Chapter IV.
Elaboration of Honeycomb Effects by Parti-Dyed and Printed Fillings—Bandage and Surgical Webs Made with Plain and Covered Rubber—Frill Web Woven on Cam Looms—Double Cloths—Importance of Securing Balance Between Back and Face of Goods
Among the group of single cloth webs confined to the capacity of plain looms, is what is commonly known as the honeycomb, shown at Fig. 1 and Fig. 1A. This is generally made with silk, wood silk, or schappe filling. The smooth filling floating over two cords gives the web a smooth feel, there being no rib effect noticeable whatever, making it well adapted for a fine trade. The warp lines are almost entirely hidden by the filling, so that it is not practicable to introduce any sharp stripe fancy effects, which can be done both in the plain web and the cable. The honeycomb is thus confined to plain solid colors or such elaboration as can be obtained from the filling.
Fancy effects are often secured by dyeing skein yarn in two or more colors. Such yarns when woven in the goods produce alternating effects at regular distances in different colors, such distances being governed by the length of the dips and the width of the goods. The effects which can be produced are quite varied. The simplest way of accomplishing this is to use the regular 54-inch skein, having white or some light shade as a base, and then dyeing a given portion of the skein another color. This process is carried out by hanging the skeins on sticks placed in a rack at the required distance above the color liquor, and then lowering them into the vat and dyeing the immersed part in the usual manner.
Where cotton is used for the filling and more elaborate effects are desired, long reeled skeins are used, sometimes 108 or 216 inches, which have been reeled on specially designed collapsible reels. Such skeins are not practicable to handle in the dye house in the manner already described. Sections of such skeins are wrapped in heavy waterproof paper and tied tightly, so that the dye liquor cannot penetrate that portion, and then the whole is put in the liquor, when the exposed part only will be dyed.
Then again sometimes wood clamps are used, like that shown at Fig. 2, having a recess into which part of the skein is laid after being carefully folded. The two halves are clamped together tightly in such a manner that the dye cannot penetrate the clamped part of the skein while the part left outside the clamp is dyed when the whole is immersed in the dye liquor.