Union Yarns.—These yarns, as the name indicates, are the product of combining two or more different materials into a yarn, generally wool and cotton or wool, and any of the many vegetable fibres capable of being spun.
Union Yarns may be produced by the mixing together of the two or more different fibres when they are still in the state of loose fibres; in such a case the cotton fibres act as binders upon the rest of the fibres. When the various fibres are thoroughly mixed together, the mixture obtained is spun: this produces the variety known as Carded Union Yarns. Another form of Union Yarn is obtained by twisting together two threads of different material. Some Union Yarns have the appearance of pure wool threads, and only careful scrutiny will reveal the presence of cotton fibre; this type of yarn is known by the name of Angola yarn.
Union Yarns, being composed of materials that are not affected by dyes in the same way, can be recognised when found in a so-called wool fabric from the fact that the wool in the yarn will have taken up the dye, whereas the cotton will not have done so to the same extent, but will have retained more or less its original colour.
Velour.—This name is given to a soft, thick, nappy flannel used in the making of dressing-gowns, etc., made from either wool or cotton or a combination of both. As a cotton fabric, it is of the coarse, stiff, pile variety. The name is French for Velvet, hence its use in connexion with a pile-surface fabric. As a woollen and worsted term, there is a considerable diversity of opinion as to the precise cloth designated by the term Velour. Some manufacturers would class as Velours any cloth having a soft velvety nap, others make finer distinctions, classing one as a "face-finished Cashmere," a second as a "Saxony," with Velour slightly different from either of these.
Velvet.—This name is given to a pure all-silk pile fabric with a pile weave, the distinctive feature of which is that the surface consists of silk threads or fibres standing closely together like the bristles in a brush. These threads appear as threads sheared off smooth, so as to form a uniform or even surface. "All-silk" in this definition of Velvet applies to the pile only, for Velvets are so generally woven with a cotton back that a Silk Velvet should be considered as having a cotton back unless specially designated as "silk backed."
Velvet Finish.—A finish produced upon woollen fabrics by wet-raising in various directions and subsequently cropping the pile thus raised level, which leaves the velvet-finished material with a fairly dense pile of a velvety appearance.