principle. In the design there are sixteen ends of an eight-end twill, “2 up 2 down, 1 up 1 down, 1 up 1 down,” and sixteen ends of a mixed effect, which is simply a re-arrangement of the ends of the twill. Each of the ends in the crape or mixed weave can be drawn through the same stave as one of the ends in the twill, as will be seen from the draft (Fig. 226) given with this design, and thus the whole design can be woven with eight staves. If the staves are lifted to form the twill with the first sixteen ends, the different order of drawing the ends in the second part of the draft causes the desired change in the pattern. The pegging or lifting plan (Fig. 227) will therefore be the first eight ends of the twill.

One of the most useful principles of drafting is the V draft, or point draft. Fig. 228 is a design based upon this principle; the design is repeated twice over in order to show the effect better, and it will be seen that the basis of the pattern is a “four and four” twill. The first eight ends are drawn from right to left, and by reversing the draft, as in Fig. 229, the pattern is made to repeat on fourteen ends. The pegging plan (Fig. 230) will be the first eight ends and picks of the design. The first and eighth staves have each only one end out of the fourteen drawn through them, whilst all the other staves have two ends in each pattern. The number on each stave could be made equal by making the pattern repeat on sixteen ends and reversing the draft from the ninth stave, with an eight-end twill basis.

The V draft is used in a great variety of forms. It is not only in stripes that it is used. It is very often employed in weaving all-over spot effects and diamond patterns.

Fig. 231 shows the principle applied to an all-over design. The draft (Fig. 232) is given, showing how the ends are drawn through the thirteen staves required to weave the pattern, and the “pegging plan” (Fig. 233) shows the order of lifting the staves.

A very effective method of employing this draft is illustrated at Fig. 234. This is a stripe design, and the general appearance would lead one to suppose that a larger number of staves are required to weave it than the eighteen actually required. Fig. 235 is the draft and Fig. 236 the pegging plan for this design.

Another class of pattern produced by the V draft is the “diaper” style. Fig. 237 is a small design of this kind, and it will be noticed that the draft (Fig. 238) plays a very important part in increasing the size of the pattern. The draft given shows how the pattern would be made on nineteen staves.

It is not always advisable to draft a pattern to its lowest number of staves, as it is not worth while saving one or two staves at the expense of an irregular draft.

Dice Checks.—Fig. 239 is a simple dice check pattern. Alternate squares of warp and weft twill form the check effect, and it is necessary to arrange the bindings so as to cross each other at the edges of the squares, as otherwise the ends would “slip.” Fancy dice patterns are produced by employing squares of different dimensions. Fig. 240 is a pattern of this description. The bindings are here those of an eight-end satin. To obtain the crossing of the binding dots at the edges of the squares it is necessary to run the satin in opposite directions in the warp and weft squares.

A still more fancy dice effect is given at Fig. 241. The bindings are on the five-end satin basis, and the blocks of warp and weft satin are arranged so that the design repeats on fifty ends and picks. It is necessary in this class of binding to commence the satin in the position indicated in the design. By a judicious arrangement of the warp and weft blocks a large variety of patterns can be produced. The principle is extensively employed in the production of fabrics for both the home and shipping trades.

“Barley corn” patterns are a related style. The structure of these cloths is shown at Figs. 242 and 243. The former pattern is manufactured on an extensive scale, as it is a fabric in regular use for making-up purposes. Fig. 243 has the weft square rather larger than the warp, and is usually made in rather a better quality than Fig. 242. In fine makes the size of the squares is often increased.

Patterns produced by Re-arrangements of Twills.—If the ends of any twill be re-arranged in some regular order, another pattern of a different character is produced. For example, by re-arranging the eight-end twill given at Fig. 244 in “satin order” the effect at Fig. 245 is produced. The method of re-arrangement is to take the first end of the twill design and place it in the first place in the re-arrangement. The fourth end of the twill is then placed in the second end of the re-arrangement, the seventh end of the twill in the third place, and so on, the satin order used being 1 4, 7 2, 5 8, 3 6. Fig. 246 re-arranged in this manner gives the effect at Fig. 247, and, as will be seen from the remaining figures (Figs. 248–255), the effects produced by the re-arrangement are all good serviceable effects which are useful for a great many purposes. With larger twills the effects produced are more elaborate and varied, and the principle is distinctly useful for the production of new woven effects.

Combined twills may also be re-arranged in this manner for the production of new effects. Figs. 256 and 258 are two five-end combined twills, and the effect produced by re-arranging the ends in five-end satin order is shown at Figs. 257 and 259, respectively.

Fig. 260 is an eight-end combined twill, and Fig. 261 shows the effect produced by its re-arrangement in eight-end satin order.

Fig. 262 is a twelve-end combined twill, and when re-arranged in twelve-end satin order Fig. 263 is produced.

The effects produced by re-arrangement in satin order are, as a rule, mixed effects of a less decided character than the original twill. There are many other useful systems of drafting or re-arranging patterns.