Classification of Cloth.
Woven fabrics of any material may be divided into four main classes:—Plain, figured, gauze and woven pile cloths; laces formed on an entirely different structure being disregarded.
Plains show no figure of any nature on the face of the cloth, have every end and pick interwoven alternately, while the warp forms a right angle with the weft. Apparent figures, ribs and stripes may be made by using fine and coarse weft or alternate counts of warp. Stripes or checks of colour may be introduced, but if the weave be unaltered the cloth still is classed as plain.
Figured is a very comprehensive group, consisting of the twills, sateens, velveteens, figured borders, figured checks, damasks, brocades, dimity, weft pile, counterpanes, fustians, cords, etc., and almost all fancy cloths, except gauze and warp pile.
Gauze has a peculiar structure, pure gauze differing from plain cloth in the ends, weaving at an angle more acute than a right angle. Leno is one kind of gauze.
Woven or warp pile cloth has a nap woven on the face and cut whilst in the loom—a class of cloth not frequently met with in cotton, but generally in the silk and carpet trades.
FIG. 29.