118. Counter-change Check in Three Shades.—The succeeding example (Fig. 29) is made up of equal quantities of black and grey and of a smaller portion of white. The checks of white are so introduced as to separate the four squares of black and also the four squares of grey, so that the white yarns form a comparatively large over-check. Both the black and grey threads, on the other hand, each compose two sets of checks working within one another. It is a base developed in cotton, worsted, and woollen yarns. One suitable plan of blending the shades is—8 threads of black, 8 threads of white, 8 threads of black, 8 threads of grey, 8 threads of white, and 8 threads of grey.

The style is susceptive of considerable elaboration. For example, the white check may be embellished with an over-check of black, the black squares with outlinings of white, and the s grey with skeleton checkings of black or white.

119. Interchanging Check.—Three-shade checks on this base are illustrated in Fig. 30 and No. 3, Plate XIX. On examining Fig. 30, it will be seen that a group of small squares of black surround four similarly-sized checks of grey and nine of white. The grey and black checks interlace with each other. The principal shade in this pattern, white, is so arranged as to yield both small and large checks. It is a style which may range from a pattern of a fraction of an inch in suitings to six or eight inches in dress materials and shawl textures. When the following quantities are used, the base may be modified:⁠—

Various systems may be practised in dividing up the twelve threads of white. To begin with, this group of ends may be changed to 2 threads of grey, 8 threads of white, and 2 threads of grey; or the four threads in the centre of the twelve may consist of 2 grey and 2 black; while a third variation would change the white square into 4 threads of white, 4 threads of black or grey, and 4 threads of white. If other changes of this base are required, the small squares of white should each be bisected with two threads of black, the checks of grey with two threads of white, and the checks of black with two threads of grey.

An application of this principle to costume fabrics is given in No. 3, Plate XIX. Three colours are used, light brown or fawn, green, and blue, the blue and green interchanging with each other. The brown is an intermediate shade, checking with both the green and blue. The warping and wefting are as follows:⁠—

If the number of threads of each colour were doubled, some modifications could be applied: the eight threads of brown could be bisected with an additional colour, and some further alteration made in developing both the green and blue sections.

120. Counter-change with Over-check.—Fig. 31 is a pronounced check form. It is mostly used in tartan patterns for cotton, fine worsted, and woollen-yarn dress fabrics. More variety of effect may be introduced into it by subdividing the main squares of black and white. Each of the spaces of white is in this instance split up by minute squares of black and lines of grey; and the squares of black by minute squares of white in addition to the lines of grey in the illustration. This form of check is often made in very large patterns, some four or five inches in size, and in strongly contrasting colours, for which it is, by arrangement, well adapted.

It ought to be observed that all the examples described may be subjected to numerous modifications in sectional parts of the colouring, besides those quoted and analyzed. With a view of making it evident how the schemes of checking alluded to, are elaborated in practice, it has been shown to what an extent patterns of a check description are susceptive of variation in the loom. The principles of constructing these have been elucidated, and the chief forms of checking have been treated of.

Shaded and Irregular Checks.

121. Shaded Check in Black and White in the Cassimere Twill.—In the construction of shaded checks either two or more colours may be employed. With these, and a proper method of grouping the yarns, a pattern may be produced of a shaded character. The weave used, if the order of shade arrangement is diversified, must be of a simple type. An example will demonstrate the principle of developing this useful description of woven design. It is given in Fig. 32, and is a shade in black and white, the cassimere twill being the weave used in constructing the fabric. There are several features of this pattern which may be considered. Obviously it is a compound check, combining both the ordinary and shaded schemes of checking. A set of common checks of a shepherd plaid type surround the shaded check proper. The shaded effect consists of three factors, which may be separately examined. In the square spaces, in which white is the main element, a light shade is acquired by gradually decreasing the quantity of black and increasing the quantity of white yarns until a perfect edging of white is acquired. Next there are lines of a deeper shade, due to the threads used in the composition of the principal check crossing those which occur in the shaded white checkings; and lastly, there is the broken square of black, which decreases by degrees in intensity from the centre to its respective edges. Though the shading as a whole is not uniformly continued, for there is a somewhat sudden change from dark to light shading, yet at this juncture the effect obtained is softly toned. Mellowness of gradation is an important element of the pattern.

