Henrietta.—A soft, lustrous, twilled fabric of wool; similar to a Cashmere, but finer and lighter.
Herring-bone.—A binding often used in facing the neck and front opening of undershirts. Also applied to the stitching which is made to cover the edge of the split sole in hosiery. Used in connexion with textiles, it is applied to striped effects produced by alternating a left-hand and a right-hand twill-weave stripe.
Hessian.—A strong, coarse, plain-woven packing or wrapping cloth made from jute or hemp yarns. A standard make of this material weighs 10½ ounces to the yard, is 40 inches wide, and averages 13 shots per inch.
Hog, Or Hoggett Wool, is another name for lambs' wool; it is the product of the first clipping of the young sheep and can be distinguished by the fact that its ends are pointed, whereas subsequent clippings yield wether wool with blunt and thickened ends.
Honeycomb.—This designates a style of weave and not an actual fabric. Marked ridges and hollows, which cause the surface of the fabric to resemble that of a honeycomb, are the salient characteristics of this style of weave. The term is also applied to leno weaves when consecutive crossing ends cross in opposite directions.
Huckaback.—This name designates a class of weave mainly used in the weaving of towels or Towelling, which combines a small design with a plain ground. The short floats of warp and weft and the plain ground of these weaves give a rough surface combined with a firm structure. The small design entering into this class of weave varies, but is always a geometrical design and not floral.
Imitation Rabbit Skin.—Generally an all-cotton pile-weave fabric having a long pile, which has not the same amount of lustre as either a silk or mohair pile, being duller in appearance. This kind of fabric may be distinguished from a silk or mohair pile material by the fact that its pile will crush more readily than either. Its pile will not spring back into place readily, more especially when the pile is long. Generally 48 to 50 inches wide and 60 yards long, it is shipped on frames, on which it is fastened by a series of hooks. These hooks hold the material by the selvedges, which are made specially strong. Two 60-yard frames are generally packed in one box or case.
Ingrain.—A term for knitted goods applied to raw material or yarn dyed before knitting.
Irishes.—This generic name is applied to linen fabrics, which are a speciality of Ireland. Irishes have been imitated in cotton, and when such a fabric is met with it should be designated as a Cotton Irish. The term Irishes would cover such fabrics as Irish Cambric, Irish Duck, and Irish Linen.
Irish Cambric.—This fabric, like all true Cambrics, is an all-linen fabric, plain woven, without a selvedge. It has been imitated in cotton, and the name is now currently used to designate an all-cotton plain-woven fabric finer than lawn, in which the warp yarn is often of a different thickness from that used for the filling and is finished with a smooth glazed surface.