2. The Manufacture of Woolen Cloth

Weaving

There are many differences between weaving worsteds and woolens, but for our purposes we may consider the process the same, as in a general way it is. Some cloths are woven with a cotton warp and a woolen yarn filling, the warp being carefully concealed. Woolen cloths are more frequently woven with a backing than worsteds. This means that either there is a double warp, a double weft, or both. The object of backing is usually to add strength and warmth to the material, and the lower side is therefore often woven of coarser yarn. In some cases, however, notably in travelling rugs, the backing may be just as elaborate as the face, and this necessitates a rather intricate mounting process.

Carpets

Carpet weaving is one of the large branches of the woolen industry, and for this purpose the coarsest and longest fibred wools (common, braid, and carpet wools) are usually employed. These wools readily lend themselves to the manufacture of a coarse thick yarn, which in turn produces a thick, durable material. The thickness of a carpet is known as the pile.

Finishing Important in Woolens

Whereas we saw that the worsted cloth was practically finished when it left the loom, this is not the case with woolens. Oftentimes it would tax an expert to identify the finished goods with the loose and altogether different material produced by the weaver. Some fine woolens, it is true, are scarcely altered more than worsteds, but in most cases the finishing operations are in this industry a major rather than a subsidiary stage of manufacture. The reader may have been puzzled at the divergent lines along which woolen and worsted yarns are manufactured, and at a loss to account for the reasons. The cause is precisely this, that the worsted manufacturer aims to produce a cloth that is completed when woven, while the woolen maker wants his loom to turn out a material that will readily adopt a great variety of finishes.

Burling

The first finishing operation, which applies also to worsteds, is the examination of the piece for imperfections and the removing of them by hand. The piece is then scoured to get rid of dirt, and, where the finish is complicated, this may be repeated several times.

Fulling

Fulling, the next and very important process, consists in passing the material through closed or partially enclosed boxes, in which the cloth is run through soap solutions and then forced through rollers. The result of fulling is to shrink the material and give more body to it. It is chiefly in order to be able to do this that the maker of woolens wants the fibres in his yarn to lie criss-cross, so that in the fulling mill their serrated edges will felt and interlock with each other. The amount of fulling done depends upon the shrinkage desired. It is possible to reduce the size of the cloth by half in this process. Some worsteds are slightly fulled, but in their case it simply serves to add a little body to the cloth, without in any way sacrificing the design of the weaving. Long before the invention of even the earliest automatic textile machinery there were great numbers of water-driven fulling mills, in which the woolen cloth was pounded in fuller’s earth by wooden hammers. In those days the cloth was felted into a stiff thick mass which would resist wear almost indefinitely, but which would hardly adapt itself to the requirements of modern tailoring.

Steaming

Raising

Cropping

Pressing

The fulled piece is next made to revolve on a large drum set with teazle-heads. The object of this procedure is to open out the fibres, and the process is known as raising. In worsteds and fancy woolens, such as trouserings, raising is really nothing more than the brushing up of the loose fibres so that they may be cropped off, much as grass is cut on a lawn. This will of course have the effect of showing up the weave very plainly. In most woolens, however, the cloth is raised wet, and the teazle motion is more violent, so that the entire surface is covered with a thick nap of brushed up fibres which entirely conceal the weave. This is often very desirable where coarse backing threads are to be hidden, or where, for other reasons, a thick nap is desired, as for instance in rough overcoatings. There may be several raisings and croppings, between which the material is boiled and pressed, all depending on the character of the face that is desired. In some cloths the finishing processes are exceedingly complicated, particularly where a smooth finish such as doeskin is sought. The variety of finishes is infinite and new ones are constantly being invented, many of which are closely guarded trade secrets. In most cases pressing completes the process.

Cropping

We have now followed both the combing and the clothing wools through the process of manufacture into worsted and woolen yarns and cloths. Again, let us emphasize that the relative amount of space devoted here to the two industries is governed, not by their comparative importance, but by what appeared to be the most concise method of approach. Many details, which loom up as tremendous problems to the manufacturer, have necessarily been treated here with scant respect, and others have not even been mentioned.