The irregular manner in which the white and black yarns appear, like specks on the surface of the fabric, arises from the employment of a print thread in which these shades alternate in lengths of about ⅜ths of an inch. Solid black and white threads alone would not yield the intermingled effect so prominent in this style. They would produce a much stiffer and more uniform result. If this system of checking should be applied to woollen and worsted or cotton goods, twist yarns may be employed in place of the printed threads. These, in all species of designing, give more intermingled patterns than self-coloured yarns, and for this reason are useful in the production of shaded effects.

The plan of colouring this example is rather complicated, running as follows:⁠—

The light shade, which composes the squares consisting mainly of white, is formed by the threads included within A and B. This will be seen on examining the plan of colouring. At A there are six parts of white to one part of black and white print yarn; but at B there is a small quantity of print yarn only—the toning from extreme white to a complete mixture of black and white having been gradually effected by the intervening groups of shades. From C to D the dark shade is produced. Not containing as many changes as the light shade, it is more decided in composition. Practically this shade commences at B, which connects it with the adjoining gradated square of white and black. At C, however, the first move to black begins, for here black and print yarns are equally mixed. The number of black threads now increases until Section D is reached, when it begins to diminish, ultimately shading off to a group of print threads as indicated at E. From this stage the white shade is renewed, and continues to the end of the pattern.

Apart from its value as a principle of shading, this style is extremely suggestive of what may be accomplished by grouping two shades in woven fabrics of a simple or common twill class.

122. Shaded Checks in Two Colours due to using Designs Composed of Various Weaves.—These patterns are in some respects simpler to produce than the preceding class of check. There is no diversity of shade arrangement in such styles, the warp and weft being solid colours throughout. Now in an ordinary twill such colouring would not give any form of check, so that this is quite a distinct principle of checking. It is one that is applied to worsted, silk, and cotton, but not to woollen textures to any large extent. The combination of weaves necessary is not so well adapted for development in woollen, as in the other classes of threads named. Colouring being simple, the design is correspondingly intricate. If this is well constructed it will yield a shaded pattern, though the warp and weft yarns be of precisely the same colour, size, and quality. When this sort of shade is formed, a better effect is produced in such yarns as worsted and silk. Cotton or woollen threads would not give the same effect in designs arranged on the principle of a gradual movement from a maximum warp to a minimum weft flush, and inversely, as in Figs. 33 and 34. The essential of shading consists in diversity of tinting. A brown, or any other shade, is producible if several colours of brown of variable depths are combined, but not otherwise. What in this instance is impracticable from a colour standpoint, is feasible by a suitable arrangement of weaves. The shade that may thus be produced is not, of course, so clear and pronounced as that due to a diversity of colouring, for it simply results from the difference in effect of the flushes of warp and weft yarns composing the pattern. As there is some visible distinction in the brightness of the floats of warp and weft respectively, if the weaves constituting the design are arranged on such a principle as to tone one into the other, they produce an effect of a shaded type. According to the example furnished, one set of weaves which combines admirably on this method is that derived from a sateen base. But these are not the only weaves used, many varieties of twills being employed for similar purposes; but sateens give the most uniform shades of any class of weaves that can be utilized. On referring to Figs. 33 and 34, it will be seen that the weaves differ from each other in the extent to which they flush the warp and weft yarns on the face of the texture. To construct a shaded pattern of this kind, commence with the extreme warp-flush weave, adjoining which place the weave most closely approaching it in structure; the diminution in warp and the increase in weft flush continuing from one weave to another, until the extreme or maximum weft flush is attained. In such a scale of shades, the extreme warp- and weft-flush weaves represent opposite ends of the shade, the weaves intervening completing the gradation or toning of the pattern. The form or outline of the check is first decided upon, and then the weaves combined according to the dark or light effect required in the various parts of the design.

This style of checking is determined by the system of arranging the weaves used, and not, as in the previous examples, by changing the scheme of colouring; hence this species of shaded check is extremely simple to produce, so far as the blending of colours is concerned.

A further application of this principle of weave shading in combination with a difference in the depths of colouring in the warp and weft is that developed in figured fabrics, of which Fig. 35 is an example and Fig. 35A a section of the complete design. There are other weaves forming sections of the figuring, but they would give a pronounced warp or weft colour effect: that is to say, should the warp be a light or pale heliotrope, and the weft dark heliotrope, there would be perfect shading from the dark to light in the floral parts, but in other sections, marked in ⊡’s and ◻’s, either a solid warp or weft colour would appear on the face of the fabric. The principle imparts definition to the colours used, and also to the integral parts of the design.

