White Drills, or Drilling.—White Drills are, when not otherwise specified, all-cotton medium and heavy weight single cloths woven as a three-shaft twill (two warp and one weft), which have been bleached but not dyed or printed. The better qualities of warp-faced sateen-weave Drills are known as Satin Drill, and these are extensively exported to the Far East; their distinctive features lie in the closeness of weave, smoothness of surface, and finish.
White Goods.—A generic term covering a great variety of bleached fabrics, plain or fancy, covering various weaves or combination of weaves.
White Irishes.—The term Irishes originally was applied to linen fabrics which were mainly produced in and around Belfast. It is now used to describe certain cotton fabrics of plain weave similar to white cotton Calico. Generally in pieces 36 inches wide and 42 yards long, finished with a heavy starch finish.
White Italian.—The name White Italian is not generally applied to a white cotton fabric woven and finished as an Italian. Such a fabric is a White Mercerised Sateen; however, occasionally an invoice covering Coloured Italians will be found to include so-called White Italians. In such cases the colour assortment list (which generally accompanies, if it does not form part of, the invoice) will show the number of white pieces included in the shipment. The ordinary Italian is essentially a coloured or piece-dyed material, and, as white is not, in the piece goods trade, considered to be a colour, a White Italian cannot be considered as coming under the classification of Dyed Plain Cottons.
White Jean.—A White Jean is an all-cotton fabric woven as a three-end twill, similar in weave to a Grey Jean, but which has been subjected to a process of bleaching to turn it into what is known as a "market white" fabric. The process of bleaching proper is always preceded by a series of operations that have for their object the improving of the surface of the cloth by removing loose fibres, motes, and ends of yarn, and by cleaning and singeing the surface so as to free it from all "nap." The distinctive weave of this fabric is given under "Grey Jeans," which is the class of Jean most often met with.
White Lawn.—Lawn is a plain-weave light-weight cotton fabric of soft finish made from yarns varying from 1/40's to 1/100's. Lawn has a soft, smooth feel, which is due to the absence of sizing or starching and to the process of brushing and calendering, i.e., passing the fabric through heavily weighted steam-heated rollers. Lawns vary in quality and weight similarly to other fabrics, their weight varying between 1¼ and 2¼ ounces per yard; in width they vary from 27 to 46 inches and in length from 12 to 42 yards per piece. Lawn in plain white is coarser than a Cambric. The yarn used in the weaving of Lawn is generally of fine Egyptian cotton. White Lawns are also made of linen yarn, and when so made would be called Linen Lawn. India Lawn is a calendered fabric, about 12 yards to the pound and 28 to 36 inches wide in book-fold or 40 inches in long-fold. Victoria Lawn has a very stiff finish. Bishop's Lawn is slightly heavier in weight than "Linon" or "India Linon," bleached and finished to a bluish tint, and derives its name from the style of finish. The same fabric finished differently would be known under other names. White Lawn is a bleached material.
White Muslin.—Muslin is a light-weight, open, plain-weave cotton fabric made generally of low-count yarns, that is to say, of fairly coarse yarn. Muslins, Lawns, and Cambrics are all materials which are similar in construction but vary by their quality, Muslin being the lowest grade of the three. A very common kind of Muslin is known as Butter Muslin or Cheese Cloth. Muslins vary in width from 32 to 46 inches and in length from 12 to 40 yards per piece. Foundation Muslin, Book Muslin, and Butcher's Muslin are varieties of Muslin so dissimilar to the true Muslin that they should not be considered as coming under the classification of true Muslin, which, whilst it varies considerably, should always answer to the description of "a fine, soft, thin, open, plain-woven cotton fabric." White Muslin is a bleached material.