THE WEAVES AND THEIR CONSTRUCTION
In any woven fabric we distinguish two systems of threads, the Warp or Chain, running lengthways in the cloth, and the Filling or Weft, crossing the former at right angles.
This crossing or interlacing consists of every individual warp-thread being placed alternately under and over one or more threads of the filling system. The arrangement of this interlacing is technically called the Weave, and the variety in which the points of crossing can be distributed is practically endless.
It is principally the weave that lends to a fabric its character, influenced, of course, by the material used, the size and tension of the threads and the combination of the colors.
The weaves are divided into three main classes: the Foundation weaves. In the silk business they are known under the following names:
The Taffeta Weave,
The Serge Weave,
The Satin Weave.
In the foundation weaves each thread effects only one crossing in one repeat of the weave, and the points of interlacing occur in a given rotation. A repeat in the foundation weaves comprises the same number of warp-threads as of
picks or filling threads, and if this number is 8, for instance, the weave is called an 8-shaft or an 8-harness weave. In marking out a weave, the warp-threads are represented by vertical lines, the filling by horizontal ones, or in each case by the space between these lines. The places where a warp-thread lies over the filling are marked with paint or simply with a cross. In a similar manner we mark out the chain draft, which indicates the rotation in which the shafts are raised.