123. Irregular and Mixture Checks.—The styles of this checking, on account of their neat and subdued character, are produced in many classes of woollen and worsted fabrics. Two typical examples will be considered—Nos. 1 and 3, Plate XX. No. 1 is an intermingled check in five colours, and possesses a black ground, the order of warp colouring being:⁠—

3 threads of black.
1 thread of black and scarlet twist.
2 threads of black.
1 thread of black and green twist.
2 threads of black.
1 thread of black and scarlet twist.
3 threads of black.
2 threads of olive green.
3 threads of black.
1 thread of black and scarlet twist.
2 threads of black.
1 thread of black and green twist.
2 threads of black.
1 thread of black and scarlet twist.
2 threads of black.
3 threads of olive brown.

The method of wefting is much simpler than that of warping, consisting of 12 picks of black, 2 picks of olive brown, 12 picks of black, and 2 picks of olive green. The pattern is a combination of outline checks, enhanced with spotting threads of scarlet and black, and green and black twists. There is a skeleton check of olive green interlacing with a similar check of olive brown. The intensity of the two leading fancy colours ought in such patterns to be the same, as they should both be equally prominent in the texture.

Next, as to the twist yarn or mixture check—No. 3, Plate XX. Here the pattern is composed of green and olive twist. On the intermingled mixture ground formed by these threads, is a small check of maroon. This hue forms a mellow contrast with the general colouring of the fabric. Twist yarns are chiefly suitable for yielding the rich and mellow indistinctness of effect seen in this example. The maroon is a solid colour and gives character to the pattern. For costume fabrics this scheme of checking, in both woollen and worsted fabrics, is well adapted, as it combines softness of colouring with neatness of pattern.

124. Fancy Broken Check.—This is a species of check in which the plan of wefting differs from that of grouping the warp colours, the object being to produce a check-like effect more or less irregular in composition. No. 2, Plate XX., is one form of this sort of checking. A pattern composed of small checks is here obtained, analysis of the colourings showing the warp and weft to consist of different shades. Thus, while the order of warping is 5 threads of light fawn, 1 thread of green, 4 threads of slate, 5 threads of light fawn, and 5 threads of slate; the weft is 4 picks of black, 1 pick of scarlet, 5 picks of bluish grey, 5 picks of black, and 5 picks of bluish grey. The contrast between the warp and weft shades defines the weave, which, if the warp and weft colourings had been alike, would, in some parts of the pattern, have been indistinct.

The point to be observed in this type of colouring, is to employ shades of similar intensities in both warp and weft; thus, in this example, the slate is almost as prominent in the woven fabric as the black, the light fawn as the bluish grey, and the green as the scarlet. It is only by securing this balance of hues that harmonious colourings are producible in broken check patterns. Should any particular colour be stronger in character than others, it destroys some of the elements of the pattern. This principle of cross checking is also applied to various classes of striped fabrics, in which it is desirable to partially subdue the continuity of the warp colourings.

125. Examples in the Colouring of Tartans.—These may be defined as squares of colour varying in size and arrangement, and are, strictly, an elaborate scheme of check design entirely in colouring. One interesting feature of these plaids is that the colours are usually of the same depth or degree of intensity, as illustrated by the Erskine plaid, a compound of bright scarlet and green. These two contrasting and complementary hues form a good checking. It is not, however, always the case that complementary colours are blended; for instance, the Montgomery tartan is composed of green and blue, two colours which, if not of the proper hue and intensity, would produce an incongruous pattern. Hence, here, as in many other plaids, it is a question of using the correct depth and hue of colour.

Tartans illustrate the hues which combine harmoniously, and also the quantities or areas in which bright colours unite in a satisfactory manner.

As illustrations of this, the Macdonald and Hunting Menzies may be compared. In both, exactly the same colours are used, with entirely different effects. The Macdonald, in consequence of the large quantity of scarlet entering into its composition, is a bright plaid; whereas the Menzies is much softer and mellower in appearance. The larger the variety of colours, the more interesting the result in the pattern. If, for instance, the Duke of Rothesay, a three-colour tartan, is compared with the Hay, a five-colour one, the value of the larger number of hues in multiplying the diversity of colouring will be understood. Both are satisfactory compounds of coloured yarns, but the superior richness of the Hay is apparent. In each, red, green, and white are used, with the addition of black and yellow in the Hay. The Rothesay has a large square of red, divided with stripes of white, whereas in the Hay a similar space of red is subdivided with stripes of white, black, and green. In the Rothesay the green sections are crossed with lines of red; but in the Hay, with lines of yellow and red, forming a check rich in colouring.

