Weft Sateen.—A Weft Sateen is woven on the five threads and picks system, which results in four-fifths of the weft threads appearing on the surface of the fabric, and therefore four-fifths of the warp threads appear on the back of the fabric. The object of weaving on this principle is similar to that aimed at when weaving a Warp Sateen, that is to say, it is done to obtain a smooth cloth surface by distributing the interlacing points and so destroying the common "twilled" effect. A Weft Sateen will be closer in the weft threads (or picks) than in the warp threads, and therefore stronger in that direction.
Weft-faced Cloth.—A fabric which shows on its face a greater number of "picks," or weft threads, than warp threads.
Weight and Thickness of Woollen Cloths.—The accepted standard of weight and thickness of woollen cloth is—
| For Ladies' Wear:— | |||||
| 4 | ounces | per yard | represents a | "very thin" cloth. | |
| 8 | " | " | " | "thin" cloth. | |
| For Men's Wear:— | |||||
| 12 | ounces | per yard | represents a | "thin, or "tropical," cloth. | |
| 16 | " | " | " | "thin medium" cloth. | |
| 20 | " | " | " | "medium" cloth. | |
| 30 | " | " | " | "thick" cloth. | |
| 40 | " | " | " | "very thick" cloth. | |
Naturally, also, the relation of weight to thickness varies with the composition of the cloth and the style of make, some "woolly" makes of 20 ounces being very thick.
Weighting.—The process of adding to the natural weight of a fabric by making it take up certain chemical or other substances.
Cotton fabrics are generally weighted by subjecting them to a process which causes them to absorb either zinc chloride, magnesium sulphate, magnesium chloride, glue, gelatine, starch, or alkali silicate. Woollens and worsteds are generally weighted with zinc chloride. Silk is generally weighted with muriate of tin, and few of the silks on the market are free from weighting. Modern methods make it possible to increase the weight of pure boiled silk to five or six times its original weight. Hooper, in his book on "Silk," states: "It was early found that silk would absorb about one-third its own weight of water without feeling wet to the touch. The dyer found that it would absorb other things besides water, muriate of tin amongst them. As a matter of fact, it may be, and indeed it is, made by the dyer to take up, with the dye, so much of that metal that 12 ounces of boiled silk can be increased in weight to 80 ounces, and yet look like very bright silk."
The term "weighting" has the same value as "filling" or "loading."