Figured Muslin.—When an ordinary plain-weave fabric of the Muslin variety has been ornamented by means of combination of weave or an extra thread, whilst still retaining the characteristic light weight, etc., of the true Muslin fabric, it is known as a Figured Muslin. Unless specially designated, a Figured Muslin would be an all-cotton fabric.
Figure Weaving.—When complicated and elaborate designs are required the cloth must be woven with the aid of a Jacquard, which is an apparatus for automatically selecting warp threads and manipulating them to facilitate the passage of the filling. This style of weave produces figured effects on the face of the fabric and is generally used to produce patterns of great width. Such figured and elaborate designs are classed under the name of Jacquards.
Filled Cotton Cloth.—This form of cloth has the interstices between the threads filled with glue, china clay, white lead, chalk, plaster of paris, glauber salts, glucose, or other filling substances.
Filling.—This term is given to the process of adding weight to a fabric by subjecting it to an operation, whereby it will have been made to absorb certain chemicals or substances. The principal filling agents are zinc chloride, magnesium sulphate, magnesium chloride, glue, gelatine, dextrine, starch, and water glass (alkali silicate). The term "filling" is also used to designate the material used in weighting the fabric and has the same value as "loading" or "weighting."
When the word "filling" is used in connexion with weaving it always signifies the weft threads, each of which is also called a "pick."
Flannel (Woollen).—The true Woollen Flannel should be an all-wool fabric, into the making of which no fibres other than wool enter. Woven with either a plain or twill weave, Flannel is a soft-finished material, which, in the better grades, should be of a non-shrinking character. When a very small percentage of cotton is found in so-called all-wool Flannel, it is sometimes due to cotton having remained in the machines used for the carding of the wool prior to making it into yarn. In some countries as much as 1 per cent. of cotton is allowed in an all-wool Flannel. When a higher percentage is found the fabric is no longer considered an all-wool Flannel. When cotton is made to form part of Flannel it is scribbled or carded with the wool to increase the strength of the thread and improve its spinning properties. Such yarns are known as Carded Unions and when woven will produce a Woollen Flannel, which is distinct from an all-wool Flannel. Inasmuch as the term "woollen" is commonly used in opposition to "all-wool," and that it is recognised in England that wastes, shoddy, and blends of material other than wool are referred to as "woollen," the term Woollen Flannel is applicable to a fabric that is not an all-wool material.
Flannelette.—Like Cotton Flannel, this fabric is woven from soft mule-spun yarn, which is more suitable for a raised material than a ring-spun yarn. Flannelette may be either plain or twill woven and may be either piece-dyed or woven with coloured warp and weft yarns to form either stripes or checks.
Flannelette is a cloth produced to imitate Flannel and has, owing to its raised surface, a "woolly" feel. By being subjected to a special treatment, Flannelette can be rendered "fireproof"; if untreated, it is a highly inflammable material. The better qualities of Flannelette are distinguished from the lower grades by the former being more closely woven in the warp, and the raised nap is shorter in the better grades. Flannelettes are sometimes printed, in which case they would be more correctly described as "Printed Flannelettes," the ordinary Flannelette of commerce not being as a rule "printed." Whereas in certain countries it is not legal to sell as "pure wool Flannel" a material containing cotton, there is nothing to prevent a manufacturer from selling as Flannelette a material in whose composition a certain amount of wool may enter. Unlike Cotton Flannel, which from its very name shows that the material is of cotton, and by inference cotton only, the term Flannelette may not always designate an all-cotton material, although by general acceptance in the trade Flannelette should be an all-cotton fabric.