126. Types of Tartans.—Tartans may be classified as follows:⁠—

1. Plaids in two colours.
2. Plaids in three colours.
3. Plaids in four colours.
4. Plaids in five colours.
5. Plaids in six and seven colours.

It is difficult, on account of the varied colouring, to classify them according to hue; but the above subdivision comprises all the tartans, and makes it feasible to deal with them in a natural order, or in accordance with their colour composition.

127. Two-Colour Plaids.—Amongst the most important of the two-colour tartans are the Menzies, Douglas, Montgomery, Macdonald, and the Erskine. The Menzies is produced in red and white, red and black, black and white, and red and green, the last being termed the Hunting Menzies.

The black and white Menzies, in its original form, is illustrated in Fig. 36, the order of shades in both warp and weft being as follows:⁠—

It is a forcible scheme of checking which may be developed on various lines. Two changes which affect the appearance of the check are given. In the first (Fig. 37) the largest quantity of one colour—the 96 of black—has been modified:⁠—

This slightly subdues the form of the check, which would be more apparent if the lines added were of a different colour from the rest of the pattern. The second change to form an overchecking is applied to the 12 threads of black in the centre of the squares of white:⁠—

Again, by having the odd threads in a bright colour, the tone of the pattern would be improved.

Another example, namely, the Montgomery (Fig. 38), with the derivations obtainable on this base, may be considered. It is composed of a peculiar hue of grass green and blue. The blue, however, by its softness and warmth of hue, arising from its purplish tone, makes a subdued contrast with the green. The colours being about equal in intensity, are combined in similar quantities. In a smaller checking, with the blue slightly predominating, this plaid would make a good lining style, especially in mantles where the face of the cloth may be a warm colour, such as deep fawn. The warping and wefting for Fig. 38 are:⁠—

In Figs. 39 and 40, two simple changes, showing how the pattern may be altered in appearance, are given. In the former, the centre 48 threads of blue have been subdivided into

whilst in the latter, the 16 threads have been changed to

The check should be further modified in the large square of 144 threads of green, working either from the edges to the centre, or vice versâ, one scheme being as follows:⁠—

The Grey Douglas is an effective pattern in black and grey yarns. As a basis of checking, it is simple in arrangement, and of such a character as to be capable of numerous modifications. In fine yarns and close setting, it might be used for dress materials, in worsted yarns for linings, and in woollen yarns for rugs and shawls: in thick and soft spun yarns, it would be also suitable for travelling rugs. A standard form of this tartan is sketched in Fig. 41, the warp and weft being:⁠—

Figs. 42 and 43 give some idea of the diversity of style obtainable by extending the colouring. The form of this check makes it desirable, in combining other colours than black and grey, that there should only be a small degree of contrast between the shades, the best patterns resulting when the colours are of the same hue.

When the plaid is developed on the lines illustrated in Figs. 42 and 43, it suffers somewhat in simplicity of character, but still makes an excellent pattern for linings, and in fine yarns for dress materials. The broken-up effects in these two checkings admit of more pronounced colour contrasts than are feasible in colouring Fig. 41. The sub-division of the various sections of 36 threads of grey has been acquired thus:⁠—

Fig. 43 results from dividing the 32 threads of black:⁠—

By changing the weave from 4- to 6-end twill, a very different colour effect is obtained, as shown in Fig. 44.

128. Three-Colour Tartans.—These form an important variety, and may be considered under two heads,—the bright plaids, of which the Gow, MacLeod, Duke of Rothesay, Cuninghame, Brodie, Wallace, MacQueen, Crawford, Hamilton, Ross, Macintosh, Maxwell, Dunbar, Skene, and Mathieson are examples; and the dark plaids, including the Clergy, Hunting Mathieson, Keith, Hunting MacLean, MacArthur, and Elliot.

The following are the orders of colouring for the MacQueen, the Hamilton, and the Maxwell:⁠—

MacQueen (Fig. 45).

Two modifications of this tartan are given in Figs. 46 and 47, and show how the base is adapted for detailed checking.

Hamilton (Fig. 48).

Maxwell (Fig. 49).

These tartans are examples of colouring in which red or scarlet is the most important colour employed.