Selvedges, or lists, of a colour different but of a material similar to that of the bulk of the fabric denote that the fabric has been woven of dyed yarns and that it has not been piece-dyed. Obviously, if piece-dyed, the selvedge would be of the same colour as the bulk of the fabric. Distinctive styles of selvedges have given rise to special names of fabrics, such as Spanish Stripes. The actual quality of a fabric cannot be always told by the selvedge, but other conditions being equal, it then becomes a good guide to quality. A silk selvedge thread or threads, or the initials of the manufacturer in silk, appearing on the selvedge of an all-wool fabric generally denotes a superior quality of fabric. The following, from a work dealing with cotton fabrics, shows the generally accepted value of selvedges as an indication of quality: "Advertising has educated the retail dealers and consumers to the fact that cotton warp goods with a white selvedge, the ground being of colour, are more to be depended upon not to crock than similar cloths of solid colour."
Serge (Cotton).—All all-cotton fabric woven with a decided twill and having a special finish imitating wool; usually printed with hair-line stripes to imitate woven effects.
Shadow Cretonne.—A fabric of comparatively recent creation having as a distinctive feature the design printed on the warp threads. The filling is generally white, but is sometimes yarn-dyed to a shade approximating the general tone of the large floral decorations which are generally used in this class of fabric. The warp threads take the colouring matter in such a way that when woven the design or pattern appears equally on both sides of the fabric in somewhat blurred and softened tones. From the fact that the fabric is reversible, i.e., shows a design on both sides, it has sometimes been called a Reversible Cretonne, but the true Reversible Cretonne is the result of printing on a woven fabric and not on the warp threads only prior to weaving. The blurred effect, resembling that of a fabric which might have run in the washing, is at times intensified by the introduction here and there of yarn-dyed warp threads of solid colour. They are not always an all-cotton fabric; flax enters sometimes into their composition.
Shantung.—The real Shantung is a Chinese silk fabric of the Pongee class. This fabric has now been imitated in cotton yarns suitably finished. The yarns used in imitation Shantung are spun with thick soft places at irregular intervals in the yarn; this irregularity is more noticeable in the filling yarns.
Sheeting.—A light or medium weight plain-woven all-cotton fabric woven from coarse or medium yarns. The name applies to both bleached and unbleached cloth. Under the heading "Grey Sheeting" will be found a description of the two distinct varieties of fabric known as Sheeting. In the trade it would appear that, should a Sheeting be dyed or printed, it is never sold as a Sheeting, but under some other name.
Shirtings.—A generic term applied to any material originally and usually employed for the making of shirts and covering such varieties as Grey, Harvard, Oxford, Zephyr, Sateen, Grandelle, etc. The term Shirting, if used by itself, would in most instances be used with reference to the Grey Shirting so largely exported from England and America. This Grey Shirting is a plain-woven cloth of low-quality and heavily sized yarns which has not been bleached.
Short Stick.—This term implies a yard of precisely 36 inches, in opposition to the term "long stick," which is by trade custom a yard of 36½ inches in length.
Shot.—A weaving term having the same value as "pick." When a fabric is described as having so many "shots" to the inch it means that there are so many weft threads to the inch. When used to describe a colour effect in fabrics, it applies to fabrics which are woven with different coloured warp and weft, and which, according to the way they are held when looked at, appear to change in colour.